Source: SmartBIM LLC, Atlanta
A new environmental evaluation add-in for the Autodesk Revit Building Information Modeling platform, ecoScorecard, represents what developer SmartBIM describes as “an intersection between technology and sustainability … assisting architects and designers to create more efficient green buildings.”
It allows Revit users to search and document products’ and materials’ environmental attributes early in the design phase. “Environmental evaluation is quickly becoming the heart of the design process. The need to be green is the number one issue in today’s design world,” says SmartBIM Chief Sustainability Officer Paul Shahriari. This is creating a need for software with which architects can analyze environmental attributes and gain a deeper understanding of product and material choices that support green rating systems, he adds.
The ecoScorecard allow users to select a rating system,and document the entire scope of green project data in accordance with the specific format. It uses the SmartBIM quantity takeoff engine to count all of the elements in the space. It will also track the evaluation of materials and provide building product manufacturers with data on how the design marketplace is evaluating green products in a real-time environment.
“Architects have found it challenging to collect environmental documentation for green building certifications,” says SmartBIM Executive Vice President Mike Collins. “This add-in will help determine which products have green attributes associated with them and how they contribute and support LEED or any other major rating systems.”
The beta launch of the ecoScorecard add-in for Revit is scheduled for May 17 at the 2012 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in Washington, D.C. Free downloads are available at www.ecoScorecard.com and www.smartbim.com.