April 14, 2010—The U.K.’s Technology Strategy Board recently awarded £500,000 of funding over three years to a broad consortium led by BRE Global to develop an assessment tool called IMPACT (Integrated Material Profile and Costing Tool).
IMPACT is intended to change the way industry approaches low-embodied environmental impact and cost-effective design, over the whole life of a building. Continuous feedback at all stages of design development will guide users towards optimum low-impact and cost-effective solutions.
IMPACT will reportedly bring the industry closer to a holistic view of building performance by balancing existing analysis with robust, embodied and costing assessment. In addition to embodied carbon, feedback on several other key environmental issues will be available including waste, resource use and toxicity.
To encourage accessibility and widespread adoption, IMPACT will be designed to “plug in” to a key range of software applications used by industry. Barrier-free sharing of electronic information is a core aim, achieved via Building Information Model (BIM) and Industry Foundation Class (IFC) interoperability standards.
The first phase of the project, due for completion in 2011, will deliver a range of IMPACT tools by Integrated Environmental Solutions. The second phase will deliver an “IMPACT Specification” to allow other third-party software developers to produce their own IMPACT-compliant tools.
The consortium members are BRE Global, Integrated Environmental Solutions, Willmott Dixon’s sustainability and innovation Consultancy Re-Thinking, and AEC 3 UK. Other leading industry organizations have offered their support in developing IMPACT, including the Construction Products Association, RIBA, NBS and Faithful+Gould.
