Sustainable Construction A Life Cycle Approach in Engineering

Environmental assessment should be included in the simulation of the building performance.
Even though the simulation is often part of the architectural process, it is after resolving several
design and planning decisions, or even later (Thoo, 2008). Again, the later the simulation is
done, the fewer possibilities it has to influence the design itself. The later the changes are done,
the higher the costs are (Figure 1). If major flaws exist in the design, it is difficult, if not impossible,
to significantly improve the building performance later.
Figure 1 The cost of implementing performance improvements contrasted with the effect on building performance
(based on Thoo, 2008).
The building’s design is largely specified by different regulations and building codes. Moreover,
different actors in the building sector have different requirements for the buildings. Different
building components and structural solutions can meet these regulations and requirements,
but optimising and comparing these different solutions is challenging. Optimising one
solution may not be the ideal solution for the whole building; changing a building product in
one place may cause changes elsewhere. Thus, it is essential to integrate environmental assessment
of buildings in the simulation of the building performance right from the beginning of the
design process. Through simulations, the building performance could be continually refined
and improved (Thoo, 2008). Including the environmental aspect to the design process from the
beginning would be a competitive strength. Awareness of environmental and energy efficiency
issues related to building design and construction is increasing.
1.1 Aim of the study
The existing building environmental assessment methods and tools should not be underestimated.
However, they should not be considered the sole possibilities. All the important aspects
may not be considered in the environmental assessment of buildings. (Haapio, 2008) Therefore
it is important to widen the viewpoint. The aim of this study is to analyse the role of environmental
assessment of buildings. Moreover, the role of building environmental assessment tools
in the integrated model is discussed. Could building information modelling (BIM) be seen as an
integrative element between sustainable building, and decision making
1.2 Content of the study
In the first section, the research area is briefly introduced, the aim of the study is stated, and the
content of the study is listed. In the second section, the focus is on the role of the environmental
assessment of buildings. Building environmental assessment tools and building information
modelling (BIM) are introduced, and the possibilities of the simulations are highlighted. In the
third section, the service life planning, maintenance and obsolescence are discussed. In the
forth section, the results of this study are highlighted.
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