Sustainability is no more a buzzword or an unheard concept. It has become an imperative aspect in recent years, considering the growing environmental concerns. The major part of the environmental deterioration pertains to the building construction industry making it crucial to embrace sustainable measures. BIM Modeling services play an active role in imparting several sustainable advantages to construction projects and becoming a suitable choice for eco-friendly establishments.
The use of Revit BIM modeling services in construction with the notion of sustainability improves building performance, lowers environmental effects, and facilitates the creation of a breathable environment. The rapid growth of the construction sector is beneficial for AEC professionals but can be detrimental to the environment. The construction projects account for 25% to 40% of global carbon emissions, including mining or harvesting raw materials, and the use of fossil fuels on-site.
Significance of Sustainability in the Construction Industry
Sustainability is a crucial factor in the ever-evolving construction industry, for it to run concurrently with a healthy and breathable environment. Let’s explore the significance and impact of sustainability in the construction industry:
- Environment Protection
The construction sector majorly impacts the environment, accounting for a large part of greenhouse gas emissions and world resource consumption. Adopting sustainable practices for building design can reduce the detrimental impact of construction on the environment and safeguard vulnerable ecosystems.
Sustainable measures reduce energy consumption, limit waste, minimize carbon emissions, and encourage using renewable resources.
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Building energy consumption accounts for significant carbon emissions impacting the environment. A sustainable construction approach prioritizes energy efficiency and conservation using various methods such as effective insulation, natural lighting, ventilation, sophisticated heating, and HVAC systems.
The designers can also incorporate renewable energy techniques such as wind turbines and solar panels to ensure a clean and renewable form of electricity. Sustainable buildings help in mitigating climate change and lower the reliance on fossil fuels.
- Resource Conservation and Waste Reduction
The building construction involves the use of multiple resources and raw materials for a successful execution. The course of a sustainable building design is focused on waste reduction and conservation of resources. Implementation of measures like recycling, reusing, and optimizing material consumption helps in addressing the depletion of limited resources.
The projects using a sustainable construction approach can help in achieving a circular economy by reducing the raw material demand and minimizing waste production.
- Economic Viability and Cost-savings
Employing sustainable building techniques might result in long-term economic gains, lowering operational and maintenance expenses. Energy-efficient designs reduce energy usage, leading to utility bill savings over time. The built forms designed with sustainable measures have longer lifespans, lower maintenance needs, and higher resale value. It is an economically viable solution for long-term economic advantages to building occupants.
- Wellness and Health
Sustainability is not just limited to physical environmental concerns but extends to the social well-being and wellness of the occupants. Sustainable designs are expected to provide the finest indoor air quality, thermal comfort, natural lighting, and maximum possible ventilation. Integrating such elements within the design improves the health and wellness of the individual, creating a more productive living and working environment.
Sustainable construction is a combination of green building principles and accessible design principles, enabling equitable usage and access for the specially-abled. Such buildings create inclusive communities by making conscious material and design choices.
How do BIM Modeling services aid Sustainable building construction?
Despite using BIM principles since the 1970s, construction and design professionals did not accept the concept until the early 2000s. With the progressing technology altering the landscape of architecture and construction, the primary goal is to create detailed, information-infused 3D models of a building that can be referred to by architects and engineers throughout the construction process. The three different phases of construction where BIM and sustainability overlap are:
- Design Phase
During the design phase, BIM provides transparency to the team responsible for sustainable material selection and design principle incorporation before contractors ever break ground. It provides insights into a real-time summary of how the building will look like, what materials are proposed, and how it will perform before the construction commences. Consciously integrating sustainability measures in the design phase eventually helps a new building to earn the leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
This translates to the usage of eco-friendly materials and methods, saving time and money on rescheduling and reworking. Buildings with LEED certification are designated as the most sustainable buildings around the globe. Buildings are rated as per seven categories for LEED certification:
- Integrative process
- Sustainable sites
- Water
- Location and Transportation
- Energy
- Material and resources
- Indoor Air Quality
- Construction Phase
The construction phase deals with enhancing the efficiency of the project with the effective integration of 3D BIM modeling services. This can be executed in various ways from BIM-powered robotic layout systems to reduce the total construction time to incorporating prefabricated construction methods.
Sustainability for a construction project is not just using an eco-friendly or recyclable material, but consciously using heavy equipment as they heavily increase the carbon footprint of the project.
A well-thought material projection is a suitable step towards attaining a sustainable building design. Mindful choices can both reduce the number of site deliveries and leftover material on site that could end up in the landfill after completion.
- Operational Phase
The benefits of BIM modeling implementation in aec sustained even after the construction work is completed. It provides an additional layer of control during the operational phase. The technology can be easily combined with Internet of Things (IoT) systems that monitor everything in a structure from the room temperature at different times of the day to the lights left on during the day.
During the operation phase, the occupants can adopt sustainable choices proposed by the architects in the design phase, leading to a sustainable lifestyle and minimal impact on the environment. Using energy-efficient appliances, choosing natural light over artificial lighting, or going for a smart thermostat to manage the interior temperature, can all go a long way to achieve the desired sustainability goals.
Conclusion
BIM modeling services have helped the construction sector in exploring various prospects leading to long-term growth. Sustainability influences the BIM services, from waste reduction to increased energy efficiency to improved resource management and collaboration.
The notion that sustainability costs more is outdated and going green significantly benefits in the long run. As the world’s attention is shifting to adopting more sustainable approaches while designing and constructing built forms, 3D BIM modeling services and sustainability continue to work concurrently empowering development and green construction.
Author Bio
I’m Ar. Ankit Kansara, the driving force behind Virtual Building Studio as its Founder & CEO. Our mission is as crystal clear as a blueprint: we’re here to empower AEC professionals with seamlessly integrated, innovative, and cost-effective From BIM Modeling Services USA, MEP BIM services, and Value Engineering, we’ve got the full spectrum of BIM expertise under one roof.
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