Information
EngD trainee | ir. Ivando Lossio Jr |
University supervisor | Prof. dr. Bauke de Vries |
Company supervisor | Ir. Aart Wijnen |
Name of company | De Twee Snoeken |
Period of project | Feb 2019 – Jan 2021 |
Summary
This project is the result of a partnership between the Eindhoven University of Technology and De Twee Snoeken. While the university offers the support and a structured programme for the development of this project, the company aims to enhance their products, BouwConnect and WoonConnect and follow the progress of the built environment towards more sustainable and circular ventures. BouwConnect is the largest BIM library in the Netherlands and WoonConnect is an integral platform for planning and performing calculations for digital house models, mostly used in large scale housing renovation projects in the Netherlands. The objective of this project is to create a new software module for WoonConnect, where a ‘circularity assessment’ is carried out or, in other words, to what degree is the influence of a building in the circular economy. Such module needs to follow current studies, research and market applications to stay relevant and updated. It has also to be adherent to the whole complex architecture and qualified environment of the current software solutions from De Twee Snoeken. Circular Economy is a trendy topic that has been under research goggles and market applications, mostly in consultancy, all around the world. The overwhelming different definitions creates a context with many conceptual but few practical solutions.
This project starts with a desk research about the current developments and studies in the area to compose the solution’s foundation and set the major requirements for the tool that is to be developed. This supporting basis is composed by a series of master and doctorate theses, market benchmarks and Dutch regulations. Concepts such as material passports, building depot, flexibility, adaptability, environmental costs, among others, compose the theoretical background for this study. With the foundation set, an evaluation of technologies that ‘have been’ and ‘can be’ applied to fulfil this project’s requirements was defined, being BIM the most relevant when dealing with digital models for dwellings. Recent applications and also studies have shown the technology’s capacity towards circular measures.
Understanding the BouwConnect and WoonConnect particularities and possibilities ‘under the hood’ was crucial for the development of the circularity module. The vast BouwConnect library of construction objects is first enhanced with new data with the product’s environmental background and attributes that compose the circularity calculations. For WoonConnect, a total new piece of code is developed, followed by all singularities and challenges that a software solution with this dimension proposes. The new module can’t affect other existing calculations, needs to comply with the current architecture and must be continuously validated and tested. A pilot project was created for this solution with a new setup that comprise the needs for the circularity calculation. Benchmark products from Dutch environmental performance databases were chosen and a demonstration interface arranged for performing and showing the calculation. Besides that, a web-based reporting schema was developed in order to allow further analysis and bring the best insights towards circular measures.
The main objective of such a tool is to bring knowledge to the designer and make information about the circularity of materials, products and objects available in order to stimulate and encourage circular measures in the built environment. Even though the circular economy is a trendy topic, there is a gap in knowledge in terms on the quantification of a building circularity and this tool aims to fill that gap. The reporting schema is user-friendly and shows step-by-step calculations and what parts in the building compose those, resulting in a circularity score and label, here called WoonCirculariteit.