While much of the debate around reducing energy costs has focused on ‘big ticket’ initiatives such as installing heat pumps or solar panels, significant benefits can be gained from smaller, more incremental changes leveraged by technology.
Enter advances in 3D design and visualisation tools, with digitisation and building information modelling (BIM) propelling the housing sector towards efficiency, collaboration and sustainability. Now, with growth in the power of AI, designers and building owners can get unprecedented insights into how the layout of their properties influences a huge range of factors, including energy consumption, maintenance, health and sustainability.
Spatial data & artificial intelligence
The combination of spatial data and AI is a powerful cocktail. First, an astonishing number of data points can be collected that really drill down into how buildings are used in practice – everything from the routes people take through an estate and which windows lose the most heat, through to the efficiency of insulation or the impact of shared-space lighting. This information, coupled with predictive analytics, can be used to inform design changes that make building layouts more ergonomic, efficient and functional.
Virtual modelling tools can take any proposed changes or design ideas and allow stakeholders to see how they work in practice. Everyone can work across the project’s lifecycle, from owners to building managers. Shared digital representations allow teams to visualise, simulate and analyse design and construction or renovation decisions in real-time, ensuring alignment of vision and reducing expensive mistakes. Any number of tweaks can be made to marry what would work best in theory with practical reality. This is no small thing; it is manifestly different experiencing a design in 3D, VR or AR versus seeing it on a flat screen or piece of paper.
Experimentation & collaboration
This ease of collaboration and experimentation vastly reduces the time, cost and risk associated with designing or renovating properties. As a result, there is no longer a balancing act for a housing provider or building owner to strike between what they consider to be a safe, cost-effective solution and more complex considerations such as sustainability. In short, every need can be factored into the design and adequately balanced to get the best outcome.
Virtual modelling also enables the implementation of incremental changes. For example, experimenting with new lighting solutions that reduce costs while also improving the health of living spaces. Housing providers don’t have to guess what the impact could be or go through lengthy pilot projects. Instead, they can mitigate the risk through virtualisation, tailor their solutions to each building, and then roll out the changes faster and with lower costs.
Beyond sustainability, a major consideration is the health of homes for residents. There have been a number of cases of mould and damp having dire consequences for the occupier. 3D modelling can identify problems in existing properties with air flow and ventilation that contribute to these problems and provide low cost and clever solutions.
Building lifecycles
The entire lifecycle of a building can also be better managed. BIM has expanded beyond ‘just’ design and construction to encompass models for maintenance and space utilisation, including products such as Nemetschek dTwin, Autodesk Tandem and Catenda Duo.
And that’s just the start. Eventually, the majority of buildings will be embedded with smart devices and beacons that will monitor energy consumption and a range of other factors in real-time. When combined with AI automation and visualisation platforms, we’ll have an incredibly powerful set of tools to create ultra-efficient and highly responsive ‘living buildings’ that will use considerably less energy and resources to maintain.
With AI, spatial data and 3D visualisation advancing hand-in-hand, the speed and precision of room and building design and ongoing maintenance will accelerate further. In the not-so-distant future, machine-learning algorithms will be powerful enough to create design proposals with optimal efficiency.
With sustainability a growing concern for everyone, housing providers are already under pressure to be as green and lean as possible. Add the importance of helping tenants to reduce costs and maintain healthy homes and the argument for leveraging technology to make small but powerful changes becomes irrefutable.
Martin Huber is the CEO and co-founder of Metaroom by Amrax.
