CircEUlar has just released a new report on the impact of digitalisation through Building Information Modelling (BIM) on the drive towards the Circular Economy and Net Zero in Europe. BIM is a building design and construction scheduling software in which each building element carries numerous parameters (e.g. specific density, tensile strength and thermal conductivity) which allow complex calculations across the whole building.
Based on a total of 41 interviews with industry professionals across 11 countries, it shows a picture of wide variety in the use of design tools and construction automation, from one architect who still fully hand drew his designs to multinational construction companies at the forefront of video and data integration, enabling rapid progress chasing.
This study found that the use of BIM and CAD (Computer Aided Design, a less complex forerunner of BIM) to increase the speed and accuracy of the build was the main reason for their use. In general, digitalisation through BIM and CAD was ubiquitous but they were not used to further the aims of the Circular Economy or Net Zero. There were three exceptions to this:
- Some specialised architectural consultancies did work to lower the embodied emissions contained in the building materials as much as they could within budgetary limits if their clients instructed or permitted it.
- ’Green buildings’ – commercial buildings with environmental accreditation – were enabled by the use of BIM and could not easily be achieved without it. Consequently, all larger architects and construction firms use BIM.
- Life Cycle Analysis of emissions legislation already passed in 4 EU member states (Denmark, France, Sweden and the Netherlands) and mandated in all others by 2028 effectively requires the use of BIM or CAD to produce the calculations.
Conducted by Martin Burgess at the Environmental Change Institute in Oxford, the work overall highlights that digitalisation will be critical in reducing lifecycle emissions in future.
An interviewee from the Danish Association of Architects commented on the report, which he has shared with the Architects Council of Europe (ACE), stating: “It’s a fantastic overview and give a good insight in the complicated topic. I will use [it] as ground for discussion within ACE and the political work in general. Good Job, thanks”.