Autodesk Forma Series - Episode 04 - Embodied Carbon

This is the fourth installment in my Autodesk Forma series, sponsored by Autodesk.
Note that this functionality is an Autodesk technology preview, meaning it is a pre-release version, under evaluation and provided as a trial version.
In this episode, I share the steps required to perform an early embodied carbon analysis using a new Forma extension developed by Autodesk in collaboration with EHDD based in San Francisco, California (ehdd.com). Also included is a 3-minute excerpt of my interview with Jack Rusk, Director of Climate Strategy at EHDD, in their offices this past February 2024. Watch for a link to the full 30-minute interview in the near future.
Using the massing and location of a building developed in Autodesk Forma, the Embodied Cardon tool facilitates the selection of basic envelope and structural systems. With this information defined in a Forma proposal (i.e., design option) EHDD's C.Scale engine, which uses real-world data and machine learning, Forma provides an embodied carbon equivalent baseline or benchmark that can be used to guide decisions throughout the project.
Current limitation to be aware of, referenced in the video: Multiple massing elements used to represent a single building or connected structures will not only overestimate the envelope a little (because it's counting an extra wall, floor, or roof area of touching surfaces), it will underestimate structure because it will not consider that one chunk of a building is supporting another.
At the end of this episode, I share some related work Lake|Flato is doing on embodied carbon and mass timber. This work is part of Investigations, a self-funded research program. lakeflato.com/vision/investigations
Episode 1: • Autodesk Forma Series ...
Episode 2: • Autodesk Forma Series ...
Episode 3: • Autodesk Forma Series ...