How to use Carbon Designer 3D to model concept and early-stage building carbon impacts
Carbon Designer 3D is One Click LCA’s early design modeling tool for estimating and optimizing the embodied carbon footprint of buildings. It allows users to quickly generate building designs, visualize them in 3D, and calculate their total life-cycle carbon impact — before detailed design data is available.
It supports concept-stage decision-making, rapid option comparison, and integration with later-stage life-cycle assessments (LCAs).
Carbon Designer 3D is not available on open trial licenses.
Latest updates
November 2025 - Free Drawing in CD3D
The Power Pack adds Free Drawing function in Carbon Designer 3D automatically creates a building model based on your freely drawn floor plan. It enables you to move from concept to feasibility in minutes.
July 2025 - Generative Design in CD3D
The Power Pack adds generative AI-assisted shape generation, which creates multiple optimized building massings based on user-defined site and design constraints. This feature shortens the concept design phase and enables early carbon benchmarking.
February 2025 — major performance & calculation updates
Improved interface and calculation performance
Alignment of results with other One Click LCA tools for consistency
Added new predefined shapes (L- and E-shapes), with the E-shape adjustable into F, U, or T configurations by editing length dimensions
Calculation improvements:
Better alignment with project LCA parameters and public constructions
Updated biogenic carbon accounting for GLA/RICS tools
Revised DGNB DK calculation methodology for consistent results
Improved equivalence between Carbon Designer 3D and regular tool calculations
⚠️ Existing design results only change if the design is re-edited and resaved after the update. To preserve older results, avoid editing designs created before February 2025.
How Carbon Designer 3D works
Carbon Designer 3D is included with Designer, Expert, and Power Pack licenses for building tools. It is not compatible with interior or component-level tools.
You can find it in your project dashboard under Carbon Designer 3D.
Steps to create a model
There are five stages in creating a model in Carbon Designer 3D:
Create a design
Select the scope
Select the shape
Generate the geometry
Apply a template
Before starting, open Carbon Designer 3D in your project.
Select Carbon Designer 3D in your project
In your project, click the Carbon Designer 3D button.
From the dropdown menu, select the compatible tool you want to use.
Create a design in Carbon Designer 3D
You can either create a new design from scratch or compare up to four existing designs. To start fresh, click 'Create a Design'.
Now we can start with the generation of a building
Step 1: Create a design
You can create a new design from scratch or compare up to four existing designs.
To start fresh, click Create a design.
Provide basic information about your building:
Design name — give your design a clear, descriptive name.
Reference building — choose the appropriate reference building.
Building type — select the relevant building type.
Calculation period — define the timeframe for your analysis.
Click Next to continue.
Step 2: Select the scope
Define the scope of your analysis:
Scope — select the building parts or elements to include in the assessment.
Building structure — choose the primary structural system for your design.
You can also include optional details such as piling length (visual only), secant piling walls, or soil stabilization to make your analysis more comprehensive.
Step 3: Select the shape
Choose how you want to define the building’s shape.
For most users, select Choose predefined shape, then enter:
Gross floor area (GFA)
Number of above-ground floors
Optionally, underground floors (heated or unheated).
If you are a Power Pack user, you have two additional options:
Generate shapes with AI — automatically create optimized design options based on your site and constraints.
Free Drawing — draw a floor plan manually to generate a 3D model (see November 2025 — Free Drawing update for details).
Select the type of shape to work with
Step 4: Generate the geometry
Define your building’s geometry and visualize it in 3D.
Adjust dimensions: Modify editable parameters to test how changes affect both geometry and carbon footprint.
Explore the model: Click and drag to rotate, scroll to zoom, and use the transparency bar to adjust visual clarity.
Once you are satisfied, click Calculate areas.
Note: Dimensions cannot be changed after this step.
If needed, refine your structure or dimensions and recalculate areas before proceeding. When ready, click Submit to generate your initial results..
Example of adjusting length dimensions to create an F-shaped building.
Step 5: Apply template
If available, apply a Carbon Designer 3D template to prefill data for specific building parts. Power Pack users can access both public and private templates.
Review and refine results
The main Carbon Designer 3D page will show your design results as a baseline.
The impacts cover the same LCA stages included in the LCA tool used with Carbon Designer and which relate to materials. For most tools, this includes A1–A3 (material production), A4 (transport), A5 (site waste), B4–B5 (replacements), and C2–C4 (End-of-Life). Some tools have a more limited scope, such as Klimatdeklaration, which includes only A1-A5. LCA stages requiring different inputs - such as demolition (C1), building operation (B6, B7), and site operations - are not included. Users unsure about their tool’s scope can check the detailed Results page via the “Results” option in the design’s Input data dropdown.
The calculation method in LCA tools and the corresponding Carbon Designer 3D design is the same, so impacts should match between regular project designs and Carbon Designer 3D for the same inputs. Currently, small mismatches (<2%) may occur in specific scenarios and deprecated/BETA tools. Saving a Carbon Designer 3D design as a regular design produces nearly identical impacts until either design is edited.
In Carbon Designer 3D, you can:
View carbon footprint by element, material, or classification.
Click Carbon view to visualize embodied carbon distribution directly in the 3D model, with colors representing impact intensity.
Adjust building elements
Show alternative resources: See materials not used as defaults.
Replace elements: Swap entire constructions (e.g., floor slabs).
Adjust quantities: Modify amounts or percentages of materials.
Add new resources: Click Add resources to include custom materials or constructions.
You can also right-click any construction and select Edit construction to:
Add or remove materials
Adjust quantities and units
Rename or update descriptions
After editing, click Save to refresh your results.
Copying and comparing designs
To explore different design options, copy and modify your baseline design.
Copy a design: Click the three dots on the 3D model or in the building elements list.
Compare designs: Compare up to four models side by side to see how changes affect embodied carbon results instantly.
Saving designs
To save your work:
Click the three dots in the top-right corner of the 3D model and select Save design to project. Saved designs are accessible from the Building materials page.
Related articles
Carbon Designer 3D Free Drawing
Availability
Carbon Designer 3D is available with all Designer, Expert, and Power Pack One Click LCA licenses for buildings.
To learn more or request a demonstration, visit oneclicklca.com/carbon-designer-3d.
Frequently asked questions
What is Carbon Designer 3D used for?
Carbon Designer 3D is used to model, compare, and optimize early-stage building designs based on their embodied carbon. It helps users estimate life-cycle impacts before detailed design information is available.
Who can access Carbon Designer 3D?
Carbon Designer 3D is available to all Designer, Expert, and Power Pack license holders for building tools. The Power Pack also includes advanced features such as Free Drawing and Generative Design.
Can Carbon Designer 3D be used for renovations or refurbishments?
Yes. You can use Carbon Designer 3D for renovation or retrofit projects. Simply select only the building parts or elements that will be newly added or replaced as part of your scope. This allows you to calculate the embodied carbon impact of the new works while excluding existing structures.
Can Carbon Designer 3D be used for interiors or components?
No. Carbon Designer 3D is not compatible with interior design or component-level tools. It is designed for whole-building assessments and early-stage concept design.
What is Free Drawing in Carbon Designer 3D?
Free Drawing allows Power Pack users to sketch a 2D floor plan that automatically generates a 3D building model. This enables faster transitions from concept to feasibility and supports early embodied carbon assessments.
How does Generative Design differ from Free Drawing?
Generative Design uses AI to automatically create multiple optimized shapes based on site and design constraints, while Free Drawing allows users to manually draw custom shapes for full design flexibility.
Can I modify a generated model after creating it?
Yes. You can adjust materials, quantities, or entire building elements after calculation. However, geometric dimensions cannot be changed once areas are calculated and the 3D model is finalized.
How do I compare different design options?
You can copy your baseline design and modify parameters such as structure type or material choices. Up to four designs can be compared side by side to assess carbon impact differences.
Does Carbon Designer 3D account for regional variations?
Yes. Calculations are based on regional datasets, including material profiles, carbon factors, and regulatory parameters. Selecting the correct reference building region ensures locally relevant results.
How does Carbon Designer 3D support sustainability certifications?
Results from Carbon Designer 3D can inform early-stage decisions aligned with LEED, BREEAM, DGNB, and Level(s) methodologies. Early carbon optimization at the concept stage helps reduce embodied impacts throughout the project lifecycle.