Feasibility of sustainable construction by BuildSystems at Siemens

At the Siemens Research, Innovation & Ecosystem (RIE) Munich Conference on “Digitalization & Low Code Engineering in Industry,” we presented BuildSystems’ approach to tackling one of the construction industry’s biggest challenges: making sustainability data actionable.

The pitch

The core idea was to demonstrate a multi-level computational workflow that connects urban-scale analysis all the way down to individual building components. The tools we developed work in a closed feedback loop:

1. Urban Level Tool — evaluates the feasibility of a new building based on city regulations and fire safety standards, determining the maximum construction area allowed for each site.
2. Building Level Tool — generates a parametric building based on common construction systems that can adapt to different site dimensions.
3. Component Library — feeds the parametric model with data from our building component library, containing information about material quantities, carbon footprint, and cost per square meter of construction.
4. Economic Level — compares different construction systems not only by estimated cost but also by their potential to receive funding.

These tools function in a closed cycle, constantly informing each other until they reach a balance — all guided by open-source databases and frameworks.