Ethos Engineering Living Lab Digital Twin

Ireland’s largest MEP consultancy uses technology to bring buildings to life

With businesses and governments alike starting to prioritise net zero targets as a key component of their wider strategies, there is increasing awareness of the role that the built environment has to play in driving sustainability. Without delivering carbon neutral, energy efficient buildings, meeting these targets would be a near-impossible task.

The buildings around us are no longer static environments; increasingly, they are dynamic entities that must respond to and monitor changes in usage, energy, weather and much more. The modern office building, for example, tracks more data than many of us would imagine, which helps owners and occupants to make them more efficient and sustainable.

As Ireland’s largest MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) consulting practice, Ethos Engineering is at the forefront of a mission to deliver sustainable, energy-efficient buildings. Its projects are underpinned by a commitment to digital ways of working, echoing its enviable client base which includes some of the best and brightest of global tech.

Butterfly Environmental sensor Office wall mounted. Image courtesy of Ethos Engineering.

A test bed for innovation

Such is Ethos’ commitment to sustainable building practices, it used its own headquarters in Sandyford, Dublin, as a proving ground for innovation, putting into practice advanced solutions that would later be offered to clients. This ‘Living Lab’ incorporated a range of IoT technologies and sensors, measuring Air Quality, People Counting, Desk Occupancy, Energy Metering and Acoustics.

This wealth of data means they could regulate and manage the building environment, adjusting ventilation, optimising space usage and enhancing staff engagement. Ethos felt this information would help them get a stepcloser to their own net zero targets, as well as improving their offering to clients.

“Digital technology and sustainability work very closely hand in hand when it comes to the operations of a building.”

- Müge Karasahin, Director of Sustainability, Ethos Engineering

“Implementing this in our own building allowed us to really play around with the systems and gave us the freedom to delve in and get an incredible understanding,” says Brian Coogan, Director, Digital Services, Ethos Engineering. “From there we could go to our clients with real-time, data-driven insights.”

Ethos also gained valuable insight into how performance data can influence the design process and ultimately alter the final design configurations. The combination of building performance data, occupancy figures and power consumption intelligence was what Coogan saw as the “secret sauce” in helping clients towards their net zero goals.

“There’s a great deal of reporting data now available when it comes to sustainability and building performance,” explains Müge Karasahin, Director of Sustainability at Ethos Engineering. “With many older buildings, facilities managers may just have a bunch of Excel sheets and a list of energy bills. But with real-time data and continuous monitoring, you can spot trends much earlier and really understand the story of the building to make informed decisions.”

Coogan and Karasahin recognised very early on that “digital technology and sustainability work very closely hand in hand when it comes to the operations of a building.” This digital-first approach to sustainability has been recognised by independent experts, and Ethos became the first business in the world to achieve the WELL Performance Rating through the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), for its Dublin HQ Living Lab.

The WELL Performance Rating is an industry-leading benchmark that encourages building owners and facility managers to use performance metrics to validate and improve the built environment, as well as the health and wellbeing of the people inside. It leverages building performance and occupant experience data to shift business decisions and organisational culture. Projects must achieve 21 features to achieve the WELL Performance Rating, and Ethos matched 24 such features for its Living Lab initiative.

“There’s a great deal of reporting data now available when it comes to sustainability and building performance.

With many older buildings, facilities managers may just have a bunch of Excel sheets and a list of energy bills. But with real-time data and continuous monitoring, you can spot trends much earlier and really understand the story of the building to make informed decisions.”

- Müge Karasahin, Director of Sustainability, Ethos Engineering

Digital Twin with Environmental sensor data. Image courtesy of Ethos Engineering.

Data-driven decision making

Karasahin pinpoints the importance of real-time data in building a deeper understanding of a building’s performance when it comes to sustainability and wellness. Indeed, sometimes the data can uncover unexpected insights. Karasahin explains:

“On one occasion, we saw spikes in volatile organic compound (VOC) levels early morning every Tuesday and didn’t immediately understand why. I checked in with reception and this is when the cleaners come in, so the spike was from the cleaning products that were being used. With sensors and real-time data you can really visualise the impact of seemingly small things on factors like air quality, and how that contributes to the building’s overall performance.”

Quantity and quality of data is important not just for certification like WELL, but as part of organisations’ wider ESG reporting. Ethos heard from clients that there simply wasn’t a meaningful way to control a live building environment, with owners and facilities managers having to collate data from multiple systems (often in Excel format).

The Living Lab allows clients to bring together disparate data sets – air quality, occupancy, temperature, footfall and more – into a single visual platform, allowing for deeper analysis and data insights.

“We design with data in mind. Our teams analyse real-time data from sensors, weather patterns, and user behaviour to inform our decisions. This data-driven approach ensures that our buildings are not only aesthetically pleasing but also efficient and sustainable.”

-Brian Coogan, Director, Digital Services, Ethos Engineering

Bringing buildings to life with digital twins through the iLab foresight initiative

An Intelligent Lab (iLab) is a state-of-the-art facility that integrates the latest technologies such as BIM, digital twins and advanced computational processing. This Living Lab 2.0 harnesses and analyses data to anticipate future needs and optimise decision-making, ensuring efficient and proactive operations.

While the first phase of the Living Lab project focused on ventilation and air quality, the second phase concentrates on energy, contributing towards Ethos’ net-zero pledge (it aims to be fully carbon neutral by 2050).

A data-driven, digital approach was crucial here, making Autodesk the perfect technology partner to help bring the iLab to life. As Coogan explains:

“At Ethos, we’ve fully embraced digital transformation. Our approach is to integrate technology seamlessly into our design processes. From Building Information Modelling (BIM) to advanced simulation tools, we leverage cutting-edge software to optimise our designs.”

Autodesk’s Tandem® solution plays a crucial role in visualising and interpreting the vast amounts of data collected from buildings. It provides a single-pane-of-glass view, making it easier for both technical and non-technical stakeholders to understand and collaborate on building performance.

Ethos tested other software options that were actually further along in development than Tandem, but chose Autodesk because their products are “stable and trustworthy”, according to Coogan.

The digital twin technology offered by Tandem also allows Ethos to simulate and analyse building operations, leading to more informed decision-making and improved design outcomes than could be expected with the traditional data dashboard. While dashboards mainly display current or historical data with no predictive capability, digital twins can forecast future scenarios and enable predictive maintenance and strategic planning.

The collaboration between Ethos’s digital and sustainability teams exemplifies the potential of digital twin technology in enhancing building performance. By integrating real-time data with Autodesk Tandem, Ethos can ensure that its buildings not only meet design and certification standards but also continue to perform optimally over time. This commitment to sustainability and operational excellence positions Ethos at the forefront of the digital transformation in the building industry.

-Brian Coogan, Director, Digital Services, Ethos Engineering

Digital Twin Canteen. Image courtesy of Ethos Engineering.

Bringing people on the technology journey

Ethos adopts a people-first approach to technology, particularly as the facilities managers and building managers they work closely with don’t necessarily come from a digital background.

“I’ve seen some of the best technology in the world fail because people weren’t trained on it, or were maybe forced to use it. There are massive changes coming in the industry, so it’s all about bringing people along on that journey and getting their buy-in to ensure the transition is going to be a positive one,” explains Coogan.

“A lot of people, particularly in construction and engineering, are quite secure in their working habits. But just like any consumer technology, there are the normal users and there are the super users that really know the platform like the back of their hand.”

Coogan explains that Tandem’s 3D modelling enables non-technical personnel to understand their building’s performance based on multiple factors and real-time data sources, presenting it in a visual, digestible way. The connection between the Internet of Things and sensors with 3D digital twin technology has helped Ethos reach a more mature phase of the Living Lab’s design thinking with the iLab foresight initiative.

Collaborative working is also crucial to Ethos’ success, with over 250 staff across worksites throughout the EMEA region. Coogan explains:

“Ethos fosters collaboration through digital platforms. Whether it’s virtual reality walkthroughs or cloud-based project management tools, we empower our teams to work together seamlessly, regardless of geographical boundaries.”

Digital twin exterior. Image courtesy of Ethos Engineering.

Smarter insight for smarter buildings

The shift towards smarter buildings is particularly important because of the explosion of hybrid working in recent years, and the fact that many spaces are now multi-purpose. This means that the “personality of the building”, as Coogan terms it, is much more complex and dynamic than ever before.

“Years ago, we used to build buildings for one purpose. Today, however, buildings are largely modular in design and must support a wide array of different industries and activities. Also, people don’t use buildings in the same way, even within the same industry and it’s more difficult to track where people are and how resources are being used, particularly in these incredible flexible spaces that are increasingly common,” says Coogan.

“With offices, it’s no longer everyone in and out at the same time every day. These buildings need intelligence and data to function smoothly and for facilities managers to know what’s going on now and what’s set to happen tomorrow based on known usage.”

Ethos Engineering is perfectly positioned to help customers navigate this new reality of smarter, more sustainable buildings. Combining real-time data with next-generation technology like digital twins and 3D modelling, they are able to provide organisations with an extremely sophisticated view of their buildings’ health and climate impact, an invaluable asset in the journey towards net zero.

-Brian Coogan, director, Digital Services, Ethos Engineering

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