Challenges and opportunities for integrating BIM and LCA: Methodological choices and framework development

The main objectives of this review are to identify the advanced strategies and research gaps in the integration of BIM-LCA approaches and to propose research opportunities for promoting the progress of BIM-based LCA. To achieve this goal, a systematic literature review was conducted. Considering the ISO standard framework for conducting LCA, we analyzed the published articles based on the type of input data, data exchanging process, output results, and method of storing environmental information. The results suggest that BIM-LCA research studies mostly focused on manual and semi-automatic solutions at the initial design phases, although there is a growing trend towards the automatic compilation of data exchange. Also, not all aspects of variations in the design have been addressed yet to enhance the validity of results and to complete the automation of the LCA process. Furthermore, there is an extensive area of opportunity for developing and integrating local LCA database following the level of development (LOD) models, integrating sensitivity analysis in the design process and, comparing different LODs to provide a guideline for early-stage decision-making concerning the construction phase results. The development of a comprehensive framework for assessing different sources of uncertainty and variability for BIM-LCA models seems necessary to achieve a robust decision on eco-friendly solutions.