3D model viewer

The viewer shows the geometry that has been published into the project’s models. It is the quickest way to find out what an element actually is, whether it is mapped, and which parts of the building carry the most carbon. Open it from 3D model in the project rail, or from the link in the dashboard’s summary strip. The tools sit in the top-right corner of the viewer. Inspect element is selected when the viewer opens, so clicking an element works straight away.

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Inspect an element

Click any element to open Inspect element. It reports the type, family, and category that came from the authoring tool, and whether the element is Mapped or Unmapped.

• Zoom frames the selection; Isolate hides everything else; Deselect clears it.
• Build-up (outside → inside) lists the layers of a wall or floor with their thicknesses and the overall Total.
• Area shows the area of the selected element in the model.
• Under Materials, every material on the element is listed with the EPD it is mapped to. Change EPD re-maps it without leaving the viewer; an unmapped material offers Assign EPD instead.
• Open in full mapping jumps to the row in Material Mapping.

Use the build-up to check an assembly against the design before you trust its result. Layers are listed in order from the outside face to the inside face.

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Layers with varying thickness

Some layers are not the same thickness everywhere, for example tapered roof insulation. The build-up then shows the nominal thickness with a Thickness varies note giving the average across the element. Each material card shows the quantity it is calculated on, for example Calculated on 50.7 m³. Compare it with the nominal thickness times the area to see whether the variation has been picked up.

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Switch a material off

Each material has an Include in mapping toggle, the same switch as in Material Mapping. Turn it off to leave the material out of the calculation. Excluded elements get their own grey look and an Excluded chip, so you can tell them apart from elements that are not mapped yet. A switched-off material is never counted as unmapped.

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Change the EPD from the viewer

Change EPD opens the library inside the viewer, with Materials and Constructions tabs and a search field. The data source button next to the search filters results by data source. Use it to stay within the data allowed for the project’s country. Results outside that data are tagged, for example Not allowed in Ireland.

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Measure the model

The measure tool takes heights, thicknesses, and areas directly from the model, so you don’t have to switch back to your authoring tool to check a number.

1. Select the measure tool in the viewer toolbar.
2. Choose Distance or Area, and pick the unit from the dropdown.
3. Click points on the model:
   • For Distance, click the points to measure between.
   • For Area, click each corner, then double-click to close the shape.
4. Drag a corner to move it. Where points overlap, the selected row moves.

Every measurement is added to the list in the panel and labelled with its number in the model.

• Name a measurement, for example Column height or Wall area, so the list reads on its own.
• Expand a row to see its points. Use the row buttons to duplicate or delete it.
• The footer sums the lines and areas you have measured.
• Export downloads the list. Clear removes every measurement.

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Colour the model by impact

The viewer can shade the model by emission intensity instead of by material, which makes the hot spots obvious at a glance. The legend doubles as a filter: pick a type to highlight it in the model, drag the range handles to narrow the band being coloured, and Reset range puts it back.

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Colour by life-cycle stage

Colour by switches the heatmap from Total (all stages) to a single life-cycle stage, grouped by phase: production (A1–A3), construction (A4, A5), use (B1–B7), and end of life (C). Pick a B4 or C stage to see where the replacement and end-of-life burden sits, which the total alone can hide.

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Find what is not mapped

The material mapping panel turns the model into a checklist. With Colour by set to Mapping status, each type is green when mapped, amber when incomplete, and red when unmapped.

• The bar and counts show how many elements are mapped, incomplete, and unmapped.
• Each type in the list shows how many of its layers are mapped, for example 0/1 layers mapped.
• Show in 3D limits the model to All, Unmapped, Incomplete, or Mapped.
• Next type steps through the list until nothing is left.

Filtering hides every element that doesn’t match. Nothing is greyed out, so furniture and geometry without an LCA type disappear too. A fully mapped building no longer fills the screen when you filter for Unmapped. Excluded materials are not counted as unmapped. Inspect an element to see its Excluded chip. See Switch a material off.

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Colour by mapping source

Set Colour by to Mapping source to see who mapped each type: Auto-mapped, Mapped by a person, or Not mapped. Auto-mapping is a guess until a person maps the type. A type with any auto-mapped layer shows as auto-mapped. Work through the Auto-mapped group to confirm or change those EPDs before you report.

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Colour by material stage

Set Colour by to Material stage to shade each type by the stage of its material layers, for example New construction. When a type’s layers have different stages, the type is shown as Mixed. Use this view to check that each part of the building has the stage you expect.

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Colour by EPD validity

Set Colour by to EPD validity to find types that rest on an EPD close to expiry. Types are grouped into Expiring soon, Valid, and Not mapped.

• Expiring soon means the EPD expires within six months.
• Each type shows the worst validity among its material layers.

Replace expiring EPDs before you submit, so the report doesn’t rely on data that runs out during review.

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Colour by EPD quality

In the mapping panel, set Colour by to EPD quality to shade each type by the kind of data behind it: product-specific, industry, generic, or custom.

• The summary counts how many elements rest on product or industry EPDs.
• Each type is coloured by the weakest data among its material layers.
• Show in 3D limits the model to one quality group. Next type steps through the list.

This view shows at a glance where the result rests on generic data, and where a better EPD would make the number more trustworthy.