Project entry 2020 for Europe

  • 1 / 11

    Data Propelled in Germany

    In addition to balancing productivity and cost, we focus on employee work conditions.

  • 2 / 11

    Embodied And Operational Energy: Materials and systems that reduce energy and carbon.

  • 3 / 11

    Flexible Timber Factory: This flexible timber factory is being used as a lighthouse project by Airbus for its future manufacturing facilities. It is designed for the production needs of today, and it is also deliberately designed to grow and adapt over time as airplanes, manufacturing, and work methods become more sustainable. Airbus aims to dramatically reduce carbon emissions by 2050, and this building will be a testbed for that.

  • 4 / 11

    Context And Impact: The building addresses the nearby residential community.

  • 5 / 11

    Data-Driven Design: sustainability goals integrated with social, economic, and operational goals.

  • 6 / 11

    Generative Sustainability: Exploring wide space of possible designs to maximize goals and fit program.

  • 7 / 11

    Daylight & Natural Ventilation: Fine-tuning windows and skylights to promote comfort and save.

  • 8 / 11

    Sustainability Trade-Offs: Project stakeholders finding best balance between cost and sustainability.

  • 9 / 11

    Prioritizing Employee Work Conditions: In addition to optimizing for sustainability features, we prioritized people and inclusion. We identified, measured, and promoted factors for a good workplace for both blue-collar and white-collar employees.

  • 10 / 11

    New Industrial Aesthetic: A factory with qualities of a cultural building.

  • 11 / 11

    Transferable Low-Carbon Materials: We brought Carbon Cure to a concrete plant in Europe for first time.

Last updated: November 13, 2021 Hamburg, Germany

Innovation and transferability

The project involves a generative design process that Airbus intends to re-use on future factory projects. In addition, the materials we are using have transferability. For example, we worked with Airbus to use low-carbon concrete, from CarbonCure, for the foundations. And through this process, we helped create the first low-carbon concrete factory of this kind in Europe. Airbus plans to use this concrete again, and since the process and equipment now exists in Hamburg, it is expected to be used on projects by others as well.

Ethical standards and social inclusion

In addition to focusing on productivity and cost like a typical factory, this project focuses on employee work conditions for both blue collar and white collar workers.

In addition, our process of generative design brings together multiple stake-holders for an inclusive discussion and debate and the most important features and aspirations of the project.

Economic viability and compatibility

This project brings together considerations of cost and sustainability at the same time. It involves a framework for thinking about the most scalable version of sustainability with the greatest potential impact by weighing the trade-offs between different design features. It involves a data-driven framework for considering features such as photovoltaics, advanced energy systems, and passive heating and cooling.