The IES VE SketchUp plug-in both enhances the capabilities of SketchUp and makes the quantitative green design power of IES more accessible. Since its launch in August 2008, Broadway Malyan has been piloting use of the IES SketchUp integration on key projects from their London and UAE offices – including single dwellings, large masterplanning, streetscaping and mixed use developments.
Resource efficient design, technically informed staff and innovation are key company values for Broadway Malyan. Kevin Leahy, main board Director of Broadway Malyan UAE stated: “Broadway Malyan is passionate about making sustainability fundamental to the design process throughout the practice and believes that the IES/SketchUp interface demonstrates an innovative way to adopt and embed new approaches and methods of working as part of a joined up, integrated team effort.”
“In many ways the interface was what we had been waiting and looking for,” commented Stephen Choi, Sustainable Design Co-ordinator at Broadway Malyan. “The best part of Google SketchUp™ is the iterative, very tactile and malleable modelling capabilities; the best part of IES <Virtual Environment> is the variety and depth of analysis capabilities. Combined, you get the best of both worlds – the capability to undertake faster more effective energy and performance analysis in an integrated and iterative manner that works truly as part of the design process.”
Broadway Malyan found that the IES SketchUp integration greatly sped up the process of undertaking quantitative environmental analysis at the very initial masterplanning and massing stages. How factors such as mass, orientation, shape, streetscapes and shading devices affect key environmental targets were assessed quickly and easily. It has brought design teams together and ensured that analysis is not an isolated, non- iterative activity.
On a recent masterplanning project Broadway Malyan, using the integration, was able to sit with the client and go back and forth on design iterations with environmental feedback at each stage within 1 ½ hours. In the past it would have taken around 2 to 3 days to re-model the building before any performance analysis feedback was received. By this time the opportunity to make a sustainable difference would have been missed.
The company also found that, as well as offering faster, more effective collaboration, numerous business and competitive advantages were achieved; including reduced expenditure on external consultants, increased output capabilities of its environmental engineers, reduced design costs, less re-design and ultimately the creation of better performing designs.
The pilot has been incredibly successful and Broadway Malyan is planning to roll out use of the IES SketchUp integration, with the aim to have the software in common use by all within the practice at the end of 2009. The ‘good design is sustainable design’ ethos promoted by quantitative analysis via the integration has already at this initial stage made a great impact. Architects get quick environmental feedback on design iterations and environmental engineers can input more into the design. More effective collaboration and cross-discipline understanding has been achieved.
A full case study and interviews with IES and Broadway Malyan are available on request.
About IES
Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) is an innovative company at the forefront of the use and development of powerful software simulation tools which help architects, engineers, facilities managers, and all those involved in the development and management of buildings design and maintain truly sustainable properties. IES was established in June 1994 and is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, with offices in Dublin, Republic of Ireland; Boston and San Francisco, USA and Melbourne, Australia. IES Consulting is the specialist international environmental performance consultancy division of IES, its expert team of consultants include some of the most experienced Accredited Energy Assessors in the UK. IES’ services and products aid significantly in the provision of healthier and more energy efficient built environments. For additional information, please visit www.iesve.com.
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