Combining BIM & GIS Information to Simulate Circularity of Building Stocks in a City—A Case Study of Taipei City

Building stocks in cities have consumed a large amount of energy and resources globally, resulting in serious greenhouse gas pollution and environmental problems. As a circular economy has become one of the effective solutions to current environmental problems, energy and material circularity indicators of building stocks in cities become important instruments for city planners in creating sustainable and resilient cities. However, such evaluation requires a high level of integration of both spatial and attribute information of both buildings and cities. A highly integrated system is required to produce reliable analysis results. This study aims to create an evaluation tool for city planners through utilizing information contained via Building Information Modeling and Geographic Information System. Through this tool, planners and decision makers can understand current and future circularity and environmental impacts of building stocks in cities and therefore can propose the most suitable planning and governance strategies and policies. Through visualization of simulation results on an information platform, the awareness of a circular city could also be raised. Taipei city and its city master plan are used as a case study for validation of the proposed tool.