ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN THROUGH BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING

From the problem related to resource depletion, we have shifted to speaking more globally about the conditions of liveability on Earth. This is a much more severe situation that compromises current conditions and the possibility for future generations to benefit from an atmosphere that maintains conditions compatible with survival. The commitment to meet this critical challenge of our time is addressed to all sectors of human activity. The construction sector can make an essential contribution. Designers are called upon to modify their actions to consider environmental, social and economic impacts throughout the construction life cycle. It is necessary to focus on a successful interposition between man and the natural environment, between man's biological and cultural needs and the characteristics of the place of settlement. There is an insistent call to design according to climatic conditions and to build entities harmoniously embedded in the environmental context. It calls for a move away from the idea of a building that can adapt to every situation and to return to adapting to the context and reusing the ancient practices that led to buildings that were instinctively arranged according to the most favourable orientation, to the use of materials to their function, to the use of passive techniques of regulating internal-external energy exchanges according to the needs imposed by the climate. The paper reports a critical analysis of environmental design aimed at site preservation through a balanced relationship between human welfare needs and the preservation of the surrounding nature. Nowadays, architects can be supported in assessing the complex climatic conditions of the site and the built environment by new digital technologies and increased computing power. The digital revolution affecting all areas of human activity can be the right opportunity for a profound sustainability-oriented renewal from the earliest stages of project development.