Sustainable Infrastructure Services

Sustainable choices for infrastructure and the built environment

Building, developing and maintaining infrastructure and the built environment sustainably offers plenty of opportunities to reduce environmental impact and make future-proof choices.

Firm of the Future works closely with CROW, contractors and clients and has in-house expertise in spatial planning and structural engineering. Together, we explore which sustainable solutions best suit a project and show the impact of different choices.

From calculations of the MKI (environmental cost indicator) and MPG (environmental performance of buildings) to analyses of nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions. This is how we help compare sustainable alternatives objectively and make well-founded choices for design, construction and maintenance.

Nature's Intelligence

How would Nature's Intelligence solve this?

Fungi grow through a network of fine threads: the mycelium. This network connects food sources efficiently and at the same time breaks down materials, so that nutrients become available again. Slime moulds also show how efficient natural networks can be. In a well-known experiment with Physarum polycephalum, a network formed between food sources that bore a striking resemblance to the rail network around Tokyo.

These natural networks inspire both circularity – waste = food – and the design of efficient, resilient infrastructure. Nature shows how networks can develop with efficient connections, alternative routes and as little waste of energy and material as possible. An inspiring starting point for designing infrastructure and logistics networks.

How would Nature's Intelligence solve this?

Advice on Sustainable Materials and Infrastructure

Commissioned by CROW, Firm of the Future developed the national DGWW monitor (Sustainable Civil Engineering). Together with major clients, we determined what information is needed to make sustainability in infrastructure projects visible and measurable. With contractors, we then explored how this information can be collected and recorded in practice. This is how we connect sustainability ambitions with the day-to-day execution of projects.

Choices about materials, transport and equipment play an important role in making infrastructure more sustainable. Extending service life, reuse and the use of recycled and bio-based materials also offer ways to reduce environmental impact.

Firm of the Future helps clients and contractors make these options visible, compare alternatives and translate sustainable choices into concrete applications and measurable results.

For area development, we built the NI Area Development Model. It follows an area through every phase, from design and construction to five years after completion, on five themes: investment, sustainability, circularity, ecology and prosperity. Each theme has eight parts scored from 0 to 5 against the situation before development. This shows whether an area is better off for the development, and where adjusting still pays off. An example is shown below.

NI Area Development Model DEMO

current status

year 5

Excellent

NI
academy

Ecology

Local fauna
Local flora
Availability of clean water
Enough sunny and shaded spots
Geological fit

Prosperity

Healthy living environment
Enough natural sightlines
Beautiful and attractive
Surprising and inviting
Ordered and complex

Sustainability

Ecological design
Soil survey
Soil improvement measures
Water quality survey
Water management plan

Incorporate Biophilia and Circular Design in Sustainable Buildings

Sustainable buildings combine smart design with efficient use of materials and a long service life. Modular and adaptive construction, for example, allows buildings to change along with how they are used: expanding, downsizing, adapting and reusing materials or components.

Circularity opens up new possibilities for architects and designers. By taking service life, disassembly, reuse and the use of local, recycled and bio-based materials into account from the design stage, raw materials retain their value for longer. Material passports and platforms such as Madaster provide insight into the materials used and their future reuse.

Biophilic design adds the connection between people, buildings and nature. Architects can make daylight, greenery, natural materials and shapes, air and water a deliberate part of the design. The local environment and conditions are the starting point for a fitting approach.

This is how biophilic and circular design come together in buildings that are pleasant to be in, use materials efficiently and can adapt to the future.

Perform Life Cycle Analyses and Identify Sustainable Opportunities

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) shows the environmental impact of a product or service across the different phases of its life cycle – from raw materials and production to transport, use and end of life. This reveals where in the chain the greatest impact arises and where the most important opportunities for sustainability lie.

Firm of the Future has the knowledge, models and tools to calculate this impact and translate it into concrete improvements. Is the biggest opportunity a different supplier, a more efficient production process or a different material? Can the design be adapted to use fewer raw materials, extend service life or enable reuse and recycling? And which end-of-life choices can reduce the impact further?

We not only help you make the environmental impact visible, but also compare different alternatives and scenarios. This turns an LCA into a practical tool for making well-founded choices and working purposefully to reduce the environmental impact of your products and services.

Calculate Total Cost of Ownership including Environmental Impacts

A sustainable investment calls for more than a comparison of purchase prices. With Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), we map the costs over the entire service life, such as energy use, maintenance, lifespan and residual value.

Environmental impact can also be part of this assessment. The Environmental Cost Indicator (MKI) translates environmental impact into a single financial indicator. For buildings, the Environmental Performance of Buildings (MPG) is used.

Firm of the Future combines financial and environmental data to compare alternatives and scenarios. Future developments such as carbon pricing, energy and raw material costs, circularity and CBAM can also be taken into account.

This is how TCO helps base investment decisions on costs, performance and environmental impact.