A Comparative Study of Traditional vs. Automated BIM-LCA Methods for Embodied Carbon Assessment

This study explores the integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to improve the assessment of Embodied Carbon (EC) in building materials, aiming to enhance sustainability in the construction industry. The research compares traditional manual LCA (Type I) with an automated BIM-LCA approach (Type II), utilizing Autodesk Revit and Python programming for enhanced accuracy and efficiency. The methodology is demonstrated through a case study of The London College, a 2500 m² educational building. Results show that the Type II integration method significantly reduces assessment time while maintaining high accuracy, with discrepancies between the methods being less than 1%. This automation enables detailed EC assessments early in the design process, facilitating informed decision-making and optimizing material choices to reduce carbon emissions.