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Embodied Carbon Analysis in Autodesk Forma, available in beta, enables architects to understand and test the carbon impact of their design decisions at the beginning of project planning. Courtesy Autodesk

October 18, 2024

Autodesk’s Forma Gets You Ahead of the Curve on Carbon

 Forma leverages machine learning for early-phase embodied carbon analysis.

By: Ethan Tucker

Among the most stubborn obstacles to designing low-carbon buildings is that by the time the project details have been worked out to the point where life cycle analysis can be performed, it’s typically too late to make significant alterations. A new feature in Autodesk Forma promises to change that by bringing embodied carbon analysis to the pre-design phase. 

Architects who are accustomed to using Forma to explore planning, massing, and building forms while performing early-stage contextual analysis of a building site will now be able to leverage the program’s embodied carbon analysis to get a rough idea of their building’s embodied carbon footprint, find hot spots, and adjust the design accordingly before significant decisions have been set in stone. 

Autodesk Forma’s embodied carbon analysis compares the carbon footprint of different structural systems

Forma does this by connecting in real time to the C.Scale database and analysis platform built by architecture firm EHDD, which also powers the Early Phase Integrated Carbon (EPIC) assessment tool. C.Scale uses machine learning technology to compare the user’s building with its database and estimate its embodied carbon footprint based on actual buildings. In Forma, a user can select general structural systems, facade types, and levels of interior fit-out for their building, run a quick analysis, and see where the major embodied carbon hot spots are. 

In early project phases, explains Jack Rusk, cofounder of C.Scale and director of carbon strategy at EHDD, the goal isn’t just to get the right answer; it’s to understand what measures are most critical to the project’s total carbon impact. It might not always be the structural system, he cautions. Elements like facades, interiors, and even landscaping matter enormously. “How do we ensure we’re focusing our effort where it matters most?” he asks. “Data helps us do that.” 

According to Marta Bouchard, the software giant’s AEC sustainability lead, this comparative approach to decarbonization reflects Autodesk’s vision for Forma, which is meant to be quick, intuitive, and iterative. By simplifying embodied carbon analysis and incorporating it when ample design options are still being explored, she hopes it can “help democratize access to what has historically been a very specialized part of the architectural design process that’s sometimes even hired out to third parties. 

With Autodesk Forma’s Embodied Carbon Analysis, users can iterate and compare building designs and the chosen parameters before selecting a final concept where the carbon metrics are more in line with their goals.

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