Natural
\nelements are an essential part of the built environment. However, BIM tools offer
\nalmost no support to landscape architecture. Plehat is introducing a new
\nsolution that helps architects and decision-makers to understand the dynamics
\nof nature and make smart design choices.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Plehat used In 2018, Lauri Lemmenlehti<\/strong>, the CEO of Plehat, is a video game enthusiast. The developer Inspired by \u201cThere\u2019s a Lemmenlehti Lemmenlehti Unlike Many Plehat Landscape Plehat\u2019s The challenge After launching The app\u2019s Lemmelehti For more information, visit plehat.com<\/a> (in Finnish) or contact Lauri Lemmenlehti at
\nphotogrammetric 3D models of Uunisaari islands, to the south of Helsinki. The
\nexperimenters modeled the buildings and the plants on the island and used game
\nengine software to create a virtual reality (VR) experience. They called the
\napp the \u201cLandscape Time Machine\u201d. The technology solution they developed paved the
\nway for new software that the company will launch later this year.<\/p>\n
\nPlehat, a landscape design startup, received funding from the Finnish national
\nKIRA-digi digitalization project to carry out a test. The experimentation
\ndemonstrated how seasonal changes and weather conditions affect plants, and how
\nthe environment can be visualized and analyzed virtually.<\/p>\nFrom Gaming to Landscaping<\/h2>\n
![\"-\"](\"https:\/\/aec-business.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/lauri-lemmenlehti.jpg\")
\nDuring his studies, he was fascinated by the way computer game developers model
\nenvironments. Grand Theft Auto 5, a six-year-old game, is a great example of
\nthis. It includes an urban environment, a mixture of San Francisco and
\nLos Angeles and a pseudo-California, in an area of roughly 100 square kilometers
\nof natural environments.<\/p>\n
\nin charge of modeling those natural environments told Lemmenlehti that it took
\naround three years for 25\u201330 people to complete their task. There are few environmental
\nprojects in the physical world with as much design power.<\/p>\n
\nvideo games that could handle such large-scale natural environments, game
\nengines were a logical platform of choice for Lemmenlehti.<\/p>\nLandscape Design Needs a
\nDigital Boost<\/h2>\n
\nreal danger that in digitalization our profession is going to be left behind
\nthe rest of the construction industry,\u201d says Lemmenlehti. \u201cTo make things
\nworse, there\u2019s no international consensus on what to model of the natural
\nenvironment, or how.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nand Mikko Vekkeli <\/strong>founded Plehat in
\nearly 2017. Nine people now work at the company, which offers consulting
\nservices and develops its own software. Their first product will be a plant
\nlibrary for designers.<\/p>\n
\nemphasizes the difference between design for construction and for landscape
\ndesign. Building projects produce a physical product that usually stays the
\nsame or nearly the same for a long time. Construction has a starting point and a
\ncompletion date.<\/p>\n
\nbuildings, landscapes are never \u201cfinished\u201d. Plants grow, change their shape,
\nand often look very different in mid-summer and mid-winter. Environmental
\nconditions \u2014 wind, rain, the light and the soil \u2014 affect plant growth a great
\ndeal. A pine on a windy coast looks quite different than in the mainland. It
\ntakes 30 to 40 years before an environment is fully developed. A landscape
\ndesign application must be able to handle the dynamics of natural environments.<\/p>\nA Practical Tool for
\nArchitects<\/h2>\n
\nclients don\u2019t hire a professional to do the landscape design. Instead, the
\narchitect of the building designs its surrounding areas. Therein lies the
\nproblem, as Lemmenlehti describes: \u201cArchitects struggle to choose plants for a
\nparticular site. They don\u2019t know if the environment is suitable for the plant.
\nInstead, they make choices based on looks. What they have at their disposal is
\na catalog of plants with small photos and codes that indicate various
\nrequirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nwants to make plant selection simple for the architect. You click on a map and
\nthe app suggests plants that thrive in that environment. In addition, the app
\ncan tell if the plant is available at nursery gardens. With VR glasses, you can
\nalso see how a tree looks in real life, at various ages and in any season. This
\nhelps both the client and the designer to make better decisions and to avoid selecting
\nplants that will not flourish.<\/p>\n
\narchitects typically work as sub-consultants to architects. That\u2019s why they use
\nthe same design tools as architects. The leading BIM software packages are
\nRevit and Archicad, but a few landscape designers also use MicroStation.<\/p>\n
\nplant app will be an extension to Revit and Archicad, which will enable them to
\nsell it to both architects and landscape designers. The VR features will
\nrequire a PC sufficiently powerful to run a game engine, the platform on which
\nthe app is built. A Mac version is also in the pipeline.<\/p>\n![\"Plehat\"](\"https:\/\/aec-business.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/plehat-landscape.jpg\")
Aiming at an International
\nMarket<\/h2>\n
\nin developing intelligent tools for landscape architects and designers is the
\nsmall market size. In Finland there is just a handful of firms: 300 landscape
\narchitects, and a few hundred landscape designers. The International Federation
\nof Landscape Architects represents around 25,000 individuals across the world.
\nIn contrast, there are around 2.7 million architects worldwide.<\/p>\n
\nits app in Finland, Plehat will start selling in other Nordic countries, and
\nthen move into larger markets. The eventual goal is a global plant library of
\nall relevant species.<\/p>\n
\nplanned release date is in September 2019. Customers will get a 30-day free
\ntrial, and after that they will make a monthly payment for the service.
\nConsumers will be given a light, freemium version.<\/p>\n
\nbelieves that their app will not only help designers and decision-makers. It
\nwill also benefit urban environments at large. \u201cGreen areas are essential to insects
\nand the whole ecosystem. We can fill up the city with buildings provided we take
\nthe green environment into account, well in advance,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n