Buildings ¦ Body

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Carbon

noun

a chemical element (= simple chemical substance), which exists in all plants and animals, and is an important part of coal and oil. When carbon is burned it produces carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide:

1. All organic substances contain the element carbon.

2. Carbon exists in its pure form as diamond or graphite.

3. carbon atoms

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To be able to create the materials we use to build our buildings we use carbon. The best thing for our planet would be to become carbon free in our production and in the building process but that is a very complex thing to do. That is why we need to stop the greenhouse gas but that will take time to change from having the production letting out so much CO2 to no CO2 emissions at all.

Net Zero = Even out the greenhouse gas emission

(AT Editor, 2022)

There is ways to make it happen and the EPD report shows us the GWP# which has the high embodied carbon vs the low embodies carbon. Applying circular economy principles to building design is another way to look at the problem and to solve it. RIBA does also have a net zero target.

to make 1 brick = 570g of CO2

Passivhaus trust is working to build net zero houses or help existing houses achieve net zero.

• High thermal comfort.

• Low operational energy building.

• Proven over 30 years in the business.

• Part of a climate emergency toolkit.

They also have 5 principles:

1. High performance windows. 3 glace.

2. Good continually insulation

3. Minimal thermal bridges.

4. Airtightness.

5. Mechanical ventilation.

https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/

Other companies that is looking at this is:

https://www.energiesprong.uk/

https://goodhomes.org.uk/

To get a certification to show that you have followed the requirements to have a sustainable build might be slightly different. There are a few different certifications out there, some might be used more in some arias of the world than others.

• BREEAM

• LEED

• WELL

• Fitwel

• Living Building Challange

References:

AT Editor (2022) Applying circular economy principles to achieve net zero. Available at: https://architecturetoday.co.uk/applying-circular-economy-principles-to-achieve-net-zero-2/.