The use of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly materials and techniques is essential to mitigate climate change, especially for existing building structures, which contribute to carbon emission and increased energy demand. Retrofitting existing buildings is the most effective approach to meet sustainability goals. Building Information Modelling technology is used to implement green roofs in four existing structures. Carbon emission and following solar analyses for energy estimations were done with the help of standard tools: direct solar gains, monthly solar exposures, monthly heat gains, and comfort levels. The retrofitted building models were created with green roofs and material changes in walls and windows. Thermal transmittances (W/m2K) of green roofs, walls, and windows were compared between existing and retrofitted models. The core objective is to improve building energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by using a good mix of different passive design measures, provide energy-efficient solutions for the existing structures, and develop a building scale framework that can be followed to make existing structures energy efficient. Overall, retrofitting lowered the thermal transmittance of the roof, walls, and windows in all buildings. The retrofitted model enhanced the sustainability of all chosen buildings as indicated by the solar analyses and carbon dioxide emissions.
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2 March 2026
Research Article|
March 25 2025
Retrofitting of building components using Building Information Modelling for sustainability Available to Purchase
Mahnoor Fatima Sohail;
Mahnoor Fatima Sohail
Department of Civil Engineering,
National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences (NUCES)
, FAST, Lahore, Pakistan
; Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering (BCEE), Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
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Saman Shahid
Department of Sciences & Humanities,
National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences (NUCES)
, FAST, Lahore, Pakistan
Corresponding author Saman Shahid (saman.shahid@nu.edu.pk)
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Corresponding author Saman Shahid (saman.shahid@nu.edu.pk)
Declaration of competing interest The authors report no conflict of interest.
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Received:
June 05 2023
Accepted:
February 24 2025
Online ISSN: 1751-7680
Print ISSN: 1478-4629
Funding
Funding Group:
- Funding Statement(s): No funding was available for this study.
© 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited
2025
Emerald Publishing Limited
Licensed re-use rights only
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability (2026) 179 (1): 47–57.
Article history
Received:
June 05 2023
Accepted:
February 24 2025
Citation
Sohail MF, Shahid S (2026), "Retrofitting of building components using Building Information Modelling for sustainability". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability, Vol. 179 No. 1 pp. 47–57, doi: https://doi.org/10.1680/jensu.23.00041
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