{"id":23947,"date":"2023-12-16T02:39:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-16T10:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/sustainability-through-digitally-informed-decisions\/"},"modified":"2023-12-16T02:39:12","modified_gmt":"2023-12-16T10:39:12","slug":"sustainability-through-digitally-informed-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/sustainability-through-digitally-informed-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainability Through Digitally Informed Decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The environmental impact of buildings is expected to increase as the world population continues to grow. Sustainability in construction becomes crucially essential for the future of the planet and its inhabitants. Considering the energy and material resources throughout a building\u2019s life cycle is the key to controlling its environmental impact.<\/p>\n

Following the Industry 4.0 principles regarding built environment sustainability, digital technologies enable conscious buildings. They, in turn, can create an ecosystem with a positive contribution to the human habitat by reducing its environmental footprint and contributing to its energy and material dimension.<\/p>\n

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To learn more about using BIM for environmentally sound construction, please refer to the article \u201cAchieving Sustainability in Construction Through Digitally Informed Decisions\u201d<\/em>\u00a0by the author as part of a Springer book\u00a0Industry 4.0 for the Built Environment<\/a>, edited by Marzia Bolpagni, Rui Gavina, and Diogo Rodrigo Ribeiro.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The site and climate analysis are the first steps to inform future design decisions. Technological tools such as BIM software can add valid information for informed decision-making. It opens doors to less obvious solutions that consider factors such as sun exposure, the behavior of airflow, and shading elements. With the technology, the designer becomes profoundly aware of the potential and genesis of the site.<\/p>\n

Finding the optimal solution to attain carbon neutrality is a complex task. Concepts such as nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) point the way to the energy balance of construction and can contribute to lowering the CO2 emissions derived from operational needs. Nonetheless, the carbon footprint from materials is as significant as energy use.<\/p>\n

The sum of the overall environmental impact of the building until it\u2019s demolished can be measured in CO2, resulting in a chart like the one shown in Fig. 1. The embedded energy is the result of material selection and construction. In contrast, operational energy results from all the building\u2019s systems needed through its lifespan.<\/p>\n

Sustainability must be addressed as the overall emissions, bringing light to reducing material and energy environmental impact.<\/p>\n