ITcon Vol. 14, Special Issue Building Information Modeling Applications, Challenges and Future Directions , pg. 674-691, http://www.itcon.org/2009/44

Modelling the life-cycle of sustainable, living buildings

SUBMITTED: January 2009
REVISED: June 2009
PUBLISHED: October 2009
EDITOR: Rezgui Y, Zarli A, Hopfe C J

Sander van Nederveen, Dr,
Delft University of Technology
g.a.vannederveen@tudelft.nl, www.bouwprocessen.citg.tudelft.nl

Wim Gielingh, Dr,
Delft University of Technology
wgielingh@tiscali.nl, www.bouwprocessen.citg.tudelft.nl

SUMMARY:Credit-reductions by banks, as a consequence of the global monetary crisis, will hit the construction industry for many years to come. There are however still financing opportunities for building projects that are perceived as less risky. Buildings that are not only sustainable, but also flexible and adaptive, are becoming attractive alternatives for traditional buildings. Many innovative concepts are combined in a new form of contracting, called the Living Building Concept. In this concept, buildings are continuously adapted to changing user and/or client needs in the form of Product/Service combinations. In this paper we will zoom in on the implications for building information modelling and construction ICT. Object based, parametric design technologies become more important than ever before. The new business concepts require a life-cycle modelling approach in which individual components and materials play a central role. Buildings are considered as temporary configurations of these components and materials. The functional life of buildings, which strives for higher and sustainable end-user value, becomes detached from the technical life of building components and materials, offering new opportunities for reuse, remanufacturing and recycling.

KEYWORDS: cradle-to-cradle, living building concept, remanufacturing, recycling, performance based building, sustainability.

FULL TEXT: file.pdf (672,608 bytes)

CITATION:

van Nederveen S, Gielingh W (2009) Modelling the life-cycle of sustainable, living buildings, ITcon Vol. 14, Special Issue Building Information Modeling Applications, Challenges and Future Directions , pg. 674-691, http://www.itcon.org/2009/44