Accelerating low-carbon building design & development is the leitmotiv of American design practice as envisaged by SOM. This article on and by Sustainability elaborates on how this is attained.
Billie Jean King Main Library, completed in California in 2019, Credit: Benny Chan
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) launches the Whole Life Carbon Accounting service to help accelerate low-carbon building design & development
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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), a worldwide alliance of architects, designers, engineers and planners, has introduced a new service aimed at accelerating the implementation of low-carbon and net-zero buildings.
The initiative, named Whole Life Carbon Accounting, is a system used to assess and measure the operational and embodied carbon emissions of a building throughout its entire lifespan.
When the system is incorporated during the design phase, it offers a precise picture of the proposed building’s carbon footprint, enabling investors, property owners and developers to make well-informed decisions. By evaluating a building’s performance after completion, the service enables owners to monitor progress and achieve their long-term sustainability goals.
“The greatest opportunity to work towards a more sustainable future is to invest in new climate action measures,” said Kent Jackson, SOM Design Partner. “We are proud to extend our long and proven history of working with public bodies, property owners and developers to help lead the way for a low-carbon built environment. We look forward to bringing our skills and expertise to bear on the critical issue of a reduced carbon future.”
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The shift towards whole-life carbon
Accounting for approximately 40% of carbon emissions worldwide, the built environment has long prioritised the reduction of operational energy and its carbon emissions. However, there has been a significant shift in focus towards whole-life carbon, changing the way buildings are designed, constructed and renovated.
Embodied carbon – the carbon impact associated with a building’s initial construction – cannot be rectified later, whereas operational energy and associated carbon emissions can be improved to a certain extent once a building is in use.
“The built environment urgently needs new approaches to performing carbon assessments. Innovation is driven by a diversity of ideas and voices,” says Mina Hasman, SOM Sustainability Director. “Evidence shows that as a project develops and design strategies evolve, the gaps between traditional assessments and a building’s true performance can lead to a performance gap of up to five times more energy use and/or carbon emissions between predicted and actual values.
“Our service puts an end to this. As regulators and investors evaluate new and existing assets more closely, we provide clients with practical strategies to help inform their investment, development and management activities.”
Applying SOM’s interdisciplinary approach, the firm’s sustainability team analyse and measure operational and embodied carbon emissions across every stage of a project. Clients can therefore gain an understanding of a building’s true carbon impact and the ability to translate carbon targets into measurable performance outcomes.
Carbon assessments are typically performed at the end of design stages by different parties and to different standards. This can result in isolated calculations which are not comparable and cannot effectively illustrate a building’s accurate performance.
The gaps between the projected performance of a design and actual building performance widen as projects develop and designs evolve. Consequently, calculations can constitute as little as 20% of actual carbon emissions. This can affect a building’s value and viability in the long term.
The building is one of few in the region that features a lightweight timber structural system, to build the library atop an existing underground concrete parking garage. It was also named 2021 Project of the Year by the US Green Building Council and was the winner of the Metropolis Magazine Planet Positive award.
Additionally, SOM achieved a remarkable 61% reduction in embodied carbon compared to a typical concrete building, by preserving most of the original concrete structure.
SOM’s Whole Life Carbon Accounting has resulted in the internationally acclaimed Billie Jean King Main Library, Credit, Benny Chan
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About SOM
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is a global practice of architects, designers, engineers, and planners, responsible for some of the world’s most technically and environmentally advanced buildings and significant public spaces.
From a strategic regional plan to a single piece of furniture, SOM’s designs anticipate change in how we live, work and communicate, and have brought lasting value to communities worldwide.
The firm’s approach is highly collaborative, and its interdisciplinary team is engaged in a wide range of international projects, with creative studios based across the globe. SOM is a net zero emissions business.
Architectural design is crucial in the construction industry for several reasons:
Functionality: Architectural design ensures that the building or structure is designed to serve its intended purpose effectively. It takes into account the needs and requirements of the users, incorporating various functional aspects such as spatial planning, circulation, and accessibility. A well-designed building enhances productivity, efficiency, and overall user experience.
Aesthetics: Architectural design adds visual appeal and beauty to a structure. It considers elements such as proportion, scale, balance, materials, colors, and textures to create a harmonious and visually pleasing environment. Aesthetically pleasing buildings not only enhance the quality of life for occupants but also contribute to the overall urban or rural landscape.
Safety and Structural Integrity: Architectural design plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety and structural integrity of a building. It takes into account factors such as load-bearing capacity, structural systems, resistance to natural forces (e.g., earthquakes, wind), fire safety, and adherence to building codes and regulations. Proper architectural design minimizes the risks associated with structural failures, accidents, and disasters.
Sustainability: With growing concerns about environmental impact and resource conservation, architectural design plays a vital role in promoting sustainability in the construction industry. Designers consider strategies for energy efficiency, water conservation, use of eco-friendly materials, waste reduction, and integration of renewable energy systems. Sustainable architectural design minimizes the ecological footprint of a building and contributes to a greener future.
Economic Considerations: Architectural design influences the economic aspects of a construction project. Effective design can optimize the use of space, reduce construction costs, and improve operational efficiency. It takes into account factors such as lifecycle costs, maintenance requirements, and adaptability to future needs. Well-designed buildings have the potential to increase property value and attract occupants, contributing to long-term economic viability.
Cultural and Social Context: Architectural design is influenced by the cultural and social context in which it is situated. It takes into account local traditions, cultural values, and community needs. Architecture can reflect and reinforce cultural identity, provide spaces for social interaction, and contribute to the overall well-being of communities.
In summary, architectural design is essential in the construction industry because it ensures functionality, aesthetics, safety, sustainability, economic viability, and cultural relevance in the built environment. It integrates various considerations to create well-designed and meaningful spaces that positively impact individuals, communities, and the environment.
Contractors must keep up with technological advances to drive the industry forward, says Autodesk senior vice chairman Jim Lynch.
Globally, the built environment footprint is expected to double in size by 2060. For that to happen in line with net zero targets, technology is going to be critical to improving the way construction is carried out.
Jim Lynch, Vice President & General Manager, Autodesk Construction Solutions.
Autodesk senior vice chairman Jim Lynch puts it simply: “The industry has to find a better way to build and digital is going to play – and is already playing – a huge role in that.”
For technology to advance our construction techniques, digital literacy is going to be required in all practices and, ideally, through all phases of construction.
“The bare minimum is that contractors use digital technology on the job site for collaboration,” says Lynch.
“Ideally, they should use digital technology during the pre-construction process. Moving on from there they should use it to drive operations and maintenance, then take that project information from design out to a digital twin, where they can use that technology to provide management capabilities for the owner.”
To make this a reality, technology must be easy to deploy and adopt, according to Lynch. “If using and deploying technology is going to need weeks of training where you’re taking workers off the job, that’s not going to work,” he explains.
However, Lynch believes the onus is on contractors to invest more in improving their digital literacy if they are falling behind.
“You have to build up that digital muscle,” he says. “And I think, by and large, contractors really do understand that they have to take those first steps around collaboration, then extend those steps into using more digital during the planning process and then continue on from there.”
He believes that today’s contractors are embracing technology faster than ever, not only because of the competition, but also because of the expectations of clients and the government. He points to the UK’s Building Safety Act, which became law in April 2022, as a driver.
“That is really all about data; it is ensuring that owners, contractors and designers all play a role in making sure that digital information is created, captured and stored throughout the entire process.”
Lynch believes a big challenge is going to be attracting the workforce to build all the future projects – but that digital could play a part in drawing people in. “I think the use of digital technologies to drive better outcomes in construction will be intriguing to the younger generation,” he says.
“How to apply technology to the construction process, especially when you think about augmented reality and virtual reality applications, will drive a greater interest in the workforce.”
He adds that the industry has made great progress in its use of technology in recent decades. “But I think we’ve only scratched the surface,” he says. “I think the best is really yet to come.”
A Pennsylvania State UniversityRESEARCH on living materials that are the future of sustainable building has elaborated on this aspect of the building materials and / or their combination as illustrated by the above image of Jose Duarte, professor of architecture, and doctoral student Elena Vazquez adjust panels on a prototype of a dynamic window shading system that Vazquez designed and built. Credit to: Patrick Mansell. All rights reserved. If this goes through, we could safely say that building sites will look a bit different in the future.
Designed to Adapt: Living materials are the future of sustainable building
A transatlantic partnership explores engineered solutions inspired by nature.
Credit: Penn State / Penn State.
By David Pacchioli
Working together across disciplines, researchers from Penn State and the University of Freiburg are applying materials that adapt, respond to the environment, self-power, and regenerate to meet the challenges of adaptive architecture.
The coming decades present a host of challenges for our built environments: a rising global population combined with increasing urbanization; crumbling infrastructure and dwindling resources to rebuild it; and the growing pressures of a changing climate, to name a few.
To become more livable for more people, cities themselves will need to become smarter, with buildings, bridges and infrastructure that are no longer static but dynamic, able to adapt and respond to what’s going on around them. If not exactly alive, these structures will need to be life-like, in important ways. And for that, they’ll need to incorporate living materials.
Credit: Penn State.
“Engineers and scientists have worked for hundreds of years with so-called smart materials,” says Zoubeida Ounaies. “Piezoelectricity was discovered in the 1880s.” Smart materials can sense and respond to their environment, she explains, “but they always need an external control system or source of power. Living materials that adapt, respond to the environment, self-power, and regenerate—in the way that materials in nature do—are the next logical step.”
A new paradigm: Engineered materials inspired by nature
Living materials, Ounaies explains, are engineered materials that are inspired by nature. Sometimes they even incorporate biological elements. Their dynamic properties, at any rate, enable them to adapt to changes in their environment, responding to external stimuli. They may change shape, heal themselves, even make simple decisions.
Ounaies’s counterpart at Freiburg is Jurgen Ruhe, director of the Cluster of Excellence in Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS). At a webinar last summer Ruhe put it this way: “If we look at the materials of today, one of the very key features is that materials have properties which do not vary in time. But if we turn our view to nature, nothing is really constant. For living systems, adaptivity is the key to survival. The goal of our livMatS cluster is to generate materials systems which can adapt to changes in the environment based on sensory input and then improve over their lifetime.”
Importantly, Ounaies says, living materials are multifunctional. They don’t just provide strength or elasticity or hardness, they reduce environmental impacts and promote health; they monitor their own status, and when used up they can be recycled or reabsorbed. They harvest energy from their surroundings, store it, and use it for what they need. They do these things, ideally, while self-powering and without external sensors or motors.
Above all, perhaps, engineered living materials aim to be sustainable. “The concept requires us to look at the whole life cycle,” Ounaies says. “To think about the starting material, the extraction and manufacturing processes, the waste generated, the energy required.” The design must account for all. Thus, unlike many smart materials, living materials don’t put a harmful load on the environment.
The Bird of Paradise plant is an example of a natural system whose mechanisms have inspired engineering solutions. A sun-shading system being developed by Thomas Speck and colleagues at the University of Freiburg incorporates its distinct opening and closing movements. Credit: Sardaka. All Rights Reserved.
“If you think about it,” she says, “adaptive behaviors happen in nature all the time. Maybe not in a material form, but certainly in systems. There are plant systems that do this. There are animals that do this. ” Nature does the original design work. “For example, if one investigates the hierarchical pattern of a mollusk shell or the intricate structure of bird wings, one is inspired to apply them to human made structures in ways that integrate multiple functionalities.”
Thomas Speck has been fascinated by biomimetics for 30 years. Trained as a biophysicist, Speck is now professor of botany at the University of Freiburg. He studies the functional morphology of plants—the relationship between structure and function—and how these “biological role models” might be applied to the world of technology. As director of the University’s Botanic Garden, he has over 6,000 species from which to find his inspiration.
Plants, says Speck, have important lessons to offer. “First, they are mobile, although their movement is often hidden from us,” he explains. “A lot of plant movements are very aesthetic—think of a flower opening. We want to transport this aesthetics into our architectural solutions.”
Element for a fiber-and-concrete pillar being developed for architectural use at the University of Freiburg. Credit: Courtesy: Linnea Hesse, University of Freiburg. All rights reserved
Detail of the interior of Axemann Brewery, Bellefonte, PA, an example of adaptive re-use. Design and construction of the new facility focused on repurposing the existing metal works and features, paying respect to the site’s heritage. Credit: Patrick Mansell. All Rights Reserved.
Detail of the interior of Axemann Brewery, Bellefonte, PA, an example of adaptive re-use. Design and construction of the new facility focused on repurposing the existing metal works and features, paying respect to the site’s heritage. Credit: Patrick Mansell. All Rights Reserved.
The livMatS Pavilion at University of Freiburg’s Botanic Garden. A collaboration between Freiburg and the University of Stuttgart, the cottage-sized structure is made of wound flax fiber bundles covered with a waterproof polycarbonate. Credit: IntCDC, University of Stuttgart/Robert Faulkner. All Rights Reserved.
Wound flax fiber bundles that make up the livMatS Pavilion at the University of Freiburg Botanic Garden. Credit: IntCDC, University of Stuttgart/Robert Faulkner. All Rights Reserved.
A terminal in Stuttgart’s international airport features tree-like pillars inspired by nature for branching structure and load-bearing strength. Credit: CatalpaSpirit, Wikimedia Commons. All Rights Reserved.
What’s more, Speck says, plants work their magic with a very limited number of structural materials. “Cellulose, hemi-cellulose, lignin, a bit of pectin. Three polysaccharides and one complex polyaromatic polymer. With these materials, which are all relatively easy to recycle, they are able to make fantastic structures, fantastic systems which work incredibly well.”
A simple example is the pine cone, whose paddle-shaped scales open and close in response to changes in environmental humidity. At the Botanic Garden, Speck and his colleagues have analyzed fossilized pinecones 50 million years old and found that they still perform like modern specimens. “And it costs no energy, because humidity changes are brought by sunlight,” he says.
As amazingly robust as the natural mechanism is, the pinecone is merely reactive, Speck notes. “If it’s wet, it’s closed. If it’s dry, it’s open.” In adapting this principle, he says, “We want to design systems that are interactive, that can combine movements, that make decisions. Biomimetics for us means we get inspiration from nature and then reinvent nature. We don’t copy it. We want to combine the best of both worlds: living nature and technics.”
In most of the MENA and the Gulf region, we reach for the A/C control when entering any living or working space. But as we casually flip a switch, we tend not to consider all those carbon emissions caused by machines.
After years of indulgence and as witnessed by all of the end results, climate change is forcing all to go green by trying to keep buildings cool as it gets hotter. Greening the Global Construction Industry has already engaged in developing new techniques, tools, products and technologies – such as heat pumps, better windows, more vital insulation, energy-efficient appliances, renewable energy and more imaginative design – has enabled emissions to stabilize the past few years.
The Conversation Weekly podcast is now back after a short break. Every Thursday, we explore the fascinating discoveries researchers are using to make sense of the world and the big questions they’re still trying to answer.
In this episode we find out how “modern” styles of architecture using concrete and glass have often usurped local building techniques better suited to parts of the world with hotter climates. Now some architects are resurrecting traditional techniques to help keep buildings cool.
From western Europe to China, North Africa and the US, severe heatwaves brought drought, fire and death to the summer of 2022. The heatwaves also raised serious questions about the ability of existing infrastructure to cope with extreme heat, which is projected to become more common due to climate change.
Yet, for thousands of years, people living in parts of the world used to high temperatures have deployed traditional passive cooling techniques in the way they designed their buildings. In Nigeria, for example, people have long used biomimicry to copy the style of local flora and fauna as they design their homes, according to Anthony Ogbuokiri, a senior lecturer in architectural design at Nottingham Trent University in the UK.
But in the 20th century, cities even in very hot climates began following an international template for building design that meant cities around the world, regardless of where they were, often had similar looking skylines. Ogbuokiri calls this “duplitecture”, and says it “ramped up the cooling load” due to an in-built reliance on air conditioners.
Alongside this, there was a massive boom in the use of concrete, particularly after the second world war when the Soviet Union and the US started gifting their cold war allies concrete technology. “It was a competition both to discover who actually mastered concrete and who was better at gathering the materials, the people and the energy to make concrete,” explains Vyta Pivo, assistant professor of architecture at the University of Michigan in the US. But too much concrete can contribute to the phenomenon of urban heat islands, where heat is concentrated in cities. Concrete is also a considerable contributor to global carbon emissions.
Some architects and researchers are working to rehabilitate and improve traditional passive techniques that help keep buildings cool without using energy. Susan Abed Hassan, a professor of architectural engineering at Al-Nahrain University in Baghdad, Iraq, focuses a lot on windcatchers in her work, a type of chimney which funnels air through houses to keep them cooler in hot climates. She’s now looking at how to combining underground water pipes with windcatchers to enhance their cooling effects.
Listen to the full episode to find out about other techniques being used to keep buildings cool without relying on air conditioning.
You can listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed, or find out how else to listen here.
Traditional construction methods were no match for the earthquake that rocked Morocco on Friday night, an engineering expert says, and the area will continue to see such devastation unless updated building techniques are adopted.
A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi Algerian fiction Original title Nos Richesses
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