Designing for the Future: Tackling Today’s Challenges with Vectorworks

Luc Lefebvre

By Product Marketing Manager Luc Lefebvre, OAQ, LEED, AP

The world we live in today is much different from even just a few years ago. From the evolving impacts of climate change to a global pandemic, everyone, including us in the AEC industry, must pivot, adapt and advance to meet and overcome the challenges our industry faces. It’s no longer an option to sit back and continue in the same way we have before. Our practices, workflows, and designs must place high importance on our planet and its inhabitants to ensure a successful future. Architects must stay ahead of technological advances to aid and overcome these rapidly evolving challenges. Design for our future must be a top priority.

Combating Climate Change & Designing for the Future of our Planet

The concepts of “sustainable design and construction” or “green building” are no longer novel. Still, since the beginning of the century, the AEC industry has had an increased and amplified awareness of our impact on the environment, and it has changed the landscape of our profession. The reality of the climate crisis forces architects to implement sustainable design practices and has become an essential piece of building construction.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and other advocacy groups have led the charge in changing policies and procedures and implementing set standards to combat the negative environmental impacts of building and construction and set us all up for future success. Resources and frameworks like the LEED, BREEAM, Greenstar, and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Framework for Design Excellence have sparked a powerful movement, leading the industry to adapt and develop design and construction methods that have now become industry standards.

Strategies for reducing energy consumption are gaining serious momentum in the AEC industry. In fact, according to the 2022 AIA Firm Survey Report, 60 percent of large firms have a sustainability or climate action plan in place. There are several prevalent standards in the AEC industry that all work toward the vital goal of preserving the health of our planet, reducing energy consumption, and improving the overall performance of the buildings we design, elevating the experience for those who live within them.

To achieve high energy performance and even zero energy, it is critical to consider your design strategies early on in the design process. Site location, building orientation, sun shading, window-to-wall ratio, envelope air tightness, and insulation are all passive design strategies to consider when designing an energy-efficient building with lower operating costs. But, as Vectorworks user Francois Lévy has noted, “Buildings, especially sustainable ones, are rarely governed by a single design concern. Rather they’re complex ‘systems of systems’ where various design strategies may be indirectly at odds, and sometimes directly conflicting.” So how do architects meet the challenge of accurately incorporating these passive design strategies into their designs to maximize their benefits? Vectorworks Architect provides a robust set of visualization tools, including the Heliodon tool combined with a full suite of site modeling tools, which allow you to accurately and dynamically study your building orientation and how the sun impacts various options of your proposed design. This can help you determine the very best solution for your clients.

While passive design strategies can reduce operational carbon once a building is in use, embodied carbon is locked in from the start, meaning you only have one shot at delivering a project with low embodied carbon. That’s why, for architects, targeting net-zero carbon means that analyzing projects’ environmental footprints are more important now than ever. To reach true net-zero carbon emissions, you need a way to calculate embodied carbon throughout the entire lifecycle of a building. Tools like the Vectorworks Embodied Carbon Calculator help calculate embodied carbon levels of a building from the very start and throughout the whole design process.

Using Marionette, Vectorworks’ algorithms-aided design tool, you can extract data from the VECC to visualize it into a chart | Image courtesy of Vectorworks

Also continuously gaining momentum is the concept of net-zero energy. A net-zero energy building can create as much energy on-site as it uses through renewable sources over the course of a year. More and more, we’re seeing firms like Atelier 5 Architects and Planners in Switzerland design structures that are visually stunning and designed to produce more energy than it consumes. The use of timber, a carefully planned HVAC concept for ventilation, heating, cooling, and photovoltaic panels, all contributed to the development’s low energy use and reduced carbon footprint.

BERN 131 | Image courtesy of Atelier 5

More architecture firms use information models and energy modeling to predict their projects’ precise energy usage more accurately to reach net-zero energy. Building information modeling (BIM) provides an essential starting point, delivering critical calculations in advance and providing the opportunity to understand a project’s complex situations better and faster through the model. BIM also allows for streamlined collaboration, imperative with the number of consultants and external stakeholders typically required to achieve net-zero energy and net-zero carbon. The ability to share various visualizations with collaborators allows for the critical exchange of interdisciplinary knowledge, issue management, and adjustments. Energy modeling is another concept many firms have begun to incorporate throughout the entire design lifecycle of a project, evaluating the performance of buildings at various stages of design instead of creating a one-off, separate model with a consultant. This allows firms to make informed design decisions and control the process at all times. Tools like Vectorworks’ Energos tool give firms a dynamic gauge of energy performance and efficacy to implement the strategy and analyze energy systems as they design.

Image courtesy of Vectorworks.

Adapting to an Ever-Changing World

There were many changes in almost every facet of our lives due to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, so changes in the AEC industry may not necessarily be top of mind. Still, there were profound and likely lasting changes as a result.

Architecture is a highly collaborative profession. When our ability to work together in person was limited, and remote work became the norm, it was clear that the traditional processes we were all used to may no longer be sustainable. It was necessary to embrace new technologies to move forward and continue to provide our services.

Platforms and tools, like Vectorworks Cloud Services, are constantly evolving to meet the demands of AEC professionals who require the ability to seamlessly collaborate and share design visions with project stakeholders no matter where they are. Recent Vectorworks 2023 product line updates focused on providing users with a more efficient and reliable experience on Vectorworks Cloud Services and the Nomad mobile app. Customizable presentations let you share your design visions and collaborate with clients virtually; sending animations to Vectorworks Cloud Services for processing saves you time, and the ability to access next-gen tech from pioneers like Apple streamlines reality capture workflows.

Apple’s RoomPlan technology is built into the Vectorworks Nomad app. | Image courtesy of Vectorworks

During the pandemic, many architects and designers had new-found time and opportunity to focus on software platforms and new technologies that they couldn’t explore previously. For instance, we continue to see an increase in the adoption of BIM post-pandemic. According to the 2022 AIA Firm Survey Report, the use of BIM software for billable projects among small firms increased substantially in 2021 to 52 percent, up from 37 percent in 2019. While some may think that BIM is just a method to coordinate data, the reality is that it opens up a new realm of possibilities when it comes to working across teams and can enhance remote workflows.  BIM is a process; it frontloads collaboration between all project stakeholders, such as owners, planners, designers, builders, architects, interior designers, landscapers, engineers, and more. Understanding the critical role BIM plays in streamlining workflows, Vectorworks has made great strides in enhancing BIM collaboration in recent years with a redesign of the BCF Manager, allowing users to collaborate and manage issues seamlessly with cloud-based collaboration tools, making the time-consuming workflow of working with BIM Collaboration Format files, much more manageable.

Architecture for Well-Being

The pandemic also reminded us to prioritize health and wellness — for our environment and us as people. The discussion for the need to design spaces that enable and encourage the wellness of their occupants has become increasingly significant. In fact, the International Union of Architects declared 2022 the year of design for health.

As we know, many practices, methods, and policies work to limit the negative impact our projects could have on the environment, but what about the livelihood of those inside the buildings and spaces we design and construct? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American spends 87 percent of their life inside buildings. That statistic aligns with the fact that designing with wellness in mind is no longer a trend or a nicety; it’s becoming a necessity.

Vodelgym West | Image courtesy of Tank

While designing specifically with wellness in mind has grown in popularity in recent years, its principles closely align with design practices many are already familiar with and those associated with sustainable design practices. Many categories included in the WELL building standards – air, water, light, thermal comfort, sound, and materials– are likely factors you already consider. But truthfully, designing for wellness can include so much more.

The Kitchen Bijenkorf | Image courtesy of i29

Designing for wellness goes beyond the physical aspects of a space; it aims to promote people’s overall health and well-being, promoting healthy habits and mindfulness. From creating designated areas for physical activity to fostering mind, nutrition, and even pampering through spatial and experiential elements, we now have the added task of creating inspirational spaces where people can feel safe and fulfilled.

Bringing the elements of nature indoors is one new way we can strive to foster wellness. Biophilic design is a way of merging the boundaries between outside and inside. In principle, biophilic design utilizes cues from natural elements, including environmental features, natural shapes and forms, natural patterns and processes, and light and space. It’s a design philosophy centered around using natural elements like plants, wood, water, and natural light — but it’s also much more. Incorporating biophilic elements into your design strategy will positively impact the people who utilize it, promoting well-being and productivity. While plants and other natural elements in an interior design are nothing new, biophilic design takes it to a different level. It’s not just a design choice but a philosophy requiring in-depth planning.

With biophilic design, one of your first considerations will likely be what materials you’ll use, how you’ll incorporate them into your plan, and how they might impact the overall aesthetic and mood of the space. Constantly improving and evolving, tools like Vectorworks Architect allow the flexibility and freedom to model and visualize any design vision. High-quality, fast rendering options make exploring design options incorporating natural shapes and forms accessible. Access to a vast number of materials and the Texture tool allows you to add additional realism to these materials within your design. With textures, you can carefully examine the visual impact of different kinds of wood, greenery, and other materials.

Meet Your Challenges with the Right Tools

From combating climate change and adapting how we work to refocusing the goals of our designs, there are plenty of challenges to keep us in the AEC industry on our toes. That’s why finding the right tools to help you meet and overcome these challenges is more critical than ever. Whether it’s enhanced collaboration or tools that aid in developing better buildings for the planet and each other, there are plenty of new options to explore to help you now and in the future. With support for your entire process from sketch to BIM and flexible pricing options to fit your exacting design needs, explore how Vectorworks can help you tackle the challenges you face at vectorworks.net/architect.

About Author:

Luc Lefebvre, OAQ, LEED AP, has 30 years of experience in the architectural field, including architecture project management and BIM management, and as an industry expert in the software and technology industry. Luc consistently strives to find new ways to gain efficiencies in the design process and, more specifically, with BIM projects. Luc uses his knowledge of Vectorworks and professional practice experience to help other firms adopt more efficient workflows and transition to a BIM process. As the product marketing manager for architecture, he bridges market demand with the engineering team, supports sales and customer success, and cultivates relationships with Vectorworks users.

Category: Vectorworks

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 20th, 2023 at 11:19 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.