Case Study: Villa Lattuga,
Technology in AEC.
Company
This work was done while at Feldman Architecture as part of the Sustainability & Technology Committees.
Team
Ben Welty, Sustainability Manager
Evan Mccurdy, Sustainability Coordinator
Jonathan Feldman, Founding Partner
Yanhang Ren, Designer
My Role
Software & Hardware research, implementation & training.
Calculating operational & embodied carbon for projects.
Technology
Tally Carbon Calculator
Oculus Quest
Revit BIM
Sketchup & Enscape
The 360 image above was viewed at the construction site during a meeting with the General Contractor.
Construction site at the time of viewing the 360 image above.
Final weeks of construction for Villa Lattuga.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is a powerful tool for both professionals and clients of the AEC industry.
For Designers
Seeing plans and renderings does not offer the same level of immersion as a headset. Virtual Reality can be used to help clients visualize the end product and experience the space.
For Contractors
Virtual reality is a great tool for all phases of construction. In the case of this project, the headset was brought to the site in the early stages of wood framing. We were able to have a productive conversation with the General Contractor, who for the first time saw in 3 dimensions what we had envisioned. We found it to be a valuable tool for communicating design intent and answering some unprecedented questions about how certain parts of the design were meant to come together. The GC was able to start thinking about the trickier details well ahead of time.
For Clients
Seeing spaces in virtual reality adds a new layer to our understanding of the project as architectural designers. Hence, virtual reality is a great tool for internal design reviews. We think we know what a 13 foot long bedroom feels like, but with so many other factors at play, including fenestration, materials and lighting, it can get challenging to keep track of the whole experience.
Virtual Reality requires documentation and technical coordination.
Implementation
I researched the compatibility of the headsets with our different 3D modeling softwares. Then, I set up the process first with Sketchup, and then with the Enscape rendering engine. The latter required some technical assistance from our team. Throughout the process, it was important to create documentation and perform training for knowledge-sharing. We then gradually rolled this out to other projects across the office.
Sustainability
This was the first ongoing project in the company that had a carbon assessment. The Tally Revit Plugin was used to input values for all of the materials for the building. This included all structural elements, finishes, fenestrations, and retaining walls. Exact dimensions were specified. The result was a calculation of the total embodied and operational carbon of the construction of this building, that started when the materials were sourced and ended at the end of life for this home. The carbon assessment was done at the end of each design phase.
Operational Carbon
This is the total quantity of carbon emissions from the energy that is used to operate a building and it's infrastructure. This includes all building systems and utilities. The lifetime of the building is estimated for this calculation.
Embodied Carbon
This is also known as Green House Gas emissions. This is the total quantity of carbon emissions associated with the lifecycle of every material in the building. This includes the material's extraction, production, transport and manufacturing.
Carbon Analysis
The combined total of operational carbon and embodied carbon is used to estimate how many trees one would need to plant to offset the carbon from this project.
*These images are taken from the Feldman Architecture Website.
Liza Karimova. 2024.