Improving the performance of existing buildings has provided a broad market for the green renovation of US building stock which is estimated at 76 billion square feet. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has had tremendous impact on the building industry by increasing productivity and document accuracy alone. The integrative nature of BIM technology renders it an ideal tool for implementing sustainable strategies into the renovation and/or retrofit of existing structures.By exploring the nature of the relationship of BIM and sustainability, as it applies to the built environment, the intent of this research is to determine what functions of BIM could be utilized to implement sustainable design principles into the retrofit and/or renovation of existing structures. The study sought to establish a sustainable framework for an evaluation and a set of "Best Practices" for the retrofit and renovation of projects seeking sustainable status.To provide a baseline in determining possible "best practices" a professional survey was conducted, within the state of Florida, along with an analysis of a local existing structure. The survey focused on determining to what extent professionals utilize BIM to implement sustainable design principles in retrofitting/renovation and how BIM and sustainability impacted their practice. The case study investigated the process for conducting a total renovation with a goal of utilizing BIM in as many areas as possible to provide a sustainable outcome. To comply with current LEED rating systems an evaluation was made to determine what level the alterations would achieve under the category of LEED 2009 NC.Although the LEED rating determination and level of sustainability depends entirely on the scope and nature of the renovation; results of this research show that BIM can be an effective tool in implementing sustainable design principles into the renovation and/or retrofit of existing buildings despite the scope of the renovation.
State Pension Age (SPA) is an issue of topical interest in the United Kingdom at the time of writing owing to the Government’s plans to link SPA at future dates to estimates of the projected longevity of the population. This paper considers the background to the current position, how the linkage is proposed to work, other factors that may need to be considered and some changes in the proposed State pension regime that could be alternatives to, or complementary with, a changing SPA.
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