This McGraw-Hill Construction Event is sponsored by BIM software leader Graphisoft and will feature three principals (as panelists) who will discuss the nature of their green projects and roads to success.

Jane Kolleeny, Managing Editor, GreenSource, will moderate the panel discussion. Architects include: Sam Batchelor, AIA, LEED AP, principal, designLAB architects, inc; Aaron Jobson, AIA, LEED AP, principal, Quattrocchi Kwok Architects; and Bradley Khouri, AIA, principal and founder, b9 architects, inc.

Learning Objectives and Registering

The main learning objectives for this event, which has an AIA CE unit of 1 AIA/CES are:

• Understand why specific material choices were made and how decisions contributed to sustainability success
• Recognize why specific design/siting decisions were made, and how these decisions contributed to both the project’s sustainability and its architectural excellence
• Identify effective means to communicate with clients about the budgetary/design give-and-take that goes into sustainable design projects
• Learn energy efficiency measures that were undertaken

This is an excellent event for architects interested in learning more about sustainable design.

The event takes place at 2:00 – 3:00 EDT, May 19, 2011. You can register here.

Richard’s design features large south-facing windows with sunscreens, permeable paving, tankless water heaters, solar panels, a variety of recycled and regional materials, an energy efficient furnace and a rainwater collection system for irrigation. 

ArchiCAD used to create “light box”

ArchiCAD played a particularly important role in helping Carol Richard capture as much of the winter southern sun as possible while providing shade in the summer. Using a Building Information Model (BIM), she created a controlled “light box” to model sunlight patterns and louvers that would allow the sun the penetrate the home between October and February, while shading the windows between May and August. 

Being a good neighbor was also an important design goal. The house sits on a small lot among a mix of postwar Cape Cod style homes and a few 1960’s modern homes. The architect and her husband wanted to maintain the scale of the neighborhood and utilize its familiar materials. Richards used ArchiCAD to model the adjacent houses to see how well her design fits into the neighborhood. 

As a lover of modern design, she felt it equally important to create a space that reflected her own design sensibilities, and which would feel comfortable in scale. “With ArchiCAD, we were able to design and view all elements of the project inside and out and share it with our integrated design team to spot and solve problems up front rather than discovering them when it was too late,” said Richard. “When we decided to move to Madison, we were determined to create a new livable and efficient home for ourselves. We are interested in the environment and want to be good neighbors to the people who live on our street and to the world in which we live. Being able to model your design, site, environment and green strategies all within a single BIM model made attaining this goal much easier.” 

To learn more about ArchiCAD or to visit the Carol Richard’s firm’s website go here: www.graphisoft.com

Richard Wittschiebe Hand Architects.

DesignLAB implemented a Building Information Model (BIM) using Graphisoft’s innovative ArchiCAD software. 

Controlling Cost and Schedule

Using ArchiCAD helped to accelerate the schedule of the project and ensure accuracy with early building estimates. The project manager, contractor and architect/engineering team formed an early partnership to fast-track the process and control cost. A 3D BIM model that integrated delivery system approvals, pricing, and early release packages enabled the team to condense what would have been a 37 month design and construction process into 26 months. 

Increasing GREEN Design

The technology also helped the team raise the project’s LEED rating. While the design initially aimed for LEED Certified or possibly Silver status, the project team continuously monitored project costs, procurement, and materials use throughout the construction process. As the project neared completion, the team realized it had achieved more LEED points than previously expected. When presenting this information to IFAW, they identified several areas where small additional expenditures or efforts would put the project over the Gold threshold.

We used ArchiCAD for the design of the IFAW headquarters in part because our structural engineer partner on the project already used BIM for all of its designs, and working with one BIM model facilitated work between our two firms,” said architect Sam Batchelor of DesignLAB. “The ability for both architects and engineers to access the same product database and to collaborate on the 3D model saved time and money, a bonus for the client.”

Designed to minimize impact on the natural environment, the IFAW world headquarters was designed conserve water resources, monitor and implement energy efficiency and restore the natural habitat. Three simple, clean structures are arranged around a reclaimed brownfield site, establishing a central gather space reminiscent of a coastal ridge or rural Cape Cod meadow.

To fit in with the local Cape Cod architecture, the building utilizes iconic elements of the simple, unadorned barns that abound in this rural area, incorporating two-story, barn-like structures, white clapboards, and even a coastal meadow in the design to recreate the natural beauty of the Cape Cod landscape. 

In addition to the COTE award, the IFAW headquarters received the AIA award for interior architecture and three additional awards from the Boston Society of Architects, including an honor award for design, an interior architecture award and a sustainability award. 

To learn more about Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD go here: www.graphisoft.com

Having a programmer with a proven track-record for innovation head Graphisoft at such a pivotal time in the AEC software market is likely a wise move on the part of Graphisoft’s governing board. When markets go through a global downturn due to recession and other disruptive events, the companies that tend to come out ahead during these times are often the ones that commit themselves to true innovation. As a press colleague remarked to me at AIA this year, given Graphisoft’s size the company continues to impress with the rate at which it comes out with new products and updates. In the span of this year the company has come out with both MEP Modeler for ArchiCAD and now EcoDesigner. 

We’ve already covered the announcement of EcoDesigner back at AIA itself, so in this article we delve into some of the details behind the new product. 

EcoDesigner – Energy Analysis for Architects During Design

EcoDesigner, which will be released at the end of May, is a Graphisoft add-on software module to its award-winning BIM application ArchiCAD. What primarily sets this application apart from similar energy analysis applications is that it works directly inside ArchiCAD, thereby eliminating the need to export BIM data out to another software package in order to obtain feedback on the design with respect to energy. 

01 - EcoDesigner works in tandem inside ArchiCAD providing the architect immediate and quick feedback on energy efficiency that fits into the normal iterative process of architectural design.

Beyond that convenience, EcoDesigner itself was conceived as an energy analysis tool for designers, not engineers. Viktor Varkonyi marked that architects using ArchiCAD are the primary audience for EcoDesigner. As such there was a lot of emphasis on making the product easy to use, simple to implement and fast. The idea is to make it fast for the architect designing the building to compare his design against other design options. 

With a single click EcoDesigner can provide a PDF report on energy use with a given building design providing the user with key values, energy consumption and a building’s carbon footprint. In testing the solution EcoDesigner produced results within 8 percent accuracy of a buildings actual energy use. 

02 - The EcoDesigner interface palette as it exist inside of ArchiCAD.

Graphisoft’s perspective on EcoDesigner is elaborated on in its primary product brochure. The company is right in noting that sustainability is all about choices and that 80 percent of design choices affecting energy efficiency are made in the early design phase. EcoDesigner is squarely aimed at the up-front design phase decision making that effects energy efficiency. 

The goal is to “advise” the design process and provide another dimension to the BIM environment for the architect in shaping his design. This is different than the energy analysis tools already in the market, such as the new Bentley tools we discussed earlier. 

VIP-Energy Engine & Details

In light of what EcoDesigner is aiming to be–a tool for the architect–speed is an important aspect of the usefulness of the product. Akos Pfemeter said that the company chose to go with the Swedish-based VIP-Energy core calculation engine partly because it was very fast. VIP-Energy is produced by StruSoft and is a well regarded energy analysis calculation engine validated by ASHRAE-BESTEST and more. 

03 - Setting Parameters on Openings in EcoDesigner.

EcoDesigner comes loaded with all the essential energy data built into the common BIM assemblies from which you work in ArchiCAD. With EcoDesigner the architect works the same as before in ArchiCAD. From a set of palettes unique to EcoDesigner the architect sets the parameters that inform EcoDesigner of all aspects of the building in relation to energy use. For example, under the Location & Function tab (see image 02) you set your location in the world and the program downloads weather data for that location. You also set environmental parameters such as wind, facade shading, and site surroundings. And you set your building function. In the other tabs you set your structural envelope assemblies, openings, and input your MEP systems and energy data.

All of these settings are nicely laid out in the manner that is consistent with ArchiCAD’s interface standards. You can see from the Openings tab that windows and doors are pulled up from ArchiCAD’s common interface. The user can also specify if an opening has a shading type (see image 03).

04 - Your Carbon Footprint can be calculated in EcoDesigner.

EcoDesigner can be configured by the user with real fuel and energy cost data (see image 04) allowing the program to calculate savings or loss based on design configuration options. With EcoDesigner the architect using ArchiCAD can produce various design options such as wall types, window and curtain wall configurations, et cetera, and quickly calculate the real energy costs differences between them. This energy evaluation capability embedded into the normal iterative design process is what EcoDeigner was created for. 

EcoDesigner has flexibility and can classify projects into mixed-use arrangements. Viktor Varkonyi, CEO of Graphisoft, said it is also possible to create custom assemblies (eg: walls, etc.) and load them with the appropriate R-values and other data for calculation work. In the earliest stages architects often do not know or even want to know the material conditions of their designs. In these very early conceptual phases the architect can choose generic walls, roofs, floors and openings and work with averaged U-values, running the energy analysis and letting EcoDesigner inform her of the impact on energy use based on purely schematic differences in design.

Lastly, it is important to discuss what EcoDesigner is not. EcoDesigner is not meant to help you qualify for Credit 1, Option 1 under Energy and Atmosphere for LEED certification. It is not compliant with the ASHRAE 90.1-2004 standard and therefore cannot be used for whole building energy analysis for LEED certification. However, with EcoDesigner you can export out .vut files–the native files for the VIP-Energy engine from StruSoft– for more advanced energy analysis by engineers or energy analysis consultants. And you can also export out gbXML files for import into a range of ASHRAE 90.1-2004 compliant energy analysis tools–such as the new tools like Bentley Tas Simulator and Bentley Hevacomp which we touched on briefly here. 

Graphisoft EcoDesigner will ship in various license combinations and range in price from 275.USD to 645.USD. Again, the company plans to ship it by the end of May. For further information go to: www.graphisoft.com

Bentley’s motto, if you will, at the show was “software for high performance buildings” and the company was showing, in particular, its Bentley Energy Performance Series tools. 

Bentley’s Energy Performance Series software uses the US Department of Energy (DOE) EnergyPlus simulation engine and the software is compliant with LEED Energy and Atmosphere Credit 1 (Option 1) whole building simulation analysis. 

01 - Bentley's booth is always a visual treat.

The ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 compliant software can determine energy savings percentages over a baseline building performance, helping architects, engineers and energy assessors in the United States and Canada determine how many LEED credit points they can obtain in the single largest points category under the LEED certified building system. 

02 - Bentley's energy simulation and analysis tools are ASHRAE 90.1 complaint for LEED Energy and Atmosphere Credit 1 (option 1 - whole building simulation). In the United States this one LEED credit path can provide 1 - 10 points alone.

There are two product suites in this energy series and both tools come originally from the United Kingdom via acquisitions. I met with Noah Eckhouse, Vice President of the Global Building Performance Group, who told me that the UK market is the world’s most demanding green design market. These new software tools are mature, advanced, and well-used worldwide. The two key energy analysis tools are Bentley Tas Simulator V8i and the Hevacomp Simulator V8i. Both tools are compliant with ASHRAE 90.1 for LEED in the United States. And both tools can calculate both running costs and CO2 emissions. We will cover these two new tools in more detail in a further report. 

Oh, and one more thing. Noah Eckhouse, VP for Bentley, expressed interest in the Mac market in regards to these tools. The company has the chance to deliver the first native Mac software tool that is ASHRAE 90.1 compliant. We will talk more about how Mac-based architects can get their building designs into these Windows-based tools in our upcoming article. 

03 - The organic designs being executed with Bentley's design software. It is always interesting to see the projects on display at Bentley's booth. Typically they are large and complex projects that are tackling advanced form making issues in design.

Bentley’s Generative Components was the big news at last year’s AIA show. The booth this year was also showcasing this advanced generative modeling technology, in addition to Bentley’s Architecture V8i platform. To learn more visit Bentley’s website here.

ArchiCAD START Edition

The husband and wife architect team developed two adjoining townhouses linked by a courtyard. The work showcases both their talent as designers and builders to provide a unique, eco-friendly property. To achieve their goals Jeff and Tracy Prose turned to ArchiCAD Start Edition, an affordable, entry-level of ArchiCAD the industry’s most utilized BIM product.

ArchiCAD Start Edition is an affordable, entry-level version of ArchiCAD designed for architects seeking to expand their business with building information modeling (BIM). It is has all the core design, 3D modeling and documentation capabilities of ArchiCAD, but with a feature set and price tailored to the needs of small architectural practices. It enabled a small firm like Building Arts Workshop to design two LEED Platinum buildings with software costing under $2,000

The shift from 2D CAD to 3D BIM software has been afoot in the AEC industry for several years and has gained acceleration as firms press for more energy-efficient designs. BIM software tools are more advanced than CAD systems and enable virtual-building models to be analyzed for energy gain and loss.

“ArchiCAD Start Edition lets us easily switch between a 3D BIM model and 2D plans using a single environment with a single file,” said Jeff Prose. “It’s a huge productivity gain. We can quickly pull the building apart in a 3D environment, drilling down deep into the elevation views and tiniest of details to identify potential work-stopping problems ahead of time. Using BIM in the design-build process fuses the tangible aspects of building construction while allowing the actions of invention and discovery to thrive.”

For more information: www.graphisoft.com