An analysis of embodied carbon considerations in a Building Information Modelling (BIM)-enabled building design process through structuration theory

Banteli, Amalia 2023. An analysis of embodied carbon considerations in a Building Information Modelling (BIM)-enabled building design process through structuration theory. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

In recent decades there is a worldwide effort to reduce carbon emissions from buildings. However, carbon emission reduction efforts have predominantly focused on the reduction of operational carbon emissions. This has resulted in Embodied Carbon (EC) emissions to have a more significant proportion of the whole-life carbon of buildings. Despite its growing significance, tackling EC remains a challenge for the construction industry. Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been advocated to address some of the challenges in tackling EC. However, literature that considers both EC and BIM has predominantly focused on the technical aspects of EC assessment facilitation through the use of the BIM model and has failed to address the social aspects of EC inclusion in the BIM-enabled building design process. This research addresses this gap by taking a socio-technical approach to investigate how EC considerations are set and addressed in BIM-enabled building design process. The research follows a critical realist philosophy to reveal the conditions and mechanisms that affect the inclusion of EC considerations in the design process and the potential (and barriers) of BIM to facilitate EC considerations to be communicated and addressed in a building project. The research was conducted in two phases; the first phase was exploratory and aimed to provide a rich description of the way EC considerations are set and addressed in a BIM-enabled project. The first phase informed subsequent data collection and the development of an analytical framework for the second phase of the research. The developed framework drew from theoretical concepts of Structuration Theory and phase 1 empirical findings and was used in the second phase of the research to analyse the conditions and mechanisms that affect EC-target setting and the use of BIM for communicating and addressing EC considerations. The second phase of the research also investigated the impact of context through cross-case comparison analysis. The main findings of the research highlighted the importance of people in setting and addressing EC in BIM-enabled projects. The clients were found to be either a barrier or an enabler for EC consideration inclusions depending on their aspirations. Whereas, the importance of the professional team to act as middle agents to tackle EC was highlighted. Tackling EC was found to relate to position-practice relations, a mechanism that was expressed either through the introduction of new expert roles or the expansion of the role of principal design team members. Industry as well as project-level conditions and their impact on the capabilities of professionals for setting and addressing EC considerations were considered in relation to the dialectic of control mechanism. The dependence of the professionals on industry-wide conditions was found to be higher when they had a low dialectic of control over project-level resources, particularly when professionals were novice to incorporating EC considerations to the building design. The EC information management requirement through BIM was found to relate to the dialectic of control of the professional performing the EC calculations over the BIM model data input. Informed ii by the research findings, two pathways to facilitate EC considerations in BIM-enabled projects were proposed. The pathways considered the enabling conditions and the position-practice and dialectic of control mechanisms for two BIM-enabled project outcomes: How EC considerations are set and communicated and How EC considerations are addressed. For How EC considerations are set and communicated the pathways relate to the project stakeholder who drives EC considerations for the project and can be either client or design team driven. For How EC considerations are addressed the pathways relate to the way that required professional skills are brought to the project, which can be either through the appointment of consultants or through the principal design team professionals. This study extends the use of Structuration Theory through the integration of two of its basic concepts into one analytical framework and expands its operationalisation through the use of social network mapping to visualise the framework elements. The empirical contributions stem from the socio-technical approach of the thesis that revealed position-practices and dialectic of control as mechanisms that affect setting and addressing EC considerations in BIM-enabled projects. The research provided novel insights into the interplay of these mechanisms with power relations between the client and the design team, as well as their relation to industry and project-level structures. Further research recommendations were based on the research findings that indicated that further exploration is required on aspects such as the impact of EC reduction on the capital cost of projects, project contracts with a focus on the stage of novation, EC optimisation incorporation to project design stage timetables. Further research recommendations also related to the newly revealed relations of dialectic of control to industry and project-level structures which could be used as hypotheses in subsequent qualitative and quantitative research.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Architecture
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	20 February 2024
Last Modified:	12 Mar 2024 10:14
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/166405

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