Due to the alarming growth rate of global warming, a lot of individual designers and companies are aware of the need for more energy efficient structures and these requirements are gradually being addressed around the globe. Efforts made to attain sustainable solutions have yet to meet their fullest potential in creating new generations of high-performance green buildings.

Traditionally, architects and engineers have found it difficult to effectively use Building energy performance simulation tools because their processes are based on 2D manually-created drawings. This characteristic is necessitated by the lack of integration among the tools and between design models and building energy models.

The energy simulation tools are not architect friendly and they are too complex for the architects besides the tools are not compatible with architects’ working methods and needs. This fact causes the limited benefits from the energy simulation tools by architects during early design stage. Not to mention is another fact that architects are novices in the energy simulation field. Therefore, they lack simulation know-how. This weakness impedes architects from using energy simulation tools regularly, leading to the most architects preferring simple energy simulation tools without collaboration even though it is critical for performance-based design.

The major issue with the implementation of performance-based design is how effectively integrate different technologies that exist across multiple domains and provide comprehensive building performance analyses in the design process in a collaborative manner.

Another challenge is inadequate knowledge of design tools recommended for use in sustainable design. When a design team does not have adequate knowledge of the design tool to adopt for a proposed design, they are limited, in the sense that BIM is an innovative tool. BIM tools’ use requires skilled technicians to realise the full potential of the tools. This will provide clarity amongst the stakeholders and will, over time, mean a reduction in having to convert drawings from one file format to another for the files to be compatible.

A ‘cradle to grave’ perspective refers to the value-chain that acknowledges all the parts of the design process, the construction process, utilisation and even the demolition of structures. Any energy efficiency enhancements during building occupancy could form the greater proportion of the building’s life-cycle footprint.

BIM4TURKEY Sustainability group seeks to evaluate Building Information Modelling (BIM) for design and construction by critically appraising it as a system for the enhancement of sustainability in design and construction.  Further, this group sees BIM as a new way of working methodology to improve the environment through the creation of sustainable, energy efficient structures. Furthermore, BIM is the current technology ‘sparkle’ of the Architectural Engineering Construction (AEC) industry and can lead to a more intelligent and energy efficient future evolving from a more expensive inefficient past.