Thank you Kate for posting my article on Forum.
Most emphasis on reducing embodied carbon seems at the materials level.
Whilst this is important too, greatest reductions in embodied carbon can be made at inception and planning stage of projects. The lowest carbon building is one that doesn’t need to be built.
So we need to question the fundamental need for buildings in the first place, especially massive office towers such as at Hudson Yards NY and Barangaroo in Sydney, Australia.
COVID-19 response has shown that we can make do with much less floor space, such as via digitisation.
Same with Universities such as my own, where learning is now completely online. What happens to all the lecture rooms and the like?
Happy to discuss further.
Adjunct Professor David Ness, UniSA, Australia