Optimizing the Sustainable Aspects of the Design Process through Building Information Modeling

Abstract

More than thirty years after the definition of sustainable development, the commitment to protect the planet has been renewed, and all sectors of human activity have been called to contribute to this critical challenge of our time. Therefore, the construction sector can also make an essential contribution. Designers are called upon to modify their actions to consider the environmental, social, and economic impacts during the entire life cycle of construction. The digital revolution could be a suitable opportunity for a profound renewal oriented towards sustainability. The new digital technologies and the increased computing power are useful for managing the increasing complexity in current projects and supporting collaboration between the many experts involved. The presented research analyzes the current state and identifies the signs of change and the cues to imagine possible virtuous complicity between sustainable development goals and the digital revolution’s potential, which is supported by the operational features of optimization methods. Based on this in-depth analysis, an operational strategy has been defined, combining the three macro themes usually treated separately—sustainability, digitization, and optimization. This strategy can be a valuable tool to guide designers in optimizing the process of sustainable design and regenerative construction.