A BIM-enabled Decision Support System to support large-scale energy retrofitting processes and off-site solutions for envelope insulation

The urgency of renewing the Architecture, Engineering and Construction related processes to increase quality standards and performances while reducing costs and operations time is widely discussed in literature. In this scenario, increasing the energy renovation rate of the existing European building stock is a key priority to support the EU's 2050 decarbonisation targets through innovative solutions. The introduction of prefabricated panels for building renovation – incorporating insulation, mechanical systems, and finishing – can provide the existing buildings with improved structural, thermal, acoustic, and architectural features. The higher quality and safety for the off-site activities, the faster on-site application and the reduction of waste are some advantages of this typology of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). Several digital and informative tools have been introduced over the last years to customize and integrate the design of prefabricated panels on existing building envelopes (i.e. panelisation tools). However, the comparison of technological alternatives is left to the intuition of designers and managed through the use of several tools that are not interconnected and often downstream the design process. This paper presents a Panelisation Design Tool, which is a Decision Support System (DSS) to help decision-makers in the choice of technological solutions for retrofitting operations during the Early Design Stage. Thanks to BIM integration, some indicators related to different aspects (n Dimensions) are extracted from the model of the panelised building to compare different technologies in a systematic way. The Panelisation Design Tool is tested on a case study building located in the city of Monza, in Northern Italy, used as a pilot in the BIM4EEB European Project. The test aimed at demonstrating the effectiveness of the chosen parameters to evaluate multiple technological solutions in an integrated BIM approach.