Kieran Timberlake and PE International have developed Tally, a new analysis tool to help BIM users keep better score of their projects’ complete environmental footprints. When used alongside other critical studies like daylighting simulation and energy modeling, BIM tools like Tally can help construction professionals move towards data-driven analysis for whole building life cycle assessment, writes TriplePundit.com.
Kieran Timberlake explains Tally:
Quantifying environmental impact typically involves performing a Life Cycle Assessment, which is a relatively new and confounding practice for most architects. Currently, no efficient means exists to evaluate environmental impact of materials during the design and planning process, when it can have the most influence on design decisions and building performance. An architect needs this impact data at the time of material specification, but the laborious process required for calculating embodied environmental impact across a broad range of design decisions prevents this from happening at crucial moments in the design process.
In principle, Building Information Modeling (BIM) ought to enable architects to acquire this information, but in practice, projects are not modeled to a sufficient level of detail to account for all of the materials in a building at their actual volume. In order to address these challenges, we invented Tally™, a Revit app that allows users to imbue each assembly with information about the architectural products it contains. Tally™ quantifies embodied energy along with other environmental impacts and emissions to land, air, and water. It can be used for whole-building analysis or for comparative analyses of various design options, and it can account for the diverse range of material classes defined in a BIM model, as well as materials that are not modeled explicitly.
For more on Tally, visit: http://kierantimberlake.com/pages/view/95/tally/parent:4.
Related Stories
Architects | Jun 14, 2019
Making public facilities more public
Municipal facilities must strike a delicate balance between openness and security.
Architects | Jun 4, 2019
Big design, small budget: These are the best small projects for 2019
Bjarke Ingels Group's prototype mountainside cabin and Fieldwork's forest pedestrian bridges are among 12 projects honored by AIA's Small Project Practitioners group.
Architects | Apr 26, 2019
Designing for the final frontier: Space architecture
Colonizing Mars is an exciting possibility in the not-too-distant future, and architects will play a vital role in making it a reality, despite the plethora of challenges that need to be overcome.
Architects | Apr 12, 2019
Bipartisan 'Invest in America Act' gains industry support
The bill would attract as much as $125 billion investment for buildings, infrastructure.
Office Buildings | Apr 8, 2019
It’s time for office amenities to get to work
Amenities with the greatest impact on effectiveness and experience are those that directly support the work needs of individual employees and their teams.
Industry Research | Apr 8, 2019
New research finds benefits to hiring architectural services based on qualifications
Government agencies gain by evaluating beyond price, according to a new Dodge survey of government officials.
Architects | Mar 17, 2019
HMC Architects sets up a ‘design lab’ to explore new ideas
The goal is for project team members to collaborate earlier to inspire innovation.
Architects | Mar 12, 2019
Thrown a curve: Fitting a restaurant into spherical dome was the design challenge for Willmott’s Ghost
The Seattle eatery nests inside the conservatories on Amazon’s massive campus.
Building Technology | Mar 8, 2019
What is your firm's innovation 'hit rate'?
As firms begin to adopt the practices and mindset of Silicon Valley tech and advanced manufacturing, it’s fair to ask: Are all of these innovation projects and initiatives working?