Construction and demolition waste represents a growing environmental, social, and economic problem, and has become a priority for European and worldwide policies. The early quantification of construction waste is essential for the minimisation of its production and the improvement of waste management. This requires the development of design-based tools that enable a better understanding of the expected waste produced during the construction phase. Building Information Modelling (BIM) methodologies have gained recognition in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) sector, largely due to their capacity for data simulation, storage, and management during the building design phase. This study presents a software application, called WE-BIM Add-in, to quantify construction waste (CW) while designing the BIM model in Revit. A validated CW quantification model which enables waste types and quantities per building element to be predicted in detail according to the European List of Waste (LoW) is integrated into the Revit workflow. Design alternatives could be effortlessly simulated in real time to assist practitioners in decision-making during the early design stages. Two alternative structural systems of a Spanish residential building were compared: a reinforced concrete structure, Option 1 (O1), and a steel structure, Option 2 (O2). The results were obtained automatically: O2, in addition to reducing 56% of O1′s waste, would have increased the waste recycling rate by 49%; and displayed in Revit, thereby remaining consistent with those of other studies that compare prefabricated systems with in situ systems. This work provides a basis for future research into the automated estimation of construction waste in BIM which could become a useful tool in waste-prevention policies.

Construction waste (CW) is a prime contributor to the stream of total waste worldwide. One of the biggest challenges of the construction industry is to minimise CW and to develop practices of a more sustainable nature for its management and recycling in order to promote its transition towards a more effective circular economy. The implementation of these practices contributes towards mitigating the scarcity of natural resources and the environmental impact of CW. Thus, a preceding and essential step is the estimation of CW during building design, which will allow the adoption of measures for its early reduction and optimisation. For this purpose, Building Information Modelling (BIM) has become a useful methodology to predict waste during the early stages of design. There remains, however, a lack of instrumental development. Therefore, this study proposes a BIM-based method to estimate CW during building design by integrating a consolidated construction waste quantification model in three different BIM platforms. For its validation, the method is applied to the structural system of a Spanish residential building. The results provide evidence that the proposed method is vendor-neutral and enables the automatic identification and quantification of the waste generated by each building element during the design stage in multiple BIM platforms.

The El Rocío settlement is a site that originally arose as a religious pilgrimage destination in the 16th century. It lies in an area of high environmental value in the current Doñana National Park in the southern Iberian Peninsula. The transformation of these temporary shepherds' shelters into an established, inhabited site occurred in the 19th century. These huts are built of local vegetation and earth, and have been barely modified to the present day. There are few remaining traditional dwellings in this style, which is why they need strong legal protection and continual maintenance. This work addresses the heritage value of this type of buildings, their relation with traditions and customs, and their influence on the urban landscape. The most notable building components were analysed with the aim of providing ideas and insights for improved conservation, considering that the ethnographic interest transcends the strictly building interest. In addition, the changes in construction style of the different hut types are analysed, cataloguing the remaining huts, the need for legal protection, and the maintenance work required.

Historic buildings are a fundamental part of the tangible cultural heritage of today’s society. However, the energy saving requirements to limit climate change may present limitations with respect to the characteristics of these buildings. In the case of historical buildings from the early 20th century to the present, the bioclimatic design principles applied by architects may have been limited. In some cases, it may be due to project modifications or urban expansion. In this study, these two aspects are analyzed in a case of a historic building located in Seville: The Duclós House by José Luis Sert. This building presents modifications in the roof between the projected and the built one. Likewise, the urban environment is different from the one existing when it was built. The analysis was carried out with energy simulations using weather data from 2000 to 2019. The results show the influence that the modifications of the projected roof and the urban expansion had on the energy performance of the building with respect to the original idea of the building.