CA55 - The Denmark Way
How Denmark is regulating carbon, Mass Timber, Zero Carbon Concrete, and more.
NEWSWORTHY
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THE SPONSOR
Thanks to The Mass Timber Group for generously supporting this issue.
Get a 20% discount for their upcoming Summit with the code CARBONARCHITECT
THE TOPIC
I seem to be seeing a lot about Denmark these days.
Maybe it’s some of the amazing architectural work that comes out of Henning Larsen, Schmidt Hammer Lassen, and BIG. Or maybe it’s something bigger.
For a country with a population of a meager 6 million, they sure pack a punch.
They have also been recognized as one of the top 3 countries leading decarbonization.
I recently had the pleasure of attending a virtual presentation hosted by the Toronto Architects Alliance about the approach that Denmark is taking to decarbonize new construction.
It’s one that I haven’t seen anywhere else, and it’s one I think we need to pay more attention to.
It’s called Whole Life Carbon (aka Life Cycle Assessment), and it’s what really matters.
The concept is pretty simple. How many kg of Green House Gas Emissions are released to make and operate your building over its lifetime.
A few places have started regulating operational carbon, and a select few have started to require embodied carbon reduction, but I don’t know many places that area putting a limit on whole life carbon.
Do you know any? I’d love to hear about them.
In Demark this regulation is enforced through BR18 which regulates the construction of new buildings.
Chapter 11, Section 297 & 298 have focused on carbon.
What I love about reading this is the pure simplicity of the approach.
Here are some of the key requirements:
All new buildings must complete an LCA
Climate impact is measured in kg CO2e/m2
Calculations are based on EN 15978
Life Cycle is considered to be a period of 50 years
Modules included:
A1: Raw Materials
A2: Transport
A3: Manufacturing
B4: Replacement
B6: Energy consumption from Operation
C3: Pre-treatment of waste
C4: Disposal
D: Potential for reuse, recycling and other recovery
If the climate impact is 8.0 kg CO2e/m2 or lower it is considered low-emissions class
All buildings must meet a strict requirement of 12 kg CO2e/m2 without including module D
Seems like a lot of information, but it’s all pretty darn simple.
1 - Each new building must complete a Life Cycle Assessment.
2 - That LCA must prove the climate impact over 50 years is less than 12kg/yr.
This value is also expected to go down quickly over the next few years as Denmark aims to increase their reduction path towards 2030.
I do have some pressing questions about this approach because it seems like a challenge to throw a blanket approach across multiple sectors, despite the simplicity.
For example - should a building that serves food or heats large volumes of air need to meet the same standard as a home or a hotel?
THE PERSON
Andy is an architect and the director of Thomson Architecture Inc. He specializes in many things including BIM, building science, and net-zero affordable housing. He also posts really insightful energy & carbon discussions on LinkedIn. Great person to follow and learn from.
THE PROJECT
A Vessel for Change (aka Floating Office Rotterdam) is a beautifully simple building in Rotterdam designed by Powerhouse Company that does it all. De-mountable timber structure, green roof, solar roof, and floating for climate resistance, this building is a great example of buildings taking a different approach to sustainable design.