Analysis of the Tools for Evaluating Embodied Energy Through Building Information Modeling Tools: A Case Study of a Single-Unit Shell Building

Today, the construction sector is largely responsible for climate change and global warming. The industry generates the largest carbon footprint and is also one of the least digitized industries in national economies. Faced with the challenge of reducing this carbon footprint, BIM is becoming an ess...

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Main Authors: Andrzej Szymon Borkowski, Urszula Hajdukiewicz, Julia Herbich, Kalina Kostana, Anna Kubala
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Earth
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4834/6/2/25
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author Andrzej Szymon Borkowski
Urszula Hajdukiewicz
Julia Herbich
Kalina Kostana
Anna Kubala
author_facet Andrzej Szymon Borkowski
Urszula Hajdukiewicz
Julia Herbich
Kalina Kostana
Anna Kubala
author_sort Andrzej Szymon Borkowski
collection DOAJ
description Today, the construction sector is largely responsible for climate change and global warming. The industry generates the largest carbon footprint and is also one of the least digitized industries in national economies. Faced with the challenge of reducing this carbon footprint, BIM is becoming an essential tool for building digital twins, which in turn makes it possible to calculate and track the carbon footprint over time for designed, constructed, and existing buildings. Semantically rich databases such as BIM make it possible to record the past, present, and future states of buildings and infrastructure facilities. To date, primary research using the free and popular UrbanBIM tool has been conducted on ready-made models, e.g., a previously prepared piece of space. In this secondary study, a specific pre-designed shell building in the BIM environment was examined, and the embedded carbon footprint was calculated for it. The calculated result of 76.35 tons of CO<sub>2</sub> provides an overview of the solutions used and an analysis of the various elements in terms of their environmental impact. The results of the study indicate a growing need to automate the modeling of building information for analysis and simulation, and then to further manage the information. The paper also identifies limitations and presents future research directions for carbon footprint calculation and tracking.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 2673-4834
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
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series Earth
spelling doaj-art-be558d77f8db4ca08194f352ac09997c2025-08-20T03:27:21ZengMDPI AGEarth2673-48342025-04-01622510.3390/earth6020025Analysis of the Tools for Evaluating Embodied Energy Through Building Information Modeling Tools: A Case Study of a Single-Unit Shell BuildingAndrzej Szymon Borkowski0Urszula Hajdukiewicz1Julia Herbich2Kalina Kostana3Anna Kubala4Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography, Warsaw University of Technology, Plac Politechniki 1, 00-661 Warsaw, PolandFaculty of Geodesy and Cartography, Warsaw University of Technology, Plac Politechniki 1, 00-661 Warsaw, PolandFaculty of Geodesy and Cartography, Warsaw University of Technology, Plac Politechniki 1, 00-661 Warsaw, PolandFaculty of Geodesy and Cartography, Warsaw University of Technology, Plac Politechniki 1, 00-661 Warsaw, PolandFaculty of Geodesy and Cartography, Warsaw University of Technology, Plac Politechniki 1, 00-661 Warsaw, PolandToday, the construction sector is largely responsible for climate change and global warming. The industry generates the largest carbon footprint and is also one of the least digitized industries in national economies. Faced with the challenge of reducing this carbon footprint, BIM is becoming an essential tool for building digital twins, which in turn makes it possible to calculate and track the carbon footprint over time for designed, constructed, and existing buildings. Semantically rich databases such as BIM make it possible to record the past, present, and future states of buildings and infrastructure facilities. To date, primary research using the free and popular UrbanBIM tool has been conducted on ready-made models, e.g., a previously prepared piece of space. In this secondary study, a specific pre-designed shell building in the BIM environment was examined, and the embedded carbon footprint was calculated for it. The calculated result of 76.35 tons of CO<sub>2</sub> provides an overview of the solutions used and an analysis of the various elements in terms of their environmental impact. The results of the study indicate a growing need to automate the modeling of building information for analysis and simulation, and then to further manage the information. The paper also identifies limitations and presents future research directions for carbon footprint calculation and tracking.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4834/6/2/25BIM technologycarbon footprintsingle-unit buildingBIMvisionUrbanBIMenvironmental product declaration
spellingShingle Andrzej Szymon Borkowski
Urszula Hajdukiewicz
Julia Herbich
Kalina Kostana
Anna Kubala
Analysis of the Tools for Evaluating Embodied Energy Through Building Information Modeling Tools: A Case Study of a Single-Unit Shell Building
Earth
BIM technology
carbon footprint
single-unit building
BIMvision
UrbanBIM
environmental product declaration
title Analysis of the Tools for Evaluating Embodied Energy Through Building Information Modeling Tools: A Case Study of a Single-Unit Shell Building
title_full Analysis of the Tools for Evaluating Embodied Energy Through Building Information Modeling Tools: A Case Study of a Single-Unit Shell Building
title_fullStr Analysis of the Tools for Evaluating Embodied Energy Through Building Information Modeling Tools: A Case Study of a Single-Unit Shell Building
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of the Tools for Evaluating Embodied Energy Through Building Information Modeling Tools: A Case Study of a Single-Unit Shell Building
title_short Analysis of the Tools for Evaluating Embodied Energy Through Building Information Modeling Tools: A Case Study of a Single-Unit Shell Building
title_sort analysis of the tools for evaluating embodied energy through building information modeling tools a case study of a single unit shell building
topic BIM technology
carbon footprint
single-unit building
BIMvision
UrbanBIM
environmental product declaration
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4834/6/2/25
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