BIM Applications to Support Circular Economy: A Literature Review

The built environment has a large demand on energy and material resources. Further, the assets that make up the built environment are typically based on a linear economic model of take-make-dispose. This linear economic model inhibits achieving a more sustainable built environment and adds additional stress into a natural resource economy that is already strained. An alternative to this linear economy model is moving toward a circular economic (CE) model, which attempts to retain resources within the built environment in a way that minimizes impacts on our natural resources. The application of circularity in the built environment could reduce energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and generated waste. Previous research has identified numerous strategies to support circular economy in the built environment, such as design for disassembly, designing out waste, and design for adaptability, among many others. Furthermore, many studies identify building information modeling (BIM) as a potential tool to support implementation of these strategies. BIM acts as an information repository over a project's or asset's life cycle and can serve as a shared resource among project participants. While there is an understanding that BIM can support circular strategies, there is a need to summarize extant literature to provide a comprehensive view of BIM's relevance to the adoption of CE. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify potential applications of BIM for CE. A systematic literature review was employed, and it reviewed BIM and circular economy literature. A synthesis of current BIM and circular economy research is conducted along with a discussion of potential BIM applications for circularity. Proposed future research directions are presented that leverage BIM's capabilities to support circular economy in the built environment. This summary of current literature and proposed future research directions support the development of BIM applications to enable information-based decision-making critical to transitioning toward a circular built environment.