Integration of BIM-GIS systems for energy-efficient hospital buildings. The Streamer research and the case study of the Careggi Polyclinic (Florence).

STREAMER is a research funded under the 7th Framework Programme, aimed at achieving “Energy-efficient Buildings (EeB)” integrated in healthcare districts. The scope of the research project at issue is to define and develop integrated technologies applicable to Computer Aided Facility systems through the combination of BIM and GIS systems to achieve semantic models for optimising the design and management of hospital buildings, in order to reduce the energy needs of the same throughout their entire lifecycle. The research involves 20 partners coming from different sectors (university, industry, design engineering and construction). The Careggi University Hospital (AOUC), given its particular territorial and building characteristics, the energy systems involved and the computer-aided methodology implied in the management of structural/systems/organizational assets, was chosen as a case study for assessing the final feedback for the expected outcomes during the demonstration and validation phases. In the first place, a modeling methodology for the territorial ambits of the case studies was defined, with the assessment of the levels of detail and methods of representation of the transport network systems and types of energetic distribution connections. The BIM models for the pavilions were created based on such territory models by classifying the destination of use of each facility according to function, activity, type of equipment and end-users, and assessing possible inconsistencies that could arise during the modeling phases of the BIM and GIS supports, as well as the interoperability of the energy simulation tools required for the successive phase relative to environmental data analysis. The analysis of the physical characteristics of the facilities and spatial layout led to the creation of a set of Key Performance Indicators, necessary for assessing possible specific design choices and identifying several types of semantics-driven design methods to aid design choices defined, in large part, for the preliminary phase of the project.