MODEL-BASED AUTOMATED VALUE ANALYSIS OF BUILDING PROJECTS

Axiology is a theory about values and value measurement. Axiology addresses two key questions: (1) What are the ‘things ’ that we value? (What is of worth, merit, utility, or importance?) and (2) How do we measure the value of the ‘things ’ that we value? Axiology-based construction is defined in this paper as a theory-based approach– which is both holistic and formal—to the planning, design, and construction of buildings and infrastructure systems that accounts for human (clients, stakeholders, etc.) values. In this context, ‘value ’ is viewed as a complex concept that carries rich and varied meaning depending on the type of value being considered (economic, environmental, social, technological, ideological, etc.) and the assessor of the value. This paper focuses on introducing the theory and method of axiology-based construction of building projects. The approach for axiology-based building construction entails two steps: (1) developing a formal (computer-understandable) axiology for building projects and (2) integrating the axiological model with the building model (the Building Information Model (BIM)). The formal representation, along with the integration with BIM, will facilitate the automation of the value analysis process. The paper starts by introducing axiology as a science for value analysis. Then, the paper presents a preliminary axiological model for value analysis of building projects. Finally, the paper discusses the framework for integrating the axiological model and the BIM model