BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING AND ITS ROLE IN ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES

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Deepti Patnaik ,

Deepti Patnaik

Assistant Professor, Kalinga University , Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh , India

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Rakshak Bharti

Rakshak Bharti

Assistant Professor, Kalinga University , Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh , India

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Abstract

The global construction industry accounts for approximately 37% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions and nearly one-third of global waste, necessitating a rapid shift toward sustainable practices. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has become a transition catalyst, going beyond simple 3D visualization that has incorporated environmental intelligence. This essay explores the central aspect of BIM to the development of sustainable building by looking at its multi-dimensional features with particular reference to the 6D BIM (Sustainability). Statistical insights indicate that integrating BIM during the design phase can reduce material waste by 15% to 25%, with high-performance case studies like The Edge achieving reductions of up to 70% through precise quantity take-offs and automated clash detection. Furthermore, BIM-driven energy simulations enable architects to optimize building envelopes, potentially reducing operational energy consumption by up to 30%. By facilitating automated Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), BIM enables the comparison of low-carbon material alternatives, which can reduce a project's total embodied carbon by approximately 20%. Despite these established benefits, the study reveals that there are major obstacles to its widespread use, such as a lack of interoperability and a high initial learning curve. However, the analysis concludes that the long-term Return on Investment (ROI) driven by a 5% to 8% reduction in total project costs and enhanced building performance positions BIM as an indispensable tool for achieving global net-zero targets. The results indicate that the shift to dynamic Digital Twins of the models currently in place will reduce the difference in the predicted and observed environmental performance, so that sustainability will become a tangible reality, rather than a goal that is to be achieved at the design stage.

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