Guidelines for Structural Optimization and Sustainable Retrofitting of Re-purposed Buildings Using BIM
Abstract
Nowadays energy problems resulting from the building industry become very polluting along with the high expenses of the building operation. Designers tend to propose another solution which is the refurbishment of old buildings to be energy-optimized and more efficient. As a result, some solutions are addressed to prioritize keeping the architectural theme of the city as well as reducing land use. An extensive investigation is conducted to review past research approaches regarding energy optimization requirements as well as scoping on structural optimization through building refurbishment. Structural optimization resulting from structural repurposing is not studied in depth recently, as a result, suggested guidelines combining energy and structural optimization are developed to recheck the stability of structural elements and use updated energy techniques with environmentally friendly merits. Building Information Modelling (BIM) adopted, is a modelling concept where the information contributed by multi-disciplinary engineering branches is interpreted in a model to be visualized for all. Thus, BIM allows fast assessment of such a process from a cost and materials perspective point of view. These guidelines will be validated to facilitate the process of structural assessment in Egypt and can be used as a milestone in combining structure and Energy optimization.