Digital building models for sustainable buildings

With the application of BIM (Building Information Modeling), which describes a smart process for the design, planning, construction and operation of buildings and infrastructural facilities, it should be possible to detect problematic developments in the construction process at a very early stage and to adjust the following decisions accordingly.

This is achieved by a model that acts as common data basis for all involved parties, resulting in more consistent and transparent information, no matter when and how often the design is changed in the planning process.

At the moment six-dimensional buildings are described internationally. 3D includes the realistic, digital image of the building. Time (4D), cost (5D) and sustainability over the lifecycle (6D) are the additional dimensions. However, a very important dimension is still missing – the sustainable building operation.

The aim of the project is to link the most important aspects of the sustainability of buildings to BIM. The work includes:

1. Analysis of coupling possibilities in the field of dynamic simulation of user comfort, energy demand as well as daylight, life cycle assessment, safety / fire protection and building certificates as a whole (3D).
2. Preparation of sustainability assessment data (LCA, absence of pollutants, etc.) for the BIM application in the 6th dimension (6D).

Introduction of a 7th dimension (7D) “sustainable building operation”, optimization of buildings in operation with the help of intelligent building automation systems (prediction model for the operation of the building and the HVAC system based on the simulation models from the planning process and optimization algorithms based thereon).