Welcome to Sustainable Building Modeller

Sustainable Building Modeller is an advanced simulation and modeling environment designed to help engineers, designers, and researchers create intelligent representations of buildings and technical systems. It combines powerful geometric modeling with functional simulation, offering a complete toolkit to evaluate building designs from both architectural and systems perspectives.

What the Application Does

This application allows users to model complex systems such as HVAC networks, lighting control, structural components, ray tracing, and more — using simple building blocks like cubes, cylinders, pipes, wires, and panels. Each model can include both physical shapes and logical behaviors, and be analyzed through built-in tools or Lua scripting.

Key Features

• Flexible 3D Modelling: Build using primitive shapes and group them into logical structures like floors, walls, systems, or devices.
• Modular Systems: Add one or more systems to simulate behavior — including thermal flow, signal routing, electromagnetic tracing, and more.
• Extensive Scripting Support: Use Lua scripting to automate creation, access properties, perform batch operations, and generate reports.
• Unit and Quantity Management: Work seamlessly with physical quantities like power, temperature, mass, and energy. Units are automatically converted and respected across the app.
• Catalogs and Libraries: Access pre-defined objects, materials, and component definitions to quickly build realistic or standard-compliant models.
• Reporting and Analysis: Visualize results from simulations, export data, or generate documentation automatically from your model state.

How the Application is Structured

All projects in the Sustainable Building Modeller follow a structured data model. At the highest level, each project contains:

• Model Geometry: The 3D shapes and spatial relationships of the building or system.
• Elements and Tags: All model components are categorized by types and tags to define their function, classification, or system membership.
• Systems: Logical layers that define how the model behaves, including simulation rules and analysis parameters.
• Materials and Properties: All elements can be assigned properties such as thermal conductivity, emissivity, or power consumption.
• Scripts: Code snippets written in Lua to automate tasks, interact with elements, and extend functionality.

Using the Interface

The software is designed around an intuitive user interface, combining a 3D model view with property panels, context menus, and simulation tools. You can:

• Select and manipulate elements directly in the 3D workspace.
• Use the project panel to organize your elements and systems.
• Edit properties using dropdowns, value fields, or linked dialogs.
• Use the menu bar and toolbars to add geometry, trigger calculations, or run scripts.

Scripting and Automation

Sustainable Building Modeller provides a powerful Lua scripting interface to control nearly every aspect of the application. With scripting, you can:

• Generate and modify geometry or systems in bulk.
• Run custom analysis routines and gather results.
• Create reusable logic for specialized workflows or automation.
• Access API documentation and example scripts to accelerate your development.

Getting Started

To begin using the application:

1. Create a new project or open an existing one.
2. Add elements, nodes, and links to your model. Assign geometric shapes to each component and connect them together to build more complex assemblies.
3. Customize each element by setting properties such as materials, colors, dimensions, shapes, and product descriptions.
4. Select the system you want to work with (e.g., Structural, HVAC, Electrical). Systems are predefined and cannot be added or removed by the user.
5. Use the “Run Script” or “Custom Calculator” tools to launch simulations.
6. Visualize and interpret the results using built-in tools or export functions.

Whether you're analyzing solar exposure, simulating airflow, modeling building controls, or testing energy performance, the Sustainable Building Modeller gives you full control over structure, data, and behavior.

For detailed guides on specific systems, simulation rules, or API functions, please consult the system-specific help pages or script documentation included in this guide.