Tag: archdaily-topic-2023-decarbonize-architecture | ArchDaily

How to Reduce the Carbon Footprint Through Architecture? Three Approaches Across the Building Lifecycle

Enrique Tovar — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 14:37:00 +0000

Architecture encompasses multiple processes, starting with identifying needs and transforming them into habitable structures through thoughtful design. Historically, construction-related processes like resource extraction and end-of-life disposal were often overlooked. However, it is essential to recognize that buildings have a lifecycle with significant impacts on carbon emissions. Emphasizing sustainable practices is vital to minimize our ecological footprint and positively impact the planet.

Cooling and Energy Efficiency: A New Era in Building Design

Fabian Dejtiar — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 08:00:00 +0000

The world has just witnessed the hottest months in recorded history, and the outlook is far from optimistic. Rising temperatures are driving greater cooling demands, threatening to trigger a vicious cycle of higher electricity use and carbon emissions. In a planet simultaneously facing unprecedented urbanization and a climate crisis, the intersection of building energy efficiency and cooling technologies has never been more crucial.

Creating Energy-Efficient Buildings: The Role of Human Interaction and Sensory Technology

Ankitha Gattupalli — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 07:30:00 +0000

How do we create buildings that use energy efficiently? Traditionally, efforts to green the built environment have centered on the physical infrastructure, often overlooking the relationships between people and space. The emergence of the technological era has ushered in "Smart Buildings." that employ machine learning and automation. These innovative structures are designed to operate with impressive energy efficiency, however, they are largely disconnected from their occupants. What if buildings could be made smarter and more sustainable by engaging with their occupants?

Do Passive Design Strategies Truly Reduce the Carbon Footprint Effectively?

Helena Tourinho — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 06:30:00 +0000

Architecture is a transdisciplinary field. It incorporates principles and knowledge from several other disciplines to ensure a built structure functions as intended. This fundamentally involves considering the context in which a building is placed, including its immediate surroundings, such as neighboring structures, local biodiversity, and climate. Essentially, architecture only exists within a particular context. When we expand this context to a broader scale, it becomes what we commonly refer to as the "environment."

Innovations and Potential of CPC Panels in Decarbonizing Concrete Construction: Interview with Josef Kurath

Paul Yakubu — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 07:30:00 +0000

CPC concrete slabs are based on the technology of "carbon pre-stressed concrete," which originated from a long-term research project conducted by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur (ZHAW) and Silidur AG, Andelfingen. These panels are reinforced with thin, pre-stressed carbon strands, allowing them to be three to four times thinner and lighter while maintaining the same load-bearing capacity as traditional reinforced slabs.

What Is a Passive Building and How Can It Contribute to Decarbonizing Architecture?

Eduardo Souza — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Sustainable construction certifications can play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by establishing solid criteria to foster ecologically responsible practices in the construction industry. They not only give public visibility to industry-accepted standards and monitor performance, ensuring compliance with regulations, but also stimulate the reduction of negative environmental impacts while rewarding buildings that fulfill strict sustainability standards. By establishing higher levels of excellence in projects and constructions, these certifications influence the evolution of construction codes, training professionals, and even changing corporate strategies.

The Digital Divide: Can Technology Support Vernacular Architecture?

Ankitha Gattupalli — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:30:00 +0000

The architecture and construction industry has undergone a transformation with the integration of various digital tools, now indispensable to the design process. The welcoming of technologies has effectively streamlined operations, enhanced efficiency, and elevated design quality. This digital shift, however, has resulted in a digital divide that goes beyond accessibility to tools and software. It also encompasses the crucial aspect of integrating traditional and indigenous communities into the urban development landscape. Can advancing technology support the growth of vernacular architecture? Can indigenous building practices find a place in the vision for a digitalized future?

A Mindset of Revival: Exploring Reuse in Urban Biennales and Pavilions

Nour Fakharany — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

In light of the looming climate crisis and the pursuit of sustainability, the concepts of revival and reuse have emerged as crucial strategies in the quest for decarbonization in the architecture industry. These principles preach that creating new structures may be sustainable but encourage architects to minimize their ecological footprint by reactivating and recycling existing resources. This year specifically, innovative projects in line with these themes were displayed as part of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. This world-renowned event’s core purpose is to serve as a platform for architects, designers, and thinkers to collectively reimagine sustainability, decarbonization, resource conservation, and the industry's future.

What Are the Sustainable Demolition Strategies That Can Decarbonize Architecture?

Paul Yakubu — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 07:30:00 +0000

The built environment is responsible for approximately 42% of annual global CO2 emissions. During a building's lifespan, half of these emissions come from its construction and demolition. To decarbonize architecture and control global emissions, it is important to rethink and reduce the upfront or embodied carbon impacts of demolitions, as well as implement sustainable construction strategies for buildings. Demolitions typically involve dismantling, razing, destroying, or wrecking buildings and structural parts, leading to unsustainable levels of carbon emissions, material depletion, waste, and pollution. These hasty methods of ending the life cycle of a building have negative impacts on the environment, material components, and recycling strategies. Therefore, there is a clear need to re-think the way in which we approach the end of a building or infrastructure project's life towards a more sustainable system of deconstruction.

What is Peatland: A Powerful Carbon Store and Ecosystem

Victor Delaqua — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 04:30:00 +0000

A type of wetland that provides an incredible carbon-storing capacity. This could be an excellent way to describe a peatland. Found in practically every climate zone in the world, this type of ecosystem is much more than this short description, as it plays an important role in mitigating the climate crisis. But what is it, and how can we use it responsibly?

Are Carbon-Neutral Buildings Expensive?

Ankitha Gattupalli — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 07:30:00 +0000

Decarbonization of the building sector is no longer a choice but a necessity. As nations strive to curb their greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, it is increasingly clear that current building standards do not go far enough to drive tangible change. Achieving climate goals requires economies to advocate measures that drive carbon neutrality while managing associated costs effectively. How would net-zero performance strategies impact building costs?

Innovations in Cement and Concrete That Are Making Construction More Sustainable

Eduardo Souza — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 01:30:00 +0000

The need to reduce the construction industry's carbon footprint and its reliance on virgin natural resources is the most pressing issue facing the sector. It is therefore extremely important to foster innovation that can improve existing building materials and make them environmentally friendly, in order to successfully tackle its sizable carbon footprint and close the material loop.