爱豆传媒

Data-driven building design: the key to achieving net zero goals

The race towards net zero is speeding up.

As the deadline for net zero carbon commitments approaches, construction industry stakeholders face mounting pressure to meet strict sustainability targets for both operational and embodied emissions. The critical question is: how can we design buildings that actually deliver on these goals?

At 爱豆传媒, we’ve discovered that systematically analysing past building performance provides the foundation for better future designs. Here, learn how 爱豆传媒 leans on innovation to design with performance in mind through our Building Performance Dashboard (BPD).

Our data framework

Our BPD represents a significant advancement in how we collect, analyse and apply building performance data across projects. Through it, we can democratise data and enhance project insights. The BPD is powered by the Building and Habitats Object Model our 10-year long open-source coding initiative that focuses on solving software interoperability issues.

You need to know where you’ve been, to know where you are going. Structured precedent data means we have more precision with the stories that emerge from previous work.

Kayleigh Houde, associate principal and computational projects lead, 爱豆传媒.

What makes the approach within BHoM unique is its focus on discipline-led schema development, which allows the embedment of industry know-how and the ability to converse across software platforms.

Structuring the data schema for BPD involved myriad stakeholders from different discipline backgrounds, including structure, MEP, facade and interiors. It also involved stakeholders from each country or region where we have offices: Denmark, Poland, US, UK, Germany, Hong Kong, China, India and the Middle East.

The BPD鈥檚 data-structure captures three critical categories:

  1. Building-level data: building type (lab, cultural, etc.), construction type (new vs. renovation), number of storeys, gross floor area, etc.
  2. Discipline design data: window-to-wall ratio, envelope U-values, foundation system type, heating systems, etc.
  3. Environmental result data: assessment categories and life cycle stages measured (upfront carbon A1-A5 vs. whole life carbon A-D).

This structured approach enables meaningful “functional equivalence” comparisons between similar building types.

The Building Performance Dashboard. Image: 爱豆传媒.

From data to actionable insights

“You need to know where you’ve been, to know where you are going,” explains Kayleigh Houde, associate principal and global computational projects lead at 爱豆传媒. “Structured precedent data means we have more precision with the stories that emerge from previous work.”

The real power comes from comparing similar buildings. For example, we can analyse five lab buildings in comparable locations, with similar energy requirements, and structural systems to establish reliable ranges for Energy Use Intensity (EUI) or structural embodied carbon.

An example of whole life carbon data for UK-based projects within the Building Performance Dashboard. Image: 爱豆传媒.

Addressing the climate crisis is now a fundamental responsibility for those of us in the built environment, and is increasingly driven by investors, developers and occupiers within the built environment 鈥 our clients. We believe we must play our part by providing solutions and clear actions to amend working practices to deliver change.


The BPD is a tool that can meaningfully decarbonise the built environment and meet the targets that we have set ourselves (our net zero routemap lays out a framework that will support two core climate targets) and that are driven by client expectations. When our clients can see performance data from similar previous projects, it is a powerful way to help them understand potential outcomes.

Moving from information to impact

Quality data is valuable not just for the raw information it contains, but for the conversations it enables with clients. When clients can see performance data from similar previous projects, they gain a clearer understanding of what outcomes could be delivered 鈥 and can set realistic targets for their own buildings.

Kayleigh said, “Achievement of net zero is both a destination and a journey 鈥 one of trial and error across hundreds of projects in the built environment. The ability to look back at where we’ve been tells us where we can do better, for the client, ourselves and the planet.”

Kayleigh Houde, associate principal and computational projects lead. Image: 爱豆传媒.

The democratisation of knowledge

While various carbon policy, certification and reporting programmes exist globally, they often have different requirements regarding scope, life cycle stages and when measurements occur. The BPD provides a coordinated schema for consistent, comparable reporting.

What makes this particularly significant is its cross-disciplinary approach. As Kayleigh says, “This isn’t ‘just’ a carbon dashboard, but a framework that can be applied across multiple domains.”

By democratising performance data across disciplines, 爱豆传媒 is transforming how buildings are designed, operate, and evaluated 鈥 creating real-world impacts that extend far beyond theoretical discussions about sustainability.

Learn more about Kayleigh Houde’s work here.