GreeNest: Building a Nature-Positive, Zero-Emission Future—Now with a Dedicated BIM Library

GreeNest—short for Nest Ingrained Ecosystem for Zero Emission Buildings—is an EU-funded initiative demonstrating how nature-based envelopes, green technologies, and renewable energy systems can be seamlessly woven into architecture to deliver resource-efficient, genuinely zero-emission buildings. Beyond the technical strategies, GreeNest also studies human factors—how occupants use, operate, and respond to buildings—so that performance is resilient in real-world conditions, not just in simulations.

As part of the project’s Information and Communication Tools, Bimetica has developed the GreeNest BIM Library. This content set helps design teams streamline modeling, analysis, and decision-making from concept through delivery, ensuring that sustainability targets are embedded in the workflow from day one rather than bolted on at the end.

Why a BIM Library Matters for Zero Emissions

Designing for zero emissions means coordinating many moving parts: green walls and roofs, advanced façades, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), high-performance windows, robust insulation strategies, and more. Each system influences energy demand, thermal comfort, daylight, cost, and embodied carbon. Without standardized digital content, teams can lose time reconciling parameters, re-creating assemblies, or chasing missing data.

The GreeNest BIM Library addresses these challenges by packaging systems as well-structured, data-rich components so design teams can:

• Specify GreeNest solutions consistently across projects.
• Simulate and compare alternatives rapidly, with reliable metadata.
• Share accurate information across disciplines and software platforms.
• Trace key decisions with clear, standardized parameters and schedules.

GreeNest's BIM Library

Authored in Autodesk® Revit and exported to IFC, the library supports both native and openBIM workflows, enabling transparent collaboration among architects, engineers, consultants, and contractors.

The first release of the GreeNest BIM Library is organized around Special Products (SPs)—the building blocks of the project’s zero-emission approach. Each SP is delivered as a BIM element with the appropriate geometry, metadata, property sets, and schedules to support documentation and analysis.

Collectively, these elements help teams model nature-based envelopes, low-impact slabs and roofs, and energy-harvesting façades, accelerating early decisions that have the largest impact on life-cycle carbon and long-term building performance.

The GDO-BIM Standard

All GreeNest BIM elements adhere to the GDO-BIM Standard, which aligns product and system data to the IFC schema and sets a clear structure for parameters used throughout the project lifecycle. In practice, this means:

• Consistent parameter naming for smoother cross-disciplinary coordination.
• IFC-aligned mapping for robust openBIM exchanges and longevity of data.
• Phase-ready metadata suitable for concept, design development, documentation, construction, and facility management.
• Reduced rework when models move between tools, teams, or project phases.

The result is a dependable data backbone that supports energy modeling, daylight and thermal studies, cost planning, specifications, and sustainability assessments—without the friction of ad-hoc content creation.

BIM files that are LCA-Ready

standout feature of the GreeNest BIM Library is its built-in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) readiness. System families—such as walls, roofs, and floors—include preconfigured schedules that surface:

• Unit quantities and material take-offs for each element, facilitating fast, reliable quantity analysis.
• Quick, estimated LCA indicators to inform early design choices, so teams can compare options while there’s still time to adjust.

By putting LCA-relevant data at the fingertips of architects and engineers, the library enables earlier comparison of alternatives, supports embodied-carbon reduction, and aligns the design process with zero-emission targets—without waiting for late-stage calculations.

Benefits of the BIM Library

The library is authored in Autodesk® Revit, ensuring compatibility with common authoring environments and standard documentation practices. In parallel, each element is exported to IFC for open standards and cross-platform collaboration. Whether your team prefers native Revit families or interoperable IFC exchanges, the content is prepared to integrate into your workflow, consultants’ tools, and project delivery requirements.

The GreeNest BIM Library helps improve your project design in the following ways:

• Faster modeling & analysis
  Drop-in, data-rich components reduce setup time and minimize repetitive modeling tasks. Teams can focus on design intent and performance outcomes instead of chasing parameters.
• Better decisions, earlier
  LCA-oriented schedules and consistent properties provide the right signals at the right time, steering low-carbon choices from the outset.
• Consistent documentation
  Standardized property sets and naming conventions ensure clarity in drawings, schedules, and specifications, reducing coordination issues and RFIs.
• Future-proof data
  IFC alignment and GDO-BIM structure make models more durable across software updates, handovers, and operational phases, supporting digital twins and long-term asset management.

Bimetica's role

Bimetica supports the GreeNest consortium by developing, structuring, and validating the BIM content that underpins the project’s nature-based, renewable, and user-centric approach. The goal is simple: remove friction for design teams so high-performance, zero-emission solutions become the practical default on real projects—delivered on time, with less risk, and with transparent sustainability outcomes.