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Urban areas face pressing environmental challenges, including biodiversity loss, climate change, and unsustainable resource consumption. The building sector contributes significantly, accounting for 40% of natural resources and over 30% of global energy consumption ( ( - publication 2025)) but also holds transformative potential. When designed with nature-based solutions (NbS), buildings can actively regenerate ecosystems by delivering ESs such as temperature regulation, air and water purification, and enhanced biodiversity.

Despite growing interest in sustainable design, empirical data linking design strategies to measurable ecological outcomes remain fragmented, inaccessible, and geographically limited. Professionals lack a centralized, trusted platform to guide ecologically informed decisions. This platform addresses this gap by unifying disparate data sources into a coherent, science-driven system, linking building and urban design strategies to proven ecological outcomes. It will accelerate urban sustainability transitions and help meet international targets.

The platform aligns with the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Green Deal. It supports data transparency and enables organizations to assess, report, and improve their environmental impact using proven ES-generating design strategies. The platform will be co-created with experts in urban design, ecology, data science, and education. It will link NbS, mechanical, hybrid, and behavioral design strategies to empirically measured ESs, integrate fragmented data using cutting-edge technologies for spatial and temporal comparison and provide an open-access resource for professionals and a hub for researchers to share findings.

Workshops and focus groups

First, the project team will organize stakeholder workshops and focus groups with UU’s Campus & Facilities team, relevant Living Labs and Pathways to Sustainability communities. Workshops and focus groups will use real campus redevelopment cases to identify user needs, platform content, and structural requirements.

User interviews and surveys

In parallel, user interviews and surveys will be conducted with professionals in the field of sustainable building design (e.g., architects, designers, sustainability managers, and researchers) to explore functional building demands, key performance metrics, tools used in the design process, and challenges in assessing ecological benefits.

Value proposition

Based on the collected requirements for the platform a clear value proposition will be defined. A maximum of 3–5 key ESs will be prioritized for initial prototyping of the platform (e.g. in line with the UU programs). Goal is to create a mutually beneficial platform that links operations with academic departments to facilitate communication and information exchange among a diversity of stakeholders and experts coming from different professional backgrounds, working and organizational cultures and roles.

Platform development 

New and existing datasets (including collected empirical data at UU) will be linked across spatial levels of building detail. Using cutting-edge technologies in combination with expert reviews to unify data will optimize resource use, ensure high data quality and showcase how ecologically functional building design creates positive impacts. Fragmented data will be addressed by expanding sources (e.g., using AI models to extract insights from scientific literature). Knowledge graphs will be built to connect data silos. Accessible documentation will be developed to support platform integration in practice and scalability, aligned with international data interoperability principles where possible. 

Platform testing

Pilot testing will be conducted with UU internal and external partners, including architects, designers, sustainability managers, and researchers, to ensure usability and scientific validity. 

Since the UU aspires to lead sustainable development by establishing a climate-mitigating, climate-adaptive, biodiverse, energy-neutral, circular, and healthy campus, the Campus & Facilities team will be among the first pilot testers. 
 

Platform improvement and scaling

Following successful pilots, the platform will expand in scope and functionality. New data layers, ESs, and design strategies will be added, increasing reach and impact. Over time, the platform will scale to include more climate zones and building typologies.

Leveraging interdisciplinary collaboration among environmental science, computational science, and building practice (at UU and beyond), the platform aims to link knowledge systems and drive sustainable science and policy. The platform informs on sustainable building and neighborhood development examples to achieve societal impact. The project seeks to create a shared language between computational, ecological, building and socio-political fields of expertise, supporting ecologically beneficial designs while addressing risks and opportunities.

Significant effort was devoted to building a diverse and committed consortium. 

Additional Internal Collaborators (UU) – Thinktank 

• Academic: Harm van den Heiligenberg, Helen Toxopeus, Geertje Speelman, Karin Rebel, Ernst Worrell
• Operational: Jeroen Hutten (Sustainability Office)

External Collaborators

• FIBREE: NGO with consultative status at UN EcoSoc (real estate and blockchain)
• For Nature Construction: Sustainable design innovators
• Maibritt Pedersen Zari (AUT): Expert on ecosystem services and urban design (NUWAO project)
• HovenHier (NL): Local re-greening initiative collaborating on citizen-based urban nature
• TerraLupa (Spain)
   

They presented the project at:

• PtS Conference (November 2024)
• Future of Work Conference (March 2025)
• DICC Workshop at ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ College London (April 2025)