Circular Economy for Sustainable Built Environment Through Building Information Modelling

As one of the largest resource consumption and waste production sectors, the construction industry recognises the need to improve the materials, processes and systems used for a more sustainable built environment. Even though the nature of the industry creates obstacles to transformation, new approaches and technologies developed both inside and outside of the industry can help this change. The adoption of the circular economy concept, which aims to reuse and recycle as many resources as possible, can enable the construction industry to design and construct components to be repairable, renewable, reusable and detachable to keep the maximum value and minimum waste through a closed loop principle. Building information modelling (BIM) can aid the application of the circular economy to the construction industry by not only simplifying the design and construction processes but also enabling long-term asset management. This chapter focuses on the role of BIM at each phase of the building life cycle in the context of the circular economy, aiming for environmental, economic and social sustainability benefits. This is expected to increase awareness and prove the feasibility of adopting circular economy principles within the industry.