Systematic review on the integration of building information modelling and prefabrication construction for low-carbon building delivery

Reducing emissions from construction and buildings is pivotal to climate change mitigation. Hence, transitioning to a low-carbon emission industry is the focus of many countries by applying prefabrication and building information modelling (BIM). Although prefabrication and BIM contribute towards reducing emissions, the burgeoning body of knowledge mostly consider them separate and often neglect advances in their synergies towards low-carbon building delivery. More importantly, a thorough review of the current state of BIM and prefabrication integration is still lacking. Therefore, this study uses the systematic review to explore the integration of BIM and prefabrication towards low-carbon efforts in building delivery. Six typologies of integrating BIM and prefabrication for low-carbon activities were revealed. Thus, energy and environmental assessments; visualization and real-time monitoring; parametric design optimization; automation in modelling; BIM-PC modifications; and information mapping. Further, these typologies explored four main low-carbon attributes in building delivery; energy evaluation, material selection, waste reduction and process efficiency. From the findings, research gaps were identified and future research directions such as BIM-based bill of quantities for carbon footprint analysis, and circularity features of prefabricated components were provided. This study consolidates advances in BIM and prefabrication scholarship and informs practice for evaluation of low-carbon processes in buildings.