Sustainability Decisions- decisions in construction involving one of the main drivers of embodied carbon in a building - the structural system
Step 2 - Need-finding
User: Structural engineers working with environmental/energy engineers or vice versa
Problems they face in making design decisions: Integrated design during planning phases; difficult to change design post analysis of structural members and placement. This model would allow an integrated design of both structural members and embodied carbon totals in conjunction at the same time.
Information needed:
Structural Engineers: 1) Structural member placement and sizing – total counts 2) Cubic feet of material used for structural system
Environmental Engineers: 1)Embodied carbon of building main drivers
While these two teams often take feedback from each other, it is rarely in real-time as the design is being done. The feedback post planning creates resistance to change of design due to repeated calculation or increased workload on engineers; however, a dual analysis of both structural design and embodied carbon joins both stakeholders’ interests and promotes adopted feedback into the design.
Step 3 - Generative Design Framework
Logic: The model is a mixture of design assistant and generative study. It takes the building system and framing and beam inputs to flex and test multiple configurations when running the analysis. It also takes in a value for carbon per unit of steel in the framing to run a calculation for the output embodied carbon. The final output from the generative study is the embodied carbon calculation and the design assistant produces the final geometry of the framing system.
Variable Inputs:
- Building model: building length/width/height
- Framing parameters: framing edge offset distance / floor-to-floor height
- Beam divisions: U divisions / V divisions
- Beam Systems: number of beams / rotated beams 90 degrees
Constant Inputs:
- Structure properties: level / structural framing type
- Material properties: steel embodied carbon per unit
Outputs:
- Design Assistant: Framing system geometry modeled
- Generative Design Study: Embodied carbon of system analysis based on framing