Published by: Change Inc.
This article by Change Inc. discusses how technology and data can be used to make buildings more sustainable. It outlines how data can help you make the right choice for your building and how the bGrid system makes buildings future-proof.
Read the original article in Dutch on Change Inc., or see a translated version below.
Designing the Most Sustainable Building with a Digital Twin
A computer that designs and analyzes thousands of variations of a building, ultimately arriving at the most sustainable option. This can be achieved using vast amounts of data, artificial intelligence, blockchain, intelligent software, or through a digital twin.
Architects, real estate entrepreneurs, and property developers aiming to design sustainable buildings often find themselves overwhelmed by the options. How do you choose the latest and best techniques or materials for sustainable energy, insulation, circular materials, or green roofs and facades? And how can you prevent your choices from becoming outdated in just a few years? The solution, as argued by engineering firm Arup, tech company bGrid, platform Planologic, and the National Sustainability Institute (NDI) during the Provada real estate fair, lies in the digital realm.
Data for simulations are growing exponentially
The use of data has experienced explosive growth across all sectors in recent years. Most data is collected on the internet, but it’s also gathered through sensor measurements. These are known as real data. Additionally, there is another category of data: synthetic data. This artificial data is generated using artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, and machine learning to create mathematical models and simulations. For example, models used to predict weather or future climate changes. Experts predict that this type of data will exponentially grow over the next eight years, potentially reaching two or three times the amount of real data. “This data can also be applied at the building level. With these models, we can generate sensor data for every room and surface of a building, even before there’s a single sensor and before the building is constructed,” says Christa de Vaan, Partner of Sustainability and Digital Transformation at engineering firm Arup.
Digital Twin
Arup creates a digital twin of a building, which plays a crucial role in sustainability both during the design phase and after completion. It’s a virtual digital model of a building in the computer, capable of simulating all real-world performances and situations. Using AI and algorithms, the computer generates thousands of variations of a building within certain parameters, resulting in the most sustainable design. This process is 100,000 times faster than traditional manual design. “We no longer create a few options that we then analyze for sustainability. We generate thousands of options and select the most sustainable one,” explains De Vaan. “We can change everything with a few clicks, whereas that’s much more challenging in reality. For instance, if you want to test whether double glazing or triple glazing is better, you can do so with this digital model in just a few clicks.”
Iconic Buildings
Arup has already employed various digital tools for several iconic buildings. These include projects like the residential tower Haut, the sustainable hotel QO, and the hybrid wooden residential tower Elements in Amsterdam, which received international design awards. The analysis of thousands of sustainable options was also applied to the multifunctional complex, The Valley. “This shifts the architectural concept, making sustainability an inspiration for architecture,” says De Vaan. “This approach can also be extended to circularity, to explore how as many reused materials as possible can be incorporated into a building. Digital solutions are also key for this.” Arup utilized this approach, for example, with the building BLOX at the Copenhagen harbor.
Practical Sustainability in Buildings
Digital data and models can also be used for existing buildings to enhance their sustainability or improve insulation. Currently, 40 percent of all energy is lost from the built environment. Arup’s CRISP tool (Carbon Risk Impact Screening) can compare a building’s actual performance with its theoretical performance. This reveals the actual impact of solar panels, whether a heat pump uses more electricity than necessary, and whether energy management system sensors are functioning properly. Through this evaluation, 70 percent of buildings fall short. De Vaan notes, “This means that many buildings with an A+ energy label actually perform at a G-label level. This is problematic because the EU will no longer consider theoretical performance in 2027; actual performance will be the focus. Property owners will suddenly see all their efforts evaporate.” Arup’s digital tools can assist property owners and provide transition advice in such scenarios.
From Knowledge Economy to Data Economy
Arup is not the only entity applying data, AI, and computer models to design buildings as sustainably as possible. Planologic also combines synthetic data with real data through artificial intelligence to analyze thousands of scenarios, such as designing a sustainable residential area. Planologic isn’t an architect, engineer, or design studio; it describes itself as a design and decision-making platform. “We’re transitioning from a knowledge economy to a data economy. We compute millions of versions to ensure that the choices from day one are as well-founded as possible. If you make the wrong turn on day one, it becomes incredibly difficult to meet sustainability requirements in a building afterward. By analyzing all the variants, you need far fewer corrections,” explains Pim van Wylick, founder and partner of Planologic. According to him, there are various choices to be made in this regard. “There is never one solution. For instance, you can prioritize CO2 emissions over circularity, or vice versa. Each client will make a different choice.”
Making the Right Choices
The National Sustainability Institute (NDI) has developed various tools and standards to assist businesses and the public sector in becoming more sustainable and making the right choices. One such tool is the Global Sustainable Enterprise System (GSES), a platform that uses blockchain technology to measure and verify sustainable performance. This platform serves as a good yardstick for product or material procurement, even at the project level. “Our platform helps make the right choices. A lot of innovation in construction comes from the production of building materials. With verified and certified data, you can measure the impact on a building,” says Kelly Ruigrok, CEO of GSES. To provide clarity amid the plethora of sustainable certifications, GSES aims to create a comprehensive system that assesses all these certifications in terms of circularity, sustainability, health, and social impact.
Continual Evolution of Buildings
Software company bGrid treats a building like a smartphone. It functions as an Application Programming Interface (API) that enables all hardware and software within a building to communicate with each other. This allows property owners to integrate all smart technology and applications, enabling buildings to be continually adapted and made more sustainable using the latest techniques. “We can learn from data. What we build today is essentially according to the standards and technology of two years ago. We need a structure where we continue to evolve real estate so that it doesn’t matter whether a building is one year or five years old,” says Wouter Kok, CCO and co-founder of bGrid.