BIM4Analysis, integrated design, and closing the performance gap
Authors: Farrell Michelle 
Published: April 2017

Bim4Analysis is a campaign to integrate analytics within the BIM process, enabling those involved in the creation of a building, campus, or entire city models to take advantage of valuable information during design, commissioning and operation. The strategy is concerned with implementing BIM as a mechanism to deliver value, cost and carbon improvement on all projects. The holy grail is a single workflow. From an engineering perspective, this means engineers inputting information into a 3D model format to inform coordination. When the coordinated layout changes, the update becomes seamless and bi-directional. There is currently no robust solution on the market to facilitate this. Engineers use a mix of formats including spreadsheets – uncontrolled, inconsistent; standalone analysis and some integrated analysis. We consider the VE as a single platform for creation and capture of performance data that is usable and useful during design, commissioning and the operational life of the building. Compliance (LEED, Estidama, etc.) is a necessity on most projects. Our solution is to develop a single ‘analysis’ model from the BIM model at the appropriate stages of the project and to run the calculations from that one ‘analysis’ model, thus ensuring that the designers are using the most up-to-date information. When the design changes, the BIM model is again imported, with the relevant data and the various calculations being run again and the results sent back to the BIM models (interoperability). When the project is set up for collaboration and the process is understood, it becomes easier. Building performance analysis is a vital component in designing truly sustainable buildings and cities. By using technology to calculate the impact of different design strategies, architects and engineers can make more informed decisions on elements that play an important role in reducing the energy consumption of a building. Performance analysis software allows designers to virtually test the feasibility of different energy saving strategies and new low-carbon technologies that facilitate very efficient high-performance designs. Unfortunately, building performance analysis is too often only undertaken in the later stages of design compliance rather than incorporated into the process right from the earliest stages. By working together and utilizing building performance analysis software from day 1, architects and engineers can make the biggest impact in terms of designing a high-performing, sustainable building. There are several ways to split the division of labour, from integrating its consideration into architect and engineers job functions or introducing an independent function to the design team. Understanding our analysis at the design stage is only one half of the challenge of creating high–performing, sustainable buildings, the other is understanding how buildings are operating and learning from them. It's all well and good believing that a building is sustainable because it appears to do so at design, but how sustainable is it in reality? How do we know if we aren't checking? We need to correlate building performance against the design to quantify any performance gaps in the same level of detail which we analyse buildings in simulation software.