Concept to completion: design tools for sustainable buildings

Project details

Full project title: Concept to completion: design tools for sustainable buildings

Duration: 2010-2012

Funded by: Technology Strategy Board

Project leads:

• Ming Sun
• Dr Praminda Caleb-Solly
• Erik Geelhoed
• Andy Morrell

Project summary

This is a joint project with an IT firm - HBXL, funded by Technology Strategy Board. The aim of the project was to develop an easy to use integrated tool for SMEs to design buildings from initial concepts and feasibility through detailed design for low impact buildings in the UK.

The system will be based on live product data from suppliers. The toolset will provide real-time feedback of the capital and whole life costs with carbon impacts in a 2D/3D photo realistic environment to communicate early stage design options to all stakeholders and encourage innovation and sensitivity analysis.

The resulting data will be accessible by the construction team and building users via the CAD interface to provide JIT construction data, product characteristics and building user information via HBXL’s new on-line data and project management services. Modules will allow suppliers of products and assemblies to upload and share their CAD drawings of their systems for drag and drop incorporation into designs, complete with all cost and carbon data for inclusion into the automated cost and carbon impact assessments.

These objectives will be achieved following research to assess code of practice and other standards in the UK and abroad to devise specifications for HBXL programmers.

Further research will investigate the ability for all business sectors in the supply chain to provide environmental and technical data in a standard format for integration into the designs and provide recommendations of the format and scope of the required data. Additional research will identify 3D gaming technologies to assist in design presentation and environmental behaviour of the proposed design together with a review of emerging mobile computing technologies for instant accessibility.