Zaid Alwan

The importance of embodied energy in carbon footprint assessment

Purpose – The construction industry has focused on operational and embodied energy of buildings as a way of becoming more sustainable, however, with more emphasis on the former. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the impact that embodied energy of construction materials can have on the decision making when designing buildings, and ultimately on the environment. This is an important aspect that has often been overlooked when calculating a buildings carbon footprint; and its inclusion this approach presents a more holistic life cycle assessment. Design/methodology/approach – A building project was chosen that is currently being designed; the design team for the project have been tasked by the client to make the facility exemplary in terms of its sustainability. This building has a limited construction palette; therefore the embodied energy component can be accurately calculated. The authors of this paper are also part of the design team for the building so they have full access to Building Informati...

Rapid LEED evaluation performed with BIM based sustainability analysis on a virtual construction project

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of using 3D simulation transfer processes to streamline the environmental assessment of buildings that have been designed digitally using building information modelling (BIM). The case study presented relates to a competition (“Build Qatar Live”) in which one of the winning team’s objectives was to create a smart process for assessing the design against the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria. The experience indicated that a rapid, concurrent and efficient LEED evaluation was possible within the BIM process. The study presents technological approaches that can be adopted within the BIM environment to simplify the environmental assessments and embrace practices that reduce environmental and ecological impacts. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology encompassed an overview of how rapid high-value data exchange occurs within BIM to achieve a sustainable building design as part of an international design competi...

BIM performance framework for the maintenance and refurbishment of housing stock

For many years Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been acknowledged as providing digital representation of projects’ complex physical and functional attributes. This goes beyond automated communication and documentation of structures and design: a strategic approach to BIM adoption needs to incorporate people, processes and technologies on an equivalent basis, and lead to capacity building through the managerial improvements (Arayici et al., 2011), coupled with industry implementation being driven through the specific govemental fiscal incentives such as the BIM task force in the UK for example (Gledson et al., 2012). BIM’s information delivery abilities are acknowledged by the building and construction industry worldwide. In recent years, researchers have investigated in depth the overall benefits of BIM in managing complex construction projects (Waterhouse and Philp, 2013;Yan & Damian, 2008), and how to measure these benefits with regard to the specific needs of stakeholders via integrated design processes (Barlish and Sullivan, 2012; Succar, 2009) . There have also been extensive studies conducted on green building performance such as thermal analysis, sustainability and evaluation tools (chiefly BREEAM and LEED), their benefits to buildings (Fox, 2010), and the facilitation of sustainable design (Alwan et al., 2015), with specific reference to BIM processes (Kim et al., 2015; Hope & Alwan, 2012; Building & Consumption, 2010). However, there has been relatively little discussion of the benefits of BIM with respect to the domestic housing sector; and even less research has been conducted on the potential adoption of BIM for the maintenance and refurbishment (M&R) of housing stock. Finally, despite targets in the implementation of BIM being set by the UK Government, its uptake has been generally modest at best (Motawa & Almarshad, 2013), with its employment varying significantly from one industry sector to another. This may be as a result of a reliance on traditional practice as well as a lack of education within the sector. The aim of this research is therefore to evaluate the current state of BIM in relation to maintenance and refurbishment (M&R), and to propose conceptual and practical frameworks whereby BIM adoption can be usefully utilised as a strategic management tool for ageing housing stock, with a specific focus on sustainability issues.

Towards green building performance evaluation using asset information modelling

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a unique conceptual framework for integrated asset management strategy that includes making use of available facility assessment methods and tools such as BREEAM In-Use, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); and highlights proposes areas of commonality between these and the use of as-built Building Information Modelling, that ultimately becomes the Asset Information Model (AIM). This framework will consider the emerging requirements for the capture of Building Performance Attribute Data (BPAD), and how these can be managed in order to assist with effective post-construction building performance evaluation. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the current process relevant to the development of as-built BIMs and AIMs was undertaken which included a discussion of BIM standards and of the COBie process. This was combined with data provided by industry practitioners. This led to the concept of BPADs being developed, to be used within ex...

Analysing the Technical and Behavioural Shifts of Social Housing Tenants Following the Retrofitting of External Wall Insulation

Environmental, economic and social issues present local housing associations with many challenges in terms of management of their existing housing stock. Multiple problems arise from poorly insulated properties, and the twin foci of this research regards the performance of residential external wall insulation (EWI), and identifying the additional benefits that EWI provides to social housing tenants,, which are uncovered through means of behavioural and technical monitoring. The research process generated two sets of data points per household relating to the start and the end of the study and comparative analysis techniques are used to identify changes in user behaviours. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using survey methods that explored environmental knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and everyday behaviours with regard to energy consumption and use. Additional data capture involved temperature logging, meter reading, thermal imaging and the analysis of energy meter readings to monitor changes in usage in the pre and post stages of retrofitting EWI. The results of this study identify changes in the technical performance of the properties and benefits in the well-being and behaviour of the tenants.