Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2023 Integration of Design and Fabrication 10–14 July 2023, Melbourne, Australia Y.M. Xie, J. Burry, T.U. Lee and J. Ma (eds.)
Aurecon Buildings Carbon sketcher: A cross-disciplinary webtool for carbon neutral building design Max G. MARSCHALL*, Jack WALKER, Daniel FITZMAURICE, Hamed SEIFI, Cindy LAM, Nathan PALEIRET, Darcy CREIGHTON, Qisi ZHENG, James ALLISON, Tristan MORGAN, Pablo SEPULVEDA, Matthew AUSTIN *Aurecon 8/850 Collins Street, Docklands VIC 3006, AUSTRALIA Max.Marschall@aurecongroup.com
Abstract A lot of the most consequential building design decisions are locked in during the early-design phase. However, lifecycle assessments are commonly conducted later in the planning phases where the analysis has limited potential to meaningfully affect the design. It would be ideal to front-load this analysis into the early-design phase, however, this is challenging since project information at this stage is limited and the design process is fast-paced. This paper addresses this challenge by creating a user-friendly webtool for indicative lifecycle assessments to be used during the concept design phase. Existing research has resulted either in sophisticated software with maximised functionality but limited practicality for early design or point solutions that often lack the interdisciplinary approach necessary to achieve truly sustainable outcomes. This tool is novel in that it addresses both embodied and operational emissions, and both the main structural and façade elements, while considering the margin of error associated with early-stage assessments and reaching carbon neutrality. It does so as a web-based tool that provides integrated access to expertise through a highly accessible interface with near real-time feedback. A unique contribution of the tool is a design automation algorithm that auto-sizes structural members based on a first-principles approach. Keywords: parametric design, user-friendly, lifecycle assessment, carbon neutrality, embodied carbon, operational carbon, agile development, energy modelling, environmental flows, concept design
1. Introduction Over the past decades, sustainable building design has focused mainly on operational emissions, that is, those associated with the day-to-day running of the building. With increasing progress on the energyefficiency of HVAC systems and high-performance facades, as well as the increasing decarbonisation of energy grids, the significance of embodied emissions associated with the manufacture and transport of building materials has risen. Sustainable building design should therefore consider lifecycle assessments (LCA). In other words, estimating both operational and embodied carbon emissions. Some of the most impactful building design decisions are made in the early project stages [1]-[3]. At this point, engineering analysis is commonly limited, while architects are left to make many design decisions based on tacit knowledge rather than data-driven insights. It is difficult to significantly change the design after a town planning permit has been lodged, since this process solidifies design expectations with legal and financial ramifications should the initial design have to be reworked. The issue here is that the town planning permit tends to lock in the structural system and overall envelope design, both of which are the greatest contributors to lifecycle emissions [4]. Copyright © 2023 by Max G. MARSCHALL, Jack WALKER, Daniel FITZMAURICE, Hamed SEIFI, Cindy LAM, Nathan PALEIRET, Darcy CREIGHTON, Qisi ZHENG, James ALLISON, Tristan MORGAN, Pablo SEPULVEDA, Matthew AUSTIN. Published in the Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2023 with permission.