BIM4EarlyLCA

Entwicklung einer Methode zur ökologischen und ökonomischen Variantenuntersuchung zur Entscheidungsunterstützung in der Beschaffung mithilfe von digitalen Bauwerksmodellen in frühen Phasen

Team member:	Kasimir Forth, André Borrmann
Funding:	Siemens Real Estate
Running period:	11/2020 - 10/2023

Project description

The aim of the research project is to develop a method that enables a partially or fully automated calculation of the embodied emissions (LCA) using the BIM methodology in the course of a multi-criteria variant investigation of buildings for decision support in early design phases. Previous approaches for automating the LCA calculation in early phases have in common that they are mostly either based on geometric models with stored standard components or rely only on native file exchange formats. An open interface with international LCA databases as well as an integration to further sustainability criteria is so far only insufficiently realized for the early design phases. In addition, information is missing in early phases, which makes a complete calculation difficult.

This project builds on the experience of previous approaches, but pursues a holistic and reliable calculation of the embodied emissions based on the available model information considering decision-supporting variant investigation in early design stages. These requirements are defined specifically for the building type of office buildings in advance and take into account relevant building elements in the question of LCA optimization. In this course, inaccuracies of the LCA results, which occur in early design stages compared to the detailed calculation in later stages, are either considered based on the approach of the DFG project "EarlyBIM" or deliberately neglected, since only a variant investigation for decision support within the present building model is sufficiently considered in the early design stage. In addition, the classification of the LCA databases should ensure a connection to international standards such as LEED or DGNB.

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