ACHIEVING THE NET-ZERO-ENERGY-BUILDINGS “2020 AND 2030 TARGETS” WITH THE SUPPORT OF PARAMETRIC 3-D/4-D BIM DESIGN TOOLS

The level of man-made CO2 emissions worldwide climbed to a new record of 30 billion tons in 2010. In 2011, at the COP17 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, high-ranking representatives from around the world met again to discuss solutions. For the building sector, numerous energy-efficiency market changes and benchmarking resolutions, like the mandatory E.U. “nearly Net-Zero-Energy-Building (NET-ZEB's) 2018 and 2020 regulations” for all new public and privately owned buildings are now set up to help minimizing carbon emissions and reverse the negative impact.1 In the United States, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) adopted the 2030 Challenge as a voluntary program, where participating buildings aim to achieve a 90% fossil fuel reduction by 2025, and carbon-neutrality by 2030.2 To accomplish these energy goals, designers must strive to best design and utilize the resources available on a site. However, are these goals of achieving carbon-neutral buildings possible? ...