Every Carbon Designer 3D design starts from a regional reference building. This article explains how One Click LCA builds those reference buildings, which data and partners they draw on, and what is available for each region.
What a reference building represents
In almost all regions, a reference building represents the typical (median) building for the combination of region, building type and structural frame you select. It gives you a realistic starting point that you can then adjust to your own design.
The Norwegian reference building is an exception: with its default structural frame, it aims to represent the average building in the Norwegian market.
Data sources
Each reference building combines several sources:
Source | How it is used |
Building codes | Local regulations make sure the reference building meets regional requirements for energy efficiency and, in some cases, other aspects. |
Local partners | In some regions, local organizations have commissioned or co-developed the models. Examples include Statsbygg (Norway), the Irish Green Building Council, Sumitomo (Japan), and the Finnish Wood Industry Association and RTT's thermal insulation manufacturers group (Finland). |
Local experts | Interviews and partnerships with architects, engineers and builders in the region inform typical construction methods, material choices and recycled content levels. One Click LCA's local employees also contribute. |
Certification schemes | Where available, regional schemes such as Verde (Spain) and Green Star (Australia) are used to align data with recognized sustainability standards. |
Research | Recent research, reports and building codes help capture regional construction trends and material preferences. |
How reference buildings vary by region
Typical constructions. The most common local solutions for each building part, such as typical external walls, are set as defaults or alternatives.
Local environmental data. Where a market prefers specific generic data, such as regulatory databases like Boverket (Sweden) and co2data.fi (Finland) or industry databases like Ökobau.dat (Germany), that data is used. Elsewhere, One Click LCA's own generic data is used, adjusted to the project's country with the manufacturing localization method.
Thermal requirements. Variations cover the thermal performance levels commonly needed under local regulations and practice.
Typical material types. Materials favoured locally for roofs, walls, foundations and other parts are available as defaults or alternatives.
Recycled content. Typical recycled content of concrete and steel varies by region and can have a large effect on results. This has higher uncertainty, so you can switch between alternatives.
Seismic requirements. For regions with higher seismic activity, additional structural frames are calibrated for those conditions. This is an area of ongoing development.
Building type set-up. Building part ratios, such as internal to external wall area, are usually the same across regions.
Geometry assumptions
Each building type has a preset range of dimensions and building part ratios, such as building width to depth ratio, internal floor height and external to internal wall ratio. These assumptions are based on Eurocodes, research on typical construction practice and data from local partners. They usually do not vary by region, but regional adjustments can be made when more data becomes available.
Column spacing and other structural values depend on the structural frame. Default and alternative frames can differ by region.
Carbon Designer 3D calculates the overall geometry from these dimensions and ratios. The constructions used, such as the wall type, then depend on the structural frame, region and building type.
You can see and edit most of these dimensions when you create a design, so you can adjust them to match your project.
Regions, data and partners
Region | Data (minimum compliance) | Key references and partners | Operational energy |
Australia | EN 15804+A2 | Green Star Australia, Australian National Construction Code (NCC) | No |
California | ISO 21930 | ASHRAE 90.1, California Green Building Standards Code, MIT researchers, local external and in-house experts | No |
Denmark | EN 15804+A1 (incl. BR18) | Bygningsreglementet (BR18), also compliant with BR25; in-house experts | No |
Eastern Europe | EN 15804+A1 | Local partner, external and in-house experts | No |
Finland (full LCA datasets) | EN 15804+A1 | RTT, Finnish Wood Industry Association | Yes |
Finland (co2data.fi datasets) | co2data.fi and/or EN 15804+A1 | RTT, Finnish Wood Industry Association | Yes |
France | INIES / EN 15804+A1 | FPI France, local external and in-house experts | No |
Germany | EN 15804+A1 (incl. Ökobau.dat) | Local external and in-house experts | No |
Hungary | EN 15804+A1 (incl. Ökobau.dat) | Local partners | No |
International | EN 15804+A1 | External and in-house experts, inputs from other regions | No |
International (EN 15804+A2) | EN 15804+A2 | External and in-house experts, inputs from other regions | No |
Ireland | EN 15804+A1 | Irish Green Building Council | Yes |
Italy | EN 15804+A1 | University of Bari academics, local partners | No |
Japan | EN 15804+A1 | Sumitomo | No |
MENA | EN 15804+A1 | Local in-house experts | No |
New Zealand | BRANZ and/or EN 15804+A1 | Green Star New Zealand, local building codes for energy performance | No |
Norway (2015 Lavkarbon data) | EN 15804+A1 | Statsbygg, local partners, klimagassregnskap.no data | Yes |
Norway (2020 Lavkarbon data) | EN 15804+A1 | Local partners, klimagassregnskap.no data | Yes |
Norway (DFØ) | EN 15804+A1 | Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management (DFØ) reference model | Yes |
Spain | EN 15804+A1 | Verde, Green Building Council Spain (GBCe), in-house experts | No |
Sweden (full LCA datasets) | EN 15804+A1 | Local partners, in-house experts, references from the Norwegian region | No |
Sweden (Boverket datasets) | Boverket and/or EN 15804+A1 | Local partner, in-house experts, references from the Norwegian region | No |
UK | EN 15804+A1 | Local partner, external and in-house experts | Yes |
UK RICS v2 | EN 15804+A1 | Local partner, external and in-house experts | Yes |
USA / Canada | ISO 21930 | ASHRAE, MIT researchers, in-house experts | No |
Operational energy is available only for supported building types within these regions. See Carbon Designer 3D: Calculate operational energy and carbon.
If a variation you need is missing
Create a private template. Save your own construction choices as a private template, and everyone in your company account can reuse it in Carbon Designer 3D. See Carbon Designer 3D: Private templates.
Tell us. Send other requests to One Click LCA Customer Support, and the team will review them.
Frequently asked questions
Which reference building should I choose?
Choose the one for the country where the building will be built. Where a country has more than one, pick the one that matches the data or method your project must follow, for example co2data.fi datasets in Finland or Boverket datasets in Sweden.
Is the reference building a best-practice or a typical building?
Typical. In almost all regions it represents the median building for the region, building type and structural frame. In Norway, the default frame represents the market average.
Can I change the reference building's constructions and dimensions?
Yes. You can edit most dimensions when you create a design and change constructions and materials afterwards. To reuse your changes, save them as a private template.
My region is not listed. What can I use?
Use the International reference building, or the International (EN 15804+A2) version if your project needs EN 15804+A2 data.
Related articles
Article | Read it when |
You are new to Carbon Designer 3D or want the full workflow | |
You want operational energy and carbon alongside embodied carbon | |
You already have an IFC model of the building | |
Your building mixes uses, has floors of different sizes, or includes parking or underground structures | |
You are working with Norwegian reference buildings |