Abstract/Summary

The application of Building Information Modelling (BIM) to construction projects has the potential to enhance the quality of information provided for making critical design decisions regarding a building’s environmental impact. However, the provision and utilisation of such information has yet to be effectively exploited in most instances and disconnections between BIM methodologies and sustainable design practices within construction companies are evident. But the fundamental aspects of integrative design, multiple stakeholder collaboration, common goal-setting, the quick efficient presentation of complex concepts to enable fast and effective decisionmaking, and an emphasis on dialogue between stakeholders are as fundamental to sustainable design processes as they are to BIM enabled construction. Differing perceptions and misaligned expectations of the benefits and expected outcomes of BIM and sustainable design adoption go some way to prevent a synthesis between the two approaches. There have been attempts to develop methods to calculate and quantify the benefits of BIM and related information system adoption but existing methods of analysis lack industry acceptance and fail to provide a principal framework methodology that can measure comparable data across multiple projects. An in-depth review of existing literature surrounding frameworks and methodologies to evaluate and analyse the benefits of BIM and sustainable design is presented. The issues surrounding the implementation of BIM alongside sustainable design practices and the inherent problems associated with attempting to evaluate benefits in a purely quantitative fashion are reviewed. Limitations of past research studies in BIM benefits measurement are discussed and the development of a broader framework that incorporates both quantitative measurement and a more qualitative understanding of the process of integrating BIM and sustainable design to measure the potential of BIM for sustainability are suggested.