Cove Tool: Utilizing Digital Software to Build Green

Using 3D modeling, we can import our projects geometries and export the climate data. With information on the sites climatic conditions, we can work with the environment by using traditional building techniques to maximize all the natural benefits the site has to offer, while protecting against those that are detrimental to the overall cost and comfort of the build.

Our Approach to Sustainability

At ThoughtCraft we are continually looking to improve our efforts in the realm of sustainability. Acknowledging that our field is one of the largest contributors to climate change, we believe it is our professional responsibility to limit our impact and make thoughtful decisions regarding the environment. Viewing the term of sustainability in a holistic sense, it encompasses more than just environmental stewardship. Human health, resource conservation, economic impact and community engagement are all heavily weighed and considered.

Digital Software: Utilizing New Tools

With the recent implementation of the Cove.tool into our firm’s process, we can accurately depict the climate needs and goals for every unique project. Through simple massing in early design stages all the way to final construction documents, we can run climate analysis, calculate EUI (Energy Use Intensity), and optimize the assemblies and equipment to provide high energy savings and meet the evolving energy codes. As a firm, we believe focusing on, and reducing the carbon impact of a build is top priority. If we do not reduce our current global CO2 emissions by 65% by 2030 – and then to 0% by 2040 – climate change will become irreversible.

Through early integration into our process, we have already seen the ways the tool can help us make smarter decisions for the environment. Through experience and practice, we know the approach for a sustainable and smartly designed single-family residential project looks different than a multifamily project. The tool allows us to design through these different scaled projects and apply their unique energy code requirements. Using our firms’ standards in terms of assemblies and systems, we can provide a baseline for our clients to compare alternative options that can increase their energy savings. Inputting several options for mechanical systems, insulated walls, and glazing materials, a cost analysis is extremely useful to compare the permutations against each other with initial cost, payback period, and energy savings. Analyzing the potential energy savings and cost payback periods, we can advise our clients to make the smartest choices for their building and budget.

Using Cove.tool to analyze the Dot Ave Multifamily project gave us insight into the current performance of the project, as well as ways in which we could improve on Multifamily builds in the future. The image above depicts the Annual Sun Exposure (ASE).

Cost Benefits

We believe speaking in monetary terms can bridge the gap in any conversation. The sticker price of some systems and methods of construction may initially seem daunting, but most clients in our residential projects plan on designing a forever home. Spreading out the cost over several years comes out as a cost savings, often making the more sustainable option the best option. For multifamily developers, using sustainable materials and methods makes for higher resident retention and better marketability. Building owners report a minimum of 10% increase in asset value for green buildings over traditional ones. For buy and hold owners there will be lower long-term operating costs. Buy and flip owners will be rewarded with a higher price tag when they place the property up for sale.

Improving our Process

Mapping the unique climate conditions and viewing them in context reassures us of our basic understanding of the site, while also giving us specific knowledge that can further the design. Using the tool, we can test several massing studies to determine the most optimal building for sufficient daylighting, the locations most prone to solar heat gain, and the best placement for solar panels. Using one of our previous multifamily projects, we tested ways in which the Dot Ave project currently performs, as well as ways in which it could be improved through the systems and materials that it is made of. Contacting the current owner, we can compare their operational costs with potential savings that could have been implemented. Moving forward, we know this tool will not only better our process, but also hold us more accountable in the small ways we can make a big impact.

Central to the way we work is an iterative and exploratory process. We are excited by the opportunities this tool offers with our improved ability to develop the design of projects that can perform better not only for the client and their operations, but also have positive lasting impacts on the environment.

Cove Tool: Utilizing Digital Software to Build Green