IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v377y2025ipds0306261924020786.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

3D reconstruction of building information models with weakly-supervised learning for carbon emission modelling in the built environment

Author

Listed:
  • Gan, Vincent J.L.
  • Li, Kexin
  • Li, Mingkai
  • Halfian, Leanna B.E.

Abstract

Buildings and construction activities contribute around 38.0 % of global CO2 emissions, emphasising the importance of carbon emission modelling in assessing the built environment's carbon footprint. For accurate carbon emission modelling, detailed as-built information on building structures is crucial, which is often challenged by uncertainties due to design modifications and construction variations. Scan-to-BIM technology mitigates this problem by capturing precise as-built geometries through point clouds and transforming them into detailed 3D digital models. However, traditional 3D modelling methods often rely on manual intervention in creating as-built BIM models, which leads to low accuracy and efficiency. This paper presents an AI-enhanced approach that employs weakly-supervised learning for automated BIM reconstruction, aiming at accurate carbon performance evaluation in the built environment. By employing weakly-supervised semantic segmentation, this approach segments structural components from 3D point clouds and formulates the topological relationships of building objects, which enhances the automation of BIM reconstruction. This ensures a detailed representation of dimensions and materials, facilitating effective carbon emission modelling. The results reveal marked improvements in both semantic segmentation and BIM model accuracy. Specifically, the WSSIS network demonstrates an OA of 99.42 % and a mIoU of 98.27 % for semantic segmentation. Moreover, over 80.0 % of the point clouds meet the 5.0 mm tolerance requirements for BIM model accuracy. These BIM models are then used to assess the upfront carbon footprint of construction materials, as well as to model carbon emissions from usage to demolition. This method significantly enhances accuracy in evaluating and understanding the carbon impact within the built environment, and represents a noteworthy leap towards eco-friendly architectural and construction practices that aim to reduce carbon emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Gan, Vincent J.L. & Li, Kexin & Li, Mingkai & Halfian, Leanna B.E., 2025. "3D reconstruction of building information models with weakly-supervised learning for carbon emission modelling in the built environment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PD).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:377:y:2025:i:pd:s0306261924020786
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.124695
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261924020786
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.124695?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Röck, Martin & Saade, Marcella Ruschi Mendes & Balouktsi, Maria & Rasmussen, Freja Nygaard & Birgisdottir, Harpa & Frischknecht, Rolf & Habert, Guillaume & Lützkendorf, Thomas & Passer, Alexander, 2020. "Embodied GHG emissions of buildings – The hidden challenge for effective climate change mitigation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Excell, Lauren E. & Jain, Rishee K., 2024. "Examining the impact of energy efficiency retrofits and vegetation on energy performance of institutional buildings: An equity-driven analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    2. Jacek Michalak & Bartosz Michałowski, 2022. "Understanding Sustainability of Construction Products: Answers from Investors, Contractors, and Sellers of Building Materials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-14, March.
    3. Maria Cristina Collivignarelli & Giacomo Cillari & Paola Ricciardi & Marco Carnevale Miino & Vincenzo Torretta & Elena Cristina Rada & Alessandro Abbà, 2020. "The Production of Sustainable Concrete with the Use of Alternative Aggregates: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-34, September.
    4. Marin Pellan & Denise Almeida & Mathilde Louërat & Guillaume Habert, 2024. "Integrating Consumption-Based Metrics into Sectoral Carbon Budgets to Enhance Sustainability Monitoring of Building Activities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-25, August.
    5. Ciprian Cristea & Maria Cristea & Dan Doru Micu & Andrei Ceclan & Radu-Adrian Tîrnovan & Florica Mioara Șerban, 2022. "Tridimensional Sustainability and Feasibility Assessment of Grid-Connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems Applied for the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-23, August.
    6. Fahlstedt, Oskar & Temeljotov-Salaj, Alenka & Lohne, Jardar & Bohne, Rolf André, 2022. "Holistic assessment of carbon abatement strategies in building refurbishment literature — A scoping review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    7. Francesco Montana & Kai Kanafani & Kim B. Wittchen & Harpa Birgisdottir & Sonia Longo & Maurizio Cellura & Eleonora Riva Sanseverino, 2020. "Multi-Objective Optimization of Building Life Cycle Performance. A Housing Renovation Case Study in Northern Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-25, September.
    8. Gonçalves, Juliana E. & Montazeri, Hamid & van Hooff, Twan & Saelens, Dirk, 2021. "Performance of building integrated photovoltaic facades: Impact of exterior convective heat transfer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    9. Marco Scherz & Antonija Ana Wieser & Alexander Passer & Helmuth Kreiner, 2022. "Implementation of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the Procurement Process of Buildings: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-22, December.
    10. Haonan Zhang, 2023. "Leveraging policy instruments and financial incentives to reduce embodied carbon in energy retrofits," Papers 2304.03403, arXiv.org.
    11. Lachlan Curmi & Kumudu Kaushalya Weththasinghe & Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq, 2022. "Global Policy Review on Embodied Flows: Recommendations for Australian Construction Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-19, November.
    12. Carlos Herce & Chiara Martini & Claudia Toro & Enrico Biele & Marcello Salvio, 2024. "Energy Efficiency Policies for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-34, January.
    13. Ehsan Kamel & Francesco Pittau & Laura Mora Dal Verme & Piergiorgio Scatigna & Giuliana Iannaccone, 2024. "A Parametric Integrated Design Approach for Life Cycle Zero-Carbon Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-22, February.
    14. Maximilian Weigert & Oleksandr Melnyk & Leopold Winkler & Jacqueline Raab, 2022. "Carbon Emissions of Construction Processes on Urban Construction Sites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-14, October.
    15. Geeth Jayathilaka & Niraj Thurairajah & Akila Rathnasinghe, 2023. "Digital Data Management Practices for Effective Embodied Carbon Estimation: A Systematic Evaluation of Barriers for Adoption in the Building Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-23, December.
    16. Claudio Zandonella Callegher & Gianluca Grazieschi & Eric Wilczynski & Ulrich Filippi Oberegger & Simon Pezzutto, 2023. "Assessment of Building Materials in the European Residential Building Stock: An Analysis at EU27 Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-19, May.
    17. Olga Beatrice Carcassi & Pietro Minotti & Guillaume Habert & Ingrid Paoletti & Sophie Claude & Francesco Pittau, 2022. "Carbon Footprint Assessment of a Novel Bio-Based Composite for Building Insulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-23, January.
    18. Rosaria E.C. Amaral & Joel Brito & Matt Buckman & Elicia Drake & Esther Ilatova & Paige Rice & Carlos Sabbagh & Sergei Voronkin & Yewande S. Abraham, 2020. "Waste Management and Operational Energy for Sustainable Buildings: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-21, July.
    19. Els Van de moortel & Karen Allacker & Frank De Troyer & Erik Schoofs & Luc Stijnen, 2022. "Dynamic Versus Static Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Renovation for Residential Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-30, June.
    20. Plank, Christina & Liehr, Stefan & Hummel, Diana & Wiedenhofer, Dominik & Haberl, Helmut & Görg, Christoph, 2021. "Doing more with less: Provisioning systems and the transformation of the stock-flow-service nexus," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:377:y:2025:i:pd:s0306261924020786. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.