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Design challenges → metrics → tools → case studies. Rebuilt automatically from the properties of all notes — edit the notes, not this page.
From each design challenge to the metrics that inform the decision, the tools that can calculate them, and the student projects that did it.
Adaptable and relocatable logistics structures
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adaptability | Time (or cost) to reconfigure, extend or relocate the building or its partitions; checked against module dimensions and connections. | — | 5 |
| Construction cost | Cost estimate per gross floor area; or cost of a building element (e.g. envelope) derived from its quantity. | Galapagos | 2 |
| Design for disassembly score | Checklist score: dry/reversible connections, standard modules, material passports, separable layers. | — | 1 |
| Structural utilisation | Loads (dead, live, snow per Eurocode) and the resulting utilisation of structural members, from hand calculation or finite-element analysis. | Donkey, Karamba3D | 1 |
Case studies: Amy Naprstek, Elsa Hauksdottir, Eva Kažukolovaitė, Julia Kopác
Automation and operational efficiency of logistics
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon per pallet handled | Annual (operational or whole-life) carbon ÷ pallets handled per year. | — | 1 |
| Delivery time | Time from order or dispatch to delivery at the customer; or end-to-end cycle time in the supply chain. | — | 2 |
| Dock turnaround time | Time from a truck’s arrival at the gate until departure (or until goods enter processing). | — | 2 |
| Energy per package delivered | Energy used by the delivery mode over a route ÷ number of packages delivered. | — | 1 |
| Jobs created | Number of jobs (FTE) created on site, by function. | — | 2 |
| Level of automation | Share of handling tasks done by machines, or number of employees needed per facility at a given throughput. | — | 1 |
| Space utilisation | Floor area (or volume) actively used for storage and operations ÷ total. | Grasshopper | 3 |
| Throughput per site area | Goods handled (parcels, pallets, tonnes) per day ÷ site area. | — | 3 |
Case studies: Johannes Berger
Biodiversity and ecological connectivity on logistics sites
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biodiversity net gain | (Post-development biodiversity units − baseline units) ÷ baseline × 100, where units = habitat area × distinctiveness × condition (e.g. the UK statutory metric). | Rhino.Ecologic | 7 |
| Biodiversity stress from materials | Life-cycle impact on species loss caused by material extraction and production (potentially disappeared fraction of species), calculated in LCA software. | One Click LCA | 1 |
| Biotope area factor | Σ(area of each surface type × its ecological weighting factor) ÷ total site area (Berlin BAF method). | Grasshopper | 1 |
| Carbon sequestration by planting | Planted area × sequestration rate of the vegetation type (from literature). | — | 2 |
| Ecological connectivity | Mapping whether site greenery links to nearby corridors, water bodies and habitats (distance and continuity of green links). | — | 2 |
| Function stacking index | Σ(area of each surface × number of functions it serves) ÷ total surface area (ground + roof + facade). Functions: logistics operation, stormwater handling, habitat, human amenity, energy. | — | 5 |
| Green area ratio | Vegetated area ÷ total site area × 100. | Grasshopper, Lands Design | 11 |
| Green plot ratio | Total leaf area (leaf area index × planted area) ÷ site area. | — | 1 |
| Green roof coverage | Vegetated roof area ÷ total roof area × 100. | Grasshopper | 3 |
| Green-core anchoring of mixed uses | Building entrances (or ground-floor frontage length) of all uses within a set walking distance (e.g. 100 m) of a shared green spine ÷ total entrances (or frontage length). | — | 7 |
| Native species richness | Count of native plant (or animal) species supported on site, from planting plan or survey. | Rhino.Ecologic | 4 |
| Tree count and canopy cover | Number of trees (or crown area) on site ÷ site area; compared before and after the design. | Lands Design | 3 |
Case studies: Adam Večeřa, Adéla Berkovitz, Aycha Chambashala, Ece Yasar, Ilinca Maria Baciu, Lindsay Daphne Macuja, Sara Gani
Embodied carbon and adaptive reuse of logistics buildings
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biodiversity stress from materials | Life-cycle impact on species loss caused by material extraction and production (potentially disappeared fraction of species), calculated in LCA software. | One Click LCA | 1 |
| CapEx–OpEx ratio | Investment cost vs. sum of operating costs over a 30-year life (undiscounted or as net present value). | One Click LCA | 3 |
| Design for disassembly score | Checklist score: dry/reversible connections, standard modules, material passports, separable layers. | — | 1 |
| Embodied carbon intensity | Material quantities × emission factors from EPDs/databases, summed over life-cycle modules (A1–A3 or A1–C4) ÷ gross floor area. Calculated with LCA tools such as One Click LCA or Bombyx. | Bombyx, CO2mpare, LearnCarbon, One Click LCA | 9 |
| Embodied carbon saved by reuse | Embodied carbon of an equivalent new building − embodied carbon of the retrofit (reused structure counted as zero or reduced). | One Click LCA | 3 |
| Life-cycle impact by stage | LCA result split by EN 15978 modules (A1–A3, A4, A5, B, C) for each impact indicator. | One Click LCA | 1 |
| Material reuse share | Reused or recycled material (by mass, volume or number of elements) ÷ total material × 100. | — | 2 |
| Social cost of carbon | Total emissions (tCO2e) × a carbon price per tonne. | One Click LCA | 1 |
| Structural utilisation | Loads (dead, live, snow per Eurocode) and the resulting utilisation of structural members, from hand calculation or finite-element analysis. | Donkey, Karamba3D | 1 |
| Whole-life carbon | (Embodied carbon + operational carbon over the reference period) ÷ number of years. | CO2mpare, One Click LCA | 1 |
Case studies: Julia Godard Lombard, Katrin Rybinskiy, Khrystyna Verbitska, Lindsay Daphne Macuja, Sara Sulollari, Thomas Olsen, Vladi Kostecki
Land take of logistics buildings
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Function stacking index | Σ(area of each surface × number of functions it serves) ÷ total surface area (ground + roof + facade). Functions: logistics operation, stormwater handling, habitat, human amenity, energy. | — | 5 |
| Impervious surface ratio | Sealed (paved, built, roofed without retention) area ÷ total site area × 100. The permeable ratio is the complement. | Grasshopper | 5 |
| Land take | Building footprint (plus paved operational area) ÷ site area; compared before and after. | Grasshopper | 6 |
| Number of docks | Docks needed to handle a given throughput, from queueing or discrete-event simulation. | — | 1 |
| Parking capacity | Number of car/truck parking spaces (or parking area) provided, and their utilisation. | — | 4 |
| Space utilisation | Floor area (or volume) actively used for storage and operations ÷ total. | Grasshopper | 3 |
| Throughput per site area | Goods handled (parcels, pallets, tonnes) per day ÷ site area. | — | 3 |
| Yard area per dock | Paved manoeuvring and apron area ÷ number of docks; apron depth checked with vehicle swept-path analysis. | AutoTURN | 1 |
Case studies: Adam Večeřa, Amy Naprstek, Hynek Hrabík, Johannes Berger, Julia Kopác
Last-mile delivery emissions and traffic
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery catchment | Radius (distance or travel time) a hub can serve with a given vehicle; number of hubs needed to cover a city. | — | 2 |
| Delivery time | Time from order or dispatch to delivery at the customer; or end-to-end cycle time in the supply chain. | — | 2 |
| Energy per package delivered | Energy used by the delivery mode over a route ÷ number of packages delivered. | — | 1 |
| Last-mile delivery cost | Total cost of the final delivery step ÷ number of deliveries. | — | 2 |
| Last-mile delivery emissions | Vehicle-km per year for each delivery mode × emission factor of that mode (kgCO2/km). | — | 3 |
| Public transport accessibility | Walking distance from the entrance to the nearest stops, or a score by transport mode (walk, bike, tram, bus, car). | Geoportal Praha | 1 |
| Road freight impact | Share of freight moved by trucks vs. their share of transport emissions; road wear per truck in car equivalents (fourth-power law). | — | 1 |
Case studies: Johannes Berger, Khrystyna Verbitska, Roshni Basu, Thomas Olsen
Operational energy and on-site renewables
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapEx–OpEx ratio | Investment cost vs. sum of operating costs over a 30-year life (undiscounted or as net present value). | One Click LCA | 3 |
| Carbon per pallet handled | Annual (operational or whole-life) carbon ÷ pallets handled per year. | — | 1 |
| Electricity price | Business electricity tariff at the project location, including grid fees. | — | 3 |
| Energy use intensity | Annual delivered energy ÷ gross floor area. Simulated (e.g. Honeybee/EnergyPlus) or taken from metered data or benchmarks. | Dragonfly, Honeybee, Pollination, URBANopt | 9 |
| Green roof coverage | Vegetated roof area ÷ total roof area × 100. | Grasshopper | 3 |
| Heating energy demand | Sum of space-heating demand over a year; simulated, or estimated from heated volume × heat-loss coefficient × degree days. | Honeybee, nPro, Pollination | 1 |
| Natural ventilation potential | Share of floor area (or hours) that can be ventilated naturally, based on opening area, depth and climate. | Butterfly | 1 |
| On-site renewable energy share | On-site renewable generation ÷ total annual energy demand × 100. | Dragonfly, nPro, URBANopt | 4 |
| Operational carbon | Annual energy use per energy carrier × emission factor of that carrier (e.g. grid kgCO2e/kWh). | Dragonfly, Honeybee, nPro, URBANopt | 6 |
| Rooftop PV generation | Usable roof area × annual solar irradiation (kWh/m²) × module efficiency × performance ratio. Irradiation from solar radiation analysis (Ladybug, Cyclops) or PVGIS. | Cyclops, Dragonfly, Honeybee, Ladybug, URBANopt | 4 |
| Whole-life carbon | (Embodied carbon + operational carbon over the reference period) ÷ number of years. | CO2mpare, One Click LCA | 1 |
Case studies: Elsa Hauksdottir, Ilinca Maria Baciu, Katrin Rybinskiy, Marek Nový
Outdoor microclimate around logistics buildings
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noise level | Noise mapping (from municipal noise maps or simulation) at façades and outdoor spaces; reduction compared with the existing state. | Geoportal Praha | 4 |
| Pedestrian-level wind speed | CFD simulation of wind around the buildings at about 1.5 m height for prevailing wind directions; compared with comfort criteria (e.g. Lawson). | Butterfly, Eddy3D, Jifto | 1 |
| Sun exposure of outdoor space | Sunlight-hours analysis on the ground plane for key days (e.g. equinox, summer solstice). | Cyclops, Jifto, Ladybug | 2 |
| Thermal comfort | Indoor: Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) or adaptive comfort; outdoor: Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), simulated from weather data. | Eddy3D, Honeybee, Jifto, Ladybug, Pollination | 1 |
| Tree count and canopy cover | Number of trees (or crown area) on site ÷ site area; compared before and after the design. | Lands Design | 3 |
| Urban heat island effect | Surface or air temperature difference to a rural reference, simulated or from satellite maps. | Dragonfly | 2 |
| Wind conditions | Wind rose from a weather file (EPW) or wind atlas: frequency of wind speeds per direction. | Eddy3D, Jifto, Ladybug | 2 |
Case studies: Julia Kopác, Robin Jesenský, Sara Sulollari
Pedestrian–truck safety on logistics sites
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distance to housing | Distance from noisy or hazardous logistics functions to the nearest residential building; or share of such functions outside a buffer zone. | Geoportal Praha, Grasshopper | 3 |
| Pedestrian–vehicle conflict points | Number of points where pedestrian routes cross truck or van routes, counted on the site plan; or share of routes that are fully separated. | — | 4 |
| Worker safety incidents | Recorded incidents per year (or hazard zones per layout) in operational areas. | — | 3 |
Case studies: Adéla Berkovitz, Eva Kažukolovaitė, Lindsay Daphne Macuja, Natalie Žižková, Sara Gani, Vladi Kostecki
Public access and community use of logistics sites
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green area ratio | Vegetated area ÷ total site area × 100. | Grasshopper, Lands Design | 11 |
| Green space per visitor | Accessible green space ÷ expected daily users or visitors. | — | 1 |
| Green-core anchoring of mixed uses | Building entrances (or ground-floor frontage length) of all uses within a set walking distance (e.g. 100 m) of a shared green spine ÷ total entrances (or frontage length). | — | 7 |
| Mixed-use ratio | Floor area of non-logistics uses (retail, workshops, community, offices) ÷ total floor area. | — | 5 |
| Publicly accessible area | Area freely open to the public (plazas, parks, roofs, ground-floor uses) ÷ site area. | Grasshopper | 8 |
| Social interaction index | Observed or estimated number of people using the public spaces of the project per day. | — | 3 |
Case studies: Khrystyna Verbitska, Marek Nový, Natalie Žižková, Roshni Basu, Thomas Olsen
Stormwater and sealed surfaces on logistics sites
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biotope area factor | Σ(area of each surface type × its ecological weighting factor) ÷ total site area (Berlin BAF method). | Grasshopper | 1 |
| Function stacking index | Σ(area of each surface × number of functions it serves) ÷ total surface area (ground + roof + facade). Functions: logistics operation, stormwater handling, habitat, human amenity, energy. | — | 5 |
| Green roof coverage | Vegetated roof area ÷ total roof area × 100. | Grasshopper | 3 |
| Impervious surface ratio | Sealed (paved, built, roofed without retention) area ÷ total site area × 100. The permeable ratio is the complement. | Grasshopper | 5 |
| Parking capacity | Number of car/truck parking spaces (or parking area) provided, and their utilisation. | — | 4 |
| Stormwater retention volume | Sum of the storage capacity of green roofs, swales, ponds and tanks; or design rainfall × area × (1 − runoff coefficient). | — | 3 |
| Stormwater runoff reduction | (Runoff before − runoff after) ÷ runoff before. Runoff = runoff coefficient × design rainfall × area, summed over surface types. | Rainflow-Sim | 4 |
| Water reuse share | Reused rain or grey water ÷ total water demand × 100. | — | 4 |
| Yard area per dock | Paved manoeuvring and apron area ÷ number of docks; apron depth checked with vehicle swept-path analysis. | AutoTURN | 1 |
Case studies: Adam Večeřa, Aycha Chambashala, Ece Yasar, Hynek Hrabík, Ilinca Maria Baciu, Marek Nový, Natalie Žižková
Truck flow and yard efficiency
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dock turnaround time | Time from a truck’s arrival at the gate until departure (or until goods enter processing). | — | 2 |
| Number of docks | Docks needed to handle a given throughput, from queueing or discrete-event simulation. | — | 1 |
| Truck throughput | Trucks handled per hour (or day), counted in a simulation or from operational data. | — | 2 |
| Yard area per dock | Paved manoeuvring and apron area ÷ number of docks; apron depth checked with vehicle swept-path analysis. | AutoTURN | 1 |
Case studies: Adéla Berkovitz, Aycha Chambashala, Hynek Hrabík, Vladi Kostecki
Urban integration of logistics buildings
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distance to housing | Distance from noisy or hazardous logistics functions to the nearest residential building; or share of such functions outside a buffer zone. | Geoportal Praha, Grasshopper | 3 |
| Green-core anchoring of mixed uses | Building entrances (or ground-floor frontage length) of all uses within a set walking distance (e.g. 100 m) of a shared green spine ÷ total entrances (or frontage length). | — | 7 |
| Jobs created | Number of jobs (FTE) created on site, by function. | — | 2 |
| Mixed-use ratio | Floor area of non-logistics uses (retail, workshops, community, offices) ÷ total floor area. | — | 5 |
| Noise level | Noise mapping (from municipal noise maps or simulation) at façades and outdoor spaces; reduction compared with the existing state. | Geoportal Praha | 4 |
| Public transport accessibility | Walking distance from the entrance to the nearest stops, or a score by transport mode (walk, bike, tram, bus, car). | Geoportal Praha | 1 |
| Publicly accessible area | Area freely open to the public (plazas, parks, roofs, ground-floor uses) ÷ site area. | Grasshopper | 8 |
| Social acceptance | Resident and user survey, or qualitative assessment, of whether the logistics activity is perceived as a benefit rather than a nuisance. | — | 2 |
| Social interaction index | Observed or estimated number of people using the public spaces of the project per day. | — | 3 |
| Walkability | Walk Score-type index, or a custom score of route continuity, crossings and destinations within walking distance. | — | 3 |
Case studies: Adam Večeřa, Adéla Berkovitz, Amy Naprstek, Aycha Chambashala, Elsa Hauksdottir, Eva Kažukolovaitė, Ilinca Maria Baciu, Julia Godard Lombard, Julia Kopác, Khrystyna Verbitska, Lindsay Daphne Macuja, Marek Nový, Natalie Žižková, Roshni Basu, Sara Gani, Sara Sulollari, Vladi Kostecki
Visual impact and acceptance by neighbours
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distance to housing | Distance from noisy or hazardous logistics functions to the nearest residential building; or share of such functions outside a buffer zone. | Geoportal Praha, Grasshopper | 3 |
| Social acceptance | Resident and user survey, or qualitative assessment, of whether the logistics activity is perceived as a benefit rather than a nuisance. | — | 2 |
| Visual impact on neighbours | Share of the view from neighbouring windows obstructed by the building, or share of the built perimeter visually screened (by greenery or design). | Jifto, Ladybug | 7 |
Case studies: Ece Yasar, Elsa Hauksdottir, Katrin Rybinskiy
Waste heat and cooling of data centres
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon usage effectiveness | Total CO2 emissions caused by the facility’s energy use ÷ IT equipment energy. | — | 1 |
| Heat recovery radius | Distance within which recovered heat can be delivered usefully: available heat output vs. heat losses of the connecting network per metre. | — | 1 |
| Power usage effectiveness | Total facility energy ÷ energy used by the IT equipment. 1.0 would mean zero overhead for cooling and power distribution. | — | 2 |
| Waste heat recovery | Heat produced by IT or process load × recoverable share (e.g. 80 %), compared with the heat demand of nearby users. | nPro | 2 |
| Water consumption | Metered or estimated annual water use; for data centres often normalised per kWh of IT energy (WUE). | — | 2 |
| Wind conditions | Wind rose from a weather file (EPW) or wind atlas: frequency of wind speeds per direction. | Eddy3D, Jifto, Ladybug | 2 |
Case studies: Julia Godard Lombard, Katrin Rybinskiy, Robin Jesenský
Worker comfort and well-being
| Metric | How it is calculated | Tools | Case studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight autonomy | Share of occupied hours in which a point reaches a target illuminance (e.g. 300 lux) from daylight alone, simulated with Radiance-based tools. | Honeybee, Pollination | 2 |
| Function stacking index | Σ(area of each surface × number of functions it serves) ÷ total surface area (ground + roof + facade). Functions: logistics operation, stormwater handling, habitat, human amenity, energy. | — | 5 |
| Indoor air quality | Indoor CO2 concentration as a proxy for ventilation quality; target e.g. below 900 ppm. | — | 1 |
| Natural ventilation potential | Share of floor area (or hours) that can be ventilated naturally, based on opening area, depth and climate. | Butterfly | 1 |
| Noise level | Noise mapping (from municipal noise maps or simulation) at façades and outdoor spaces; reduction compared with the existing state. | Geoportal Praha | 4 |
| Thermal comfort | Indoor: Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) or adaptive comfort; outdoor: Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), simulated from weather data. | Eddy3D, Honeybee, Jifto, Ladybug, Pollination | 1 |
| Worker safety incidents | Recorded incidents per year (or hazard zones per layout) in operational areas. | — | 3 |
| Worker well-being | Post-occupancy survey or checklist score of daylight, views, rest areas, greenery and facilities for workers. | — | 4 |
Case studies: Eva Kažukolovaitė, Sara Gani