Carbon A Field Manual for Building Designers

A comprehensive approach to design that integrates sustainable principles and design strategies for decarbonized construction

Representing an international collaboration between academics and architects in the United States and Europe, Carbon: A Field Manual for Designers and Builders offers professionals in the field an approach to sustainable design that embraces building science principles, life-cycle analysis, and design strategies in carbon neutral construction. The book also contains background information on carbon in construction materials and in the building design process.

This book is filled with illustrative diagrams and drawings that help evaluate the potential impact of design decisions for creating carbon emissions. Written by and for designers and builders, the book includes a compelling pair of case studies that explore carbon-reducing strategies, suggests steps for assessing a building's carbon footprint, and reviews carbon storages and circulation of materials. The guidelines detailed in the book can be adopted, replicated, and deployed to reduce carbon emissions and create more sustainable buildings. This important book:

• Offers an effective approach to sustainable design in construction
• Integrates building science principles, life-cycle analysis, and design strategies in carbon neutral construction
• Describes a methodology for quantifying the flow of carbon in the built environment
• Provides an analysis of carbon-reducing strategies based on a case study of a building designed by the authors 

Written for practicing professionals in architecture and construction, Carbon: A Field Guide for Designers and Builders is a must-have resource for professionals who are dedicated to creating sustainable projects.

Alan Organschi is a design principal and a partner at Gray Organschi Architecture, in New Haven, CT. As a member of the faculty of the Yale School of Architecture, he directs the Yale Building Project LAB, a design-build research group. 

Matti Kuittinen is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Architecture, School of Arts, Design and Architecture at Aalto University, Finland. Kuittinen is the owner and principal architect of Kombi Architects Ltd.  

Andrew Ruff is the Research Coordinator of the Timber City Research Initiative, a Design Director at Gray Organschi Architecture, and a Critic at the Yale School of Architecture.  

Preface  2

Chapter 1. Carbon?  10

Our Carbon Challenge  11

Building Elements  12

King Carbon  13

A Global Carbon Budget  14

The Carbon Cycle in Building History  16

Carbon Flows in Building  17

Stanching the Flow   19

Time Management in Carbon Mitigation  21

Re-balancing the planet: agency and opportunity  23

About this book  25

Visualizing carbon flows  26

Chapter 2:  MEASURING CARBON FLOWS  28

Life cycle assessment – what´s in it for building designers?  29

An opportunity  29

Carbon measurement for carbon management  30

The fundamental concepts  31

The approach  31

Lifecycle boundaries, scales, and periods  32

Operational and embodied impacts  35

The stages of the building life-cycle  37

Assessment methods  40

Standards  41

The process of life cycle assessment  43

Defining the goal and scope of assessment  43

Setting the system boundaries: What to include?  44

Life cycle scenarios  49

Sensitivity analysis  51

Cut off rules  52

The production stage  53

Materials make a difference  53

Calculating the carbon flows in the production phase  54

Inventory of materials  55

Data for material-related emissions  57

Reducing the carbon footprint in the production stage  61

The construction stage  62

From material components and products to the building system    62

Construction method  65

The use stage  69

Embodied and operational impacts  69

Emissions from the use of energy and water  70

Service life  74

Other emissions (and potential removals) during the use phase  79

End-of-life stage  81

End-of-life scenarios  81

Deconstruction  82

Transport  83

Landfilling and decomposition  83

End-of-waste  84

Closing the loop  85

Results, interpretation and comparison  86

Describing the dominance of life cycle phases  86

Sensitivity analysis  87

Comparing impact estimates  88

Limits of a Lifecycle Approach  89

The streamlined life cycle assessment for buildings  90

Chapter 3: Case Studies in Decarbonization   95

Notes from the field  95

How were the calculations performed?  97

Material inventories  97

Carbon footprints  97

Biogenic carbon neutrality of wood  98

Carbonation of concrete  98

Accumulation of carbon into plants and soil 98

Mitigation potential 99

Common Ground High School 100

Summary of total carbon emissions, storages and circulation potential 105

Common Ground High School: Key figures  107

Materials  109

Site and ground works  110

Foundations and ground floor  112

Structural frame  113

Facades and external decks  115

Roofs  116

Internal dividers  118

Space surfaces  119

Internal fixtures  121

Building system installations  123

Mitigation potential from materials and systems  125

Energy-related emissions  126

Puukuokka Housing Block  130

Puukuokka One apartment building  130

Summary of total carbon emissions, storages and circulation potential 135

Puukuokka One: Key figures  137

Materials  139

Site and ground works  139

Foundations and ground floor  141

Modular units  143

Hallway  145

Facades  147

Roofs  148

Building service installations  150

Mitigation potential from materials and systems  151

Energy  152

Comparison of the case studies  154

What causes the differences?  154

Buildingtypology  157

Physical features and structural solutions  157

Location and weather  158

Regulations  159

Comparison of the emissions  159

Introduction  164

So many things to consider…   165

The building design process  166

A context of externalities: preconditions of the decarbonized design process  168

De-carbonization: challenges and opportunities  170

Points of inflection and influence in the building lifecycle. 170

The decarbonized design process  171

A note of caution: benefits and pitfalls of check-list thinking  171

A low-carbon concord  172

Some basic rules of engagement  173

Phases of decarbonized building design  174

The predesign or project preparation phase  174

Laying the groundwork for decarbonized building design (especially for developers and clients) 175

Building context  181

Programming a low-carbon building  182

Anticipating the lifespan of a building  183

The conceptual or schematic design phase  185

Right-sizing the building  186

Low-carbon siting  186

Shape matters  187

Volumetric efficiency  187

Volumetric Simplicity  188

Optimizing daylight  188

Operational energy consumption (and generation) 189

Tectonics and materiality  190

Inspiring and promoting good behavior  191

The design development phase  191

Decarbonizing building material 192

Decarbonizing the production stage: Material priorities  192

Material classes and their carbon consequences  194

The decarbonized building assembly  200

Decarbonizing the use stage: energy consumption, airtightness, and thermal performance  201

Detailing for disassembly in the building’s end-of-life stage  202

The later design phases: contract documentation, bidding and negotiation, and construction administration  206

What happens after construction? (one more design phase to consider) 208

Principles of Decarbonized Design  209

1. Simplify  209

2. Reduce weight  210

3. Minimize disturbance  210

4. Optimize ecosystem services  211

5. Re-use  211

6. Design for Durability and then Reversibility  212

7. Keep track of time and distance  212

8. Share  214

9. Store Carbon  214

10. Decouple  215

Understanding design agency: shifting roles and responsibilities  216

CHAPTER 5: Re-Forming the Anthropocene  219

5.1 Beyond sustainable  219

Making more than measurements  219

Thinking outside the building lifecycle  220

Making a carbon handprint  225

Re-forming the Anthropocene  228

Decoupling  229

Simplification  231

A new role for architecture  235

A new role for design and building education  238

Inspiration and influence  240

Anthropocene re-formed  241

References  243

Glossary  252

Acknowledgements  258

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