How to Digitize for Sustainable Buildings: Technologies, Applications, Potentials and Challenges

Mahdi Aliyari

doi:10.63053/ijset.70

Authors

Mahdi Aliyari Department of Architecture, Islamic Azad University, Shabestar, Iran.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63053/ijset.70

Keywords:

Internet of Things, digital technologies, sustainable buildings

Abstract

The link between digital technologies and sustainability in the built ‎environment has drawn increasing research interest in recent years. ‎However, the understanding of the use of digital technologies and their ‎impact on construction processes is fragmented. The aim of this study is to ‎evaluate the diverse application areas of digital technologies in the ‎construction industry, with the goal of gaining insights into the potential ‎benefits, challenges, and opportunities for enhancing efficiency, ‎productivity, and overall performance. This helps us understand how ‎innovative technologies can improve various stages of construction ‎projects. To address this gap, this study conducts a systematic literature ‎review of sustainable construction to analyze and synthesize research ‎findings regarding the application of digital technologies in different ‎stages of the construction life cycle. We performed a deep content analysis ‎of 72 articles. The findings indicate that prominent digital technologies for ‎construction sustainability include Building Information Modeling (BIM), ‎the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The ‎insights from this study provide valuable information on the effective use ‎of digital technologies in the construction industry, thereby aiding ‎informed decision-making and improving project management practices. ‎We also recognize that the application of digital technologies for ‎sustainability throughout the construction life cycle can be categorized into ‎four areas: (1) integration and collaboration, (2) optimization, simulation, ‎and decision-making, (3) tracking, monitoring, and control. Based on ‎existing knowledge gaps, future research opportunities are identified, ‎including the development of integrated and collaborative systems, long-‎term performance and flexibility, and advanced simulation and modeling ‎techniques.

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