Act Now
Join us in our attempt to reduce CO2 emissions in the construction world. Let’s be mindful of the impact CO2 is having on our environment and take action. As designers and architects, we will do our best to minimize the amount of CO2 our buildings are emitting. We encourage you to join our move and […]
Regenerative Design
Regeneration refers to the action of renewing or restoring something. In this case, we are bringing awareness to the need to create designs that will help regenerate our environment. When we combine regenerative designs with architecture, we are creating a connection between the building and the natural systems, which are often more sustainable than artificial […]
Architecture 2030
Architecture 2030, an independent non-profit founded in 2002, stands as a beacon for addressing our pressing climate challenges. Its primary mission revolves around significantly reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions within the built environment, aiming to remove the building industries status as a major contributor to CO2 emissions. For two decades, they’ve led the charge […]
Operational Carbon Hot Spots
Building operations account for 27% of global annual carbon emissions. Within the building operations, heating systems account for the highest amount of CO2 emissions due to the combustion of fuels. Oil and natural gas are the predominant heat source in buildings. Most places are leaning towards natural gas since it’s a lighter fuel and produces […]
Embodied Carbon Hot Spots
The choice of materials during building specification and design significantly impacts a building’s health and environmental performance. Carbon plays a crucial role in this context, and in this blog we’ve narrowed the focus to materials commonly discussed in construction. Selecting the right materials is paramount for a building’s environmental performance. To simplify this discussion, we’ve […]
How to Reduce Operational Carbon
While the reduction of operational carbon becomes more difficult after a building has been built, designing for energy efficiency can improve building performance. Very rarely can mechanical systems be completely omitted from architecture. In these cases, selecting efficient MEP systems (e.g. centralized vs. decentralized heating/cooling, heat/energy recovery ventilation) will make a significant difference in operational […]
How to Reduce Embodied Carbon
1. ADAPTIVE REUSE Instead of new construction, which creates an entirely new building life-cycle, determine if adaptive reuse is viable. How can building materials and systems be recycled and reused? 2. REDUCE BELOW GRADE CONSTRUCTION Creating designs that go below grade increase the need to build large foundations of concrete. Concrete is a material that […]
Why is Tracking CO2 Important?
Building materials, construction, and operations account for 39% of the total carbon emissions worldwide. Because the built environment is responsible for the greatest output of CO2 by sector, it should be our goal to build more sustainably and reduce embodied and operational carbon. First, we need to understand which stages of the building life-cycle emits […]
Carbon Life Cycle
he carbon cycle can be divided into 17 different phases to assist the tracking of CO2 emissions in the building industry. It begins from the extraction of materials and ends at its disposal. Each phase helps calculate CO2 emissions throughout the lifespan of a building accurately. By conducting a life-cycle analysis, we can pinpoint which […]
What is Atmospheric Carbon?
Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that absorbs and radiates heat. While a natural phenomenon, excess CO2 negatively contributes to the global warming crisis by supercharging the greenhouse effect and increasing the average global temperature. In the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, the output of CO2 can be measured two ways: embodied carbon […]
