Nemetschek’s powerful software could be the key to a more sustainable construction industry, allowing stakeholders to plan carefully and reduce material waste
Sustainable business and healthy ecosystems are the basis for healthy living. The construction industry is one of the most resource-intensive sectors of the economy.
Therefore, the industry needs to become more sustainable – in all phases of the building lifecycle.
Software, such as the Nemetschek Group offers, is a powerful lever for more sustainable planning, construction and operation of buildings.
With the help of software, architects can plan more accurately and sustainably and with
greater foresight, avoiding rework, demolition and wasted materials.
Digital solutions also ensure savings during the construction phase. For example, the use
of materials in the prefabrication of concrete structures can be minimised and waste reduced.
On the construction site itself, paper consumption can be reduced by up to 90% through the use of digital collaboration solutions. During the operation phase of a building, digital tools help to monitor and reduce energy consumption – as well as enable optimal control of heating, ventilation and lighting.
They can also be used to plan and use existing office space efficiently by showing
how much space is actually needed, saving resources. These lighthouse projects from the brands of the Nemetschek Group show that digitalisation and sustainability go hand in hand – for the circular construction industry.
Sustainability in the middle of the city
In 2018, Lacaton & Vassal, together with Quartus Résidentiel and Habitat & Humanisme, were awarded the contract for the conversion of the Marcel Lelong building as part of the Saint Vincent de Paul spatial planning concept in the heart of Paris.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2024. The plans of the three architectural firms
envisage retaining large parts of an existing hospital building from the 1950s and converting it into a modern residential building with commercial and communal areas. In total, the conversion and extensions will create 134 new apartments, including 66 condominiums, 35 rental apartments and 33 social rental apartments, as well as commercial and community spaces in the centre of Paris.
Lacaton & Vassal used Vectorworks design software to implement their ideas and drawings for the plans to remodel the Marcel Lelongs building.
The work of Lacaton & Vassal is based on the idea that it is an architect’s responsibility to
promote human wellbeing and that this should be their top priority. This philosophy is evident through the architects’ work, especially in the midst of the global Covid-19
pandemic, which has exacerbated the problem of affordable housing for many people.
The approach of the two French architects is a decidedly positive vision: “To use and transform what’s already there to make a more sustainable construction industry.”
Sustainability for the public
In Detmold (North Rhine-Westphalia), the open-air museum of the Landschaftsverband
Westfalen-Lippe (Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association) is all about the change of
time and culture.
Where approximately 120 historic buildings bear witness to history, a sustainable new building is currently under construction – heralding the era of sustainable construction in the museum sector.
Once completed, the new entrance and exhibition building will combine architectural history and innovative ecological building culture. To this end, the client and the architects from ACMS Architekten (Wuppertal) are pursuing a consistently sustainable approach that will culminate in the building’s certification according to the DGNB Platinum Standard.
The ensemble’s holistic approach to more sustainable construction industry includes, among other things, the use of renewable or recycled raw materials such as wood, clay or straw, as well as an intelligent building structure and design.
The planning of the new museum building is carried out with the support of software from
ALLPLAN. The planning for the development of the applied innovative building techniques
is accompanied by a research project. The aim of the research work is to develop architectural and building climate measures for the construction and operation of sustainable museums.
The new museum building is not only a showcase project, but also a model project for future projects of this kind.
Sustainability in nature
Simian Mountain is located in the Jiangjin district. Consisting of two buildings, the Yunshan Town Complex is the entrance to a new tourist resort in the scenic valley of China’s Simian Mountains.
The rural location inspired Shanghai-based Yuangou Design Agency to incorporate the forms of the surrounding mountains and regional architecture into the design of the new
facilities.
Two massive sloping buildings were designed to reflect the surrounding mountains and
deliberately disproportionately reflect the local architecture. The final, simple, microcurved
roofs and openings resulted from several design stages where team members created them collaboratively, sharing data via BIMcloud while working from home offices due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Instead of a traditional workflow of switching between different models and software programs, the team worked with Graphisoft’s Archicad to synchronise 2D and 3D views and quickly share new versions with the team. By simply switching between 2D and 3D views, the team could develop an intuitive expression of the original design intent and smoothly modify and adjust it from multiple locations.
Tablets instead of paper
The City of Las Vegas processes nearly 20,000 building applications annually. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent predominance of home office work, the previous paper-based process was no longer feasible.
With the help of Nemetschek’s Bluebeam Revu application, the City of Las Vegas Community Development Department transformed the previously paper-based planning, construction and permitting work processes into a digital application environment and building permit approvals were moved to a digital approval process.
In a further step, the Nemetschek application Bluebeam Studio was used to link several departments involved, as well as applicants and plan reviewers, so that simultaneous reviews were possible in real-time. Thanks to Bluebeam’s innovative features, exams could also be standardised.
Based on nearly 20,000 building plan reviews and approximately 8,000 building permits issued per year, the City of Las Vegas estimates that this will save approximately $600,000 annually in printing costs and a large amount of paper and printer supplies. These savings benefit both the local construction industry and the environment.
Seeing change as an opportunity
The healthcare sector is facing a number of challenges worldwide in terms of operating real estate.
The care organisation Stichting Voor Regionale Zorgverlening (SVRZ) in the Zeeland region of the Netherlands is also facing up to these challenges. With more than 57 care facilities spread over 23 centres in the Zeeland region, SVRZ faces major challenges in maintaining its existing properties. Their maintenance department has been using the Spacewell Maintenance solution for multi-year maintenance planning since 2012. In 2020, the Energy Transition Master Plan was adopted by SVRZ with the subtitle: “Full speed ahead to zero gas”.
SVRZ has a sustainable goal and ambition to operate its care properties completely gas-free by 2030. If this ambitious goal could be realised, SVRZ would meet national climate goals for 2050 before 2030.
As a result of their application of software, SVRZ achieved a CO2 reduction of no less than 28% in the 2018-2020 period and reduced fossil natural gas consumption by more than 400,000m3 per year. In the coming years, the implementation of the Energy Transition Master Plan will continue based on the sustainable multi-year maintenance plan.
The office of the future
The science and technology company Merck has its corporate headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany. In Germany alone, more than 12,000 employees work to find solutions to some of the greatest medical challenges of our time.
In order to make the company headquarters fit for the work of the future and to allow all employees to participate in a modern office concept, Merck relied on the implementation of workplace solutions from Crem Solutions for the redesign of the working environment. This included quantitative, data-based monitoring of occupied space and its utilisation.
Based on sound planning, accumulated experience and close collaboration between the project teams, the Workplace solutions and the integrated Internet of Things (IoT) solutions were designed in such a way that the desired needs of the Merck Group are easily and completely mapped in a smart building system. In the long term, the aim is to deploy the Workplace system across the board in suitable properties.
A circular sustainable construction industry
These project examples show that there is a shift in thinking in the construction industry, away from analogue silos and toward digital collaboration. This rethinking is also driven by the need to plan, build and operate more sustainably. With the help of digitalisation, this cycle can be closed from initial planning to the end of the lifecycle for a future-oriented sustainable construction industry.
Desiree Goldstein
Communication Specialist
Nemetschek Group
