1.5 ConEd Learning Hours

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) calculations are an integrated part of the AEC industries’ green transmission.
Since January 2023, LCA has been mandatory for all new buildings with a limit of 12 CO2e /m2 / years
for buildings above 1,000 m2 in Denmark. The inclusion of mandatory LCA calculations in the Danish
building codes have made the country a worldwide frontrunner in the journey toward a more
sustainable building industry. Data is key to LCA and, therefore, Formfaktor/GRAPHISOFT Center
Denmark has developed DesignLCA together with Lendager Architects. DesignLCA is a free, building
information modelling (BIM)‐based tool for Life Assessment Calculations that uses the inherent data
from BIM to conduct LCA calculations. The national LCA demands have resulted in a huge
interest—both on national and international levels—to use LCA together with BIM to lower the AEC
industries’ carbon footprint. The aim of this lecture is to give the attendees insight into:

• Life Cycle Assessments and why they are important for architects to calculate in the initial project
  phases;
  
• how the European Union is using LCA to create a more sustainable building industry;
  
• why BIM, LCA, and sustainability is a strong triangle; and
  
• how to design buildings with a lower carbon footprint.
  

Learning Objectives

1. Learn how the public’s demand for LCA is a strong driver for a more sustainable building industry.
   
2. Understand the importance of using BIM and data to allow architects to conduct LCA calculations in
   the early design phase to reduce the carbon footprint of their buildings.
   
3. Understand why balancing the carbon footprint of building materials and the energy consumption are
   equally important for an accurate LCA calculation.
   
4. Learn what other countries can learn from the strong focus on LCA calculations in Denmark and the
   EU.
   

Thomas Graabæk, CEO
Formfaktor

Thomas Graabæk is an experienced keynote speaker within all areas of
building information modelling (BIM), digitization of the building industry, life cycle assessment (LCA),
and OpenBIM. Since 2020, he has been owner of Formfaktor, a BIM‐focused software developer and
reseller company. Prior, he was a partner in a BIM consultancy for seven years and practised
internationally as an architect for a decade. In autumn of 2019, he helped establish buildingSMART
Denmark as a subsidiary of MOLIO, and has worked as a consultant for buildingSMART for the past four
years. Thomas holds a master’s degree in architecture from the Danish Royal Academy of fine Arts in Copenhagen from 2002.

Sidsel Vincents Jansen, Sustainability Lead Formfaktor

Sidsel Vincents Jansen is a master student at the Technical University of Denmark where she specializes
in building information modelling (BIM), sustainability, life cycle assessment (LCA) calculations, and
machine learning. Sidsel works as a student assistant at Formfaktor, where she has been a key driver in
the development of DesignLCA that is a 100% BIM‐based LCA calculator. Sidsel continues to be an integral part of
the continuous further development of DesignLCA. On several occasions, Sidsel has presented DesignLCA at trainings, seminars,as well as
webinars.