Abstract:
Median house prices in New Zealand are continuously growing, and the current housing shortage has seriously tainted housing affordability for local kiwis. The New Zealand government has tried several methods to lower the current house price; however, the shortage of houses challenge has not yet been resolved due to the low productive performance in the current New Zealand construction industry. The low productivity of the New Zealand residential construction industry is mainly due to the out-of-date construction method, low data connectivity within the industry and the current building material shortage.
This research aimed to resolve the New Zealand housing shortage challenge and reduce the influence of the construction industry on our environment by demonstrating the practical use of BIM for improving data connectivity. A case study to examine the relatively new prefabrication technology against the widely used traditional construction method has been conducted in this research, while an environmental impact calculator protocol to support the sustainable material selection process during the design phase of the construction lifecycle has been developed. A standardized material passport generation protocol has also been designed and developed, and a demonstration of using the Cloud BIM platform in residential houses has been conducted.
