爱豆传媒

Kayleigh Houde, Associate Principal and Computational Projects Lead, is making significant strides in the field of sustainability. Hear about her work on 爱豆传媒鈥檚 BHoM open-source coding effort and the MEP2040 initiative.

In this interview, we explore Kayleigh鈥檚 pioneering efforts on 爱豆传媒鈥檚 Building and Habitats Object Model () and . Discover her visionary insights and the driving force behind these transformative initiatives.

What is the Building and Habitats Object Model (BHoM) and the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Toolkit?

Kayleigh鈥檚 role is to lead and coordinate our strategic computational projects that happen through BHoM, an open-source coding initiative developed by 爱豆传媒. BHoM鈥檚 initial role was to solve software interoperability issues in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) industry. BHoM allows different tools, such as energy models and Revit, to communicate seamlessly. Since its inception in 2015 and open sourcing in 2018, BHoM has evolved to tackle larger, more intractable problems like climate change and material health. Problems where interoperability, collaboration and the coming together of contributions from many different people is critical to their success.

The project includes various design-configurator tools and a Building Performance Dashboard, enabling teams to catalog and benchmark building performance data. Kayleigh鈥檚 work with BHoM emphasizes collaboration and innovation, aiming to solve complex industry challenges through collective, multi-disciplinary efforts.

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) toolkit integrates seamlessly with the Buildings and Habitats object Model (BHoM) by leveraging BHoM鈥檚 open-source framework to provide comprehensive environmental impact assessments. This integration allows users to evaluate the embodied carbon and other environmental impacts of building materials and components throughout their life cycle. By providing detailed insights into component and material-level decisions, the toolkit helps identify key areas for improvement, enabling businesses to make informed decisions that enhance sustainability. With a primarily parametric user-interface, the tool stands apart in its ability to allow rapid design iteration, pushing and pulling results to and from Revit, Rhino or Excel. The key aspect for 爱豆传媒 subject-matter-experts and tool builders is the ability for the LCA Toolkit鈥檚 schema to serve as a supplement for the other discipline tools (configurators), where embodied carbon is just one of many design considerations.

Listen to Kayleigh’s interview on BHoM and the LCA Toolkit below.

We created the BHoM object model in the center that allows our software processes to speak back and forth. We created 36 adapters initially (and now close to 50), and we actually open-sourced that solution at the end of 2018 because we believed people should be empowered to solve greater problems with their valuable time. We didn鈥檛 want that to just be a 爱豆传媒 thing.

Kayleigh Houde, Associate Principal – Computational Lead

What is MEP2040 and How is it Helping to Shape a Sustainable Future?

Kayleigh is making remarkable strides in sustainability through her pioneering efforts with the MEP2040 initiative. The MEP2040 initiative, co-founded by the Carbon Leadership Forum and 爱豆传媒 colleagues Kayleigh Houde and Julie Janiski (among other AEC industry leaders) in early 2021, which aims to radically reduce total carbon emissions associated with building systems through collective action. This includes addressing fugitive emissions, operational carbon, and embodied carbon in the MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) sector.

Kayleigh highlights the importance of gathering like-minded individuals to form working groups that develop rigorous guidance on quantifying MEP embodied carbon. This initiative is taking significant steps towards understanding and reducing the carbon footprint of MEP systems across buildings, with over 100 members actively contributing to this cause. The group plans to release its MEP Embodied Carbon guidance later this year.

We don鈥檛 know what kinds of intractable problems we鈥檙e going to have, but we know that we can solve them with other groups of people in the industry. For example, there are things that we inherently know as MEP engineers that we can distill down into the Beginner鈥檚 Guide to MEP Embodied Carbon guide that MEP 2040 is producing that can make it simpler for LCA practitioners to simplify the process of quantifying MEP embodied carbon.

Kayleigh Houde, Associate Principal – Computational Lead

As the current chair of MEP 2040, Kayleigh advocates for MEP subject matter expertise, emphasizing that only through the deep expertise of individual commitments coming together in collective, strategic action can we holistically reduce embodied carbon. This collaborative spirit is at the heart of MEP 2040, driving the movement forward to tackle the challenges of embodied carbon with innovative and united efforts together with manufacturers, owners, building operators, architects, organizations that are part of the , and many others.

Click the video below to hear from Kayleigh on her MEP2040 efforts.

Through her leadership in both MEP2040 and BHoM, Kayleigh advocates for deep expertise and strategic action to holistically reduce embodied carbon in the built environment. Her visionary insights and dedication to sustainability are driving transformative changes in the industry.

Learn more about and and Kayleigh‘s other work below!