Following last year’s release of several tools, including an energy analysis plug-in for SketchUp, the five-year old software company Sefaira has released a revamped plug-in for Autodesk’s Revit. The new plug-in offers both daylighting and energy analysis in real-time within Revit’s native modeling environment.
According to Sefaira CEO Mads Jensen, the latest release provides analysis “as close to the model as possible.” Sefaira’s focus on immediate feedback benchmarked against 2030 Challenge targets and other industry standards allows architects to “incorporate performance analysis into every design decision,” says Jensen. Coupled with the plug-ins, Sefaira offers more extensive analysis, multiple model comparisons, and detailed performance reports through the company’s web-based analysis service.
San Antonio, Texas-based Lake/Flato Architects, which had already been using Sefaira for SketchUp and the web application, is now using the Revit plug-in. “The literacy of sustainable design among the architects in the office has really increased” with Sefaira, claims Corey Squire, the firm’s sustainability coordinator. Lake/Flato still relies on outside consultants for some energy simulations at later stages of design. But according to Squire, the firm is now better able to understand building performance earlier, without waiting days or weeks for feedback.
Like Lake/Flato, NBBJ also still relies on targeted analysis from consultants who use their own analytical tools, according to Sean Burke, digital practice leader in the Seattle office. But Sefaira works well with NBBJ’s “rapid conceptual design” process, he says.
Jensen says Sefairs’s goal is to change the design process by surrounding the model with as much “intelligence” as possible, “to help designers create much better buildings.” To that end Jensen alludes to the addition of more capabilities and the release of plug-ins for other modeling platforms in the near future.
Package pricing starts at $6,000 for a six-seat license, with either the Revit or SketchUp plug-in and access to the web application. Packages that include both plug-ins as well as individual seats are also available.
