A mixed review of the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) for sustainability

Abstract

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a digitalised technology under a collaborative working platform. Certain aspects of sustainability have been highlighted in recent BIM studies; however, no prior in-depth review has focused on BIM standards or guidelines and its uses for sustainability. This paper provides a mixed review to determine the current state-of-the-art BIM development for sustainability. A systematic review approach was adopted to analyse two main sources of literature, namely, BIM standards and guidelines; and peer-reviewed academic publications. The result reveals that although there has been a significant amount of research and development about the use of BIM during various project phases, little work has been conducted about how it could be applied in refurbishment and demolition. Certain significant insights and implications have been uncovered, namely: (a) new BIM tools are required for assessing sustainability criteria; (b) the need for improved interoperability among BIM software and energy simulation tools; (c) BIM uses into various aspects of refurbishment and demolition have to be streamlined; and (d) an innovative procurement system is needed to adapt social sustainability into the project.