The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is one of the most applied ways to evaluate the environmental impacts of buildings and is an important part for sustainability in the construction sector. This dissertation proposes an analytical process addressing the subject of making life cycle assessment of buildings a part of everyday building design through BIM-based methodologies. The focus was on LCA-BIM integration and LCA results interpretation in context of building design. After an expansive literature review, a methodology was developed and tested on theoretical case study involving multiple building design alternatives. The results showed that the integration of LCA analysis into BIM enabled a smooth compilation of multiple design alternatives, accurate data acquisition, clear processing of outcomes and a comprehensive comparison of design variants based on the set of environmental criteria. From a buildings designer point of view, the LCA results interpretation showed to be complex as there are no standardised guidelines on how to evaluate LCA results of multiple design alternatives. Study findings showed that building designer decisions can be influenced by the LCA interpretation method/ concept, which can lead to diverse design decisions. Additionally, through a real-life case study, we underlined that the LCA concepts should be included in early design stages. We conclude that the BIM-LCA integration is achievable, which we presented through the methodology developed in this dissertation, and that building designer should have standardised guidance when interpreting LCA results in order to simplify the decision-making process when evaluating multiple design alternatives.
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