Quantifying the Embodied Environmental Impact of Building Materials During Design: A Building Information Modeling Based Methodology

This paper will review the challenges associated with environmental impact analysis during the design process, and the authors' effort to answer those challenges by developing a tool that pairs environmental impact data with building information modeling (BIM). It will review the tool's ability to reconcile the deviation in material quantities found in a built project relative to the simplified forms represented in a building model, and to link the material quantity data with environmental impact information. This paper will also review the results produced by the tool as the environmental impact of each element and option in a building model becomes apparent to the designer in real time, throughout design iterations and project phases. Finally, the paper will review examples from the authors' own architectural projects, which demonstrate the use of the tool for reducing the embodied environmental impact of building materials.