As we attempt to slow and reverse global climate change, we are pushing hard as a society on decarbonization strategies to prevent excess carbon from entering our atmosphere. Strictly speaking, this term can be broken down into its component parts to mean exactly the opposite, that we’re reversing the desirable process of creating carbon as […]
Although nearly 1/3 of US commercial office space is in buildings smaller than 25,000 square feet, net-zero energy(NZE) dialogue and research on small office buildings is hard to come by. Utilizing a comparative study of a standard small office building design and an optimized NZE version, this presentation explores the barriers and opportunities for NZE […]
Assemblies like the wall section are fundamental to how we construct our buildings. Selecting materials has most commonly been driven by performance, cost and aesthetics. In the current transformation in the industry towards environmental and health conscious building practice, the emerging focus for material analysis is on lifecycle assessment, toxicity, and moisture transport as well […]
Passive House is fundamentally a tool for combating global climate change by reducing carbon emissions; however, as a system, Passive House focuses on reducing operational energy which is only responsible for part of a larger carbon footprint. Without a full accounting we are left asking the question: Have we built a Passive House or a […]
This presentation focuses on a simple diagrammatic concept which has become ubiquitous in both academia and the design and building industry – the MacLeamy Curve (a.k.a. the cost-influence curve). In this conversation we will explain, discuss and challenge the traditional version of the diagram through two primary lenses – the definition of “influence” and the […]
