Recent Technological Advancements in BIM and LCA Integration for Sustainable Construction: A Review

Zhonghao Chen, Lin Chen, Xingyang Zhou, Lepeng Huang (), Malindu Sandanayake and Pow-Seng Yap ()
Additional contact information
Zhonghao Chen: Department of Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China
Lin Chen: School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Xingyang Zhou: Department of Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China
Lepeng Huang: School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Malindu Sandanayake: College of Sports, Health and Engineering, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3011, Australia
Pow-Seng Yap: Department of Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-30

Abstract: In the high-energy, high-carbon landscape of the construction industry, a detailed and precise life cycle assessment (LCA) is essential. This review examines the role of building information modeling (BIM) software in streamlining the LCA process to enhance efficiency and accuracy. Despite its potential, challenges such as software interoperability and compatibility persist, with no unified standard for choosing BIM-integrated LCA software. Besides, the review explores the capabilities and limitations of various BIM software, LCA tools, and energy consumption tools, and presents characteristics of BIM-LCA integration cases. It critically discusses BIM-LCA integration methods and data exchange techniques, including bill of quantities import, Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) import, BIM viewer usage, direct LCA calculations with BIM plugins, and LCA plugin calculations. Finally, concluding with future perspectives, the study aims to guide the development of advanced LCA tools for better integration with BIM software, addressing a vital need in sustainable construction practices.

Keywords: building information modeling (BIM); life cycle assessment (LCA); sustainable construction; software interoperability; data exchange methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1340/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1340/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:3:p:1340-:d:1333744

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().