Oxford University using AI for zero-emission building design

Backed by €3.8 million , around £3.26 million, from the European Commission Horizon Programme, the ZEBAI project aspires to significantly reduce construction-related carbon emissions, helping the industry to reach its goal of decarbonising by 2050.

It is estimated that buildings contributed more than 34 per cent to energy demand and approximately 37 per cent to energy and process-associated CO2 releases in 2021, adding impetus to calls for low-carbon industrial materials and practices.

The Politecnica de Madrid is spearheading the ZEBAI venture, enlisting support from 18 academic institutions across seven European nations.

Oxford’s Engineering, Science and Physics departments will employ artificial intelligence (AI) to select locally-sourced building materials with respect to their suitability to specific climatic conditions, pay particular attention to the response of building materials to varying environmental forces.

Mechanical properties of building supplies across Europe will be studied to facilitate an AI-integrated simulation aimed to inform architects and engineers.

Consequently, design platforms can incorporate the resulting software.

The outputs from Oxford and elsewhere will build a library of information to help buildings meet net-zero targets.

Professors Sonia Antoranz Contera (Physics) and Antoine Jérusalem (Engineering Science) are set to lead Oxford’s effort, working closely with Lurtis Ltd to weave AI into the material selection process.

Professor Antoine Jérusalem (Image: Pamela Davis Kivelson)

Professor Jérusalem said: "This is a very timely and exciting project where the work that Professor Contera and I are doing with engineering materials at multiple scales will feed into direct practice to maximise impact in the real world.

"ZEBAI is posed to push forward the frontier of energy-efficiency in future constructions with the state-of-the-art of mechanics and AI."

Their research will support three key goals - optimising materials for different environments, streamlining the design process for efficiency and user-friendliness, and achieving cost-effectiveness as well as hitting environmental goals.

Professor Sonia Antoranz Contera (Image: Pamela Davis Kivelson)

Professor Sonia Antoranz Contera said: "We are very excited to participate in this collaboration, which assembles such interesting companies (including Ukrainian partners), institutions, engineers, scientists and architects.

"We had this idea four years ago, and it is great to finally see it coming to life."

ZEBAI aims to revolutionize zero-emission buildings design through a comprehensive methodology which will incorporate analyses, decision-making processes and holistic evaluations of energy performance, environmental impact, indoor environmental quality, and cost-effectiveness.

Four representative demonstrators in the Ukraine, Spain, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands will serve as test cases, allowing the project team to assess the methodology’s performance across different climates, usages, and building patterns.