A new higher education facility is to be constructed in the Rocky Mountain Region, which will encompass a variety of spaces including learning, office, and lab areas. This new build on campus is set to push the boundaries of both the State and campus sustainability goals. The project has established ambitious carbon targets focused towards minimising both operating and embodied carbon, reflecting a broad commitment to sustainable and low-carbon building practices. The final decision to implement a mass timber system for the non-lab portions of the building stands as a defining moment for this project, marking a significant departure from conventional construction practices. The ability to precisely measure the environmental advantage over concrete was not just beneficial but essential. With Preoptima's advanced capability to calculate the carbon reduction potential of timber versus concrete, the evidence was clear and compelling, decisively guiding the choice for the final structural design. This strategic, data-driven decision underscores Preoptima's pivotal role in pioneering sustainable building practices.

Group14 Testimonial: "Using Preoptima, we achieved a comprehensive embodied carbon analysis for various structural systems, including timber, hybrid-timber, concrete, and steel. The software's detailed visualizations and data helped us demonstrate a potential 50-70% reduction in embodied carbon with timber systems, guiding us towards more sustainable choices. This level of detailed, early-stage analysis is unparalleled and crucial for projects aiming for high-level environmental certifications."

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Group14 received a last-minute request to add another structural system for comparison, and it was a matter of an hour or two to update the final deliverable with the use of Preoptima. Since all of the analyses could be run and directly compared within the Preoptima software, it saved a considerable amount of time for the Group14 team to provide results to the relevant stakeholders. The full structural analysis was completed within the week turnaround required by the project team for the comparison to be part of a decision matrix for stakeholders. Group14 stated that the same analysis would have taken at least two to three times longer using any other platform.

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According to Group14, it would not have been possible to provide this analysis without the Preoptima tool. Preoptima’s structural engineering paired with clear, concise embodied carbon analysis made the deliverable to the stakeholders a valuable piece of the overall decision-making process.