VE Gaia

Powerful early stage analysis and climatic / natural resource capabilities improving modelling efficiency and accuracy.

VE Gaia is a unique set of tools that uses themed workflows to guide assessment of the sustainability of your building design even at the earliest concept stage. VE Gaia uses the same validated and verified calculation engines used in the Virtual Environment. This synergy means that early concepts assessed in VE Gaia can seamlessly evolve into more detailed assessments as the design progresses.

  • Revolutionary interface de-mystifies simulation opening up performance analysis to a wider range of design professionals.
  • Improved modelling efficiency and accuracy, enabling rapid iterative feedback Input and manipulate exact building data.
  • View concise reports with interactive filters for easy interrogation.
  • Unique patented Navigator technology uses built-in Quality Assurance (QA) functionality that permits progress to be tracked and checked, encouraging design collaboration.

VE Gaia is conveniently divided up into themed workflows:

  • Climate/Bio-Climatic Interrogation – prior to even putting ‘pen to paper’ VE Gaia provides suggestions and guidance to help consider your building design in the context of its current and future climate
  • Climate exploration, analysis and review; including consideration of future climate predictions
  • Bio-Climatic responsive design suggestions for urban layout and built form
  • Temperature, moisture/humidity, wind, precipitation, solar energy, diurnal swing
  • IES Climate Energy Index breakdown of potential climate has to impact energy use
     
  • Building Metrics/Materials Review – as you begin to define the design concepts use high level analysis to guide shape, form and materials choices
  • Understand the dominant heat exchange characteristics, materials and other metrics of the building
  • Is it skin or internally loaded, what’s the surface area to volume ratio, thermal mass, and natural ventilation form, plus much more
     
  • Natural Resources/Water Analysis – can the building sustain itself, how far along the path to Net Zero could the building travel, from this early stage assess the natural resources available to optimise your design’s sustainability
  • Understand the available potential for solar/wind energy and rainwater resources
  • Review water availability, appliance water use and reduction potential
  • Assess rainwater/greywater/ blackwater efficiencies
  • Choose between LEED, BREEAM and Green Star approaches
     
  • Energy/Carbon Simulation – VE Gaia uses ApacheSim, the industry leading energy performance simulation package, ensuring that early stage design decisions are valid and appropriate 
  • Estimate whole-building energy/carbon usage(by end use)
  • Benchmark against Architecture 2030 Challenge
  • Max/min results for temperature, humidity and comfort at a room level
  • Per room peak loads breakdown based on dynamic simulation
     
  • Heating/Cooling Loads Calculation – get an early understanding of the spatial implications of the size of plant and equipment on your design
  • Production of building, system and room heating/cooling loads figures, including peak loads, loads breakdown and cooling air flow rates
  • Choice of ASHRAE and CIBSE calculation methods 
     
  • Daylight/Solar Shading Simulation – the extent of light and solar heat penetration in and around a building is one of the most important design considerations, VE Gaia allows this assessment from the earliest stages
  • Assess daylight levels against a fixed threshold with model and tabular results
  • Create a Solar Shading animation across a choice of date ranges
  • View real time shadows on the 3D Model – choose the date and time you want
  • Visualise sun position in the sky in relation to the 3D Model. You can choose to toggle on or off views which show: azimuth, altitude, defined time, sun rise and sun set times, autumn equinox, summer & winter solstices
  • Create video animations over any time period 
     
  • Low/Zero-Carbon Technologies – even a highly sustainable building design may need to offset it’s energy usage by careful selection of appropriate technologies to decarbonise
  • Perform feasibility assessments of renewables and low carbon technologies in relation to delivered energy and carbon emission mitigation
     
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VE Gaia Screenshot
VE Gaia Screenshot
VE Gaia Screenshot