Rapid Environmental Assessment of Buildings: Linking Environmental and Cost Estimating Databases

Marie Nehasilová (), Antonín Lupíšek, Petra Lupíšková Coufalová, Tomáš Kupsa, Jakub Veselka, Barbora Vlasatá, Julie Železná, Pavla Kunová and Martin Volf
Additional contact information
Marie Nehasilová: University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings (UCEEB), Czech Technical University in Prague, 273 43 Buštěhrad, Czech Republic
Antonín Lupíšek: University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings (UCEEB), Czech Technical University in Prague, 273 43 Buštěhrad, Czech Republic
Petra Lupíšková Coufalová: DEKPROJEKT s.r.o., 108 28 Prague, Czech Republic
Tomáš Kupsa: DEKPROJEKT s.r.o., 108 28 Prague, Czech Republic
Jakub Veselka: University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings (UCEEB), Czech Technical University in Prague, 273 43 Buštěhrad, Czech Republic
Barbora Vlasatá: University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings (UCEEB), Czech Technical University in Prague, 273 43 Buštěhrad, Czech Republic
Julie Železná: University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings (UCEEB), Czech Technical University in Prague, 273 43 Buštěhrad, Czech Republic
Pavla Kunová: University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings (UCEEB), Czech Technical University in Prague, 273 43 Buštěhrad, Czech Republic
Martin Volf: University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings (UCEEB), Czech Technical University in Prague, 273 43 Buštěhrad, Czech Republic

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-20

Abstract: Life cycle assessment (LCA) has become an important part of building design optimization. Design studios need tools that make the LCA of buildings faster and simple, and provide results that allow comparison between variants. The objective of this study was to show the possibility of LCA data integration into the existing building design tool, the DEK Building Library, which is already widely used in the Czech Republic, by connecting it to 1200 items of the largest Czech cost-estimating database, and the application of this connection into building information modeling (BIM) tools. This process also included the large-scale adaptation of 160 relevant LCA data. The main result was obtained using EnviBIM, a freely accessible BIM plugin, as well as a web interface that allows users to receive cradle-to-gate environmental impacts of DEK Building Library elements. Additionally, a semi-automated algorithms system for different groups of building materials and elements named EnviDataGenerator was developed in MS Excel, which enables the consistent linking of LCA data to the cost-estimating database items. This allows EnviBIM extensions and upgrades. The EnviBIM module was validated using case studies of three buildings modeled in ArchiCAD and REVIT. The difference in results compared to the manual calculation was 3.1% to 10.9%, which was considered a success.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; LCA; cradle-to-gate; environmental impacts of building structures; construction cost estimating; building information modeling; BIM; building design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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