Interoperability Between BIM and LCA Software: Case Study of an Industrial Building

One of the challenges affecting the building sector nowadays is the automation of the environmental assessment process to mitigate the ecological footprint of buildings and facilities. This study aims to contribute to this objective by identifying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software that most effectively integrates information from Building Information Modeling (BIM) software during the design phase. To achieve this, the work included the following steps: (1) an analysis of the environmental parameters integrated into a BIM three-dimensional model; (2) a comparative study of different LCA software in relation to BIM virtual models; and (3) verification of the interoperability of data between a BIM case study developed in Autodesk Revit and selected LCA software. The study results enable the categorization of these LCA software based on their database, scope and exchange file compatibility with BIM. The study concludes that commercial tools such as SimaPro or Gabi characterized by complex databases provide highly accurate results. However free software like Athena Impact Estimator, despite its limitations, offers a more suitable exchange format for the BIM environment, allowing for reliable results in a more automated manner.