Automated Analysis Tool Replaces the Extensive Knowledge and Time Required for This Type of Expansive Climate-Based Design Approach

BOSTON — (BUSINESS WIRE) — June 9, 2010 — Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES), a provider of integrated performance analysis software and consulting services for sustainable building design, today announced the addition of Bio-Climatic analysis features to its VE-Gaia Climate assessment tools. Bio-climatic analysis uses an understanding of climate and environment to inform building design strategy. Focused on low-energy and passive strategies, the IES tool derives, from an automated analysis of a user selected weather file, an extensive set of design suggestions for urban layout and built form.

The VE-Gaia Climate tools provide summary metrics for any weather data file, including determining climate classification for this selected file, rather than a static look-up table. The new Bio-Climatic analysis feature extends this automated assessment of the selected weather file, and by analyzing these climate metrics derives an extensive set of suggestions about built form responses starting at the macro urban scale and working down through building form to building details.

This rapid automated Bio-Climatic analysis from IES provides early directional substance to what form and grammar a building should take in order to respond to fundamental climatic demands. It provides that often hard to define overall perspective, while references to seminal architectural texts, such as “Sun, Wind, and Light: Architectural Design Strategies” and “Climate Considerations in Building and Urban Design,” are included for further research by the user. The IES Bio-Climatic analysis tool replaces the extensive knowledge and time required for this type of expansive climate-based analysis with the click of a computer mouse, producing an automated HTML report.

In addition, as IES’s Bio-Climatic analysis can assess implications linked to current climate data as well as future predicted weather data, it can be used to design a sustainable building which takes long-term climate change impacts into account. VE-Gaia also includes an extensive rainfall database of 2,000 locations worldwide, which is important data for climate analysis and is usually unavailable in weather files.

“To be truly sustainable, a building needs to last in excess of 100 years, and current design regulations and sustainability rating systems only require you to design against weather data that represents at best the next decade or so,” said Dr Don McLean, Founder and CEO of IES. “Sustainable designs really need to make some assessment of the impact of climate change on determining built form suitability for the long term.

“Our new VE-Gaia Bio-Climatic analysis tool, allows designers to analyze and review each project location considering current and future climate predictions, drawing out for evaluation relevant characteristics related to the impact of climate on potential design measures. It offers the ability to rapidly assess the impact of weather file selection and climate change quite literally instantly as one discusses such issues holistically with clients and the design team.”

The IES Bio-Climatic analysis tool produces output which covers key climate characteristics, and guidance across design priorities, micro-climate, urban street pattern, urban pattern, building macro form, building micro form, building internal form, construction, windows/openings, shading/protection, ventilation, passive technology, active technology and HVAC details.

For more information, visit http://www.iesve.com/Software/VE-Gaia.

About Integrated Environmental Solutions

Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) Ltd. is an innovative company at the forefront of the use and development of powerful software simulation tools which help architects, engineers, facilities managers, and all those involved in the development and management of buildings design and maintain truly sustainable properties. IES was established in June 1994 and is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, with offices in Dublin, Eire; Boston and San Francisco, USA and Melbourne, Australia. IES’ services and products aid significantly in the provision of healthier and more energy efficient built environments. For additional information, please visit www.iesve.com.

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