Awareness of building information modeling implementation in retrofitting the existing residential building in Malaysia

Abstract

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a new paradigm in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry in Malaysia. In the literature, there are numerous reviews of BIM implementation on new buildings, while the BIM application in retrofitting existing buildings is rather disregarded yet. Only limited research has investigated the use of the potential of BIM in residential retrofit projects. This study seeks to investigate the current status of implementation of BIM for retrofitting residential buildings practicality. The research used the questionnaire as a quantitative method to collect data in the current study. One hundred twelve professionals were chosen for this study, and the response rate was 49 percent (55 respondents). The sample of the questionnaire survey consists of the academic experts and construction engineers and architects, BIM software designers, and construction organizations in Malaysia. The data collected through the respondents are analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (SPSS Version 22). The results revealed that most of the respondents (47.3%) have a low level of awareness about BIM, and the majority of the respondents (29.1%) do not use BIM in their projects. Based on the investigation, the adoption of BIM residential buildings is timely. The most common obstacles to the BIM adoption for residential retrofit are the lack of customer demand, high initial investments, and lack of standards. In conclusion, this research provides information about the feasibility of BIM adoption for retrofitting the existing residential building. It is expected that this knowledge could be useful for BIM development and tackle barriers regarding BIM adoption in the Malaysia construction sector.