An innovative approach to automate BIM data retrieval and processing for building acoustic comfort calculations based on the IFC standard

Abstract

Nowadays, there is a growing demand for deep renovation projects aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings while enhancing indoor comfort conditions for the inhabitants, both thermal and acoustic. To design effective renovation strategies, technicians need to know the current state of the building to propose acoustic or only thermal improvements. However, evaluating indoor acoustic comfort requires time-consuming and tedious calculations, which can be prone to errors when handled manually. While Building Information Modelling (BIM) can facilitate this process by leveraging the extensive contained data and offering the potential to automate these processes, such automation is not yet widespread. Typically, only geometric data is retrieved automatically from BIM models in acoustic software, while acoustic parameters must be provided manually. This paper addresses these challenges by introducing a novel approach that integrates automated data extraction from BIM with acoustic simulation tools. Specifically, an Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) solution was designed to automatically retrieve both geometric and acoustic data for an Acoustic Comfort tool, which calculates an estimation of indoor acoustic comfort, from an Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). This approach was tested in a demonstration case located in Spain, showing a significant reduction in processing time and increased accuracy compared to traditional methods of manually extracting data from BIM for acoustic assessment. This research represents a significant advance in acoustic simulations by integrating IFC data with automated processing, improving accuracy and offering practical advantages for developing more efficient and reliable BIM-based applications, thus supporting the design of deep renovation projects.