Exploring the role of BIM in the transition to a circular economy “a system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated.1”
Initial findings
Humanity stands on the precipice of runaway climate change and biodiversity collapse, current consumption exceeding six of the nine planetary boundaries2. Today’s challenge is reducing consumption to sustainable levels and transition to a carbon free economy. In response to this challenge, a shift to a circular economy provides a tangible solution, with Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a promising enabler. Our podcast explores the potential of digital twins and how these virtual representations can integrate with BIM for implementing circular strategies. At the heart of the discussion is the concept of buildings as material banks3 and asset management, showcasing how BIM efficiently facilitates material reuse by establishing a digital layer to map and manage existing building stock. Additionally, post-occupancy evaluation takes center stage, offering valuable insights into the performance of designs in use and guiding iterative improvements. The conversation extends to the untapped potential of industry standards as a facilitator for circular implementation.
At this moment, the construction industry accounts for almost 40% of global carbon emissions4. If we are to avoid climate disaster, we need to drastically transform industry practices to bring us within the planetary limits of consumption, steering away from resource depletion and excessive waste. Examining the current state of the industry, we find it falls short of circular practices5. Through enhancing building asset information BIM offers a transformative solution. It enables a comprehensive understanding of material and product performance, as well as building lifecycles. Leveraging digital information as a catalogue, BIM facilitates efficient material matching, fostering reuse in subsequent projects. This not only optimises resource utilisation but also addresses the industry’s carbon footprint, marking a crucial step towards a more circular and sustainable construction sector. This research aims to explore the contemporary BIM landscape, examining the factors influencing its evolution. A critical focus will be on unveiling challenges, looking at conflicts within current software and schemas and how this impacts workflows.
The Podcast
To explore this topic we invited Gavin Crump to join us in a podcast discussion to discuss how Building Information Modelling (BIM) can contribute to advancing circular economy strategies in construction, optimizing operations, and using buildings as material banks.
Gavin is an experienced professional with over 11 years of work in the Australian Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Architecture from the University of South Australia. Gavin’s career began in architectural delivery, where he gained valuable experience working on significant projects such as the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Over time, he transitioned into roles focused on Building Information Modeling (BIM) coordination and management, developing expertise in BIM practices and technologies. Gavin’s passion for sharing knowledge led him to create “The Aussie BIM Guru” YouTube channel, where he shares insights and best practices with the global BIM community. Currently, Gavin serves as a Computation Lead at Architectus, one of the largest architecture firms in Australia, where he continues to explore innovative ways to leverage BIM and computational design to enhance project delivery and sustainability.
Our discussion with Gavin provided key insight into the current state of the industry and the potential outlook for the adoption of circular economy principles within construction. Our conversation focused on three topics:
Standards:
The role of standards within BIM are examined throughout the podcast. While acknowledging their significance, Gavin emphasizes the necessity for consolidation and revision over incessant additions. The sheer volume of standards presents a formidable challenge for practitioners with limited time and their format often proves to be difficult to engage with. It is suggested that employing some form of medium could prove beneficial in disseminating information and enhancing uptake. Gavin also sheds light on the financial constraints encountered by standard authors, advocating for enhanced funding and subsidization to widen access to standards.
Schema and Standardisation:
In the podcast, schemas within the context of Building Information Modelling (BIM) are discussed in depth. Schemas play a crucial role in defining the structure and organisation of data within BIM models, ensuring consistency and interoperability across various software platforms and applications – increasingly important with the advent of digital twins and smart cities. However, the conversation also highlights the challenges associated with the proliferation of schemas, which can lead to fragmentation and complexity within the BIM ecosystem. Gavin emphasises the need for rationalisation and harmonisation of schemas to simplify processes and enhance collaboration among stakeholders. Overall, the conversation suggests the need for well-defined schemas to be widely adopted which will facilitate efficient data exchange and integration within the BIM environment.
Clients, regulation and their respective roles in driving the progression of BIM from a documentation tool to an enabler of the circular economy:
This prompted us to consider the wider context of the discussion. Our own research found that in the current market landscape, there is a prevailing preference for the traditional linear economy, largely due to the absence of penalties for its negative environmental impacts such as biodiversity loss and pollution8. Transitioning to circular construction practices presents challenges, primarily due to the initial setup costs and the current insufficient project volumes for sustainability9. These sentiments were echoed by Gavin, suggesting that early engagement with clients was key to the adoption of circular practices and that life cycle cost benefits were a useful tool to demonstrate the value in overcoming the associated up-front costs.
Conclusion
Currently, the implementation of BIM remains fragmented and ad hoc, posing challenges to its potential role in fostering a circular economy. While BIM holds promise for facilitating circular practices, its current structure does not fully support such initiatives. The importance of standards in this context cannot be overstated; however, the industry requires consolidated and improved access to standards before widespread adoption can occur. Clients play a pivotal role in driving the adoption of BIM by outlining clear requirements and ideally embracing relevant standards. Moreover, governments must acknowledge the vital relationship between a thriving economy and a healthy environment. Evaluating the economic implications of transitioning to a circular economy against the status quo is imperative. Government intervention through taxation and regulation can serve as a catalyst for transformative change in industry practices.
- The circular economy is a system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated. – Ellen MacArthur Foundation. ↩︎
- Katherine Richardson et al., Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries.Sci. Adv.9, eadh2458(2023) .DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adh2458 ↩︎
- https://www.bamb2020.eu/ ↩︎
- https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/co2-emissions-buildings-and-construction-hit-new-high-leaving-sector ↩︎
- https://www.circularity-gap.world/2024 ↩︎
- https://www.circularity-gap.world/2018 ↩︎
- Thomson, Charles. (2016). From Point Cloud to Building Information Model: Capturing and Processing Survey Data Towards Automation for High Quality 3D Models to Aid a BIM Process. 10.13140/RG.2.2.19058.71366/1 ↩︎
- Bani, M.B., Mirjam (2020) Rethinking the road to the circular economy, ING Think. Available at: https://think.ing.com/reports/circular-economy-rounding-up-the-costs-and-benefits/ ↩︎
- Kirchherr, J. et al. (2017) ‘Breaking the Barriers to the Circular Economy’, White paper. Available at: https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/sites/default/files/171106_white_paper_breaking_the_barriers_to_the_circular_economy_white_paper_vweb-14021.pdf ↩︎
