The Revitalization of Urban Infrastructure |
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By Terry D. Bennett, PLS, LLS, LPF, LEED AP, Autodesk Senior Industry Manager for Civil Engineering and Construction at Autodesk
Everywhere you look you see buildings, many in disrepair, others for sale and empty, still more crammed with people but using old internal systems designed decades ago. According to the US Green Building Council (USGBC), buildings account for nearly half of all energy consumption and annual greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. It is no wonder that improving the resource efficiency of buildings is a cornerstone of sustainability efforts and current economic stimulus packages. Because of the vast number of buildings in our urban centers, coupled with the trend toward urbanization where soon half of the world’s population will live in urban environments, according to the UN Report published on Feb 26, 2008, building owners have an unprecedented opportunity to play a leadership role in the stewardship of our natural resources. Deliberate and cost-effective building renovations, whether to keep an existing use or convert to a new and different use, can generate substantial environmental, financial and societal benefits—from reducing energy consumption to creating new jobs.
Several major legislative mandates and executive orders, along with sustainability efforts, are driving widespread energy usage reform and encouraging building owners and operators to renovate and improve building performance. Examples include the following:
- The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005) focuses on energy efficiency, water conservation and improving accountability for federal buildings.
- The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) requires a steep 30% reduction in fossil fuel energy use within 8 years, and encourages the use of cost-effective solar hot water heaters, and extends the lifecycle cost period of capital improvement projects.
- Executive Order 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management, requires agencies to reduce energy consumption by 3 percent per year and water consumption by 2 percent per year through 2015 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) evaluates green building criteria in five major categories: site design, indoor environmental quality, and the efficient use of energy, materials and water.
Most buildings today have outdated or nonexistent building plans and few have complete energy consumption histories. This lack of baseline information makes it difficult to predict future performance throughout the life of a proposed renovation project. And when a renewal project involves a government building, it hampers the ability to evaluate and compare proposals from the various energy service companies. Fortunately, new technologies make this once overwhelming prospect more manageable.
Terrestrial laser scanning, building information modeling (BIM), and new modeling and analysis tools are giving new life to old structures and that is a very good thing. Energy conservation and sustainability are top priorities in the United States and many places around the world today. Efforts are under way in many states to reinforce that-and we’re seeing many offering fast-tracked permitting to those projects that are “green” or “sustainable” in approach. When applied to existing buildings, laser scanning the outside and select inside locations produces a point cloud of the structure that can be used to create 3D models. These models, in turn, can be used in a BIM process-an integrated approach that allows professionals to use coordinated, consistent information to explore a specific project’s key physical and functional characteristics digitally from design to construction, before it’s built.
By capturing the building geometry and characteristics through laser scanning, the resulting model can be used in a BIM process to conduct many aspects of energy performance analysis and support contracting processes—from basic models to energy and investment-grade audits to implementing measures that enable better decision making. BIM helps users quickly and easily create a basic building model to visualize and simulate the performance, appearance and cost of renovations. The digital model includes data components that represent building elements such as materials, weight, thermal resistance, and other physical properties that contribute to building performance. With BIM, users can more accurately analyze and assess the energy performance of individual buildings, and then better evaluate, compare, and rank the environmental and financial impact of proposed renovations. With a deeper understanding of the relative performance of the property portfolio, stakeholders can prioritize an overall building modernization program, and focus on those projects that have the greatest impact.
 Courtesy of Metco Services Inc., Warren MI Model for BIM process use – the deliverable
 Courtesy of Metco Services Inc., Warren MI Laser Scan of School
About the Author
Terry D. Bennett, PLS, LLS, LPF, LEED AP, is the senior industry manager for civil engineering and construction at Autodesk, responsible worldwide for the company’s industry strategy and relations in the areas of land/environmental planning, land surveying, civil engineering and construction. He holds multistate registration in both land surveying and natural resource forest management, and is a LEED-accredited professional. Bennett has also been a practicing professional consultant for the last 26 years.
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| Published 2009-04-13 00:00:00 |
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