The building industry plays a major role in climate change, accounting for 39% of global carbon emissions. Although awareness is growing, reducing embodied carbon is still difficult. One of the many hurdles in this process is the overreliance on calculation tools that require detailed models, precise data, and complex databases that are often hidden behind a paywall. As a result, by the time embodied carbon calculations are complete, the opportunity to change the design has often passed. This push for precision has not led to faster or deeper decarbonisation; in fact, a focus on reporting has seemingly distracted designers from taking meaningful action. On top of that, regulations and standards vary between countries, making honest carbon comparisons between projects nearly impossible.
A practical and transparent tool for designers
Rather than focusing on detailed carbon calculations late in the design process, the tool is built to work from the “napkin sketch” stage, using rough input data or even simple rules of thumb to give immediate feedback on the carbon consequences of design choices.CarbonSpace links quantity inputs such as areas of floor and façade or the volume of a building’s foundation to a streamlined, internationally representative carbon database based on a simplified version of the open-source Ökobaudat database maintained by the German Federal Government. The tool also includes pre-set libraries of common components, materials, and detail build-ups, allowing for faster estimations across a wide range of project types.
With this approach, CarbonSpace helps design teams understand how different systems, structures, and materials affect a project’s embodied carbon.
Range of Use
Users can further amplify the power of CarbonSpace thanks to an openly accessible API, which allows users to connect the tool to Rhino, Revit, or to deliver data to Microsoft’s Power BI tool, creating useful data visualisations. In the case of MVRDV, the latter capability was used to create a dashboard comparing the carbon emissions of all the firm’s projects, and tracking the progress of the entire portfolio towards the 2030 climate targets. In a similar way, other users will be able to create their own dashboards that meet their organisation’s specific needs.MVRDV encourages professionals from across the industry to explore the tool, give feedback, and contribute to its ongoing evolution. Through collective knowledge and open exchange, the practice hopes to support a future in which design is not only beautiful and functional, but also lighter, smarter, and lower in carbon. The tool is already being used by architects, engineers, academic institutions, and sustainability consultants. Neither MVRDV nor other parties have access to user data or design information. The tool can be accessed at carbonspace.earth.
