CA51 - Envelope Carbon
How much carbon is in your envelope, Mass Timber Group, Autodesk Forma updates, and more.
NEWSWORTHY
THE SPONSOR
The Mass Timber Group is your source for all things Mass Timber.
Get a 20% discount to their upcoming Summit with the code CARBONARCHITECT
THE TOPIC
Architects know that embodied carbon is a big issue that needs to be tackled.
One of the challenges is where to look.
The LETI Embodied Carbon Primer breaks it down pretty clearly.
As expected, structural elements are the largest contributors but the next is the envelope.
Building envelopes contributes between 13 - 17% of the embodied carbon of a project.
This obviously depends strongly on all the specifics of your building and what you’ve chosen as your materials. Let’s look at some examples from the tools listed below.
There has been quite a lot of research in recent years related to reducing and tracking the embodied carbon of different envelope types.
1 - KieranTimberlake & Kingspan | Industrial Embodied Carbon Envelopes
A study by KieranTimberlake Architects with Kingspan studied the impacts of industrial building envelopes. Surprise - Kingspan is the best option. 😉
2 - 2050 Materials | Embodied Carbon Optimizer
2050 Materials has developed an Embodied Carbon Optimizer Tool which will help you instantly see the impact of different insulation types, cladding finishes, and biogenic options.
3 - Payette | Embodied Carbon Design Tool
Payette has developed an Embodied Carbon Design Tool for architects to see the relative impact of different facade systems
4 - RDH | Embodied Carbon Assemblies
RDH alongside TMU have studied 26 enclosure systems commonly used in Ontario based on their emissions and published the catalog of results.
The envelope isn’t the biggest contributor, but it has a big impact on energy use and embodied carbon.
Don’t forget about both aspects!
PS - I can’t help but share this LinkedIn post from Andy Thompson about the “Alberta Special”. A wall assembly with the highest number of oil and gas-derived construction materials ….
THE PERSON
Mattie Mead is someone who is looking to change the architecture industry by creating materials that are good for the planet. He is the Founder & CEO of Hempitecture Inc. which is creating sustainable and healthy building materials.
THE PRODUCT
I recently had an introduction to Lightly - a company that is looking to change the lighting industry in buildings. It’s products are made with 100% natural materials including solid wood exterior, wool gaskets, and non-toxic finishes. They are really interesting because they are actually doing things differently.