Building Transparency and KieranTimberlake Tease LCA Software Update
Washington State 501c(3) nonprofit Building Transparency and architecture and design firm KieranTimberlake have announced that an updated version of the tallyLCA software tool is under development, for release in 2025.
Like its predecessor, Tally 2.0 will remain an open-access, life cycle assessment app that enables architects and designers to calculate the carbon impact of manufactured building products and materials, and compare designs while working on Revit models in real time.
What is tallyLCA?
Life cycle assessments (LCAs) are an integral part of the contemporary AEC process, providing data on the environmental impact of building materials and products for consideration during the planning process.
As a refresher, the process for conducting life cycle assessments (LCA) is outlined in the ISO14040 standards and measures a product’s inputs, outputs, and environmental impacts throughout its lifespan—whether cradle-to-cradle or cradle-to-grave. LCAs provide necessary data for architects and designers to compare similar products within a specific category.
In its earliest iterations, tallyLCA was conceived by KieranTimberlake subsidiary KT Innovations to bridge the gap between the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process for whole-building designs and the need to utilize LCA data earlier in design phases so the carbon impact of a specific bill of materials could be determined. More than 3,000 AEC professionals currently use the tool to calculate environmental footprint in Revit.
In line with its mission to deliver open-access tools and data that support the building industry, Building Transparency continues to advance better building initiatives. Backed by a consortium of 50 AEC industry partners, Building Transparency was able to launch and maintain the EC3—the Embodied Carbon in Construction calculator—under the stewardship of research, education, and transformation program the Carbon Leadership Forum.
Pro Input Influences Revision
Building Transparency and KieranTimberlake have partnered to evolve the functionality of Tally 2.0, seeking feedback from industry stakeholders. At their request, the latest version of the software will incorporate interactive reporting, align with industry reporting standards, and feature a new user interface to improve the flexibility and quality of LCA modeling.
In a media statement, Building Transparency executive director Stacy Smedley said, “Our mission at Building Transparency is centered around providing the tools and resources needed to drive embodied carbon reductions in the building industry.
“With Tally 2.0, we are continuing this commitment by giving a major update to a tool that we know is working well but can be further improved to support our users,” Smedley continued. “We’re grateful for KieranTimberlake’s support and partnership in developing this next version of our life cycle assessment tool.”
Vaclav Hasik, Building Transparency program director, elaborated via email on the software enhancements, indicating that Tally 2.0 factors in updated LCA standards including ISO21931, ISO21930, EN15978, EN15804+A2. Hasik said, “[We’re also] planning ahead for ASHRAE 240P and the ECHO reporting schema (a Building Transparency initiative)” with the software revision.
Building Transparency and KieranTimberlake received input from “an initial Tally user stories exercise conducted in 2022/2023,” Hasik explained, as well as additional stakeholders and beta testers.
“We organized this feedback by themes, need, and amount of work, and requested the current stakeholder group to review, comment on, and add to the comprehensive list,” he said. After two stakeholder meetings to review the list of feedback, the group is prepared to move forward with the prioritized tool revisions mentioned above.
