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A huge library of resources on Human Factors, Circular Economy, Energy and Carbon, Water, Ecology and Biodiversity, and Connectivity and Transport!

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by Bernard Rudofsky

#book - free full PDF download

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SEDA - Sustainable Renovation: Improving Homes For Energy, Health And Environment

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SEDA - Sustainable Renovation: Improving Homes For Energy, Health And Environment

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Design Guides — Scottish Ecological Design Association

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The Guides are aimed at mainstream commercial construction and should be useful for Architects, Developers, Contractors and others within the Construction Industry who wish to reduce the environmental damage associated with their projects. Details and Specifications may be downloaded covering five typical construction types, each of which has been carefully assessed by Cost Consultants and Insurability Assessors.

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Explore the StuCAN Festival 2025 webpage, which contains the Festival Programme, Speakers, Resources and Team!

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Architects Climate Action Network - ACAN!

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StuCAN Festival Glasgow 17-19 October 2025 * Architects Climate Action Network - ACAN!

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Welcome to StuCAN Festival 2025: ​ Entanglement This year's theme is rooted in

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Thanks to everyone who came out for Stucan 2025! We’ve put together a press pack with a selection of highlight photos, and you can also explore all individual images through the Drive link. Dive in, download your favourites, and enjoy reliving the day!

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Rethink, Redesign, Regenerate with StuCAN Sligo!

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Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

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Dive into the excitement of StuCAN Festival 2025! Check out the complete photo collection, covering everything from the spectacular launch event on October 17th to the action packed festival days on the 18th and 19th.

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Here's a quick guide on how to create a new StuCAN Chapter at your University!

You can also download this guide which has further details!

https://architectscan.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/StuCAN-Starter-Pack-V1.pdf

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You can find out more by visiting the ACAN website, where we now have our own dedicated section on the StuCAN platform. This space brings all of our updates, resources, and project information together in one place. Whether you’re looking to learn more about our initiatives or get involved, the ACAN hosted StuCAN page is the best place to explore our latest work!

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Architects Climate Action Network - ACAN!

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Stucan Students Climate Action Network * Architects Climate Action Network - ACAN!

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StuCAN is calling for students to demand a climate literate education at their universities. Join us to find out how you can help!

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StuCAN Leeds - University of Leeds and University of Leeds Beckett

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StuCAN Leeds - University of Leeds and University of Leeds Beckett

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StuCAN Leeds was formed by students at Leeds Beckett University!

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Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

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SAUL Climate Action Network.
SaulCAN a chapter of StuCAN, formed by students at the Architecture School Limerick

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Built Environment Students for Climate Action (BESCA) - University of Sheffield

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Built Environment Students for Climate Action (BESCA) - University of Sheffield

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Students from the University of Sheffield's School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture have made a website for their climate Action Group

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We are a student-led action group from Sheffield School of Architecture and Landscape campaigning for a greater emphasis on sustainability in our Built Environment education.
As the next generation of built environment professionals, we have the potential to enact real societal and cultural change

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You can find all the key resources from the weekend in the links below. Feel free to explore and download anything you need to continue the work or catch up on anything you may have missed!

Resource 12

Learning and Advocacy for Circular Materials:

https://www.instagram.com/resourcetwelve/

Hani Salih

Hani is at the edge of a long list of disciplines, practices and ideas - connecting the dots:

https://hanisalih.com/

Collective Architecture

The practice Collective Architecture has been working for over 25 years within various sectors including housing, civic and culture projects, community facilities, learning and enterprise buildings, conservation/retrofit work and strategic planning:

https://www.collectivearchitecture.co.uk/projects/community

ACAN Ecology

Focused on the challenges facing “wild things” in a time of critical biodiversity decline and habitat loss:

https://architectscan.org/ecology/

New Future

New Future is a Glasgow-based accelerator for growing sustainable construction and retrofit skills in the built environment:

https://new-future.co.uk/

Ebuki

Bringing Earth to the Heart of the Built Environment:

https://www.ebuki.co/

SEDA

SEDA’s mission is to enhance HE, through educational and professional development, for the benefit of students, staff and the wider public:

https://www.seda.ac.uk/

CommonC

Connection through craft skill-sharing and collaboration:

https://www.instagram.com/commonc.co/

Fuel Poverty Action

Fighting fuel poverty and climate destruction:

https://www.fuelpovertyaction.org.uk/

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Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

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EnerPHit: A step by step guide to low energy retrofit

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EnerPHit: A step by step guide to low energy retrofit

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James Traynor
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Free download PDF

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Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide

LETI's Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide shows how we can retrofit our homes to make them fit for the future and support the UK's Net Zero targets. We define energy use targets for existing homes and provide practical guidance on how to achieve them.

The guide is useful for architects, engineers, Local Authorities, social landlords, energy professionals, contractors and clients looking for guidance about best practice retrofit.

It is widely accepted that retrofitting our existing buildings is absolutely critical if we are to achieve Net Zero. Around 18% of our annual national CO2e emissions come from existing homes - homes that will still be standing in 2050. 80% of 2050's homes have already been built. It is also widely acknowledged that the retrofit challenge is monumental. Over one million homes every year for the next 30 years will need to be retrofitted. We cannot afford to retrofit them twice. But if we retrofit them well, we can enjoy many environmental, social and economic benefits.

This guide sets out what good retrofit looks like for existing homes. We target energy consumption reductions of 60-80% for the average UK home. This is achievable through a whole house approach upgrading the building fabric, incorporating energy efficiency measures, improving ventilation and fitting heat pumps. These targets have been determined through practical experience and understanding of what measures are realistically achievable. They are also informed by a national housing stock model to examine issues such as renewable energy provision and grid capacity. The guide also points out the potential risks of poor retrofit and advises on how to deliver efficient, resilient and healthy homes.

The guide provides a quickstart guide to retrofit as well as typical house archetype examples for four primary housing types: semi-detached, detached, mid-terrace and a flat. Click on the pages below for the quickstart guide and typical house archetype examples.

We have developed a series of typical house archetypes based on average data for each building type. We start with an existing pre-retrofit building and then show what happens when the LETI targets are applied. In some cases, we have used the LETI best practice 'constrained' retrofit values, the effect of an 'unconstrained' retrofit and an example of LETI exemplar retrofit.

Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide Launch webinar

Speakers & Panellists:

Clara Bagenal George, Elementa Consulting

Lynne Sullivan, LSA Studio & GHA

Antonia Khayatt, Architect

Martha Baulcombe, Burgess Architects

Will South, Etude

Federico Seguro, Troup Bywaters + Anders

Alex Whitcroft, KIN

Loreana Padron, ECD Architects

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Sarah Lewis, Passivhaus Trust

Sara Edmonds, ACAN

Andy Simmonds, AECB

Federico Seguro, CIBSE

Jess Hrivnak, RIBA

Joanne Wheeler, UKGBC

This document represents LETI's understanding of how we need to be retrofitting homes to meet our climate change targets in 2021. This guide will evolve over time reflecting changes in carbon budgets, technologies and the capabilities of the industry. LETI is collaborative by nature and is very interested in your feedback.

​

→ Provide feedback on the Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide here

'We need to improve the UK's homes, fast and LETI's excellent guide shows us how we can do that. Their clear targets and straightforward guidance shine a light on how we must retrofit our homes.'

Alex Tait Head of Technical Practice, RIBA

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'In 2050, 80% of all buildings that exist today will still be in use. The majority of those buildings aren't green at all. That means retrofitting the millions of existing, carbon polluting buildings we have across the world, is one of the biggest challenges we face to make our planet green again. The LETI Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide clearly outlines how to do this.'

George Clark Architect and TV presenter

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A great and detailed guide that is a must-read for all designers entering the retrofit market. The setting of performance targets around 50kW/sqm/yr is pivotal for the market. We now need to develop the commercial, industrial and delivery approaches to realise these targets as an investable pathway to net zero, but LETI have thrown down the gauntlet to the housing sector and supply chain!'

Richard McWilliams Director, Sustainability Consultancy at Turner & Townsend and Programme Director for the Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator, the BEIS-backed Technical Assistance Facility for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund

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'Homes account for 14 per cent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions so retrofitting the country's 29 million homes is a huge challenge that government and industry simply must get right. This comprehensive guide from LETI, aimed primarily at built environment professionals, could not have arrived at a better time.'

Will Hurst Managing Editor, The Architects'Journal

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'Working collectively with LETI on developing this guide has been both a learning and empowering experience. We are all on a journey of upskilling amid the Climate Emergency, but we must do it quickly, and the collaborative approach is the only way. ACAN are focusing on both public engagement on retrofit, with the launch of our campaign Households Declare, and also cross industry collaboration working with and supporting other campaigns such as the AJ's Retrofirst campaign. We are excited for the launch of this guide as we truly believe it will serve the industry as a base platform for understanding the scale of the challenge but also inspire ways in which we can urgently, effectively, and safely address and replicate solutions at scale.'

Sara Edmonds ACAN

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'All 33 of London's local authorities have agreed a joint retrofit action plan to cut carbon emissions from the capital's 3,781,477 domestic buildings and mitigate the capital's impact on climate change. We welcome the publication of the LETI Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide: it will provide practical guidance to construction sector professionals - architects, designers, clients and contractors - on how to achieve successful retrofits.'

James McHugh Head of Housing Strategy, Waltham Forest Council

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'URBED believe that to tackle the climate emergency we need to improve our existing buildings through high-quality, deep retrofit. Done well, this has the added benefit of improving health and reducing fuel poverty. LETI's practical, accessible, and evidence-based approach to improving understanding of climate concerns in the built environment is very welcome. This guide is an essential starting point for those who want to understand what is needed and what is possible when considering retrofit.'

Marianne Heaslip Associate Principal, URBED and co-founder at People Powered Retrofit

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'Retrofit across the domestic stock is essential for the UK to achieve Net Zero, and this guide provides a compelling argument for it. It demonstrates the need for a detailed whole house approach to retrofit to deliver carbon savings, improve health and comfort in the home and avoid detrimental effects. CIBSE look forward to continuing our work with LETI on this essential topic'

Julie Godefroy Head of Sustainability, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)

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'LETI's new Retrofit Guide publication makes a crystal clear argument for retrofit. Its easy to understand approach to considering how individual building components deliver holistic improvements will assists homeowners and built environment professionals alike. This is an approach we have shown to work in the retrofit of CISL's own retrofit of the Entopia Building - a leading retrofit office. The LETI strategy is not just useful for residential projects in the UK but also for professionals around the world looking for a clear approach to the residential retrofit process.'

Dr Kayla Friedman Built Environment Master's Director, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership

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'Retrofitting our existing housing stock is one of the most intractable problems facing us on our road to net zero carbon.It's not easy: governments have failed over and over again to live up to promises. It's not cheap: we often underestimate the complexity of deep green retrofit. It's not glamorous: the architectural profession is guilty of a lack of engagement. But it is absolutely essential that we focus on the 80% of our domestic buildings which leak carbon into the atmosphere at such a phenomenal rate. We need to start now educating a workforce of designers and builders who have the required knowledge and commitment : The LETI Retrofit Guide tells us how to do it.'

Peter Clegg Senior Partner, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

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'The National Energy Foundation welcomes LETI's 'Retrofit Guide' which represents the culmination of leading cross sector research. While comprehensive the guidance is easy to follow, logically structured and well presented. I'm sure this guide will be well received and act as an ongoing point of reference for driving up retrofit standards and positive outcomes'

Paul Ciniglio Refurbishment Lead, National Energy Foundation

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'This is exactly the guide that the retrofit industry needs. It combines a comprehensive description of the whys and hows of retrofit with guidance about retrofit strategies, explanation of technical complexities, robust performance standards and clear explanations of how to plan and implement retrofit projects. Now that we have this guide there is no excuse for us not to rise to the challenge of climate change and get on with retrofitting UK homes.'

Dr Peter Rickaby Technical Director, The Retrofit Academy, Chair, BSI Retrofit Standards Task Group

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'Retrofitting the UK's existing building stock must be delivered at pace in an informed and considered way - otherwise we risk diluting the significant economic, environmental and social benefits of this important work. The LETI Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide shares wisdom from experienced partners and will be an invaluable tool in improving the environmental performance of buildings. As owners and occupiers of heritage assets, we welcome this pragmatic and holistic guide signposting best practice, which we will incorporate into our own £90 million retrofit programme.

Victoria Herring Director, Sustainability Programme, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland

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This is the comprehensive guidance I have long been hoping for. One of the key challenges we face for any given building is to decide what reduced level of space heating to target. I particularly welcome the advice on determining the optimum amount of insulation to deliver best value.

Christopher Jofeh Chair, Welsh Government's independent advisory group on residential decarbonisation

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'Our existing buildings are by far the biggest culprit of carbon emissions from the built environment - and therefore also pose the biggest potential for carbon savings. We must seize the opportunity to address the Climate Crisis AND radically improve the health and wellbeing of millions of households. We hope this timely guidance, along with several additional new PHT design tools, will drive urgent deep retrofit into action at scale. The Trust welcome detailed analysis that sets EnerPHit into context as the exemplar retrofit standard. LETI is a shining example of what cross-industry collaboration can achieve - we look forward to much more of this!'

Sarah Lewis Research & Policy Director, Passivhaus Trust

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'The Retrofit of existing buildings housing is one of the biggest challenges facing Housing Associations committed to getting to Zero Carbon. The LETI guide is a welcome resource to help us develop a more strategic approach to decarbonising our existing housing stock and minimising heating costs for our residents. It is an informative resource, authoritative and wide ranging. It will help housing associations such as Peabody with many older housing estates think through the task of balancing the multiple challenges of retrofit, fire safety and maintenance.'

Dick Mortimer Executive Director of Development & Sales, Peabody

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'The majority of homes that will exist in 2050 have already been built, so making them more energy efficient must be very high on any Government's agenda. This splendid report sets out how this can be done, as well as the very real pitfalls in making seemingly simple changes to a home's ventilation and insulation. What we need now is a well-organised and well-funded Government initiative to meet this challenge'

Peter Murray Curator-in-Chief, NLA

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'I am really looking forward to the LETI retrofit Guide. Their Climate Emergency Design Guides were a game changer in the industry, bringing low carbon design and embodied carbon to the fore. I regularly refer to my copies as we try to design to meet the targets'

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Julia Barfield Director, Marks Barfield Architects

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'Architects Declare fully support the LETI Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide and applaud the hugely talented team behind this well-timed publication. We acknowledge the importance of prioritising the retrofitting and re-use of the existing built environment over demolition and new build if we are to have any hope of meeting Net Zero Carbon targets for 2050. Whilst we appreciate the challenges that successful low carbon retrofit presents the architecture profession, like LETI, we believe that our industry has the collective knowledge and expertise to step up and meet this head-on.'

Architects Declare UK Steering Group

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'Everyone interested in action on the climate emergency knows that without massively reducing the energy usage in our existing building stock we have zero chance of achieving Net Zero. Everyone knows but few act. LETI shows us what we must do and how in its customary plain speaking, well-evidenced and quietly passionate way.'

Sunand Prasad Principal,Penoyre & Prasad

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'This comprehensive guidance is centred around delivering the real-world thermal performance levels we need to address climate change and achieve lowest cost decarbonisation of our homes and the UK's energy system.'

Jon Warren, Energiesprong UK

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'In the context of the Climate Emergency, we believe deep retrofit is absolutely central to meeting our obligations under UK and international climate change agreements. Furthermore, we believe householders and citizens must be put at the centre of the retrofit revolution, to offer legitimacy and ensure the development of effective, user-centred solutions. LETI have provided expert knowledge and guidance in this area, their work is essential in helping the UK achieve retrofit at the pace, but as importantly at the quality, we require. This new report is central to that work.'

Jonathan Atkinson co-founder-Carbon Co-op and People Powered Retrofit

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This guide shows how we can retrofit our homes to make them fit for the future and support the UK's Net Zero targets. We define energy use targets for existing homes and provide practical guidance on how to achieve them.

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Free download PDF

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Comparison of different materials and their environmental impact (not just embodied carbon)

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Byggeriets Materialepyramide - en kort forklaring

I Danmark kender alle madpyramiden. Den fortæller os om forholdet mellem vores indtag af fødevarer og vores sundhed; Hvad vi kan spise i store mængder, og hvad skal vi spise mindre af?

Med udgangspunkt i madpyramidens grafiske sprog, har vi på Center for Industriel Arkitektur (CINARK), ved det Kongelige Akademi udviklet en digital udgave af Byggeriets Materialepyramide, som vi publicerede som plakat i 2019.

Den digitaliserede udgave af Byggeriets Materialepyramide gør det muligt at sammenligne fx CO ₂ aftryk mellem forskellige kategorier af materialer eller mellem materialetyper inden for samme kategori. Den gør det også muligt at få vist forskellige slags miljøpåvirkninger på tværs af de forskellige materialer. Den tilbyder således et konkret, interaktivt beregningsværktøj og man åbner samtidig op for dialog om dybere studier af materialernes placering i pyramiden og deres senere indplacering ved projektering. Målet er at den giver en enkel måde at få et hurtigt overblik over de enkelte byggematerialers relative bæredygtighed.

Baseret på Miljødeklarationer (EPD) viser Byggeriets Materialepyramide miljøpåvirkningen for en række relevante byggematerialer. Her har vi valgt at fokusere på de indledende faser i byggeriet, dvs. indtil materialet er i hånden (Livscyklusfaser A1-A3).

Med andre ord; Byggeriets Materialepyramide er en måde at synliggøre den miljøpåvirkning, der er forbundet med materialers produktion. Materialets levetid kan derefter blive håndteret som et teknisk designparameter, hvor der arbejdes med detaljer i konstruktionen i forhold til hvor længe bygningen skal holde.

I den sammenhæng, er det arkitekters ansvar at sikre, at materialernes levetid ikke afhænger af den samlede sammensætning af bygningskomponenten og derfor defineret af det dårligst udførte materiale eller konstruktion. Det har således været ambitionen, at omgå de problematiske standardantagelser, der styrer resultatet af livscyklusvurderinger (LCA).

Vi har fået mange positive og nysgerrige henvendelser fra almindelige håndværkere til undervisere fra erhvervsskoler, praktiserende arkitekter og lægfolk. Vi tror på, at Byggeriets Materialepyramide ligesom madpyramiden kan blive en afgørende rettesnor og pædagogisk guide til alle danskerne, når de skal træffe de rigtige miljøvalg, når de handler i byggemarkedet, køber hus, bygger om eller bare ønsker mere viden på området.

Målgruppen er projekterende arkitekter, konstruktører og rådgivere, samt studerende ved uddannelser rettet mod byggeriet. Desuden, kan den digitale udgave af Byggeriets Materialepyramide anvendes til bredere formidling til bygherre, og til oplysningskampagner som led i byggeriets grønne omstilling.

Projektgruppen bag den digitaliserede materialepyramide er senior- og juniorforskere ved CINARK, samt Jan Schipull Kauschen fra Vandkunsten.
Projektet er finansieret med støtte fra Boligfonden Kuben.

Miljøpåvirkningskategorier anvendt i pyramiden:
Potentielle skader for miljøet, økosystemer og helbredet kan kortlægges ved udførelsen af såkaldte livscyklusvurderinger - LCA. Da type og dimesion af de potentielle skader er grundlæggende forskellige er der udviklet metoder til opgørelsen af skader i mijljøpåvirkningskategorier. Der er et stort antal miljøpåvirkningskategorier udover de 5 i pyramiden anvendte, som dog er det mest gængse i bygningsrelaterede LCA'er. Kategorierne som er relevante for byggeriet er angivet i den europæsike standard CEN/TC350.

Global warming Potential - Global Opvarmning (GWP):
Global Opvarming bliver forårsaget af drivhusgasser, heriblandt den kemiske stofforbindelse CO ₂. GWP bliver regnet i CO ₂-ækvivalenter (CO ₂eq), hvilket vil sige at CO ₂, bruges som referencestof og indikatorenhed. Anvendelsen af "ækvivalenter" er gennemgående for alle miljøpåvirkninger, i det at der findes mange forskellige stofforbindelser som kan forårsage den samme skade for miljøet, økosystemer eller sundheden, men i forskellige størrelsesordner. F.eks. forårsager 1kg methan den samme potentielle skade som ca. 25kg CO ₂ når udledt til atmosfæren.
GWP er også det, som man omtaler "carbon footprint" i forbindelse med produkter.

Ozone Depletion Potential - Ozonlagsnedbrydning (ODP):
ODP er nedbrydningspotentialet af ozonlaget. Her er der dermed inkluderet de kemiske forbindelser som har en indvirkning på nedbrydning af ozonlaget. Nedbrydning af ozonlaget medfører at intensiteten på UV-strålingen stiger og skader dermed planter og dyrearter. Som indikatoerenhed for ODP anvendes ækvivalenter af det kemiske stof freon (R-11eq).

Photochemical Ozone Creation Potentials - Fotokemisk Ozondannelse (POCP):
Under denne kategori beskrives dannelsen af fotokemisk smog. Ozon kan i høje koncentrationer påvirke både helbred hos mennesker og naturen og påvirke især vejrtrækning. POCP måles i ethen-ækvivalenter (C ₂H ₄ eq) som indikatorenhed. Miljøpåvirkningen stammer blandt andet meget fra flygtige organiske forbindelser (VOC), som kan forekomme i produktion og afbrænding af plastik og maling.

Acidification Potential - Forsuring (AP):
AP beskriver potentielle påvirkninger af syrer som bliver udledt til atmosfæren som gasform eller i jord og vand som substans. Forsuring kan medføre skader på økosystemet og især planter. I 1980'erne var der tit tale om "sur regn". Denne påvirkningskategori måles i indikatorenheden svovldioxid-ækvivalenter (SO ₂).

Eutrophication Potential - Næringssaltbelastning (EP):
EP betegner en for høj belastning med næringssalte som potentielt kan skade miljøet. Overernæring i jorden kan påvirke vegetationen og i sidste ende resultere i dens død, miljøpåvirkningen bliver også kadlt "ørkendannelse". Overernæring kan også have en modsat effekt, hvor det skaber optimale forhold for plantevækst, så det ender med planterne, udkonkurrerer andre levende organismer. Dette kan for eksempel ske i hav og søer, hvor det kan resultere i algevækst, som kan skade biodiversiteten. EP har fosfat som referencestof og beregnes i fosfat-ækvivalenter (PO ₄ eq).

Du kan læse mere om miljøpåvirkninger og LCA indenfor byggeriet i SBi/BUILDs rapport "Bygningens Livscyklus" (SBI2015:09) og rapport "Klimapåvirkning fra 60 bygninger" (SBI2020:04) Also, you can read about how we have tested the ideas behind the Construction Material Pyramid in the book: "Circular Construction - Architecture, Materials, Tectonics" (CINARK2019)

Datagrundlaget:
Data anvendt i pyramiden stammer fra offentligt tilgængelige EPD'er som normalt materialeproducenter, materialeleverandører eller brancheorganistationer står for. EPD står for "Environmental Product Declaration" og er dermed en varedeklaration som beskriver materialets eller produktets potentielle miljøpåvirkninger. Selve processen omkring tilblivelsen af EPD'er er standardiseret, og det er LCA-specialister som kan udarbejde disse.
EPD'er bliver tit gjort tilgænglige i databaser eller over producenternes hjemmesider, det er også her vi har rekvireret dem til vores projekt.
Der er anvendt EPD'er fra Danmark så vidt muligt, desuden er den tyske database Ökobau.dat belvet anvendt, samt EPD Norge som har et omfattende register af EPD'er for byggematerialer og byggevarer.
Ved "dobbeltklik" på et materiale vises alle data vi har benyttet i detaljer, herunder link til EPD eller databasen for LCA-datasettet, samt angivelse af dato for datagrundlagets gyldighed.

Livscyklusfaser A1-3:
Fra EPD'erne har vi anvendt data for livscyklusfaser A1 til A3 (jf. EN15978), dette svarer til materialeudvinding frem til produktionen ("cradle-to-gate"). Alle videre faser som forekommer i en livscyklusanalyse er udeladt, herunder transport til byggepladsen og indbygning (A4/5), anvendelse og udskiftning (B4/6), bortskaffelse (C3/4) og eventuel genbrug (D). Årsagen hertil er at materialepyramiden ikke er et værktøj til at regne LCA'er og alle faser udover A1-3 er afhængigt af det enkelte projekt og vurdering der foretages. Hertil skal anvendes professionelt software som f.eks. BUILDs LCAByg ( www.lcabyg.dk)
Angivelsen af livscyklusfaser A1-3 er producentens ansvar jf. standarden. Et godt datagrundlag er dermed sikret og evtl usikkerheder, som i en LCA skal håndteres, er dermed ikke relevant for tal angivet i materialepyramiden.

Udvælgelse af materialer:
Udvalget af materialer til pyramiden er sket baseret på en del interviews med fagpersoner indenfor byggeri, som har udmøntet sig i en liste med materialer som anvendes mest i dansk byggeri. Det er desuden forsøgt at holde materialerne på et generisk niveau for ikke at udpege et bestemt produkt indenfor en materialegruppe. Det er klart at der kan forekommer store variationer i materialernes miljøpåvirkninger alt efter hvem producenter er og/eller hvor og hvordan produktet bliver fremstillet. For at komme dette imøde er der anvendt data fra materialer og produkter som har en stor markedsandel for netop den givne type materiale. Hvis muligt har vi anvendt "branchedata", dvs. informationer som er stillet til rådighed af brancheorganisationer.

Vi kan desværre ikke garantere for rigtigheden af de benyttede data eller data der henvises til, samt at vi ikke påtager os et ansvar for evt. fejl eller undladelser på hjemmesiden.

Hvis du vil bidrage
Den digitale udgave af materialepyramiden er fleksibel og skal ændre sig over tid. Vi vil gerne tilføje flere materialer og der er mange ideér på tegnebordet til flere lag og flere funktioner. Hvis du gerne vil støtte projektet i den ene eller anden form, modtager vi med glæde en email fra dig!
Hvis du har et materiale som synes mangler i pyramiden, send gerne en EPD til os og evtl også en materialeprøve for at vi kan tage billeder af den. Har du andre gode idéer eller gerne vil anvende pyramiden i et skoleprojekt, skriv til os på:info@materialepyramiden.dk

God fornøjelse med Byggeriets Materialepyramide!

The Construction Material Pyramid - A Brief Explanation

In Denmark, everyone knows the food pyramid. It tells us about the relationship between our food intake and our health. What we can eat in large quantities and what should we eat less of.

Based on the food pyramid's graphical language, we at the Centre for Industrialised Architecture (CINARK) at the Royal Danish Academy have developed a digital version of the Construction Material Pyramid, which we published as a poster in 2019.

The digital version of the Construction Material Pyramid makes it possible to compare, for example, CO2 footprints between different categories of materials or between material types within the same category. It also makes it possible to view different kinds of environmental impacts across the different materials. It thus offers a tangible, interactive calculation tool and at the same time opens up a dialogue about more detailed studies of the materials' position in the pyramid and later their place in the project design. The goal is that it provides a simple way to gain a quick overview of the relative sustainability of the individual building materials.

Based on Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), the Construction Material Pyramid shows the environmental impact of a number of relevant building materials. Here, we have chosen to focus on the initial phases of construction, i.e. until the material is on site (life cycle phases A1-A3).

In other words, the Construction Material Pyramid is a way of visualising the environmental impact associated with the production of materials. The service life of the material can then be handled as a technical design parameter, where work is carried out on the details of the construction in relation to how long the building should last.

In this context, it is the responsibility of architects to ensure that the materials' service life does not depend on the overall composition of the building component and therefore defined by the worst-executed material or construction. It has thus been the ambition to bypass the problematic standard assumptions that govern the outcome of life cycle assessments (LCA).

We have received many positive and curious enquiries from ordinary craftsmen to teachers at vocational schools, practicing architects and lay people. We believe that the Construction Material Pyramid, like the food pyramid, can be a crucial guideline and educational guide for all when they have to make the right environmental choices when doing business in the construction market, buying a house, rebuilding, or just wanting more knowledge about the field.

The target group is project architects, designers, and consultants, as well as students in educations aimed at construction. In addition, the digital version of the Construction Material Pyramid can be used for wider dissemination to developers and for information campaigns as part of the construction industry's green transition.

The project group behind the digitised material pyramid are senior and junior researchers at CINARK, as well as Jan Schipull Kauschen from Vandkunsten. The project is financed with support from Boligfonden Kuben.

Environmental Impact Categories Used in the Pyramid
Potential damage to the environment, ecosystems, and health can be mapped when performing so-called life cycle assessments (LCAs). Since the type and dimension of the potential damage are fundamentally different, methods have been developed for the calculation of damage in environmental impact categories. There are a large number of environmental impact categories in addition to the five used in the pyramid, which are, however, the most common in building-related LCAs. The categories relevant for the construction industry are specified in the European standard CEN/TC350.

Global warming Potential (GWP):
Global warming is caused by greenhouse gases, including the chemical substance CO2. GWP is calculated in CO2 equivalents (CO2eq), which means that CO2 is used as a reference substance and indicator unit. The use of "equivalents" is common to all environmental impacts, in that there are many different substances that can cause the same damage to the environment, ecosystems, or health, but in different orders of magnitude. For example, 1 kg of methane causes the same potential damage as approximately 25 kg of CO2 when emitted into the atmosphere. GWP is also what is referred to as the "carbon footprint" in connection with products.

Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP):
ODP is the depletion potential of the ozone layer. Thus, this includes the chemical compounds that have an effect on the depletion of the ozone layer. Degradation of the ozone layer means that the intensity of UV radiation increases and therefore damages plants and animal species. As an indicator unit for ODP, equivalents of the chemical substance freon (R-11eq) are used.

Photochemical Ozone Creation Potentials (POCP):
Under this category, the formation of photochemical smog is described. In high concentrations, ozone can affect the health of both humans and nature, and can especially affect breathing. POCP is measured using ethylene equivalents (C2H4eq) as an indicator unit. The environmental impact stems in large part from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can occur in the production and incineration of plastics and paints.

Acidification Potential (AP):
AP describes potential influences of acids that are emitted into the atmosphere in a gaseous form or in the soil and water as a substance. Acidification can cause damage to the ecosystem and especially plants. In the 1980s, there was often talk of "acid rain". This impact category is measured using the indicator unit sulphur dioxide equivalents (SO2 eq).

Eutrophication Potential (EP):
EP denotes an excessive load of nutrients that can potentially harm the environment. Over-fertilisation of the soil can affect the vegetation and eventually result in its death; the environmental impact is also called "desertification". Over-fertilisation can also have the opposite effect, creating optimal conditions for plant growth so that it ends up with the plants outcompeting other living organisms. This can happen, for example, in oceans and lakes, where it can result in algae growth, which can damage the biodiversity. EP has phosphate as reference substance and is calculated in phosphate equivalents (PO4eq).

You can read more about environmental impacts and LCA within the construction industry in SBi/BUILD's report "Bygningens Livscyklus" [The Building's Life Cycle] (SBI2015:09) and the report "Klimapåvirkning fra 60 bygninger" [Climate Impact from 60 Buildings] (SBI2020:04).
Also, you can read about how we have tested the ideas behind the Construction Material Pyramid in the book: "Circular Construction - Architecture, Materials, Tectonics" (CINARK2019)

Data Used
Data used in the pyramid comes from publicly available EPDs that material producers, material suppliers, or industry organisations are normally responsible for. EPD stands for "Environmental Product Declaration" and is thus a product declaration that describes the material or product's potential environmental impacts. The actual process for creating EPDs is standardised, and LCA specialists are able to produce them.
EPDs are often made available in databases or via manufacturers' websites, and this is also where we have gathered them from for our project. EPDs from Denmark have been used as far as possible; in addition, the German database Ökobau.dat has been used, as well as EPD's from the Norwegian EPD Foundation, which has an extensive register of EPDs for building materials and products.
By "double-clicking" on a material, all the data we have used is displayed in detail, including a link to the EPD or the database for the LCA dataset, as well as the date of the data's validity.

Life Cycle Phases A1-A3
From the EPDs, we have used data for life cycle phases A1 to A3 (cf. EN15978); this corresponds to material extraction up to production ("cradle-to-gate"). All further phases that occur in a life cycle analysis are excluded, including transport to the construction site and installation (A4/5), use and replacement (B4/6), disposal (C3/4), and potential recycling (D). The reason for this is that the material pyramid is not a tool for calculating LCAs, and all phases in addition to A1-A3 depend on the individual project and assessment made. For this, professional software such as BUILD's LCAByg ( www.lcabyg.dk) must be used.
The reporting and updating of life cycle phases A1-A3 is the manufacturer's responsibility, cf. the standard. Good data is thus ensured, and potential uncertainties that must be dealt with in an LCA are therefore not relevant for figures given in the material pyramid.

Selection of Materials
The selection of materials for the pyramid has been based on a number of interviews with professionals in construction, which has resulted in a list of the materials used most in Danish construction. Attempts have also been made to keep the materials at a generic level so as not to single out a specific product within a material group. It is clear that there can be large variations in the materials' environmental impacts depending on who the producers are and/or where and how the product is manufactured. To deal with this, data has been used from materials and products that have a large market share for the given type of material. If possible, we have used "industry data", i.e. information provided by industry associations.

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data used or the data that is referred to, and we do not assume any responsibility for any errors or omissions on the website.

If You Want to Contribute
The digital version of the material pyramid is flexible and will change over time. We would like to add more materials, and there are many ideas on the drawing board for more layers and more features. If you would like to support the project in one form or another, we are happy to receive an e-mail from you!
If you have a material that you think is missing from the pyramid, feel free to send us an EPD and, if possible, a material sample so that we can take pictures of it. If you have other good ideas or would like to use the pyramid in a school project, then please write to us at:info@materialepyramiden.dk

Have Fun with the Construction Material Pyramid!

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9 lunchtime sessions on how to apply circular principles at each of the RIBA stages

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Architects Climate Action Network | ACAN

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The ACAN Circular Economy group have been focusing on how circular economy principles can be applied within the context of the UK construction industry. This nine-part event series addresses the key challenges and opportunities of realising CE approaches at each of the RIBA stages

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Intro to building with timber, earth, straw, hemp, lime and natural fibre insulations. (Online ACAN Natural Materials event)

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Intro to Natural Materials | ACAN Natural Materials | ACAN

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Links to case-studies, resources and research on building with straw-bale

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Join SBUK

Your membership fee is vital to the ongoing work of SBUK and allows you access to group meetings and events where you can network and chat with other members, and help us to achieve our aim of promoting straw bale building in the UK....

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Welcome to SBUK - the straw bale building association for the United Kingdom. The UK straw bale sector is vibrant and growing with more than 1000 buildings so far. These range from funky sheds to family homes and commercial premises. Our aim - To...

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Online information and resources on earth building

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to promote the circular economy through earth building in contemporary construction, using existing and innovative products and techniques. To work towards the development of appropriate standards and testing methods.

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An organisation for everything earth building

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to promote the circular economy through earth building in contemporary construction, using existing and innovative products and techniques. To work towards the development of appropriate standards and testing methods.

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#guide
Free download PDF guidance - aimed at clients but a good introduction to practical application of BPE

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This guidance is aimed at housing clients, and anyone interested in Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) who wants to evaluate and improve the performance of homes.
Its purpose is to provide an introduction to applying BPE in practice on projects, with:

Information for clients and project managers to gain an overview of the benefits of BPE, what the main BPE techniques can do, how to procure it, and the main activities to plan throughout a project from design to occupancy

Guidance on the main BPE techniques available

Tools for day-to-day use on projects, complemented by more detailed guidance, examples and references.

This guidance recommends a "core" BPE scope for clients and project teams wanting to understand and improve the performance of their homes. This provides a holistic look at performance, including people, the indoor environment, fabric performance, energy use and water use. It highlights how BPE techniques can work together, and the interactions between energy performance, people, and the indoor environment. It limits the involvement of experts and expensive equipment. Instead, the aim is to embed building performance throughout the project stages and empower project teams to deliver high performance.

Authors: This guidance has been produced for Woodknowledge Wales on behalf of the Home-Grown Homes project. The document was authored by Susie Diamond, Inkling & Julie Godefroy Sustainability, for the Good Homes Alliance.

Publication date: January 2021
DOWNLOAD GUIDANCE

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This guidance is aimed at housing clients, and anyone interested in Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) who wants to evaluate and improve the performance of homes.

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Guidance on urban trees including great infographics

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News

Trees, Planning and Development:
​A Guide for Delivery
Section One: Creating financial, environmental and social value into the future

TDAG believes trees can and should have a key role in creating better places and value for people, both aesthetically and functionally. National and local governments, along with professional institutions and associations are increasingly aware of the benefits trees deliver, not least their role in adaptation and mitigation to the threats of climate and ecological breakdown. Our new guide addresses the main issues for the key audience of planners, developers, designers and other stakeholders.The guide is designed to facilitate a better understanding and to secure the range of returns trees offer new developments, and will be periodically updated to reflect any changes in planning and associated policies. It also complements As with all TDAG documents, careful research has been supported by a wide range of contributors and the results reviewed by an equally diverse range of industry experts.

Trees in Hard Landscapes: A Guide for Delivery, and is the second companion to Trees in the Townscape: A Guide for Decision Makers. All guides are freely available on our website.

​

Available here .

Streets for a Healthy Life (Issue 01), Homes England

This draft document has been released by Homes England as a companion to Building for a Healthy Life and Manual for Streets. It provides that vital missing element of what good, adopted residential streets should look like and how they should function. TDAG is pleased to be a member of the Sounding Board and supports this document as a valuable addition to the growing body of knowledge focused on 'how to get it right'. Streets for a Healthy Life is referenced in TDAG's own Trees, Planning and Development: A Guide for Delivery. Both documents are designed to be read on line and revised over time.

Available here:

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Trees, Planning and Development:​A Guide for Delivery Section One: Creating financial, environmental and social value into the future TDAG believes trees can and should have a key role in creating better places and value for people, both aesthetically and functionally.

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Report and briefing note (PDF download)

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Greenhouse gas emissions caused by the construction of new buildings and infrastructure, known as 'embodied carbon emissions', are a significant driver of climate change.

These emissions amount to just under 50MtCO2e per year in the UK, a shocking figure that is vastly in excess of 10% of our national emissions.

For context; there are 149 countries in the world whose entire national carbon footprint is smaller than the footprint of the UK's construction sector.

Despite this, embodied carbon emissions are unregulated in the UK . Current policy and regulation focuses solely on operational energy use, as distinct from embodied carbon, and there are currently no national planning policy or Building Regulation requirements to assess, report or reduce embodied carbon emissions.

This must change. So ACAN is calling for the urgent introduction of legislation to regulate embodied carbon emissions in the UK. Our demands are backed up by a report, and now we need your help.

Embodied carbon emissions are those that are caused by construction processes. They are related to the materials and products that go into making our buildings and infrastructure. These include emissions caused by: extraction, processing and manufacture; transport, assembly and installation on site; replacement, refurbishment and maintenance; demolition and disposal.

These are different from the carbon emissions associated with the energy use (heat and power) of our buildings. Those are known as 'operational carbon' emissions.

As the grid is decarbonised and our new buildings become more efficient in their energy use, embodied carbon is making up an ever greater percentage of a building's total carbon footprint. This can be up to 75% of the total carbon emissions over a typical 60-year lifespan, as illustrated in the diagram below.

Currently, and despite their significance, embodied carbon emissions of buildings are unregulated in the UK. Infrequently discussed in public until recently, they constitute the hidden carbon footprint of buildings. Its time they were regulated.

Only a handful of MPs are aware of embodied carbon emissions. You can make a huge difference by sending our Briefing Note to your MP with the help of we have written for you. Find your MP using and then use the 'Send This Report' button to download the right document. Please forward any replies to embodiedcarbon

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Greenhouse gas emissions caused by the construction of new buildings and infrastructure, known as 'embodied carbon emissions', are a significant driver of climate change. These emissions amount to just under 50MtCO2e per year in the UK, a shocking figure that is vastly in excess of 10% of our national emissions.

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#resourceslist
Documents and presentations produced by Architects Declare as well as other links

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UK Architects Declare Climate and Biodiversity Emergency

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Below are resources generated by Architects Declare and in Useful Links, you will find those created by others.

If you would like to submit a resource for inclusion, please contact us: [email protected]

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Resources | UK Architects Declare Climate and Biodiversity Emergency

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Below are resources generated by Architects Declare and in Useful Links, you will find those created by others. If you would like to submit a resource for inclusion, please contact us: [email protected]

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Network, events and support for student-led climate action groups in built environment faculties - get involved!

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We will support student groups to enable wider discussion of the climate and ecological crises with educators and regulatory bodies.

We will connect students of the built environment and create a platform to lobby for change.

We seek to embed ACAN's core aims into the curriculum; establishing future generations of climate literate built environment professionals.

Respondents to our Student Survey felt they were ill-equipped to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency in their future work, and the majority were unaware of a climate action group within their institution.

With insufficient preparation for future work, inadequate tutor responses and nowhere to voice their concern, students are fundamentally being let down. This has to change.

We have been campaigning to increase the number of student climate action groups in built environment faculties across the country, supporting student cohorts in schools of the built environment. In September 2019, there were 6 groups of this kind. There are now 14 student action groups across the UK, and that number is growing fast.

Through collective action students can discover the true power of their agency; giving them the confidence to challenge climate negligent teaching when they see it. By connecting student-led action groups, informed educators and practitioners, we can begin a cultural transformation.

Follow the StuCAN Starter Pack and set up an action group at your university.

to join a growing network of university representatives and connect, collaborate and act alongside existing action groups.

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StuCAN is calling for students to demand a climate literate education at their universities. Join us to find out how you can help!

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Judit Kimpian, Hattie Hartman and Sofie Pelsmakers
#book

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Energy performance feedback is an essential tool in addressing the current climate crisis.

However, Energy | People | Buildings - Making Sustainable Architecture Work is not simply another theoretical text about energy performance in buildings. This book is for anyone who wants to better understand how energy is used in buildings, and how to drive down operational energy use - whether you're an architect, student, client, building services engineer, contractor, building operator or other stakeholder. Focusing on evidence from feedback on buildings in use, it explains what it takes to get them to perform as expected, as well as the reasons why they often fail.

Larsen Architects and ZGF Architects. Featured architects: AHMM, AHR, Architype, Hamson Barron Smith, Haworth Tompkins, Henning
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Energy performance feedback is an essential tool in addressing the current climate crisis. However, Energy | People | Buildings - Making Sustainable Architecture Work is not simply another theoretical text about energy performance in buildings.

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Circular Economy - Principles for Building Design

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Circular Economy - Principles for Building Design

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#industryguidance by the European Commission

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#tool
Free to use whole life carbon review tool

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#podcasts

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#resourceslist
Cross-industry library of resources, organised by topic and level

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Riverside Sunderland: University Design Challenge lectures

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Riverside Sunderland: University Design Challenge lectures

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#lectures
Webinar series in support of student design competition - topics include the climate emergency, counting carbon, sustainable timber, interior health and wellbeing.

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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This resources list was compiled alongside the Principles and Actions guidance in September 2021 to form the first version ACAN Education toolkit. These were made by ACAN volunteers as a follow up to our summer workshops. We encourage you to engage, reflect and further share resources we provide here. Please like the resources you find useful to recommend them to others visiting this page. You can find out more about ACAN education here: https://www.architectscan.org/curriculum-campaign

and access the Toolkit and Resources here:

https://www.architectscan.org/education-toolkit

Volunteers from the Student Climate Action Network (StuCAN) have continued to update the resource list to include the StuCAN Festival and StuCAN chapters. Please note, some resources may be out of date - we are in the process of checking and updating resources. Thank you for your understanding!

[Last update October 2025]

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Better Buildings: Learning from Buildings in Use

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Better Buildings: Learning from Buildings in Use

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Richard Partington and Simon Bradbury
#book

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List highlighting UK-based BAME/PoC who are climate campaigners and advocates.

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WHAT?

The Climate Reframe project will highlight some of the best Black, Brown, Asian, People of Colour and UK based Indigenous Peoples who are climate experts, campaigners and advocates living and working in the UK.

Their diverse roles include the following:

Activists & Campaigners

Business & Entrepreneurs

Community Organisers

Cultural Creatives

Environmentalists & Naturalists

Journalists & Writers

Legal Experts

Policy Experts & Academics

Political Candidates

Scientists & Technologists

Urban Planners & Architects

Youth Activists

This list is by no means exhaustive and we could have included 100 different people, and have many still to discover. It's not meant to be the the final word on the subject, but the beginning of a recognition of all the amazing people out there with something invaluable to contribute.

WHY?

The climate crisis is one of the most urgent and crucial issues in the UK public agenda but the representation of BAME climate experts invited to add their voices and perspectives in the media, at climate conferences, and working groups is desperately lacking.

We want to make it easier for media, funders, conferences and campaigns to find them and strengthen their work by including their expertise and perspectives throughout 2020 in environmental and climate reporting and in the lead upto the COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow.

The environmental movement in the UK needs to reflect the political and social realities facing BAME communities. We want to give a platform to BAME environmentalists who propose both strategies and solutions for dealing with the climate crisis. This platform will help create a pathway towards more BAME expertise and perspectives in the media.

Who has put this together? Please see the Contacts and Credits section.

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The Climate Reframe project will highlight some of the best Black, Brown, Asian, People of Colour and UK based Indigenous Peoples who are climate experts, campaigners and advocates living and working in the UK.

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Architecture Foundation - The Power in Everyday Action

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Architecture Foundation - The Power in Everyday Action

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#resourceslist
Practical guidance, resources list and links.

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The Power in Everyday Action | Architecture Foundation

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Architecture Foundation - A coalition of architects, clients, professionals and public campaigning for a better built environment

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LETI Embodied Carbon Primer

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Many of the resources collated here are the result of volunteer hours. If you find such a resource useful, we strongly encourage you to donate to the resource creator in order to support their work. You can also donate to ACAN here: https://www.architectscan.org/donate

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ACAN Education Toolkit - Principles and Actions v1

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ACAN Education Toolkit - Principles and Actions v1

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Concise guidance for architecture schools taking action towards climate literate education

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StuCAN Festival Launch Evening Recording

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StuCAN Festival Launch Evening Recording

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Recorded at the Glasgow School of Art’s Reid Lecture Theatre and hosted by the Mackintosh School of Architecture on Friday 17th October 2025, the Student Climate Action Network’s (StuCAN) Entanglement Festival Launch Evening celebrated the start of our StuCAN Festival with a fantastic panel of speakers exploring the themes of Entanglement!

Becca Thomas, Director and Architect at New Practice

Hani Salih, Curator, Designer and Researcher in Residence at the Design Museum's Future Observatory

Blanche Cameron, Associate Professor of Environmental Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture

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StuCAN Entanglement Festival Launch Evening - 17 October 2025

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3 example courses on Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Design and Circular Design

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Designers Have a Unique Capacity to Shape both the Built and the Natural Environment.

By understanding the lifecycle of the products and systems we employ in the design of buildings and their infrastructure, we can more judiciously manage our raw material consumption, our energy demands, and the impact of all of it on the flow of carbon through the environment.

This site includes three courses prepared in collaboration with Aalto University (Finland) and Yale University (USA):

Life Cycle Assessment for Building Designers

Goal of the Seminar

This course introduces students to the essential science-based methods that are used for measuring how the goals of circular economy are met, with a specific focus on the wide-ranging impacts of the construction industry and its attendant demand in regional and global supply chains, energy systems, and land use.

Typically utilized by material scientists and industrial ecologists rather than by building designers, these methods include material flow analysis (MFA), life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprinting, life cycle energy assessment (LCEA), life cycle costing (LCC) and multi-objective building optimization (MOBO).

Teaching covers both the theoretical, scientific principles underlying circular analysis methodologies and practical exercises for leveraging these scientific methods within the construction sector.

Required Materials

For this study module, we suggest using an online lecture series that consists of nine short video lectures in English. These lectures cover the different aspects of building´s life cycle assessment from the viewpoint of calculating building´s carbon footprint.

The lectures are intended for "flipped classroom" learning. In this approach, the students watch the lectures between the classes and the time together with the teachers and tutors is reserved for implementing the lectures into the assessment exercise.

The lectures are available through free of charge for educational purposes.

Assessment Tools

An assessment tool can be any online or stand-alone software that is designed for building-level life cycle assessment (e.g. One Click LCA or Tally). We do not recommend using a generic LCA tool for the course, because building the unit processes can be too time-consuming.

Alternatively, the assessment can be carried out by simply using spreadsheet. This requires, however, that the spreadsheet has been prepared in advance for the students and tested.

Sample Building

In addition to the online lectures, students will need to have a sample building for which the calculation is done. The building can be small or large, but we recommend that it would be heated. This gives understanding about the share of "operational" and "embodied" impacts.

An essential requirement for the studied buildings is that its bill of quantities is available. It is possible to estimate the materials from drawings as well, but this can take much time and reduce the efficiency of the study module.

Furthermore, if energy simulations, certificates or documentation of the energy consumption are available, this will make the assessment easier.

Suggested Progress

This is an exemplary progress of the course that should be modified to suit the curriculum.

Introduction to the course

Introducing the aims of the course

Presenting the flipped classroom approach

Presenting the outline of the online lectures

Presenting the selected assessment tool(s)

Giving instructions for selection of the case study buildings (unless the teacher has not selected the buildings for the students)

Case study buildings, system boundaries and assessment tools

Students should have watched the online lectures

Students present the case study buildings briefly and explain scope & goal for their assessment, as well as which system boundaries they have selected

Students should have access to the assessment tool

Teacher can ask questions related to the online lectures

Teacher should make sure that all students have a building that is suitable for the assessment

An introduction to the use of the assessment tool(s) can be given

Material inventory

Students should have listed the building materials of their case study building

Teacher and tutors should help the students to recognise which parts of the assessed building are most relevant for the assessment

Teacher and tutors should help the students in fine-tuning the system boundaries for their studies so that the workload of the assessment matches with the credits of the course

Life cycle scenarios

Students should have completed the material inventory

Students should present their scenarios for different life cycle stages: transportation distances, construction methods, replacement intervals of materials, energy consumption, demolition method, reuse and recycling percentages, etc.

Teacher and tutors should ensure that the scenarios are relevant and that do not lead into too long or complicated assessment process.

Sensitivities and comparisons

Students should have identified a part of their building, or its lifecycle, that causes most of the impacts.

Students should have made a comparison of at least one alternative solution for the identified part of the building or its life cycle, for mitigating the impacts.

Teacher and tutors should give feedback of how the comparisons could be communicated to the intended audience and discuss with the students what sort of trade-offs the alternative solutions might bring.

Presenting the results

Students should have drafted graphical and written presentation of the results of the assessment.

Teachers and tutors should give feedback about the clarity, readability and visualisation of the results and reflect the proposed report to the original scope & goal of the assessment.

Final review

Life Cycle Design Studio

Goals of the Design Studio

This design course applies the concepts of a circular economy to iterative design practice. The course differs from existing studio courses by establishing a strong focus on a life cycle approach to building design and construction, including end-of-life scenarios, sustainable manufacturing and assembly techniques, and extended material and energy stewardship.

The course consists of lectures and tutored individual design project development, simulating building programs that would vary by location and year and based on realistic and topical building needs. The lectures cover the legislative, regulatory, and industrial policy aspects of the selected design task and give understanding about the possibilities for the designer to promote circular construction practices.

The design studio offers a unique opportunity for students to implement circular design methodologies and best practices within the framework of a realistic building project.

Studio Introduction

The Life Cycle Design Studio explores advanced approaches to the design of sustainable buildings in the urban housing sector by posing the simple but provocative question: how will we live, design, and build for a future constrained by diminishing resources and increasing anthropogenic environmental disturbance? Guided by circular economic principles and armed with tools that include the analysis and visualization of the building lifecycle, its material and energy flows, and its potential ecological impacts, students will conduct research and develop designs for new modes and configurations of urban dwelling that incorporate materials and energy supply systems drawn from renewable sources and industrial and consumer waste streams.

By considering both upstream ecological benefits and downstream improvements in public health, students will engage some of the most deeply entrenched problems of contemporary global society: housing and social equity for a rapidly expanding and urbanizing global population, the over-consumption of planetary resources, and the role of the built environment n in driving climate change.

Ultimately, the studio will examine-through its own collective design work and an accompanying research program-the ways in which circular economic principles can promote a new design culture, one that leverages abundant and underutilized environmental resources as it seeks to address pressing global environmental crises.

Circular Economy Background

Originally developed by environmental economists in the late 1980s, the concept of a "circular economy" encompasses a societal shift away from linear, extractive production-consumption models and towards a restorative, regenerative economic framework. Effectively, this reconceptualization of traditional economic models marks a transition from our contemporary production economy to an emergent performance economy, in which entire systems are designed for sustainable, renewable, and regenerative operation.

In 2015, the European Union adopted the "EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy," an ambitious legislative policy document designed to stimulate Europe's transition to a circular economy. Specifically, the policy seeks to "close the loop" in each step of the industrial supply chain: eliminating wasted energy and materials during extraction and production, encouraging product repair and material recycling, and improving waste management practices to feed secondary materials back into the economy as recycled products or energy. Not only does the EU action plan represent a general trend towards promoting environmentally healthy practices, but it seeks to capitalize on what McKinsey & Company has identified as a €1.8 trillion market opportunity by 2030.

Recognizing the financial potential of pivoting towards a more sustainable economy, Finland recently published the world's first national circular economy transition plan, with a stated goal to become a global leader in the circular economy by 2025. Developed by the Finnish Innovation Fund (SITRA), the Finland transition model identifies a number of "loops" in which specific innovations can drive economic transformation. Specifically, the "Forest-based Loop" highlights the capacity for biogenic building materials to simultaneously reduce the embodied carbon emissions of the built environment while promoting healthy forest ecologies.

Studio Outline

Household Object Design and Prototyping

The first assignment of the term serves as an immersive introduction to both the logistical challenges and design opportunities that architects will inevitably face as human society transitions to a Circular Economy (CE). Given the complexity of such a transition, this assignment will operate within the strict dimensional limitations and analytical system boundaries of a durable and useful household object. Over the course of two weeks, each student will design and fabricate a fully functional physical prototype of that object, analyzing and depicting its lifecycle through graphic visualizations.

Site and Program Analysis

The aim of this analytical assignment is to introduce students to both the conventions of our current linear economy and the potential transition to a circular economy. Each student's analysis will examine the ways in which that transition may inevitably influence architectural design, construction methods and human behavior in the consumption of resources and the occupation of the urban realm. The information gathered and conclusions drawn will be utilized and tested during the design of your building and its lifecycle, the next and final phase of the semester's work. Topics studied to include: ​

Domestic spatial configurations

Energy production and distribution systems

Building services

Materials and construction

Transit and infrastructure

Designing within a Circular Economy

The first two assignments produce a robust background of research, analysis and design experimentation that forms the foundation of an architectural design process. It will now begin to inform the project that becomes the focus of the remaining weeks of the semester: the design of truly sustainable dwelling space-housing that is environmentally restorative, socially equitable, and economically feasible-for contemporary and future individuals and families. Each student's design proposal, whether developed individually or in collaboration with others, will demonstrate new design approaches to changing modes of resource consumption, land use and urban living.

Perhaps the most critical programmatic challenge of the studio is that each student's design should argue for its own replicability: the capacity of the project's design principles to be adapted and extended to different sites and even programs within the immediate neighborhood, and possibly beyond its boundaries to the larger district and even to more distant urban realms. In identifying a specific site and block with existing (or at least fully planned) infrastructure and a fixed dimension and orientation, the studio brief establishes a set of physical parameters for the building each student will design. In developing the building solution specified by the studio brief, each student is expected to also convey the principles that form each project's conceptual foundation and create a template for its potential replication and the subsequent dissemination of its underlying principles though future building in a circular economy.

Goals of the Practicum

The design-build practicum is the culminating stage of the study module, an intensive course in design implementation and building construction hosted by each of the participating universities.

Over the course of a summer academic term, a team of students will develop a design for a given building or infrastructure project and realize it under the mentorship of professional faculty in building science, technology, and design.

Building on a long tradition of pioneering design-build studio courses developed by Aalto University (Wood Studio) and the Yale School of Architecture (Jim Vlock Building Project), this course emphasizes innovative circular construction and design methodologies, including the capture of material from the construction waste stream and their reuse and recycling in fully functional building systems, the development of low-carbon building assemblies, and the optimization of building components for end-of life disassembly and reuse.

Circular Design-Build Practicum

Practicum Overview

This design-build course investigates and applies circular economic principles to architectural design practices by undertaking the design, assessment, and construction of a building or structure that embodies circular economic principles. Through their design of an entirely "circular" building, students will integrate principles of the circular economy into their design, assessment, and construction process, testing the limits of conventional sustainable design practices and developing new strategies for designing low carbon buildings.

As a complement to the traditional expectations of an advanced design studio, this course will introduce students to principles of the circular economy and the research methods, analytical tools, and design techniques necessary to implement circular economic and carbon neutral strategies in the construction of buildings of high quality and minimal carbon footprint. By providing a replicable methodology in the context of a multi-stakeholder and multi-objective building design and construction process, the course provides students with the conceptual and practical knowledge to fully engage the circular economy in the design, analysis, and construction of the built environment.

The final, built project is to be developed as collaborative research, design, and construction effort in tandem with supporting professional consultants or advisers, as required. Students will work individually to develop preliminary design schemes (and their associated structural morphologies and enclosure systems), but will coalesce around a single design strategy that will be developed as a group design project, analyzed for its environmental impact and carbon footprint, and ultimately constructed by the student team. Given the premise of the course, the building or structure will be designed with a specific focus on circular economic strategies, including recycled, regenerate, and biogenic building assemblies, renewable energy sources, rainwater collection and storage, and minimal operating energy.

Studio Outline

The semester will divide into two primary phases: the first, a data-gathering and fact-finding period that considers the role of carbon in the building life-cycle, examines current analytical techniques and assessment tools, and weighs the impacts of alternative building technologies; a second phase applies these assessment techniques to the design and construction of the building or structure, including material sourcing, material flow analysis, carbon footprinting, supply chain analysis, construction detailing, building assembly experimentation, and fabrication testing.

The design-build curriculum is broken into three stages:

1. An individual fact-finding stage in which individual students compile quantitative data on carbon uptake and release at specific stages of a building lifecycle. This work will attempt to identify carbon impacts in the building sector and evaluate them within the largest possible system boundaries.

2. The collective analysis of carbon-neutral architectural systems. This work will identify materials and building assemblies best suited for reducing the carbon footprint of the building or structure. Students will analyze a matrix of inputs and outputs required for fabricating, assembling, and maintaining the research station, including material extraction sources, manufacturing processes, transportation routes, assembly methods, operational energy requirements, and lifecycle costs.

3. The collective fabrication and documentation of structural systems, wall assemblies, and building enclosures. This work will build on the Phase 2 collaborative analysis, translating environmental assessments into actionable design strategies. Students will utilize their school's or university's fabrication space for construction 1:1 mock ups of critical building components that will directly inform the eventual construction and installation of the building or structure. Additionally, students will collaborate to develop a comprehensive presentation of research, documentation, and visualizations.

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TEACHING MATERIALS | Decarbonized Design

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Designers Have a Unique Capacity to Shape both the Built and the Natural Environment. By understanding the lifecycle of the products and systems we employ in the design of buildings and their infrastructure, we can more judiciously manage our raw material consumption, our energy demands, and the impact of all of it on the flow of carbon through the environment.

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The Resources are organised into sections within the 3 over-arching ACAN aims, with key resources at the front and links to more extensive lists at the end:

Frameworks

Key Resources

Decarbonise Now:

Net Zero Carbon

Energy Use

Embodied Carbon

Building Performance Evaluation

Ecological Regeneration

Ecology and built environment

Circular Economy

Natural materials

Cultural Transformation

Climate Justice

History & Theory

Social Justice and Equity

Teaching and Learning Resources

Further Resources

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RIBA has developed a series of targets for RIBA Chartered Practices to help architects meet net zero (or better) whole life carbon for new and retrofitted buildings by 2030.

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Looking for 3.1?

The Living Building Challenge is an ever-evolving program shaped by the incredible experiences of our project teams as they continually break new ground. Over time, feedback from a diverse array of stakeholders actively using the challenge helps us understand how to refine and improve the program to have the greatest impacts.

LBC 3.1 has been retired and new projects must register under the 4.0 standard, but existing project teams can still access 3.1 resources.

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Living Building Challenge | Living-Future.org

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Looking for 3.1? The Living Building Challenge is an ever-evolving program shaped by the incredible experiences of our project teams as they continually break new ground. Over time, feedback from a diverse array of stakeholders actively using the challenge helps us understand how to refine and improve the program to have the greatest impacts.

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RIBA SUSTAINABLE OUTCOMES GUIDE 2019

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An Architecture Guide to the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals

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An Architecture Guide to the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals

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Document details

An Architecture Guide to the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals

Published on

En arkitekturguide med fokus på FN's 17 verdensmål. Bogen er blevet til i samarbejde mellem Institut for Bygningskunst og Teknologi, KADK, Arkitektforeningen og UIA's Commission on the UN Sustainable Development Goals og er støttet af Dreyer Fonden.

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An Architecture Guide to the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals

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En arkitekturguide med fokus på FN's 17 verdensmål. Bogen er blevet til i samarbejde mellem Institut for Bygningskunst og Teknologi, KADK, Arkitektforeningen og UIA's Commission on the UN Sustainable Development Goals og er støttet af Dreyer Fonden.

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Futurestorative: Working Towards a New Sustainability

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Futurestorative: Working Towards a New Sustainability

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by Martin Brown
#book

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by Sofie Pelsmakers
#book
http://www.environmentaldesignpocketbook.com/ (website contains info, not full text)

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101 Rules of Thumb for Sustainable Buildings and Cities

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101 Rules of Thumb for Sustainable Buildings and Cities

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Huw Heywood
#book

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by Sandy Halliday
#book

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Eco-Minimalism: The Antidote to Eco-Bling 

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Eco-Minimalism: The Antidote to Eco-Bling 

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Howard Liddell: RIBA Publishing
#book

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https://www.leti.london/cedg

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Projects and resources includes Net zero carbon buildings framework definition

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To help achieve the UK's net zero emissions target, UKGBC is leading the transition to a net zero carbon built environment.
Tags
The Paris Climate Agreement represented a turning point in efforts to tackle climate change, with a commitment to limit increases in global temperatures well below 2ºC and decarbonise the global economy by the second half of this century. To meet this challenge the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) launched the global Advancing Net Zero campaign which aims to promote and support the acceleration of net zero carbon buildings to 100% by 2050.

UKGBC launched its Advancing Net Zero programme in 2018 to help drive this transition in the UK and deliver the emissions reductions required from the construction and property sectors. This page provides an overview of the projects and resources currently available, with a list of upcoming projects included at bottom of page.
Net zero buildings: Net zero organisations: Advancing Net Zero Programming: Net zero carbon buildings framework
In April 2019, UKGBC published 'Net Zero Carbon Buildings: A Framework Definition' which provides the property and construction sector with clarity on the outcomes required for a net zero carbon building. The framework was developed through extensive industry collaboration, including a task group, to build consensus on the final output.

As a freely available resource, the framework is intended to be used by building developers, designers, owners, occupiers and policy makers to inform the development of building tools, policies and practices that increase the uptake of net zero carbon buildings.
Energy performance targets for offices
In January 2020, UKGBC released 'Net zero carbon: energy performance targets for offices' for offices that are aiming to achieve net zero carbon in operation. The targets are the first extension to the net zero framework and represent more stretching requirements for commercial offices seeking to claim net zero.
Verifying net zero carbon buildings
UKGBC's net zero framework provides a route for building developers, owners or occupiers to demonstrate how a building, tenancy or portfolio of buildings has achieved net zero carbon via third-party verification. This page provides further clarity on the verification process, including upcoming plans for improvement.
New building requirements for net zero operational carbon
UKGBC worked with the London Energy Transformation Initiative and the Better Buildings Partnership to develop a one-pager on the key requirements for new buildings seeking to achieve net zero carbon. The requirements supplement the net zero framework, setting out the design considerations for new buildings seeking to achieve net zero carbon for operational energy in-use.
Net zero cost evaluation study
UKGBC's report, Building the Case for Net Zero, is a feasibility study into the design of net zero carbon buildings to better understand the implications of delivering a net zero built environment. A real-life residential block and office building are re-designed to meet future operational energy and embodied carbon targets, followed by an analysis of the effect these design changes have on cost.
Case studies
UKGBC have complied a catalogue of net zero carbon building case studies, profiling projects that either achieve net zero carbon in construction or operation, or demonstrate approaches which align with the net zero carbon buildings framework. This resource is intended to provide practitioners with practical examples of the approaches needed to encourage and deliver net zero carbon buildings.

The catalogue is a live resource and open to further submissions - please see the submission UKGBC - ANZ Case Study Template. If you have a relevant case study to share, please contact ANZ@UKGBC.org.
WorldGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment
UKGBC is providing UK businesses and organisations with additional information and support on how to sign up to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. The Commitment challenges signatories to reach net zero operating emissions in their portfolios by 2030, and to advocate for all buildings to be net zero in operation by 2050. For full details on the Commitment and the global list of signatories, please visit WorldGBC's page.
Scope 3 reporting in Commercial Real Estate
In July 2019, UKGBC published a 'Guide to Scope 3 Reporting in Commercial Real Estate' to support commercial real estate companies with reporting their complete carbon footprint, including value chain (scope 3) emissions. The guide is intended to improve the overall understanding of value chain emissions and provide consistent approaches to reporting activities specific to commercial real estate.
Climate Commitment Platform
In September 2019, to coincide with its support for the Global Climate Strike, UKGBC launched its Climate Commitment Platform to catalyse climate action in the built environment. The Platform profiles the headline commitments and carbon targets of UKGBC members and encourages further ambition with a supporting resource, the Climate Leadership Model.
Course mail
The Advancing Net Zero course mail is a complimentary resource for UKGBC members that helps in understanding the key concepts and opportunities for decarbonisation in the built environment. The course mail is delivered in four easy-to-read emails that can be read at a time and place convenient to you.
2020/21 Programming
Since launching its Advancing Net Zero programme in 2018, UKGBC has generated significant interest and demand from the industry to go even further. Our remaining programming for 2020/21 focuses on the following projects:

Please see ANZ Programming - April 2020 to March 2021 for more details.
Further information
If you have any questions or would like to provide feedback on the Advancing Net Zero programme, please email ANZ@UKGBC.org.

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Advancing Net Zero - UKGBC - UK Green Building Council

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To help achieve the UK's net zero emissions target, UKGBC is leading the transition to a net zero carbon built environment. Tags The Paris Climate Agreement represented a turning point in efforts to tackle climate change, with a commitment to limit increases in global temperatures well below 2ºC and decarbonise the global economy by the second half of this century.

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Homepage for the Living Building-certified Bullitt Center in Seattle including detailed information on design, materials and systems.

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The goal of the Bullitt Center is to drive change in the marketplace faster and further by showing what's possible today. The era of harm reduction, half steps, and lesser evils is behind us. As a society, we need to be bold in ways that were once unimaginable.

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The goal of the Bullitt Center is to drive change in the marketplace faster and further by showing what's possible today. The era of harm reduction, half steps, and lesser evils is behind us. As a society, we need to be bold in ways that were once unimaginable.

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Mesh Embodied Carbon Calculator

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Download our FREE Embodied Carbon Calculator | Mesh Energy

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The FREE Embodied Carbon Calculator gives a valuable insight at the very early stages of the design process allowing you to discover how the embodied carbon of your designs is affected by material choice and also how your building compares to the RIBA 2030 targets.

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Hawkins\Brown Carbon Calculator

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H\B:ERT Emissions reduction tool | Hawkins\Brown

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Hawkins\Brown is an internationally-renowned award winning architectural practice, creating places with personality & purpose that are well-made and well-used.

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Housing Fit for Purpose: Performance, feedback and learning

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Housing Fit for Purpose: Performance, feedback and learning

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Fionn Stevenson
#book

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Energy Modelling in Architecture: A Practice Guide

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Energy Modelling in Architecture: A Practice Guide

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Sonja Oliveria, Bill Gething and Elena Marco
#book

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Michael Hough
#book
Urban ecology as a basis for shaping cities - working with natural processes for environmental, social and economical benefit.

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Anne Whiston Spirn
#book
Poetical, practical analysis of the relationship between nature, urban environment and us.

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Ecological Urbanism: A Framework for the Design of Resilient Cities

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Ecological Urbanism: A Framework for the Design of Resilient Cities

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Anne Whiston Spirn
#essay

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Edited by Mohsen Mostafavi, Gareth Doherty

#book
Collected texts, built and proposed projects across wide range of themes.

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Biodiversity for Low and Zero Carbon Buildings

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Biodiversity for Low and Zero Carbon Buildings

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Carol Williams and others
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Practical guidance on designing for biodiversity.

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#blog by Katrin Bohn and André Viljoen on the Continuous Productive Urban Landscape design concept (University of Brighton)

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Research and practice around the CPUL design concept

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Sustainable drainage system design and construction manual, produced by CIRIA. Free PDF download. https://www.ciria.org/ItemDetail?iProductCode=C753F&Category=FREEPUBS

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Green roof and wall information, industry news and resources.

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Livingroofs.org is an independent organisation set up by Dusty Gedge in 2002 to promote green roofs and living walls in urban areas in the UK and around the world. The organisation has been a member of the European Federation of Green Roof and Wall Associations (EFB) since 2006 as the UK representative. Dusty Gedge is the current president of the EFB, an office he has held since 2008.

Livingroofs.org is a rich resource providing news, analysis and in-depth research into the latest innovations in green roof and wall technology and developments in the industry, from contractors and suppliers to large-scale developers.

The campaigning work carried out by livingroofs.org led to the first ever green roof policy being made in the UK. In 2019, we produced a green roof and wall report assessing the success of this policy which was introduced into the London Plan 2008:

Living Roofs and Walls: from policy to practice - 10 years of urban greening in London and beyond.

Although this report is available online here, over the coming months, we will be publishing additional articles and blogs. These aim to add greater detail to elements in the report, including:

exemplar case studies from London, around the UK, Europe and the rest of the world

articles looking at cities around the world which are developing policies and new approaches to green roofs and walls

a full set of infographics for London - the Greater London Authority, the Central Activity Zone and 33 boroughs/councils within the UK capital

Livingroofs.org also provides a consultancy service. The organisation and our associates are recognised international authorities on urban green infrastructure.

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Livingroofs.org, the leading UK green roof website

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Livingroofs.org is an independent organisation set up by Dusty Gedge in 2002 to promote green roofs and living walls in urban areas in the UK and around the world. The organisation has been a member of the European Federation of Green Roof and Wall Associations (EFB) since 2006 as the UK representative.

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UKGBC - Nature-based solutions to the climate emergency

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UKGBC - Nature-based solutions to the climate emergency

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Introductory report to the benefits of incorporating ‘nature based solutions’ into buildings and cities. Free PDF download.

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This report is a curation of the existing evidence that demonstrates the economic, environmental and societal benefits that nature-based solutions provide.

The Nature-based solutions to the mergency: The benefits to business and society report is the first business-facing resource created by the IGNITION project , produced in partnership with Business in the Community (BITC) and Greater Manchester Combined Authorities (GMCA).

UKGBC is one of 12 partners on the IGNITION project , alongside organisations from local government, universities, and NGOs. Supported by €4.5 million from the EU's Urban Innovation Actions initiative, t his ground-breaking project aims to develop innovative financing solutions for investment in Greater Manchester's natural environment. This investment will help to build the city region's ability to adapt to the increasingly extreme impacts of climate change.

This report curates findings from the nature-based solutions evidence base , to outline how Nature-based Solutions ( NBS ) can benefit business and building performance; helping organisations make smarter choices on installations by increasing the understanding of who will benefit and how. We have mapped the benefits of NBS across UKGBC's key impact areas: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation; Resource Use; Nature and Biodiversity; Health and Wellbeing; and Socio-economic Impact.

As UKGBC looks to enable more ambitions targets related to NBS and increase their application in urban areas through our Increasing Nature-based Solutions programme , the I GNITION project will generate financial models and investor confidence in nature-based solutions to support their creation .

View the recording of the webinar in which we launched this IGNITION report here.

" It is important to understand the needs of businesses and the wider built environment sector when considering nature-based solutions. It is often very easy to look only at the environmental benefits and performance. But it is critical that we also consider how these solutions are viewed through a more commercial and business focused lens if we are going to see nature-based solutions become more mainstream. "
- Matt Ellis, Environment Agency

" It's great to see this work shared so openly and packaged up into a useful report to help us all promote the benefits of nature-based solutions with some key stats to back it up. "
- George Warren, Greater London Authority

" Very exciting to see such commitment to n ature -b ased s olutions - just what we need in the face of a climate emergency! "
- Dr. Rosie Anthony, University of Salford
IGNITION Partners IGNITION Sponsors

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Nature-based solutions to the climate emergency: The benefits to business and society - UKGBC - UK Green Building Council

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This report is a curation of the existing evidence that demonstrates the economic, environmental and societal benefits that nature-based solutions provide. The Nature-based solutions to the mergency: The benefits to business and society report is the first business-facing resource created by the IGNITION project , produced in partnership with Business in the Community (BITC) and Greater Manchester Combined Authorities (GMCA).

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Terrapin Bright Green - 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design: Improving Health & Well-being in the Built Environment

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Terrapin Bright Green - 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design: Improving Health & Well-being in the Built Environment

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Biophilic design guidance. Online access guide and free PDF download.

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Abstract

Biophilic design can reduce stress, enhance creativity and clarity of thought, improve our well-being and expedite healing; as the world population continues to urbanize, these qualities are ever more important. Theorists, research scientists, and design practitioners have been working for decades to define aspects of nature that most impact our satisfaction with the built environment. "14 Patterns of Biophilic Design" articulates the relationships between nature, human biology and the design of the built environment so that we may experience the human benefits of biophilia in our design applications.

Biophilia in Context looks at the evolution of biophilic design in architecture and planning and presents a framework for relating the human biological science and nature. Design Considerations explores a sampling of factors (e.g., scale, climate, user demographics) that may influence biophilic design decisions to bring greater clarity to why some interventions are replicable and why others may not be. The Patterns lays out a series of tools for understanding design opportunities, including the roots of the science behind each pattern, then metrics, strategies and considerations for how to use each pattern. This paper moves from research on biophilic responses to design application as a way to effectively enhance health and well-being for individuals and society.

Notes

Acknowledgements

This paper was supported by Terrapin Bright Green, LLC. We thank Alice Hartley for editorial assistance, Allison Bernett and Cas Smith for production assistance, the Review Committee and Contributors for their technical guidance and expertise, Georgy Olivieri for her relentless energy and dedication to spreading the word, Stefano Serafini and the International Society of Biourbanism for providing guidance and encouragement.

Co-Authors

William Browning, Hon. AIA, Terrapin Bright Green * Catherine Ryan, Terrapin Bright Green * Joseph Clancy, Pegasus Planning Group Ltd

Review Committee

Sally Augustin, PhD Design With Science; Research Design Connections * Judith Heerwagen, PhD J.H. Heerwagen & Associates; University of Washington, Department of Architecture * Lance Hosey, FAIA RTKL

Contributors

Scott Andrews, Terrapin Bright Green * Gail Brager, PhD University of California at Berkeley, Center for the Built Environment * Zafir Buraei, PhD Pace University, Department of Biology and Health Sciences * Nancy Clanton, PE, FIES, IALD, Clanton & Associates, Inc. * Chris Garvin, AIA, Terrapin Bright Green * Namita Kallianpurkar, Terrapin Bright Green * Alan Laird Lewis, OD, The New England College of Optometry * Tanya Mejia, RTKL * Heather Nelson, RTKL * Susan Painter, PhD, FCPA AC, Martin * Nikos Salingaros, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio, Department of Mathematics * Chris Starkey, Terrapin Bright Green * Heidi Theunissen, COOKFOX Architects * Edward Vessel, PhD, New York University, Center for Brain Imaging * Jonce Walker, CSBA, Terrapin Bright Green

1. Introduction

link to this section

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than one seeks."
- John Muir, 19 July 1877

Biophilic design can reduce stress, improve cognitive function and creativity, improve our well-being and expedite healing; as the world population continues to urbanize, these qualities are ever more important. Given how quickly an experience of nature can elicit a restorative response, and the fact that U.S. businesses squander billions of dollars each year on lost productivity due to stress-related illnesses, design that reconnects us with nature - biophilic design - is essential for providing people opportunities to live and work in healthy places and spaces with less stress and greater overall health and well-being.

Biophilia is the humankind's innate biological connection with nature. It helps explain why crackling fires and crashing waves captivate us; why a garden view can enhance our creativity; why shadows and heights instill fascination and fear; and why animal companionship and strolling through a park have restorative, healing effects. Biophilia may also help explain why some urban parks and buildings are preferred over others. For decades, research scientists and design practitioners have been working to define aspects of nature that most impact our satisfaction with the built environment. But how do we move from research to application in a manner that effectively enhances health and well-being, and how should efficacy be judged?

Building upon "The Economics of Biophilia" , the intent of this paper is to articulate the relationships between nature, science, and the built environment so that we may experience the human benefits of biophilia in our design applications. The paper presents a framework for biophilic design that is reflective of the nature-health relationships most important in the built environment - those that are known to enhance our lives through a connection with nature.

New research supports measureable, positive impacts of biophilic design on health, strengthening the empirical evidence for the human-nature connection and raising its priority level within both design research and design practice; however, little guidance for implementation exists. This paper is intended to help close the gap between current research and implementation. The intended audiences of this publication are interior designers, architects, landscape architects, urban designers, planners, health professionals, employers and developers, as well as anyone wanting to better understand the patterns of biophilia.

14 Patterns of Biophilic Design

Nature in the Space Patterns

1. Visual Connection with Nature

2. Non-Visual Connection with Nature

3. Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli

4. Thermal & Airflow Variability

5. Presence of Water

6. Dynamic & Diffuse Light

7. Connection with Natural Systems

Natural Analogues Patterns

8. Biomorphic Forms & Patterns

9. Material Connection with Nature

10. Complexity & Order

Nature of the Space Patterns

11. Prospect

12. Refuge

13. Mystery

14. Risk/Peril

This paper puts biophilic design in context with architectural history, health sciences and current architectural practices, and briefly touches on key implementation considerations, then presents biophilic design patterns. The patterns have been developed through extensive interdisciplinary research and are supported by empirical evidence and the work of Christopher Alexander, Judith Heerwagen, Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, Stephen Kellert, Roger Ulrich, and many others. Over 500 publications on biophilic responses have been mined to uncover patterns useful to designers of the built environment. These 14 patterns have a wide range of applications for both interior and exterior environments, and are meant to be flexible and adaptive, allowing for project-appropriate implementation:

Finally, this paper discusses these patterns in a general sense for the purpose of addressing universal issues of human health and well-being (e.g., stress, visual acuity, hormone balance, creativity) within the built environment, rather than program-based or sector-specific space types (e.g., health care facility waiting rooms, elementary school classrooms, or storefront pedestrian promenades). As such, the focus is on patterns in nature known, suggested or theorized to mitigate common stressors or enhance desirable qualities that can be applied across various sectors and scales.

We hope this paper presents the foundation necessary for thinking more critically about the human connection with nature and how biophilic design patterns can be used as a tool for improving health and well-being in the built environment.

2. Biophilia in Context

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" 'This is what I prayed for,' wrote the Roman poet Horace. 'A piece of land - not so very big, with a garden and, near the house, a spring that never fails, and a bit of wood to round it off.'

Those words were set down more than 2000 years ago, around 30 B.C. It is easy to understand the emotion prompting them; we still recognize what Horace meant by a rural garden, a place to take refuge, as he did, from the irritations of city life."

- Then And Now: Reflections On The Millennium;
The Allure of Place in a Mobile World
December 15, 1999 New York Times Editorial

2.1 Rediscovering the Intuitively Obvious
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Nature themes can be found in the earliest human structures: Stylized animals characteristic of the Neolithic Göbekli Tepe; the Egyptian sphinx, or the acanthus leaves adorning Greek temples and their Vitruvian origin story; from the primitive hut to the delicate, leafy filigrees of Rococo design. Representations of animals and plants have long been used for decorative and symbolic ornamentation. Beyond representation, cultures around the world have long brought nature into homes and public spaces. Classic examples include the garden courtyards of the Alhambra in Spain, porcelain fish bowls in ancient China, the aviary in Teotihuacan (ancient Mexico City), bonsai in Japanese homes, papyrus ponds in the homes of Egyptian nobles, the cottage garden in medieval Germany, or the elusive hanging gardens of Babylon.

The consistency of natural themes in historic structures and places suggests that biophilic design is not a new phenomenon; rather, as a field of applied science, it is the codification of history, human intuition and neural sciences showing that connections with nature are vital to maintaining a healthful and vibrant existence as an urban species.

Inspiration from nature was in full view in the Art Nouveau designs of the late 19th Century. Architect Victor Horta's exuberant plant tendrils lacing through buildings in Belgium, the lush flowers that are Louis Comfort Tiffany lamps, and the explicitly biomorphic forms of Antonio Gaudí's buildings all remain strong examples. In Chicago, Louis Sullivan created elaborate ornamentation with leaves and cornices that represent tree branches. His protégé, Frank Lloyd Wright, is part of the group that launched The Prairie School.

Wright abstracted prairie flowers and plants for his art glass windows and ornamentation. Like many in the Craftsman movement, Wright used the grain of wood and texture of brick and stone as a decorative element. Wright also opened up interiors to flow through houses in ways that had not been done before, creating prospect views balanced with intimate refuges. His later designs sometimes include exhilarating spaces, like the balcony cantilevering out over the waterfall at Fallingwater.

European Modernists stripped much ornamentation from their buildings, but, like Wright, used wood grain and the veining of stone as decorative elements and were equally concerned with exploring the relationship of interior to exterior. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion (built 1929) pushed that concept in the play of volumes and glass. Later, his Farnsworth House (built 1951) defined interior and exterior much more literally, by segregating the elements from the visual connection to nature.

Le Corbusier's Cité Radiant (unbuilt 1924) may have resulted in disastrous urban designs, but by putting towers in a park surrounded by grass and trees, he was trying to provide city dwellers with a connection to nature. As the International Style took root, it spread glass buildings everywhere; unfortunately, the buildings, and particularly the interiors of commercial buildings, increasingly disconnected people from nature.

With the emergence of the green building movement in the early 1990s, linkages were made between improved environmental quality and worker productivity . While the financial gains due to productivity improvements were considered significant, productivity was identified as a placeholder for health and well-being, which have even broader impact. The healing power of a connection with nature was established by Roger Ulrich's landmark study comparing recovery rates of patients with and without a view to nature . An experiment at a new Herman Miller manufacturing facility, designed by William McDonough + Partners in the 1990s, was one of the first to specifically frame the mechanism for gains in productivity to connecting building occupants to nature - phylogenetic or, more familiarly, biophilic design .

The last decade has seen a steady growth in work around and the intersections of neuroscience and architecture, both in research and in practice; even green building standards have begun to incorporate biophilia, predominantly for its contribution to indoor environmental quality and connection to place. Popular texts, such as Last Child in the Woods , Healing Spaces , The Shape of Green , Your Brain on Nature , and " The Economics of Biophilia " , are bringing the conversation mainstream, helping the public grapple with modern society's dependency on technology and persistent disconnect with nature. Most recently, biophilic design is being championed as a complementary strategy for addressing workplace stress, student performance, patient recovery, community cohesiveness and other familiar challenges to health and overall well-being.

2.2 Defining Nature
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Views of what constitutes natural, nature, wild, or beautiful greatly vary. While we have no intention of formalizing an explicit definition, some articulation of what we mean by 'nature' will help give context to practitioners of biophilic design. Simply put, there are two extreme connotations of nature. One is that nature is only that which can be classified as a living organism unaffected by anthropogenic impacts on the environment - a narrow perspective of nature (reminiscent of conventional hands-off environmental preservation) that ultimately no longer exists because nearly everything on Earth has been and will continue to be impacted at least indirectly by humans. Additionally, this idea of nature essentially excludes everything from the sun and moon, your pet fish Nemo, home gardens and urban parks, to humans and the billions of living organisms that make up the biome of the human gut.

Alternatively, it could be argued that everything, including all that humans design and make, is natural and a part of nature because they are each extensions of our phenotype. This perspective inevitably includes everything from paperback books and plastic chairs, to chlorinated swimming pools and asphalt roadways.

As a middle ground, for the purpose of understanding the context of Biophilic Design, we are defining nature as living organisms and non-living components of an ecosystem - inclusive of everything from the sun and moon and seasonal arroyos, to managed forests and urban raingardens, to Nemo's fishbowl habitat.

For added clarity, we are making the distinction that, in the context of health and well-being in the built environment, most nature in modern society is designed, whether deliberately (for function or aesthetic), haphazardly (for navigability or access to resources) or passively (through neglect or hands-off preservation); thus, we refer back to humankind's proclivity for savanna landscapes. Humans create savanna analogues all the time. As designed ecosystems, some, such as the high canopy forests with floral undergrowth maintained by the annual burning practices of the Ojibwe people of North America, are biodiverse, vibrant and ecologically healthy. Others, such as suburban lawns and golf courses, are chemical dependent monocultures; while beautiful, they are not biodiverse, ecologically healthy or resilient.

The key issue is that some designed environments are well-adapted (supporting long term life) and some are not. So while golf courses and suburban lawns may be a savanna analogue, in many cases they require intense inputs of water and fertilizer and thus are unfortunately unsustainable design practices.

2.3 Nature-Design Relationships
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Biophilic design can be organized into three categories - Nature in the Space, Natural Analogues, and Nature of the Space - providing a framework for understanding and enabling thoughtful incorporation of a rich diversity of strategies into the built environment.

Nature in the Space

Nature in the Space addresses the direct, physical and ephemeral presence of nature in a space or place. This includes plant life, water and animals, as well as breezes, sounds, scents and other natural elements. Common examples include potted plants, flowerbeds, bird feeders, butterfly gardens, water features, fountains, aquariums, courtyard gardens and green walls or vegetated roofs. The strongest Nature in the Space experiences are achieved through the creation of meaningful, direct connections with these natural elements, particularly through diversity, movement and multi-sensory interactions.

Nature in the Space encompasses seven biophilic design patterns:

1. Visual Connection with Nature. A view to elements of nature, living systems and natural processes.

2. Non-Visual Connection with Nature. Auditory, haptic, olfactory, or gustatory stimuli that engender a deliberate and positive reference to nature, living systems or natural processes.

3. Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli. Stochastic and ephemeral connections with nature that may be analyzed statistically but may not be predicted precisely.

4. Thermal & Airflow Variability. Subtle changes in air temperature, relative humidity, airflow across the skin, and surface temperatures that mimic natural environments.

5. Presence of Water. A condition that enhances the experience of a place through seeing, hearing or touching water.

6. Dynamic & Diffuse Light. Leverages varying intensities of light and shadow that change over time to create conditions that occur in nature.

7. Connection with Natural Systems. Awareness of natural processes, especially seasonal and temporal changes characteristic of a healthy ecosystem.

Natural Analogues

Natural Analogues addresses organic, non-living and indirect evocations of nature. Objects, materials, colors, shapes, sequences and patterns found in nature, manifest as artwork, ornamentation, furniture, décor, and textiles in the built environment. Mimicry of shells and leaves, furniture with organic shapes, and natural materials that have been processed or extensively altered (e.g., wood planks, granite tabletops), each provide an indirect connection with nature: while they are real, they are only analogous of the items in their 'natural' state. The strongest Natural Analogue experiences are achieved by providing information richness in an organized and sometimes evolving manner.

Natural Analogues encompasses three patterns of biophilic design:

1. Biomorphic Forms & Patterns. Symbolic references to contoured, patterned, textured or numerical arrangements that persist in nature.

2. Material Connection with Nature. Materials and elements from nature that, through minimal processing, reflect the local ecology or geology and create a distinct sense of place.

3. Complexity & Order. Rich sensory information that adheres to a spatial hierarchy similar to those encountered in nature.

Nature of the Space

Nature of the Space addresses spatial configurations in nature. This includes our innate and learned desire to be able to see beyond our immediate surroundings, our fascination with the slightly dangerous or unknown; obscured views and revelatory moments; and sometimes even phobia-inducing properties when they include a trusted element of safety. The strongest Nature of the Space experiences are achieved through the creation of deliberate and engaging spatial configurations commingled with patterns of Nature in the Space and Natural Analogues.

Nature of the Space encompasses four biophilic design patterns:

1. Prospect. An unimpeded view over a distance, for surveillance and planning.

2. Refuge. A place for withdrawal from environmental conditions or the main flow of activity, in which the individual is protected from behind and overhead.

3. Mystery. The promise of more information, achieved through partially obscured views or other sensory devices that entice the individual to travel deeper into the environment.

4. Risk/Peril. An identifiable threat coupled with a reliable safeguard.

Periodically throughout this paper, these patterns will be referred to in shorthand by their number 1 to 14 for quick reference. For instance, Presence of Water will appear as [ P5] and Prospect will appear as [ P11].

2.4 Nature-Health Relationships

Stress & Well-being

For an overview on "well-being" - definitions, metrics, research - see The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

For a background on meanings of stress, see "Mazes and Labyrinths" in Healing Spaces .

For a more extensive non-technical discussion on the science of nature's influence on health, happiness and vitality, see Your Brain on Nature .

For a more technical introduction to the hormones and neurotransmitters that govern our mind-body systems, see Principles of Neural Science .

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Much of the evidence for biophilia can be linked to research in one or more of three overarching mind-body systems - cognitive, psychological and physiological - that have been explored and verified to varying degrees, in laboratory or field studies, to help explain how people's health and well-being are impacted by their environment. To familiarize the reader with these nature-health relationships, these mind-body systems are discussed here in the briefest sense, and are supported with a table of familiar hormones and neurotransmitters, environmental stressors, and biophilic design strategies.

Cognitive Functionality and Performance

Strong or routine connections with nature can provide opportunities for mental restoration, during which time our higher cognitive functions can sometimes take a break. As a result, our capacity for performing focused tasks is greater than someone with fatigued cognitive resources.

Psychological Health and Well-being

Psychological responses encompass our adaptability, alertness, attention, concentration, and emotion and mood. This includes responses to nature that impact restoration and stress management. For instance, empirical studies have reported that experiences of natural environments provide greater emotional restoration, with lower instances of tension, anxiety, anger, fatigue, confusion and total mood disturbance than urban environments with limited characteristics of nature (e.g., ; ; ; ).

Psychological responses can be learned or hereditary, with past experiences, cultural constructs and social norms playing a significant role in the psychological response mechanism.

Physiological Health and Well-being

The table illustrates the functions of each of the 14 Patterns in supporting stress reduction, cognitive performance, emotion and mood enhancement and the human body.

Table 1. Biophilic Design Patterns & Biological Responses

The table illustrates the functions of each of the 14 Patterns in supporting stress reduction, cognitive performance, emotion and mood enhancement and the human body. Patterns that are supported by more rigorous empirical data are marked with up to three asterisks (***), indicating that the quantity and quality of available peer-reviewed evidence is robust and the potential for impact is great, and no asterisk indicates that there is minimal research to support the biological relationship between health and design, but the anecdotal information is compelling and adequate for hypothesizing its potential impact and importance as a unique pattern.

14 Patterns

*

Stress Reduction

Cognitive Performance

Emotion, Mood & Preference

Nature in the Space

Visual Connection with Nature

*
*
*

Non-Visual Connection with Nature

*
*

Positively impacted cognitive performance

Perceived improvements in mental health and tranquility

Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli

*
*

Positively impacted heart rate, systolic blood pressure and sympathetic nervous system activity

Thermal & Airflow Variability

*
*

Improved perception of temporal and spatial pleasure (alliesthesia)

Presence of Water

*
*

Improved concentration and memory restoration Enhanced perception and psychological responsiveness

Observed preferences and positive emotional responses

Dynamic & Diffuse Light

*
*

Positively impacted circadian system functioningIncreased visual comfort

Connection with Natural Systems

Natural Analogues

Biomorphic Forms & Patterns

*

Observed view preference

Material Connection with Nature

Decreased diastolic blood pressure Improved creative performance

Complexity & Order

*
*

Nature of the Space

Prospect

*
*
*

Refuge

*
*
*

Mystery

*
*

Risk/Peril

*

3. Design Considerations

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"There is rarely a solution that is universal. Rather, the 'correct' solution, in our view, is one that is locally appropriate and responsive to the situation at hand."
- Rachel Kaplan, Stephen Kaplan & Robert L. Ryan, 1998 With People in Mind

3.1 What is Good Biophilic Design?

Biophilic design is the designing for people as a biological organism, respecting the mind-body systems as indicators of health and well-being in the context of what is locally appropriate and responsive. Good biophilic design draws from influential perspectives - health conditions, socio-cultural norms and expectations, past experiences, frequency and duration of the user experience, the many speeds at which it may be encountered, and user perception and processing of the experience - to create spaces that are inspirational, restorative, and healthy, as well as integrative with the functionality of the place and the (urban) ecosystem to which it is applied. Above all, biophilic design must nurture a love of place.

3.2 Planning for Implementation

Increasingly dense urban environments, coupled with rising land values, elevate the importance of biophilic design across a spatial continuum from new and existing buildings, to parks and streetscapes and to campus, urban and regional planning. Each context supports a platform for myriad opportunities for integrative biophilic design, and mainstreaming healthy building practices for people and society. Discussed here in brief are some key perspectives that may help focus the planning and design processes.

Identifying desired responses and outcomes

It is vital for a designer to understand a project's design intent - what are the health or performance priorities of the intended users? To identify design strategies and interventions that restore or enhance well-being, project teams should understand the health baseline or performance needs of the target population. One approach is to ask: what is the most biophilic space we can conceivably design? Another is to ask: how can biophilic design improve performance metrics already used by the client (e.g., company executives, school board, city officials), such as absenteeism, perceived comfort, health care claims, asthma, ticket sales, or test scores.

As many biological responses to design occur together (e.g., reducing physiological indicators of stress and improving overall mood), and there are countless combinations of design patterns and interventions, understanding health related priorities will help focus the design process. Health outcomes associated with biophilic spaces are of interest to building and portfolio managers and human resources administrators, because they inform long term design and measurement best practices, and to planners, policy makers and others because they inform public health policy and urban planning.

Design strategies and interventions

Biophilic design patterns are flexible and replicable strategies for enhancing the user experience that can be implemented under a range of circumstances. Just as lighting design for a classroom will be different than for a spa or home library, biophilic design interventions are based on the needs of a specific population in a particular space, and are likely to be developed from a series of evidence-based biophilic design patterns, ideally with a degree of monitoring and evaluation for efficacy.

For example, a project team may embrace the Visual Connection with Nature pattern to enhance the workplace experience for a series of interior fit-outs for a portfolio of offices. The strategy would be to improve views and bring plants into the space; the interventions may include installing a green wall, orienting desks to maximize views to outdoors, and initiating an employee stipend for desk plants. The detail, location, and the extent to which each of these interventions is implemented will differ for each of the offices in the portfolio.

A project team charged with reducing stress among emergency room nurses at the local hospital may intervene by replacing the abstract art with landscape paintings on the walls of the staffroom and installing a small garden and seating area in the adjacent interior courtyard. While this project also uses the Visual Connection with Nature pattern, the selected interventions specifically target stress reduction for emergency room nurses based on a shared space they utilize routinely.

Diversity of design strategies

Patterns in combination tend to increase the likelihood of health benefits of a space. Incorporating a diverse range of design strategies can accommodate the needs of various user groups from differing cultures and demographics and create an environment that is psycho-physiologically and cognitively restorative. For instance, vegetated spaces can improve an individual's self-esteem and mood, while the presence of water can have a relaxing effect. Adding multiple biophilic strategies for the sake of diversity may backfire unless they are integrative and supporting a unified design intent.

Quality vs. quantity of intervention

When planning for implementation, common questions recur, such as how much is enough and what makes a good design great. A high quality intervention may be defined by the richness of content, user accessibility and, as mentioned above, diversity of strategies. A single high quality intervention can be more effective and have greater restorative potential than several low quality interventions. Climate, cost and other variables may influence or limit feasibility of certain interventions, but should not be considered an obstacle to achieving a high quality application. For example, multiple instances of Prospect with a shallow to moderate depth of field and limited information in the viewshed may not be as effective (at prompting the desired response) as a single powerful instance of Prospect with a moderate to high depth of field and an information-rich viewshed.

Duration of exposure and frequency of access

Identifying the most appropriate duration of exposure to a pattern, or combination of patterns, can be difficult. The ideal exposure time is likely dependent upon the user and desired effect, but as a general guideline, empirical evidence shows that positive emotions, mental restoration and other benefits can occur in as little as 5 to 20 minutes of immersion in nature (; ; ).

When a long duration of exposure is not possible or desired, positioning biophilic design interventions along paths that channel high levels of foot traffic will help improve frequency of access. Consider too that micro-restorative experiences - brief sensory interactions with nature that promote a sense of well-being - while often designed in response to space-restriction, are more readily implementable, replicable and often more accessible than larger interventions; frequent exposure to these small interventions may contribute to a compounded restoration response.

3.3 Locally Appropriate Design

No two places are the same; this presents both challenges and opportunities for creativity in the application of biophilic design patterns. Discussed here are some key considerations that may help frame, prioritize, or influence decision making in the design process.

Climate, ecology and the vernacular

Historically, humans have built shelters from locally available materials that reflected the regional ecology; form and function were in response to the topography and climate. Known as vernacular architecture, these buildings and constructed landscapes connect to where they inhabit. Use of local timber, climate responsive design and xeriscaping - using native, drought tolerant plants to create landscape designs that resemble the climate of the surrounding landscape - can each be effective strategies in designing for a resilient, biophilic experience.

Whether rural or urban, not all natural or tempered environments are 'green' in color, nor should they be. Desert species and terrain can be equally important in reinforcing a biophilic connection to place. Some habitats may engender a stronger positive response than others, but a biodiverse savanna-like scene will most likely be preferred over an area abundant yet trackless sand desert, the open ocean, or a dark forest.

Character and density: Rural, suburban and urban environments

In rural environments, human-nature interactions are abundant, and this regular exposure to nature has restorative qualities that we perhaps take for granted. Suburban settings are typically rife with intuitively applied biophilic design; the suburban yard with shade trees, grass, low shrubs, and beds of flowers is essentially an analogue of the African savanna. Porches and balconies offer more than just quaintness and real estate value; many suburban homes and urban rowhouses are raised 18 inches or more, creating a Prospect-Refuge condition with views from windows, stoops and porches. The potential human health benefits are undervalued in high-density settings where residential towers with balconies are both limited and only available to high-paying tenants.

Park(ing) Day make-shift outdoor seating with temporary landscaping in the streets.

Scale and feasibility

Biophilic design patterns should be scaled to the surrounding environment and to the predicted user population for the space. Patterns can be applied at the scale of a micro-space, a room, a building, a neighborhood or campus, and even an entire district or city. Each of these spaces will present different design challenges depending on the programming, user types and dynamics, climate, culture, and various physical parameters, as well as existing or needed infrastructure.

Size and availability of space are two of the most common factors influencing feasibility of biophilic design patterns. For instance, the Prospect pattern [ P11] typically requires significant space. Other patterns, such as Connection with Natural Systems [ P7], may be more feasible where there is access to an outdoor space, which is a common challenge in dense urban environments. Yet small scale, micro-restorative Visual [ P1] and Non-Visual Connections with Nature [ P2] and Presence of Water [ P5] can also be very effective. For instance, the psychological benefits of nature actually have been shown to increase with exposure to higher levels of biodiversity , yet these benefits do not necessarily increase with greater natural vegetative area. From this we can derive that small, micro-restorative experiences that are also biodiverse are likely to be particularly effective at engendering a restorative biophilic experience.

The speed at which one moves through an environment, whether rural or urban, impacts the level of observable detail and the perceived scale of buildings and spaces. The General Motors "Tech Center" in Warren, Michigan, designed by architect Eero Saarinen in 1949, is designed to be experienced at 30 mph, so for the pedestrian, the scale seems oversized and the spacing of buildings is oddly far apart. This is why stores on along strip malls have large, simple façades and signage, whereas stores within pedestrian zones tends to have smaller and perhaps more intricate signage. Similarly, the landscaping along freeway and highway greenbelts is typically done in large swaths for instant interpretability. In contrast, a pedestrian focused environment will have more fine-grained details in the landscape design to allow for pause, exploration, and a more intimate experience.

Some patterns, such as [ P13] Mystery and [ P14] Risk/Peril, might not be as feasible or cost-effective in an interior fit-out project because of the amount of space required to effectively implement the pattern. On the other hand, interior fit-outs are an excellent opportunity to introduce Natural Analogue patterns which can be applied to surfaces like walls, floors, and ceilings as well as furniture and window treatments. In addition, not all aspects of biophilia are space dependent. Some patterns (e.g., P2, P4, P6, P7) are more visceral or temporal, requiring little to no floor area, and other patterns (e.g., P8-P10) may simply guide design choices that were already a part of the design process.

Major renovations, new construction and master planning provide more opportunities for incorporating biophilic design patterns that are coupled with systems integration at the building, campus or community scale.

Culture and demographics

Biophobia & Ecophobia

Biophobia is a fear of or aversion to nature or living things ((Ulrich, 1993). Similarly, ecophobia refers to an unreasonable but deeply conditioned disgust for or reaction against natural forms or places.

While biophobia is arguably genetic, to a degree, both phobias are learnt response mechanisms through direct experience, culture and education which, according to Salingaros and Masden (2008), includes architectural education.

The most common biophobic responses are to spiders, snakes, predators, blood, and heights - elements that either directly threaten or signal danger through humanity's evolutionary path. When tempered with an element of safety (e.g., railing or glass window), however, the experience can be transformed into one of curiosity, exhilaration and even a type of mind-body systems recalibration.

Current evolutionary hypotheses and theories state that contemporary landscape preferences are influenced by human evolution, reflecting the innate landscape qualities that enhanced survival for humanity through time. These schools of thought include the biophilia hypothesis ( and ), the savanna hypothesis , the habitat theory and prospect-refuge theory , and the preference matrix . While empirical research has shown that there is a degree of universality to landscape preferences among humans, preferences have been modified by cultural influences, experiences and socio-economic factors . Variations in landscape preferences have thus emerged among immigrants, ethnic groups, subcultures, genders, and age groups.

Cultural constructs, social inertia and ecological literacy suffuse differing perspectives on what constitutes natural, nature, wild, or beautiful (; ). Environmental Generational Amnesia and the Ecological Aesthetic Theory help explain how some perspectives may have evolved, and these differences come to bear across countries and regions, as well as among neighborhoods within the same city.

Environmental Generational Amnesia

One of the cultural challenges to upholding that human-nature bond, as well as environmental stewardship, is a phenomenon known as Environmental Generational Amnesia, the shifting baseline for what is considered a normal environmental condition as it continues to degrade. As environmental degradation continues, the baseline continues to shift with each ensuing generation, each perceiving this degraded condition as the norm or non-degraded condition.

Youth benefit the most from nature contact in terms of increasing self-esteem. The gains for self-esteem from nature contact are suggested to decline with age; elderly and youth benefit the least in terms of mood enhancement from nature contact , yet both groups are equal in perceived restorativeness of natural over urban environments . With age also comes a differing preference in landscape in regards to perceived safety. While an urban woodland may be an enticing place for adventure for a child or teenager, the same condition could be perceived by adults and elderly populations as risky , which could possibly be overcome by incorporating a Prospect-Refuge condition.

3.4 Design Integration

Interdisciplinary planning and design

Developing an interdisciplinary strategy early on in a project will help ensure cost-effective opportunities are not lost before they are fully considered. Biophilia is but one piece of the puzzle to creating a vibrant, sustainable, and restorative environment. The integration of a multi-disciplinary strategy in the early stages of development - through a stakeholder charrette process or similar - will put team members on equal footing and allow for the identification of potential strengths, challenges and opportunities. In the long run, this approach will improve project satisfaction and save money.

Biophilia as an environmental quality

Environmental quality is an umbrella term that refers to the sum of the properties and characteristics of a specific environment and how it affects human beings and other organisms within its zone of influence.

Biophilia, like air quality, thermal comfort and acoustics, is an essential component of environmental quality that expands the conversation from daylight, materials toxicity, and air, water and soil quality, to include human biological health and well-being.

When integral to the environmental quality discussion, biophilia may also help dissolve the perceived division between human needs and building performance. And we would be remiss not to acknowledge that back-of-house and night shift workers are often the most deprived of biophilic experiences, while they are also the very people responsible for monitoring and maintaining building performance standards. From an architectural perspective, biophilic design patterns have the potential to refocus the designer's attention on the links between people, health, high-performance design and aesthetics.

Multi-platform solutions

Controlling for effectiveness

The Ecological Aesthetic Theory

Given that landscapes and people's needs are in a constant state of flux, it is challenging to ensure the desired health response is always experienced. It is impossible to predict all future human-nature interactions or to ensure that the desired response recurs over a period of time for every user based on a particular strategy or intervention. Indeed, we can assume that efficacy of many biophilic patterns are likely to rise and decline with diurnal and seasonal cycles. For instance, the health benefits of a view to nature may be diminished during winter months or completely negated for night shift workers when the view is shrouded in darkness. However, secondary or seasonal strategies can help maintain balance, such as with indoor interventions, delivering the desired response throughout the year.

Behavior change is not often in the purview of the architect, so designing for controllability versus automation or permanency may inform the intervention design process. Maintenance of implemented strategies is also a consideration - will there be someone responsible for cleaning the fish tank and watering the plants? Having trainings and discussions with facility operators and a reference guide indicating appropriate maintenance requirements and parameters will help uphold the intended biophilic experience set forth in the design strategy.

Tracking and measuring efficacy

Reflecting pool at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts by Tadao Ando, St. Louis.

Monitoring efficacy of implemented biophilic design patterns for the express purpose of improving health and well-being is a new branch of inquiry. Variability in the built environment, as discussed here, creates a challenging framework for verification; quantitative metrics are often desired but not always appropriate, and the highly invasive nature of some measurement techniques and tools (i.e., fMRI, EEG) adds a layer of complexity and cost. Many of the current techniques used require strict control of variables and cost which tends to limit the size of the test group. There are, however, several new technologies, like wristband monitors, and very light weight headband EEG that may open up new rapid methods of testing; but until those technologies go mainstream, rapid testing can also be done in more rudimentary fashion and with a smaller budget.

As no two interventions will be exactly the same, all results will differ to one degree or another. Culture, climate, age, gender, landscape character, immigrant status, mental health, and genetic predispositions, for example, create a challenging labyrinth of data for comparison. Nevertheless, tracking and monitoring of human biological responses and outcomes triggered by a biophilic pattern is vital in the progress and further development of biophilic design as a best practice.

The science of biophilia is a rapidly evolving field. There is an increasing interest in biophilia research in psychology, neuroscience and endocrinology and our understanding of these patterns will be refined and strengthened as new evidence is gathered. It is entirely possible that additional patterns will emerge over time.

4. The Patterns

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"...Biophilia is not a single instinct but a complex of learning rules that can be teased apart and analyzed individually. The feelings molded by the learning rules fall along several emotional spectra: from attraction to aversion, from awe to indifference, from peacefulness to fear-driven anxiety."
- Edward O. Wilson, 1993
Biophilia and the Conservation Ethic, The Biophilia Hypothesis

Pattern as Precedent

In the two decades since Wilson published The Biophilia Hypothesis, the body of evidence supporting biophilia has expanded considerably. The biophilic design patterns in this paper have, in the words of Wilson, been "teased apart and analyzed individually" to reveal emotional affiliations Wilson spoke of, as well as other psychophysiological and cognitive relationships with the built environment. The descriptive term 'pattern' is being used for three reasons:

to propose a clear and standardized terminology for biophilic design;

to avoid confusion with multiple terms (metric, attribute, condition, characteristic, typology, etc.) that have been used to explain biophilia and biophilic design; and

to maximize accessibility across disciplines by upholding a familiar language.

The use of spatial patterns is inspired by the precedents of A Pattern Language , Designing with People in Mind and Patterns of Home , as well as lectures and compilations on form, language and complexity (; ). Christopher Alexander brings clarity to this intent with his explanation that patterns
"........describe a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same way twice."
Alexander's work built on the tradition of pattern books used by designers and builders from the eighteenth century onward, but his work focused on the psychological benefits of patterns and included descriptions of the three dimensional spatial experience, rather than the aesthetic focus of previous pattern books. These fourteen Patterns of Biophilic Design focus on psychological, physiological and cognitive benefits.

Working with Biophilic Patterns

While informed by science, biophilic design patterns are not formulas; they are meant to inform, guide and assist in the design process and should be thought of as another tool in the designer's toolkit. The purpose of defining these patterns is to articulate connections between aspects of the built and natural environments and how people react to and benefit from them.

After each pattern is defined, it is then discussed in terms of the following:

The Experience briefly considers how the pattern might impact the way a space feels;

Roots of the Pattern highlights key scientific evidence that relates human biology to nature and the built environment;

Working with the Pattern highlights design attributes, examples, and considerations; and

Relation to Other Patterns briefly notes opportunities for integrative biophilic design strategies.

Tanner Springs by Atelier Dreisetl demonstrates at least one pattern from each of the three categories of biophilic design. Image © Fred Jala/Flickr.

Just as combinations of culture, demographics, health baselines, and characteristics of the built environment can impact the experience of space differently, so too can each design pattern. A suitable solution results from understanding local conditions and one space's relationship to another, and responding appropriately with a combination of design interventions to suit the unique needs of a space and its intended user group and programs.

Finally, each pattern has been assessed for overall potential impact and the strength of the research on which a pattern is built. Unless otherwise noted, all examples reported are based on data published in a peer-reviewed journal. We acknowledge that some studies are more rigorous than others and that some patterns have a greater body of research to support findings of significance. To help communicate this variability, up to three asterisks are following each pattern name, whereby three asterisks (***) indicates that the quantity and quality of available peer-reviewed evidence is robust and the potential for impact is great, and no asterisk indicates that there is minimal research to support the biological relationship between health and design, but the anecdotal information is adequate for hypothesizing its potential impact and importance as a unique pattern.

The field of biophilic design is constantly evolving, and as Salingaros (2000) explains, new disciplines such as biophilic design must "abstract its patterns as they appear... building its own foundation and logical skeleton, upon which future growth can be supported." As new evidence comes to bear, it is entirely possible that some patterns will be championed over others and that new patterns will emerge. By establishing these 14 basic patterns, we hope to encourage the widespread scientific study, language development, and design implementation of Biophilia.

14 Patterns of Biophilic Design Improving Health and Well-Being in the Built Environment

Nature in the Space

Natural Analogues

Nature of the Space

4.1 Nature in the Space
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The Experience

A space with a good Visual Connection with Nature feels whole, it grabs one's attention and can be stimulating or calming. It can convey a sense of time, weather and other living things.

Roots of the Pattern

Examples

Naturally Occurring:

Simulated or Constructed:

Visual preference research indicates that the preferred view is looking down a slope to a scene that includes copses of shade trees, flowering plants, calm non-threatening animals, indications of human habitation, and bodies of clean water (Orians & Heerwagen, 1992). This is often difficult to achieve in the built environment, particularly in already dense urban settings, though the psychological benefits of nature are suggested to increase with higher levels of biodiversity and not with an increase in natural vegetative area (Fuller et al., 2007). Positive impact on mood and self-esteem has also been shown to occur most significantly in the first five minutes of experiencing nature, such as through exercise within a green space (Barton & Pretty, 2010). Viewing nature for ten minutes prior to experiencing a mental stressor has shown to stimulate heart rate variability and parasympathetic activity (i.e., regulation of internal organs and glands that support digestion and other activities that occur when the body is at rest) (Brown, Barton & Gladwell, 2013), while viewing a forest scene for 20 minutes after a mental stressor has shown to return cerebral blood flow and brain activity to a relaxed state (Tsunetsugu & Miyazaki, 2005).

Parallax

Viewing scenes of nature stimulates a larger portion of the visual cortex than non-nature scenes, which triggers more pleasure receptors in our brain, leading to prolonged interest and faster stress recovery. For example, heart rate recovery from low-level stress, such as from working in an office environment, has shown to occur 1.6 times faster when the space has a glass window with a nature view, rather than a high-quality simulation (i.e., plasma video) of the same nature view, or no view at all (Kahn et al., 2008). Additionally, repeated viewing of real nature, unlike non-nature, does not significantly diminish the viewer's level of interest over time (Biederman & Vessel, 2006).

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Visual Connection with Nature pattern is to provide an environment that helps the individual shift focus to relax the eye muscles and temper cognitive fatigue. The effect of an intervention will improve as the quality of a view and the amount of visible biodiversity each increases.

A view to nature through a glass window provides a benefit over a digital screen (e.g., video/plasma tv) of the same view, particularly because there is no parallax shift for people as they move toward or around a video screen (Kahn et al., 2008). This may change as three-dimensional videography advances. Nevertheless, simulated or constructed nature is measurably better at engendering stress reduction than having no visual connection at all.

Design considerations for establishing a strong visual connection with nature:

Relation to other Patterns

Prioritize real nature over simulated nature; and simulated nature over no nature.

Prioritize biodiversity over acreage, area or quantity.

Prioritize or enable exercise opportunities that are in proximity to green space.

Design to support a visual connection that can be experienced for at least 5-20 minutes per day.

Design spatial layouts and furnishings to uphold desired view lines and avoid impeding the visual access when in a seated position.

Visual connections to even small instances of nature can be restorative, and particularly relevant for temporary interventions, or spaces where real estate (floor/ground area, wall space) is limited.

The benefits of viewing real nature may be attenuated by a digital medium, which may be of greatest value to spaces that, due to the nature of its function (e.g., hospital radiation units), cannot easily incorporate real nature or views to the outdoors.

An example of a designed environment with an excellent Visual Connection with Nature is the birch tree and moss garden in the New York Times Building in New York City - a carved out space in the middle of the building by which everyone passes as they enter or leave the building. Adjacent to a restaurant and the main conference rooms, the birch garden is an oasis of calm in the hustle and bustle of Times Square.

The Experience

A space with good Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli feels as if one is momentarily privy to something special, something fresh, interesting, stimulating and energizing. It is a brief but welcome distraction.

Roots of the Pattern

Examples

Naturally Occurring:

Simulated or Constructed:

Studies of the human response to stochastic movement of objects in nature and momentary exposure to natural sounds and scents have shown to support physiological restoration. For instance, when sitting and staring at a computer screen or doing any task with a short visual focus, the eye's lens becomes rounded with the contracting of the eye muscles. When these muscles stay contracted for an extended period, i.e., more than 20 minutes at a time, fatigue can occur, manifesting as eye strain, headaches and physical discomfort. A periodic, yet brief visual or auditory distraction that causes one to look up (for >20 seconds) and to a distance (of >20 feet) allows for short mental breaks during which the muscles relax and the lenses flatten (Lewis, 2012; Vessel, 2012).

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli pattern is to encourage the use of natural sensory stimuli that unobtrusively attract attention, allowing individuals' capacity for focused tasks to be replenished from mental fatigue and physiological stressors. This can be achieved by designing for momentary exposure to the stochastic or unpredictable movement, particularly for periphery vision or the periodic experience of scents or sounds.

Relation to other Patterns

When immersed in nature, we continually experience instances of non-rhythmic stimuli: birds chirping, leaves rustling, the faint scent of eucalyptus in the air. The built environment has evolved into a deliberately predictable realm. Even some highly manicured gardens and certainly interior vegetation lack the qualities needed to support non-rhythmic sensory stimuli.

Design considerations for establishing accessible and effective non-rhythmic stimuli:

As a general guideline, non-rhythmic sensory experiences should occur approximately every 20 minutes for about 20 seconds and, for visual stimuli, from a distance of more than 20 feet away.

Many stimuli in nature are seasonal, so a strategy that is effective year-round, such as with multiple interventions that overlap with seasons, will help ensure that non-rhythmic sensory experiences can occur at any given time of the year.

In some cases, the intervention may be similar to that of [P1] Visual or [P2] Non-Visual Connection with Nature; what's important here is the ephemeral and stochastic quality of the intervention.

An intervention that leverages simulation of (rather than naturally occurring) natural stimuli will likely necessitate early collaboration with the mechanical engineer or facilities team.

A non-rhythmic stimuli strategy can be interwoven with almost any landscape or horticulture plan. For instance, selecting plant species for window boxes that will attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators may be a more practical application for some projects than maintaining a honeybee apiary or butterfly sanctuary.

Humans perceive movement in the peripheral view much quicker than straight ahead. The brain also processes the movement of living things in a different place than it does of mechanical objects (Beauchamp et al., 2003), whereby natural movement is generally perceived as positive, and mechanical movement as neutral or even negative. As a result, the repeating rhythmic motion of a pendulum will only hold one's attention briefly, the constant repetitive ticking of a clock may come to be ignored over time, and an ever-present scent may lose its mystique with long-term exposure; whereas, the stochastic movement of a butterfly will capture one's attention each time for recurring physiological benefits.

The Dockside Green community on Vancouver Island, Victoria, BC Canada, is a great example of non-rhythmic stimuli. The implementation of habitat restoration and rainwater management has led to ephemeral experiences of swaying grasses, falling water and the buzz of passing insects and animals that are visible from walkways, porches, and windows around the community.

The Experience

Examples

Naturally Occurring:

Simulated or Constructed:

A space with a good Presence of Water condition feels compelling and captivating. Fluidity, sound, lighting, proximity and accessibility each contribute to whether a space is stimulating, calming, or both.

Roots of the Pattern

Visual preference research indicates that a preferred view contains bodies of clean (i.e., unpolluted) water (Heerwagen & Orians, 1993). Research has also shown that landscapes with water elicit a higher restorative response and generally have a greater preference among populations in comparison to landscapes without water. Supporting evidence has suggested that natural scenes without water and urban scenes with water elements follow with primarily equal benefits (Jahncke et al., 2011; Karmanov & Hamel, 2008; White et al., 2010).

Research on response to activities conducted in green spaces has shown that the presence of water prompts greater improvements in both self-esteem and mood than activities conducted in green environments without the presence of water (Barton & Pretty, 2010). Auditory access and perceived or potential tactile access to water also reportedly reduces stress (Alvarsson et al., 2010; Pheasant et al., 2010).

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Presence of Water pattern is to capitalize on the multi-sensory attributes of water to enhance the experience of a place in a manner that is soothing, prompts contemplation, enhances mood, and provides restoration from cognitive fatigue.

Repeated experiences of water do not significantly diminish our level of interest over time (Biederman & Vessel, 2006), so one small water feature may be adequate. Taking advantage of the sounds created by small-scale running water, and our capacity to touch it, will amplify the desired health response with a multi-sensory experience. Vistas to large bodies of water or physical access to natural or designed water bodies can also have the health response so long as they are perceived as 'clean' or unpolluted. Images of nature that include aquatic elements are more likely to help reduce blood pressure and heart rate than similar imagery without aquatic elements.

Design considerations for optimizing the impacts of a presence of water:

Prioritize a multi-sensory water experience to achieve the most beneficial outcome.

Prioritize naturally fluctuating water movement over predictable movement or stagnancy.

High volume, high turbulence water features could create discomfort, impact humidity levels or decrease acoustic quality, so proximity may influence appropriateness.

Water features can be water and energy intensive and as such should be used sparingly, particularly in climates with little access to water. Shading the water, using high albedo surfaces, and minimizing the exposed water surface area will minimize water loss through evaporation, and possibly contribute to the biophilic experience.

Relation to other Patterns

Commonly enhanced patterns:

The Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. is a great example of Presence of Water with its physically expansive water feature doubling as an event space. The former outdoor space has been enclosed with an undulating canopy design by Foster + Partners, bearing resemblance to water or clouds. On several portions of the gently sloping floors are slits from which a sheet of water emerges, it flows across the textured stone and then disappears into a series of slots toward the center of the courtyard. Designed by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd., the thin sheet of water reflects light and weather conditions from above and invites passersby to touch. During events the system is drained and seamlessly becomes part of the floor plane.

The Experience

A space with a good Dynamic & Diffuse Light condition conveys expressions of time and movement to evoke feelings of drama and intrigue, buffered with a sense of calm.

Roots of the Pattern

Examples

Naturally Occurring:

Simulated or Constructed:

Lighting design has long been used to set the mood for a space, and different lighting conditions elicit differing psychological responses. The impact of daylight on performance, mood and well-being has been studied for many years, in a variety of environments, and as a complex field of science and design, light has been extensively studied and written about.

Early research showed that productivity is higher in well daylighted work places, sales are higher in daylit stores, and that children performed better in daylighted classrooms with views - the research focus was on lighting strategy and task performance and less on human biology. For instance, quality daylighting has been reported to induce more positive moods and significantly less dental decay among students attending schools with quality daylight than students attending schools with average light conditions (Nicklas & Bailey, 1996).

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Dynamic & Diffuse Light pattern is twofold: to provide users with lighting options that stimulate the eye and hold attention in a manner that engenders a positive psychological or physiological response, and to help maintain circadian system functioning. The goal should not be to create uniform distribution of light through a (boring) space, nor should there be extreme differences (i.e., glare discomfort).

The human eye and the processing of light and images within the brain are adaptable over a broad range of conditions, although there are limitations. For example, when the lighting difference between adjoining sources or surfaces has a brightness or luminance ratio of greater than forty-to-one, glare may occur, which diminishes visual comfort (Clanton, 2014). For work areas, luminance ratios between task and immediate surroundings should not exceed 10 to one. So while dramatic lighting differences may be great for some religious, socialization and circulation spaces, they are not a good idea on work surfaces.

Diffuse lighting on vertical and ceiling surfaces provides a calm backdrop to the visual scene. Accent lighting and other layering of light sources creates interest and depth, while task or personalized lighting provides localized flexibility in intensity and direction. These layers help create a pleasing visual environment (Clanton, 2014).

Movement of light and shadows along a surface can attract our attention. For example, the dappled light under the canopy of an aspen tree, or the reflections of rippling water on a wall. These patterns tend to be fractals, and the brain is attuned to moving fractals (see [ P10] Complexity & Order).

Just as variations in lighted surfaces are important for interpreting surfaces, conducting a variety of tasks, and safe navigation, circadian lighting is important for supporting biological health. Leveraging opportunities for illuminance fluctuation, light distribution and light color variability that stimulate the human eye without causing discomfort will improve the quality of the user experience.

Design considerations for establishing a balance between dynamic and diffused lighting conditions:

Relation to other Patterns

Common overlaps:

Dynamic lighting conditions can help transition between indoor and outdoor spaces.

Drastically dynamic lighting conditions, such as with sustained movement, changing colors, direct sunlight penetration and high contrasts, may not be appropriate for spaces where directed attention activities are performed.

Circadian lighting will be especially important in spaces the people occupy for extended periods of time.

A prime example of a Dynamic & Diffuse Light condition is at the Yale Center for British Art, designed by Louis Kahn. Despite the building's stark exterior, the diversity of interior spaces and differing orientations of windows, clerestories, skylights and a large central atrium allows for light to penetrate at variable levels of diffusion to create an enhanced visitor experience, while upholding indoor environmental conditions necessary for displaying fine art.

The Experience

Examples

Naturally Occurring:

Simulated or Constructed:

A space with a good Connection with Natural Systems evokes a relationship to a greater whole, making one aware of seasonality and the cycles of life. The experience is often relaxing, nostalgic, profound or enlightening, and frequently anticipated.

Roots of the Pattern

There is limited scientific documentation of the health impacts associated with access to natural systems; however, much like [ P5] Presence of Water, this pattern is suspected to enhance positive health responses. In Biophilic Design (Kellert et al., 2008), Kellert frames this as "Natural Patterns and Processes", whereby seeing and understanding the processes of nature can create a perceptual shift in what's being seen and experienced. This pattern has a strong temporal element, which can be expressed culturally, as in the Japanese love of the ephemerality of cherry blossoms.

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Connection with Natural Systems pattern is to heighten both awareness of natural properties and hopefully environmental stewardship of the ecosystems within which those properties prevail. The strategy for working with the pattern may be as simple as identifying key content in a view to nature (e.g., deciduous trees in the back yard or blossoming orchids on the window sill), or it may be a more complex integration of systems, such as by making evident the relationship between building occupant behavior and rainwater infrastructure (e.g., raingardens, bioswales, storm sewers) capacity, by regulating domestic activities (e.g., showering, laundry) during rain events. In either case, the temporal component is usually the key factor in pattern recognition and the triggering of a deeper awareness of a functioning ecosystem.

Design considerations and opportunities that may help create quality connections with natural systems:

Integration of rainwater capture and treatment into the landscape design that responds to rain events.

In some cases, providing visual access to existing natural systems will be the easiest and most cost effective approach. In other cases, the incorporation of responsive design tactics (e.g., use of materials that change form or expand function with exposure to solar heat gain, wind, rain/moisture, or shading), structures (e.g., steps wells), and land formations (e.g., bioswales, arroyos, dunes) will be necessary to achieve the desired level of awareness.

Design interactive opportunities, especially for children, patients, and the elderly (e.g., integrative educational curriculum; horticulture programs, community gardens; seasonal cooking/diet).

Relation to other Patterns

Common overlaps:

Outside the New York penthouse office of COOKFOX Architects, sits a 3,000 square foot extensive green roof that changes color and vibrancy from season to season. Witnessing a hawk killing a small bird shifted employee perception of their green roof as an ecosystem and not just a decorative garden. This perception was reinforced when employees noticed changes in bee colony behavior during times of extreme heat and humidity, when the honeybee apiary was invaded by robber bees, and again when the summer honey harvest looked and tasted different than the autumn harvest.

4.2 Natural Analogues
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The Experience

A space with a good Material Connection with Nature feels rich, warm and authentic, and sometimes stimulating to the touch.

Roots of the Pattern

While scientific documentation on the health impact of natural materials is limited, available research is beginning to shed light on opportunities for informed design. As such, the Material Connection with Nature pattern has evolved from a limited body of scientific research on physiological responses to variable quantities of natural materials, and the impact of natural color palette, particularly the color green, has on cognitive performance.

Examples

Decor:

Form / Function:

One such study demonstrated that a difference in wood ratio on the walls of an interior space led to different physiological responses (Tsunetsugu, Miyazaki & Sato, 2007). The researchers observed that a room with a moderate ratio of wood (i.e., 45% coverage), with a more subjective "comfortable" feeling, exhibited significant decreases in diastolic blood pressure and significant increases in pulse rate, whereas a decrease in brain activity was observed in large ratios (i.e., 90% coverage), which could be either highly restorative in a spa or doctor's office, or counterproductive if in a space where high cognitive functionality is expected.

In a series of four experiments examining the effect of the presence of the color green on the psychological functioning of participants, the results concluded that exposure to the color green before conducting a task "facilitates creativity performance, but has no influence on analytical performance" (Lichtenfeld et al., 2012). Humans are also able to distinguish more variations in the color green than of any other color (Painter, 2014). However, which variation(s) of the color green most influence creativity or other mind-body responses is not well understood.

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Material Connection with Nature pattern is to explore the characteristics and quantities of natural materials optimal for engendering positive cognitive or physiological responses. In some cases, there may be several layers of information in materials that enhance the connection, such as learned knowledge about the material, familiar textures, or nested fractals that occur within a stone or wood grain pattern.

Natural materials can be decorative or functional, and are typically processed or extensively altered (e.g., wood plank, granite countertop) from their original 'natural' state, and while they may be extracted from nature, they are only analogous of the items in their 'natural' state.

Design considerations that may help create a quality material connection:

Quantities of a (natural) material and color should be specified based on intended function of the space (e.g., to restore versus stimulate). In the same vein, a degree of variability of materials and applications is recommended over high ratios of any one material or color.

Real materials are preferred over synthetic variations because human receptors can tell the difference between real and synthetic, so minimally processed materials from real nature are preferred whenever possible.

Incorporating instances of the color green may help enhance creative environments; however, scientific studies on the impact of the color green have mostly been conducted in controlled lab environments, so dependence on color to engender creativity should be considered experimental.

Relation to other Patterns

Common overlaps:

The lobby of the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park in New York (COOKFOX Architects, 2009) is a good example of a diverse application of Material Connections with Nature. One enters the glass skyscraper by grasping a thin wooden door handle. The interior lobby walls are clad with Jerusalem Stone - the tiles with the highest fossil content were intentionally placed at the corner where they would be most encountered and even touched by passersby. Leather paneling in the elevator lobby is warm in color, providing a sense of calm for people as they wait for their ride, and soft to the touch, from which the patina has begun to show.

4.3 Nature of the Space
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The Experience

A space with a good Prospect condition feels open and freeing, yet imparts a sense of safety and control, particularly when alone or in unfamiliar environments.

Roots of the Pattern

In evolutionary psychology terms, we should prefer habitats that are similar to the African savannas on which we evolved as a species. This becomes clear in visual preference research starting with Jay Appleton's Experience of Landscape in 1975, where he asked why certain views from the same vantage point are preferred over others. Wilson and Kellert (1993) argue that our view preferences, and possibly our aesthetic preferences, have roots in referential points that benefit our survival. For example, flowers are indicators of healthy plant growth, and to signal the availability of resources in the future (Orians & Heerwagen, 1992). The savanna, with its open terrain and copses of shade trees, becomes more favorable when combined with water, an understory of flowers and forbs, calm grazing animals and evidence of human habitation. That we should be genetically predisposed to prefer this scene is posited by the Savanna Hypothesis (Orians & Heerwagen, 1986 and 1992).

Distant prospect (>100 feet, >30 meters) is preferred over shorter focal lengths (<20 feet, 6 meter) because it provides a greater sense of awareness and comfort (Herzog & Bryce, 2007), reducing one's stress responses, particularly when alone or in unfamiliar environments (Petherick, 2000). Good Prospect is extensive and information rich, with a savanna-like view.

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Prospect pattern is to provide users with a condition suitable for visually surveying and contemplating the surrounding environment for both opportunity and hazard. In landscapes, prospect is characterized as the view from an elevated position or across an expanse. While an elevated position can enhance (indoor and outdoor) prospect, it is not essential to creating a quality Prospect experience.

There are potentially endless combinations for applying characteristics of Prospect (Dosen & Ostwald, 2013). There is interior prospect, exterior prospect, as well as short depth and high depth prospect that can occur simultaneously. The complexity and variety of ways to achieve prospect is what makes it such a powerful design element. For interior spaces or dense urban spaces, prospect is the ability to see from one space to another, and is strengthened when there are clear distinctions and the opportunity to see through multiple spaces (Hildebrand, 1991).

Design considerations that may help create a quality Prospect condition:

Orienting building, fenestration, corridors and workstations will help optimize visual access to indoor or outdoor vistas, activity hubs or destinations.

Designing with or around an existing or planned savanna-like ecosystem, body of water, and evidence of human activity or habitation will help the information-richness of the prospect view.

Providing focal lengths of ≥20 feet (6 meters), preferably 100 feet (30 meters); when a space has sufficient depth, spatial properties can be leveraged to enhance the experience by removing visual barriers. Limiting partition heights to 42" will provide spatial barriers while allowing seated occupants to view across a space. Understory vegetation or hedges should use a similar guide; preferred height limitations will depend on terrain and how the space is most experienced (e.g., while sitting, standing, on a bicycle).

Locating stairwells at building perimeter with glass façade and interior glass stairwell walls can form a dual Prospect condition.

When high ceilings are present, perimeter or interior spaces elevated 12-18" will enhance the Prospect condition.

Often the view quality and the balance between Prospect and [P12] Refuge will be more important than the size or frequency of the experience.

Refer to [P1] Visual Connection with Nature to optimize the Prospect experience with a quality view.

The central courtyard of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California, designed by Louis Kahn, is a popular example of a nearly pure Prospect condition. This elevated space is bounded by the angled fins of the adjacent researcher offices, and has a rill flowing through the center out towards the view of the Pacific Ocean. There are some small trees in planters at the entry of the courtyard, but once in the space one's gaze is drawn outward through the space.

The Experience

A space with a good Refuge condition feels safe, providing a sense of retreat and withdrawal - for work, protection, rest or healing - whether alone or in small groups. A good refuge space feels separate or unique from its surrounding environment; its spatial characteristics can feel contemplative, embracing and protective, without unnecessarily disengaging.

Roots of the Pattern

The Refuge pattern has evolved from research on visual preference research and spatial habitat responses, and its relationship to [ P11] Prospect conditions. Refuge conditions are important for restoration experiences and stress reduction, which can be realized through lowered blood pressure and heart rate. Other benefits of Refuge are suggested to include reduced irritation, fatigue and perceived vulnerability, as well as improved concentration, attention and perception of safety (Grahn & Stigsdotter, 2010; Wang & Taylor, 2006; Petherick, 2000; Ulrich et al., 1993).

Jay Appleton's writing (1975, 1996) is focused on theory and is a good overall reference for both Prospect and Refuge, whereas Grant Hildebrand (1991) has written the most intelligently about Prospect and Refuge in the built environment and is a good reference for applications. In Grant Hildebrand's words, "The edge of a wood is one of the most prevalent of natural prospect-refuge conjunctions" for it provides protection from weather and predators, but allows for outward surveillance. Nonetheless, the health response to Refuge is reportedly stronger than the response to Prospect, and the compounded response is enhanced when the two spatial conditions converge (Grahn & Stigsdotter, 2010).

In small urban parks, park size is less important than the ability to be immersed in the space with the conditions of enclosure leading to restoration (e.g., Nordh, Hartig, Hägerhäll & Fry, 2009). In larger parks, the refuge spaces under trees, and in vegetation bordering an open space or meadow, are the preferred locations (e.g., Ruddell & Hammitt, 1987). Though science has yet to establish metrics for frequency or duration of access to refuge conditions, the balance between Refuge and Prospect is suggested to be more important than the size or frequency of the experience (Appleton, 1996).

Working with the Pattern

The primary objective of the Refuge pattern is to provide users with an easily accessible and protective environment - a smaller portion of a larger space - that supports restoration. The secondary objective is to limit visual access into the refuge space. The principal spatial condition is protection overhead and to one's back, preferably on three sides; strategic placement or orientation of the space can also influence quality of experience.

Common functions of Refuge conditions:

weather or climate protection

speech or visual privacy

reflection or meditation

rest or relaxation

reading

complex cognitive tasks

protection from physical danger

In most cases, the refuge is not entirely enclosed, but rather provides some contact (visual or aural) with the surrounding environment for surveillance. The greater the number of protective sides, the greater the refuge condition; however, complete refuge - protection on all sides - is not necessarily the most appropriate or effective solution, as it does not maintain a relationship to the larger space. The traditional lean-to is a great example of basic refuge, as are a cozy bench seat in a bay window of the kitchen or a fireside inglenook.

Refuge spaces take many forms, so understanding the context and defining the intended user experience will certainly influence design decisions. There are endless combinations of design elements that can create a quality refuge space that offers shade or protection from natural or man-made environmental conditions.

Design considerations:

Indoor refuge spaces are usually characterized by lowered ceiling conditions. For spaces with standard ceiling heights, this may equate to approximately 18-24 inches below the main ceiling, and is often achieved through treatments like a soffit, a drop-ceiling or acoustical paneling, or suspended fabric.

For outdoor or indoor spaces with particularly high ceilings (>14 feet), a more drastic differential may be necessary to achieve the desired outcome; freestanding or vegetative alcoves and mezzanine-like structures are often effective.

When designing for larger populations or multiple activity types, providing more than one kind of refuge space can address varying needs, which can often be met through differing spatial dimensions, lighting conditions, and degree of concealment.

Light levels in refuge spaces should differ from adjacent spaces and user lighting controls will broaden functionality as a refuge space.

Sitting with one's back against the trunk of a big shade tree is a classic refuge space, as is high backed booth seating in a restaurant, a reading nook in a library or school, a covered bus stop, or a wraparound porch. Treehouses are a timeless example of Refuge; and Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde, Colorado (constructed pre-A.D.1200s) is one of the best historic examples. While the settlement provides a feeling of containment and protection from the arid climate and potential predators or enemies, the refuge experience is enhanced with characteristics of Prospect through its elevated position and views over the canyon.

The Experience

A space with a good Mystery condition has a palpable sense of anticipation, or of being teased, offering the senses a kind of denial and reward that compels one to further investigate the space.

Roots of the Pattern

The Mystery pattern is largely based on the idea that people have two basic needs in environments: to understand and to explore (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989) and that these 'basic needs' should occur "from one's current position" in order to engender a sense of mystery (Herzog and Bryce, 2007).

A quality mystery condition does not engender a fear response; the conditions that differentiate between surprise (i.e., fear) and pleasure center around the visual depth of field. An obscured view with a shallow depth of field has shown to lead to unpleasant surprises, whereas greater visual access, with a medium (≥20 ft) to high (≥100 ft) depth of field is preferred (Herzog and Bryce, 2007).

A good mystery condition could also be expressed through the obscuring of the boundaries and a portion of the focal subject (i.e., room, building, outdoor space, or other information source), thereby enticing the user to anticipate the full extent of the subject and explore the space further (Ikemi, 2005).

Working with the Pattern

Mystery characterizes a place where an individual feels compelled to move forward to see what is around the corner; it is the partially revealed view ahead. The objective of the Mystery pattern is to provide a functional environment that encourages exploration in a manner that supports stress reduction and cognitive restoration. While other 'Nature of the Space' patterns can be experienced in a stationary position, mystery implies movement and analysis starting from a place perceived in a fundamentally positive way.

Mystery conditions have their place among indoor and outdoor plazas, corridors, pathways, parks, and other transitory spaces. The sense of mystery can be diluted over time and with routine exposure; however, strategies that include revolving content or information, such as peek-a-boo windows into common areas where activity is constantly changing, will be most effective in spaces routinely occupied by the same group of people.

Design considerations that will help create a quality Mystery condition:

Curving edges that slowly reveal are more effective than sharp corners in drawing people through a space.

Dramatic shade and shadows can enhance the mystery experience.

Strategies that provide dark shadows or shallow depth of field could instill unappreciated surprise or fear.

The speed at which users are transiting through a space will influence both the size of the aperture and the size of the subject; faster typically means bigger.

Organically evolved mystery conditions (e.g., low maintenance gardens with winding paths) are expectedly going to change characteristics over time. These changes should be monitored as they may enhance the mystery condition, or otherwise degrade it as it evolves into a surprise condition (e.g., overgrowth of plantings leads to obscuring of depth of field).

This process of denial and reward, obscure and reveal is evident in Japanese garden design and various mazes and labyrinths throughout the world. The gardens at Katsura Imperial Villa, in Kyoto, Japan, make strong use of Mystery to draw visitors through the space and instill a sense of fascination. The strategic placement of buildings within the garden allows them to be hidden and slowly revealed at various points along the garden path, encouraging the user to explore further.

Prospect Park, in Brooklyn, New York, is an excellent example of Mystery. In classic Olmsted style, many views throughout the park are obscured through the use of topography and vegetation. Key focal points in the landscape are revealed from stationary prospect points within the park. The focal points within the park (trees, buildings, lake and meadows) give the space a degree of legibility, but obscured views entice occupants to explore the space further, in order to understand it, which cannot be achieved in a single visit.

The Experience

A space with a good Risk/Peril condition feels exhilarating, and with an implied threat, maybe even a little mischievous or perverse. One feels that it might be dangerous, but intriguing, worth exploring and possibly even irresistible.

Roots of the Pattern

Risk can be generated by a learned or biophobic response triggered by a near and present danger. This danger, however, is inert and unable to cause harm due to a trusted element of safety. The defining difference between Risk/Peril and fear is the level of perceived threat and perceived control (Rapee, 1997).

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Risk/Peril pattern is to arouse attention and curiosity, and refresh memory and problem solving skills. There are different degrees of risk that can be incorporated into a design depending on the intended user or the space available; a cantilevered walkway over a sheer cliff is an extreme case; viewing a predator in a zoo exhibit may provide a greater sense of control; whereas, rock-hopping through a gentle water feature presents the risk of getting one's feet wet.

Design considerations that will help create a quality Risk/Peril condition:

Relation to other Patterns

Common overlaps:

Risk/Peril design interventions are usually quite deliberate and as such will not be appropriate for all user groups or places.

Design strategies that rely on spatial conditions will be easier to implement when incorporated as early as concept design and schematic phases of the design process.

The element of safety must protect the user from harm while still permitting the experience of risk.

At Frank Lloyd Wright's home, Taliesin, in Spring Green, Wisconsin, The Birdwalk is a thrilling narrow balcony that cantilevers out over the hillside. The Levitated Mass at Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an enormous boulder that spans over a pedestrian ramp, and under which visitors pass. The balancing act is seems improbable, but the bracing provides some reassurance of safety, and visitors flock en masse to be photographed below the rock.

Lower-level risk, like getting one's feet wet, may be a more appropriate strategy for some settings. A great example would the stepping stone path through the water feature designed by Herbert Dreiseitl at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany.

5. Final Thoughts

link to this section

"A new discipline needs to abstract its patterns as they appear. It is building its own foundation and logical skeleton, upon which future growth can be supported. Knowing its basic patterns early on will speed up the language's development, and guide it in the right direction."

- Nikos A. Salingaros, 2000 "The Structure of Pattern Languages"

The science supporting biophilic design is still emerging. In many ways, it could be argued that the research is really just corroborating the rediscovery of the intuitively obvious. Unfortunately, too much of our modern design is oblivious to this profound knowledge. Deep down, we know that the connection to nature is important. When asking people to think about their favorite places for vacation, the majority will describe some place outdoors; we use the term 'recreation' and forget that recreation is about recreating, restoring ourselves. So while empirical evidence is accumulating, we ought to go about restoring the human-nature connection in the built environment.

Just to remind ourselves why biophilic design is so important, consider that in the 12,000 years since humans began farming and other activities that transformed the natural landscape (Smithsonian, 2014), only in the last 250 years have modern cities become common. Within the last few years we became urban dwellers, with more people living in cities than in the countryside. In coming decades, it is projected that 70 percent of the world's population will live in cities. With this shift, the need for our designs to (re)connect people to an experience of nature becomes ever more important. Biophilic design is not a luxury, it's a necessity for our health and well-being.

We hope "14 Patterns of Biophilic Design" helps shed light both on the importance of the human connection with nature that are supported by biophilic design. We encourage people to challenge convention by bringing biophilic design patterns into a vision for healthy homes, workplaces and cities.

Appendix

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A review of research presenting the financial potential for a broad deployment of biophilic design in offices, communities, schools, retail and hospitals.

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The Re-Use Atlas: A Designer's Guide Towards a Circular Economy

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The Re-Use Atlas: A Designer's Guide Towards a Circular Economy

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Duncan Baker-Brown
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Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

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Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

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Michael Braungart and William McDonough

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Building Revolutions: Applying the Circular Economy to the Built Environment

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Building Revolutions: Applying the Circular Economy to the Built Environment

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David Cheshire

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ARUP - Circular Economy in the Built Environment

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ARUP - Circular Economy in the Built Environment

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Introduction to key principles of circular economy and applications in the built environment. ARUP in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Free PDF download.

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Circular Economy in the Built Environment

Our research outlines key principles of the circular economy, using the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's ReSOLVE framework to explore and contextualise practical applications in the built environment.

We identify how the circular economy can benefit Arup, our clients, and the built environment sector. We reflect on the economic, social and environmental advantages of employing circular principles. And we propose strategies to progress our offering, deliver new services, engage a wider network of stakeholders and unlock opportunities for all parties in the value chain.

We also consider how circular economy practices can be scaled up from the individual component or asset level for city, regional, and even global economies. We believe the circular economy can enable Arup to tackle the complex nature of the built environment through multidisciplinary working, and that it can drive a shift towards more sustainable forms of economic growth, urban life and value creation.

As the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's knowledge partner for the built environment we are sharing knowledge and collaborating with our CE100 partners to accelerate the shift to a circular economy.

Circular Economy in the Built Environment

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Circular Economy in the Built Environment

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Circular Economy in the Built Environment Our research outlines key principles of the circular economy, using the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's ReSOLVE framework to explore and contextualise practical applications in the built environment. We identify how the circular economy can benefit Arup, our clients, and the built environment sector.

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Blog on experimental material research group focused on local production and upcycling.

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stone wall; reinforcement; building; wood; lime mortar

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granite stone walls; building; lime mortar

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old stone walls; refurbishment; lime mortar

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Last news from the field and updates about Critical Concrete

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Online materials library from Architecture & Design Scotland

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How to Compare materials

To use the comparison function click "Compare materials" and a small box will appear to the right of each material title, select the materials you wish to compare then click "compare materials" again to view comparison. You can compare 4 of materials at a time. ( or a maximum depending on screen size)

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Material Archives - A&DS Materials Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How to Compare materials To use the comparison function click "Compare materials" and a small box will appear to the right of each material title, select the materials you wish to compare then click "compare materials" again to view comparison. You can compare 4 of materials at a time.

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Free information on natural building materials

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At CAT we've been using natural building materials for many years, and you can see examples all around our visitor centre. We also run hands-on courses and workshops and sell many practical books.
Our page on low energy buildings talks about the embodied energy or life-cycle impact of building materials. These are ways of assessing the impacts in the extraction, manufacture, and transportation of materials.

Think about what will happen at the end of a building's life. Try to choose materials and techniques that will make reuse or recycling easy. Many common building materials will eventually end up in landfill or an incinerator because they cannot be reused or recycled. In the UK, construction waste produced per person is more than double collected household waste!

Another important factor is the creation of healthy buildings. This is not just about indoor air-quality, but also thinking about the breathability of a building. Using materials that buffer humidity and don't trap moisture is great for avoiding damp problems.

Natural building materials

A great way to address all of the issues raised above is to use natural materials such as timber, straw, hemp, earth, and more.

Some of these materials are from an abundant source, like earth, and are extremely reusable. Other natural materials can be regrown, and are therefore from a renewable source. They absorbed carbon dioxide as they grew, and using straw, hemp and similar materials as insulation will then store this carbon. This greatly reduces the carbon footprint of a building.

Many eco-building methods are accessible to amateur builders. For example, building with straw, hempcrete & timber-frame techniques are all methods that can be learned fairly easily and quickly.

What natural building materials could I use?

Wood is versatile and often beautiful as well. For sustainably-harvested timber, look for the FSC mark. At CAT we've avoided chemical treatment of timber whenever possible. The chemical treatment of timber has become almost standard practice in the UK, but it is very rarely necessary. To avoid timber decay use good quality, well-seasoned timber and ensure that the building design provides protection or ventilation of all timbers. Rot-producing fungi will only attack timber that remains damp over a sustained period, so any timber that will get wet must be able to dry out.

When you need a surface finish, look for natural paints and stains made from plant-based resins, oils and dyes. They will biodegrade on disposal, and little energy goes into their production.

Straw is a by-product of agricultural production and of low value. Building with bales is quick and easy. Hemp building generally uses a byproduct - the 'shiv', which is the inner core of the hemp stalk. Hemp is easy to grow, increases local biodiversity and needs little or no fertilisers. We used hempcrete in our WISE building, made by mixing hemp shiv with a lime-based binder.

Building with earth

Unfired earth has a very low carbon footprint because very little energy is needed to extract, transport and work it. Earth is not an insulating material, but is a great way to provide 'thermal mass' to buffer heat. This makes it a good alternative to concrete blocks or bricks for internal walls.

There are different ways of using earth in building, and most have a very long history. We've used rammed earth walls here at CAT, in our information centre and in WISE (the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education). We've also used compressed earth bricks to build a toilet block and as internal walls in WISE. Cob building uses a mixture of earth and straw and was traditionally used in the south-west of England and parts of Wales. Clay plasters can provide an original, natural finish to interior walls and ceilings.

Breathable construction

Broadly, breathability is the ability to buffer moisture - to soak it up and then release it. Most natural building materials are breathable, and you'll need to ensure you don't seal them up behind finishes that will trap moisture.

One example is using lime plasters and renders. Unlike cement, lime is breathable and so is a sympathetic finish or binder for natural materials. Lime bonds well to earth because it is also a soft and porous material. Earth and lime expand and contract at the same rate, so the lime finish will remain stable and well adhered. You can even remove, soak, remix and reuse old lime putty, plasters and renders. Lime finishes will set by gradually reabsorbing the carbon dioxide that was given off during production.

Related Questions

What is breathability?

This can be a confusing term for two reasons. Firstly because it refers to moisture not air and secondly because the exact physical processes which go on in a building are complicated (and still being researched). However the metaphor of breathing captures the important idea of continual movement. Moisture in itself might not matter, as long as it doesn't take up permanent residence in your walls.

Broadly, breathability is the ability to buffer moisture - to soak it up and then release it - thus avoiding a situation where water vapour is retained by the fabric of a building. The technical term for this property is hygroscopic. Natural materials tend to be more hygroscopic than synthetic ones. The term "vapour permeable" also gets used in this context, referring to materials that allow water vapour to pass through at a certain rate.

A breathable construction will be made up of a gradation of vapour permeable materials, with the materials towards the inside being less vapour permeable than the materials towards the outside. A rule of thumb is that the material on the inside (warm side) should have five times the vapour resistance of the material on the outside (cold side). Without using a very high resistance material such as polyethylene or foil-backed board, this can be achieved with a suitable vapour-check layer on the warm side of the insulation. This layer slows down the passage of moisture to a safe level.

The construction also needs to be airtight on the inside to ensure the vapour-check layer works as intended. So it's important to not put gaps in the vapour check layer for services (wires, etc), and instead have a thin space for these services between the vapour check and the internal finish (e.g. plasterboard). The final layer of external cladding might be waterproof (such as tiles) but there must be a ventilated gap between this and the sheathing board that actually completes the breathable construction.

In a UK-type climate the interior of a house usually has a higher relative humidity (RH) than the outside because it contains people exhaling, cooking, and washing. It's a very general rule that, left to themselves, things will always migrate from an area of higher concentration to one of lower concentration, so there will be movement of water vapour towards the outside (or, to be more technical, the interior has a higher vapour pressure).

At times of high interior RH, water vapour will enter the walls, lowering the RH (both high and low RH cause problems and the ideal range is 40-60%). At times of lower interior RH, almost all of the water vapour will migrate back into the interior to be taken away by air currents. Any water vapour that might have managed to penetrate the wall deeply will be drawn out towards the exterior because of the lower permeability of the outer layers, so no harm done. Any water coming in from the outside will be unable to get very far as it is pushing through layers of decreasing permeability. The breathability of materials interacts with both temperature (which affects RH) and ventilation (one of whose functions is to carry away water vapour).

What is hempcrete or hemp & lime?

When hemp 'shiv' (the inner core of the hemp) is mixed with a lime-based binder it forms a durable, insulating, reworkable and natural insulation material. It's suitable for new builds and for renovation projects. As well as stopping heat loss and absorbing sound, it is porous and so is breathable - regulating moisture.

The thermal conductivity (k-value) of hempcrete varies with the composition and density of the mix, but can be around around 0.06 to 0.11 W/m²K. This value makes it similar to straw bale walls in terms of insulation for a given thickness.

A timber frame construction could give the same insulation value with a thinner wall, but it would not have the 'thermal mass' that the hemp and lime wall has (the ability to absorb and store heat from both internal and external sources).

A breathable lime binder is necessary. Although less energy is involved in the manufacture of lime compared to cement, it still has quite a high embodied energy. However, in the case of hempcrete, the hemp sequesters carbon as it grows, offsetting the carbon emissions produced by manufacturing lime.

Hemp is easy to grow, increases local biodiversity and needs little or no fertilisers. Even intensively-grown hemp will sequester carbon, helping to offset that produced in manufacturing the lime. The microscopic holes in the hemp trap air so the dried hemp and lime mix is an insulator.

How do I choose between insulation materials?

There are basically three different types of insulation material:

1. Organic - those derived from natural vegetation or similar renewable sources, which tend to require a low energy use in manufacture (a low 'embodied energy'). Examples are sheep's wool, cellulose, cork, wood fibre, and hemp.

2. Inorganic - derived from naturally occurring minerals which are non-renewable but plentiful at source. Likely to have a higher embodied energy than organic materials. Examples are mineral/glass fibre, perlite and vermiculite (from volcanic rock) and rigid foamed glass.

3. Fossil organic - derived by chemical processes from fossilised vegetation (oil) - a finite resource. Fossil organic insulation materials such as expanded polystyrene and polyisocyanurate or phenolic foam are highly processed, resulting in a high embodied energy.

Which is best?

If possible it is better to choose insulation materials that have not been heavily processed as this will reduce the carbon footprint and environmental impact of your home. But it is far better to install cheaper inorganic or fossil organic materials with the right physical properties and a low thermal conductivity than to install nothing at all.

In many cases, organic insulation material can be applied instead of inorganic or fossil organic, but there are exceptions. For example, there is not an organic insulation material suitable for cavity wall insulation.

Think also about the ease of installation. Loose fill insulation is quick to put in in lofts, but cannot be DIY installed in anything other than a flat place. Rigid boards and batts will come in certain sizes, but need to be cut to shape if you have some unusual spaces. Some materials can be cut with a knife, but a few will need a saw. Some mineral wool now comes in a thin foil or plastic wrap, to protect from the fibres. You should still wear a face mask when installing any type of installation, as small fibres of any kind are best not inhaled.

Can I make my own sheep's wool insulation?

A manufactured insulation material comes with a certificate to show its insulation value and how it satisfies standards such as fire safety. As long as the material is installed in the way laid out in the certificate, it will be accepted by Building Control.

If you want to use sheep's wool as insulation in a DIY way, it's basically up to you to show Building Control that your approach will meet those required standards. This will involve some extra work and time. Detailed documents relating to building regulations & building control are available on the Planning Portal.

Meeting insulation requirements under Part L of the Building Regulations is technically possible as sheep's wool has a similar thermal performance to most other fibrous insulation materials. Provided there is a similar thickness the requirement should therefore be met, but you'll need to demonstrate this. Installing more than the minimum thickness required is a good start.

Here at CAT we used sheep's wool to insulate our information centre back in 2000. The wool was from the British Wool Marketing Board and had already been scoured (washed three or four times to clean it and remove the lanolin) and carded (teased and thinned out). It was delivered to us in hanks and we installed it in the wall cavity at a density of around 25kg per cubic metre.

The wool was sprayed thoroughly with a borax solution and installed in a sealed cavity. Borax is a salt based solution derived from the mineral salt, boron. It provides increased resistance to fire, and is an insecticide - stopping moths and other insects from infesting the wool. We used a 10:1 mix of water and borax powder.

We haven't experienced any problems, but we have heard of sheep's wool in lofts becoming infested with moths, possibly because it wasn't sprayed well (or at all) with borax. Correct treatment is vital, as addressing any problems would be disruptive and messy. Infested insulation may all have to be removed.

Wool is not suitable for a conventional brick & block cavity, but is fine in a breathable construction. At CAT we used it in a timber panel type of construction that allows moisture to pass through rather than becoming trapped. Sheeps wool is very 'hygroscopic', which means it's able to absorb moisture in humid conditions, and then release it later.

How are rammed earth walls constructed?

To make rammed earth walls, loose, moist subsoil is compacted in thin layers between shuttering or formwork. The shuttering can be moved along or upwards as the wall is constructed. Mechanical compaction forces clay molecules to bond with the aggregate (a physical rather than a chemical bond), giving the wall its strength. Compaction is vigourous work and a powered hand-held tamper makes a big difference to the construction process. The pneumatic rammer used in the WISE rammed earth wall construction was a Trelawny VL compactor.

Particle size and grading, moisture content, and clay content are all critical to the performance of the finished wall. Over a period of time, perhaps up to two years, a rammed earth wall will dry out and become as durable as sandstone, as long as it is waterproofed top and bottom.

At CAT we have used rammed earth only for internal walls, where it provides useful thermal mass. In the UK climate, earth by itself is not a good material for external walls. It's poor as insulation and will degrade in our weather conditions. Some techniques add cement to make 'stabilised earth', but this eats into the environmental benefits. Tim Coleridge, Programme Leader of one of our MSc courses, says:

"A word of caution regarding the use of cement stabilised rammed earth. Even quite low proportions of cement added to an earth mix, e.g. 8-10%, would be similar to the cement content as a standard lightweight concrete block. So, to maximise the benefit of rammed earth a low-impact building material with low embodied energy and low embodied carbon should be designed without added cement, un-stabilised. Building codes vary in this regard, e.g. in Australia you'll find the rammed earth building code requires added cement, effectively turning it into weak concrete in earthy colours (from our perspective)."

Why has CAT avoided using cement, and what are the alternatives?

At CAT we avoid using cement-based mortar, render, concrete and blocks - mainly as a way to reduce embodied energy and carbon emissions. In many cases, cement materials are over-specified and can be replaced with lower impact materials. We have used lime-based render, mortar and concrete in a number of projects, as well as clay plasters. Instead of concrete block construction we've built with unfired earth, hempcrete, straw or other materials.

About half of the carbon dioxide (CO ₂) emissions from cement production are given off by a chemical reaction when limestone is heated to create cement. Most of the remaining CO ₂ emissions are from the fossil fuel used to fire cement kilns to high temperatures.

In the production of lime products, CO ₂ is still given off from a chemical reaction in the kiln. However, unlike cement, pure lime products reabsorb all of that CO ₂ as they dry out and harden over a number of years. A practical advantage of this slow setting is that it can usually be re-worked up to 24 hours after application (unlike cement or gypsum). It can also self-repair any small cracks that appear immediately after applying.

A hydraulic lime made from limestone with certain impurities will give a quick chemical set similar to cement, followed by slow carbonation. That process still reabsorbs a large proportion of the CO ₂ from the chemical reaction during manufacture. Hydraulic lime is useful as a binder in hempcrete construction, or in foundations.

Lime can absorb and hold moisture in periods of high humidity, and then release this moisture when the humidity levels drop. This helps to prevent condensation in interior spaces (the main cause of moulds and fungi).

Lime has advantages with conventional masonry construction as well. Bricks and stones joined with lime based mortar or render will separate and clean up, ready for re-use. It's very difficult to separate bricks joined with cement mortar, so their only practical reuse is as hardcore.

Where the greater strength of a cement-based material is needed, the impact can be reduced by using an alternative such as pulverised fuel ash (PFA) or GGBFS (ground granulated blast furnace slag) to replace a proportion of cement used. GGBFS is a byproduct of the steel and iron industry, and PFA is waste from power stations.

The properties of lime must be well understood - it cannot be used in exactly the same way as cement. Accurate batching is critical, as is minimal and carefully administered water content. The mixing time is longer than for cement (10-15 minutes), but overmixing can turn the whole thing to jelly. 'Limecrete' must be protected from drying out too quickly (damp hessian is a favoured covering material) and it is essential to protect from frost for the first week or so.

How can I minimise the environmental impact of foundations?

Foundations are designed to spread the load of the building over a wide area to prevent sinkage. The base needs to be below the frost line (usually 750mm), free of organic matter that could rot, and away from trees.

The environmental impact of concrete use can be minimized by installing pad or strip foundations and using recycled rubble as general fill. The cement in concrete can be avoided by using hydraulic lime as the binder. Adding large aggregate to bulk out the concrete saves cement. Recycled aggregate, such as crushed waste concrete, can be reused with hardly any impact on strength. You can substitute up to 50% of the cement with pulverised fuel ash (PFA), a waste from power stations, or with GGBFS (ground granulated blast furnace slag), a byproduct of the steel and iron industry.

CAT ecobuilding experts have given the following preference list for foundations (from most to least preferable). You could also seek advice from a local eco-builder or architect by looking through the AECB listings.

Masonry construction:

1. Local stone foundation wall; DPCs/membranes of recycled polythene or bitumen; land drains around the house perimeter; minimise thermal bridging between foundations and the ground floor by using edge insulation.

2. Second-hand bricks, sand/lime blocks or dense concrete blocks made with secondary aggregate, laid in a lime or weak cement mortar onto the smallest concrete strip necessary. Limecrete made from hydraulic lime and ballast, possible with additional pozzlan (setting) material.

3. Concrete blocks made from new aggregate, or new bricks, laid onto the smallest concrete strip necessary.

4. Trench-fill or reinforced concrete slab made from new aggregate. Short piles with reinforced concrete ground beams.

Timber construction:

1. Timber (ground) beams spanning between timber piles or recycled brick piers on compacted re-used rubble. DPCs and membranes of recycled polythene or bitumen or slate.

2. Piers as above on minimal concrete foundation. Posts set directly on a minimal concrete pad or short piles.

3. Strip foundations and plinth wall as for masonry construction.

4. Trench-fill or reinforced concrete slab made from new aggregate, unless ground conditions dictate. Short piles with reinforced concrete ground beam.

What are good options for new floors?

Here are some options for floor construction from CAT's eco-building experts.

A ground floor could be either of these:

A suspended, well-insulated timber floor of homegrown soft or hardwood joists and floorboards. Good draught-proofing of the floor and ventilation of the underspace are vital. The underfloor space sealed with a recycled polythene membrane and covered in local granular fill or recycled aggregate.

A solid limecrete floor using recycled aggregate, laid on insulation. Lime can be used to stabilise earth or hemp as a floor base and finish, but should not be covered with an impermeable material (such as linoleum). A damp-proof membrane of polythene or bitumen.

These are in preference to concrete (joists and slab, with plastic foam insulation) or chipboard (above concrete slab, etc).

For an intermediate floor, the first preference is for homegrown soft or hardwood tongue-and-groove timber floorboards on homegrown softwood joists with timber lath & lime plaster or plasterboard underlining. The second preference is for a similar method but with plywood board or OSB (oriented strand board) floor. Either is preferable to a concrete beam and block floor or chipboard.

Timber flooring is sustainable as long as new trees are planted to replace those that are used. The best guide at present is the FSC certification mark, which shows that the wood has been sustainably harvested. Most flooring is of hardwood (from deciduous trees), but some 'softwood' (from evergreens) can be more durable than some hardwood, so could be suitable for flooring.

Another sustainable option is reclaimed timber flooring, which could come from old schools, chapels, etc. You could look for local suppliers of salvaged/reclaimed materials, or use websites such as www.salvo.co.uk or www.communitywoodrecycling.org.uk

In their natural cycle trees absorb carbon dioxide during their lifetime and this is released as the wood rots away (or is burnt). By using wood in buildings we lock up this carbon and prevent it from re-entering the atmosphere.

What types of flooring have a low environmental impact?

Carpets are hugely popular in the UK, but can cause problems. They provide an ideal home for dust mites, which can trigger allergies such as asthma (some carpets are treated with pesticides to try and prevent this). The mix of materials makes them difficult to recycle, and if incinerated they give off toxic dioxins and furans.

Carpets with the least impact are made of wool, with hessian backing and felt underlay - but these may still have involved toxic chemicals in manufacture.

For an eco-friendly floor, consider sustainable timber (look for the FSC logo) or a solid floor with ceramic or cork tiles.

Ceramic tiles, stone or slate are good at absorbing the sun's heat during the day and releasing it at night, so are a useful part of passive solar design (for example in an unheated conservatory).

Engineered wood flooring is made up of layers at right angles - similar to plywood. Less glue is needed than with chipboard or MDF, so the impact is lower.

Note that laminated wood (thin layers of timber) is different to 'laminate flooring' - which is plastic finished with a photograph of wood grain. Besides the higher impact in manufacturing, these tend to fade and scratch, and so need regular replacement - whereas a good timber floor should last for the life of the home.

Bamboo is a quick growing plant and as long as (as with any wood) new plants are grown to replace those harvested, it is a sustainable material. However, transport impacts will of course be much higher than with more local timber. It is often treated with preservatives so check before buying.

For added comfort, use rugs or mats made from natural fibres such as paper fibre, Rattan (palm), Seagrass (grown in Chinese paddy fields), Sisal (from the agave plant of Brazil and East Africa), Coir (coconut husk fibre), Hemp or Jute (herbaceous annual from Bangladesh and India). Although mostly imported, these natural materials can be sustainably produced.

Cork is harvested from the bark of the Mediterranean cork oak without killing the tree so is a sustainable, renewable source. Without support, cork forests will be cut down, which will have a big impact on wildlife and biodiversity. However, some cork products are pre-finished with a polyurethane or PVC coating - look for unsealed cork products. There are oil based treatments for cork flooring such as Osmo Polyx-Oil which increase the floor wear and make it stain resistant and easy to clean.

Illegal child labour is widespread in the production of hand-knotted rugs from India, Pakistan and Nepal. Many are victims of bonded or forced child labour - a modern form of slavery. If a rug or carpet displays the ' Goodweave ' logo you can be sure that illegal child labour was not used, and that adult weavers were paid at least the country's minimum wage.

Linoleum is an eco-friendly alternative to vinyl (PVC) made from vegetable linseed and natural resin spread onto hessian or jute fabric and treated with water-based acrylic 'dispersion' paint. Linoneum (or Marmoleum) is made from natural materials and is resistant to fats and oils, sound-absorbent, anti-static, light resistant, and has very low flammability and a natural anti-bacterial effect.

The manufacture of PVC (i.e. for vinyl flooring) causes lots of environmental problems, including the release of asbestos and mercury. High levels of dioxins and other organochlorines are found around PVC plants - these pollutants have been linked with cancer, immune system damage and hormone disruption.

What are good options for low-impact roofing?

The people involved in designing several buildings here at CAT gave the ranking below for roofing options.

Pitched roof

In addition to the preferences below, now that solar PV panels are so much cheaper than just a few years back, a south-ish facing section of roof could have solar panels integrated in as the roof finish. You'd then make a saving on roof tiles for the area covered. See our page on solar PV for a related question about the ventilation needed for a roof-integrated PV array, as well as more general info.

1. Salvaged tiles or slates (the ideal form of reuse, involving minimal processing), or oak or cedar shingles from a sustainable source (FSC certification or equivalent), or locally sourced thatch of reed or straw. For timber or thatch, a house (or terrace of up to three) will need to be a few metres from its nearest neighbour to meet fire regulations.

2. Next choice of durable timber boarding, such as larch, or new UK slates. Another more recent option that would probably fit in alongside these is UK-made recycled plastic slates, such as the Ecoslate.

3. Otherwise, various conventional options: clay or concrete tiles, imported slates, metal, or bitumen fibre. We used a thin Uginox stainless steel sheet roofing on parts of the recent WISE building - as although metal takes more energy to make, the steel gives a long service life in the wet Welsh weather and can eventually be reclaimed and reused, or is 100% recyclable.

4. The final and least preferable option would be fibre-cement, corrugated sheet, or wood from a non-sustainable (not certified) source.

Flat or low pitch roof

Again listed in order of environmental preference:

1. A single-layer natural rubber or EPDM membrane, loose-laid and fixed only around the edges (the minimal fixing prevents cracks & leaking). EPDM is a synthetic rubber/elastomer which is completely recyclable. A covering of earth with turf or sedum and other hardy planting will ballast the membrane from winds. Loose-laid EPDM can be re-used and is a preferable material to bitumen or PVC. The benefits of a green roof will compensate for the use of high impact materials. About 30 square metres of green roof should add the same amount of oxygen to the atmosphere as one person uses.

2. Tin-coated or plain stainless steel (as with pitched roofs)

3. Other metal sheet roofs, or bitumen felt

4. PVC membrane (due to environmental problems associated with PVC manufacture).

Flashings

The impervious material used to close off gaps at junctions of roof coverings and other features. Of the variety of materials available, the most environmentally friendly options are stainless steel and EPDM (a synthetic rubber membrane). Other metals such as lead, copper, zinc (some question over recyclability) and aluminium are widely used however these all have higher embodied energy than stainless steel. Bitumen reinforced with aluminium foil should be avoided if possible, because it isn't durable and can be cause damage at disposal.

Guttering preferences

1. Wooden guttering, lined with EPDM, with metal downpipes (readily reused or recycled).

2. Galvanised steel, zinc, copper or cast iron.

3. Aluminium.

4. PVC.

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Natural building materials - Centre for Alternative Technology

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At CAT we've been using natural building materials for many years, and you can see examples all around our visitor centre. We also run hands-on courses and workshops and sell many practical books. Our page on low energy buildings talks about the embodied energy or life-cycle impact of building materials.

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by Waugh Thistleton
#book - free PDF download.
CLT design information and collected UK case-studies.

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The benefits of cross-laminated timber (CLT) are clear: building in timber is quick, clean, and easy. It can be achieved with a measured accuracy and lack of noise, waste, or need for material storage space.

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https://www.trada.co.uk/academic/ - Free access for students and academics. Also access to https://www.trada.co.uk/case-studies/

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This academic area is designed primarily for lecturers and students of engineering, architecture and the built environment - or indeed anyone wishing to teach themselves more on these topics. This landing page provides links to all the key timber-related resources and information we have published that support teaching and learning requirements in higher education.

All lecturers and students who register on this page can access our Learning Resources linked to from below for free. They can also purchase printed publications by TRADA and other third parties from our bookshop at the TRADA membership discount rate. Student access lasts for one year expiring each August. You may renew your registration if your course continues to the next academic year - or join TRADA membership once in practice.

Lecturers can contact our University Engagement Manager Tabitha Binding at tbinding@trada.co.uk for further help.

University Challenge 2020

On 17-19 February 2020, 60 UK students will descend on Cardiff for a charrette-style challenge to design timber community housing which is low-carbon, energy and water efficient, climate resilient, healthy and desirable.

Find Out More

University Challenge 2019

On 8-9 February 2019, 60 UK students gathered in Sheffield for a charrette-style challenge to design healthy student accommodation predominantly from timber.

Find Out More

Urban Buzz (2018)

Students gathered at the University of Sheffield on 23rd and 24th February 2018 to take part in an intense 'charrette-style' challenge, to conceive ways that timber can be used to create an ambitious timber multi-storey...

Find Out More

CO2nnect (2017)

This year's competition asks students to think about re-using timber modular buildings and the issues surrounding carbon sequestration.

Find Out More

Arboreal (2016)

A design for a cutting-edge timber structure inspired by nature scooped the honours - and the £3,000 top prize - in the 2016 Student Design Competition.

Find Out More

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TRADA | Timber Research and Development Association

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This academic area is designed primarily for lecturers and students of engineering, architecture and the built environment - or indeed anyone wishing to teach themselves more on these topics. This landing page provides links to all the key timber-related resources and information we have published that support teaching and learning requirements in higher education.

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Information, case-studies and guidance.

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You can transform a piece of ground into a beautiful building. Join us to find out how, look at some projects, like and share

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by Barbara Jones
#book

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Straw Bale Building Details: An Illustrated Guide to Design and Construction

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Straw Bale Building Details: An Illustrated Guide to Design and Construction

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CASBA (Californian Straw Bale Association)
#book

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Buildings of Earth and Straw: Structural Design forRammed Earth and Straw-bale Architecture

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Buildings of Earth and Straw: Structural Design forRammed Earth and Straw-bale Architecture

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Bruce King
#book

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David Easton
#book

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Alex Sparrow and William Stanwix
#book

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Clay & Lime Renders, Plasters and Paints: A how-to-guide to using natural finishes

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Clay & Lime Renders, Plasters and Paints: A how-to-guide to using natural finishes

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Katy Bryce and Adam Weismann
#book

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Earth Render: the art of clay plaster, render and paints

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Earth Render: the art of clay plaster, render and paints

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James Henderson
#book

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Buildings and Cities - Climate Justice: The Role of  the Built Environment

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Buildings and Cities - Climate Justice: The Role of  the Built Environment

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#articles - open-access peer-reviewed journal issue

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Buildings and Cities journal - international, peer-reviewed research, policy and practice

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Questions of justice are embedded in every aspect of climate change. Ongoing and future anthropogenic climate change will exacerbate inequities worldwide.
Guest editors: Anna Mavrogianni and Sonja Klinsky Climate change will function as a 'risk modifier' in the built environment, exacerbating inequalities and inequities associated with indoor environmental exposures, such as excess indoor temperatures, indoor air pollution, contaminated water, allergens and mould. This special issue provides a range of approaches for understanding the manifestations of climate injustrice in the building environment. It identifies specific processes, decisions and actions that can be taken to reduce these injustices.
This special issue explores the concept and relevance of climate justice in relation to the built environment. How do responsibilities and decisions intersect with human wellbeing in a changing climate? Specific processes, decisions and actions are identified to reduce these injustices and to reduce current gaps both in knowledge and practices. Several perspectives are examined for integrating concerns about climate justice into research and decision-making about the built environment. Four underlying questions are addressed:

What is climate justice and why is it a significant issue?

Why is the built environment important in addressing climate injustice, and why is climate justice essential for the built environment community to consider?

What processes can be used to reduce inequities and injustices in the built environment?

What roles might the academic community, governmental entities, and practitioners in construction, design and real estate, have in facilitating deeper integration of climate justice?

The papers in this special issue show a process of change is needed to:

Reframe, reposition and extend current built environment research to engage with wider issues of justice,

Build the evidence base for the identification and mitigation of inequities in climate risk exposures, vulnerabilities, and effective and equitable adaptation pathways and

Define responsibilities for different actors and appropriate forms of governance.

Table of contents

Climate justice and the built environment [editorial]
S. Klinsky and A. Mavrogianni

Climate justice: air quality and transitions from solid fuel heating
M. Baborska-Narozny, M. Szulgowska, M.Mokrecka, A. Chmielewska, N. Fidorow-Kaprawy, E. Stefanowicz, K. Piechurski & M. Laska

Retrofit poverty: socioeconomic spatial disparities in retrofit subsidies uptake
N. Willand, T. Moore, R. Horne & S.Robertson

Mitigation and adaptation in multifamily housing: overheating and climate justice
C. Schünemann, A. Olfert, D. Schiela, K. Gruhler, & R. Ortlepp

Thermally resilient communities: creating a socio-technical collaborative response to extreme temperatures
Z. Hamstead, P. Coseo, S. AlKhaled, E.F. Boamah, D.M. Hondula, A. Middel, & N. Rajkovich

Just community transitions? social inequity, vulnerability, and unintended consequences
S. Axon & J. Morrissey

Planetary health justice: feminist approaches to building in rural Kenya
M. Patrick, G. Grewal, W. Chelagat & G. Shannon

Urban modelling framework for climate resilient decisions in low-resource neighbourhoods
U. Passe, M. C. Dorneich, C. Krejci, D. Malekpour, B. Marmur, L. Shenk, J. Stonewall, J. Thompson & Y. Zhou

Beyond theory: climate justice in practice [commentary]
E.D. Mondainé and M. Lee

Abstracts
S Klinsky & A Mavrogianni
Climate justice is explained and explored in relation to how decisions about the built environment in the climate context intersect with human wellbeing. Key features in the built environment are identified that impact upon climate injustice. Specific processes, decisions and actions are identified to reduce these injustices and to reduce current gaps both in knowledge and practices. A conceptual and practical context is provided for integrating concerns about climate justice into research and decision-making about the built environment by addressing four underlying questions: 1. What is climate justice and why is it a significant issue? 2. Why is the built environment important in addressing climate injustice, and why is climate justice essential for the built environment community to consider? 3. What processes can be used to reduce inequities and injustices in the built environment? 4. What roles might the academic community, governmental entities, and practitioners in construction, design and real estate, have in facilitating deeper integration of climate justice? A capabilities approach is proposed to systematically uncover and address underlying patterns of injustice. A multi-valent approach involving distributive, procedural and recognition justice can be harnessed to constitute a justice framework. A process of change is needed to: (i) reframe, reposition and extend current built environment research to engage with wider issues of justice, (ii) build and make accessible the evidence base for the identification and mitigation of inequities in climate risk exposures, vulnerabilities, and effective and equitable adaptation pathways and (iii) define responsibilities for different actors.
M Baborska-Narozny, M Szulgowska-Zgrzywa, M Mokrzecka, A Chmielewska, N Fidorow-Kaprawy, E Stefanowicz, K Piechurski & M Laska
Of all the European Union's member states, Poland has the most acute ambient air pollution problem. An urgent transition from solid-fuel heating ( e.g. coal and wood) in the housing sector is required to improve air quality in the country. National regulations still allow the sale of solid fuels for heating, but some municipalities impose local resolutions with binding deadlines for solid-fuel bans. A real-world study covering 422 apartments in heritage tenements in Wrocław is presented. A link between domestic solid-fuel usage and tenure type is identified: solid fuels prevail in social housing. The transition to other forms of heating will adversely affect the inhabitants already vulnerable to fuel poverty. Solid fuel proves to be the least preferred heating option and is linked to substandard living conditions. Fuel poverty vulnerability for low-income households is established based on cost analysis for different heating options, thermal retrofit strategies, internal temperatures and apartment sizes. The results indicate that climate injustice is likely to occur for the poorest inhabitants due to their inability to afford increased costs. Policy implications to address this injustice are needed to ensure the transition from solid-fuel heating will avoid new vulnerabilities.

Policy relevance: Domestic solid-fuel combustion for heating purposes is linked to poor air quality in urban areas in Poland. Heritage tenements are the most technically deprived building stock and their inhabitants are already vulnerable to fuel poverty. To improve air quality and respond to climate change, solid fuels need to be substituted with less polluting but more expensive heating options. Potential climate injustice (harm) is likely to occur if the poorest inhabitants cannot afford to heat their homes due to a ban on solid fuels. The change of heating needs to be combined with additional support (thermal retrofit and appropriate pricing of alternative fuels). Air quality-driven polices focused on solid-fuel eradication should not ignore fuel poverty already experienced mainly by social housing residents using expensive electric heating on a standard tariff. Fuel poverty has a gender aspect related to the gender pay gap that needs addressing.
N Willand, T Moore, R Horne & S Robertson
Framed in the concept of distributional justice, retrofit poverty may be understood as the inequality of opportunity to improve the energy performance of the home. Retrofitting existing homes may have substantial carbon-mitigation and cost-saving potential. Retrofit subsidies may increase energy improvement activities, raise awareness and lever market offers. However, there is concern about inequitable outcomes. This quantitative study used publicly available data sets to explore the socioeconomic and spatial distribution of the outputs of a market-based, white certificate programme for residential energy-efficiency improvements in the state of Victoria, Australia, between 2009 and 2017. Certificates signified avoided carbon emissions as a proxy for energy cost savings. Regression analyses combined data of certificate generation with socioeconomic indices, dwelling numbers and tenure characteristics at the postcode level. Areas with lower economic resources and higher shares of rented dwellings were statistically significantly associated with lower certificate generation intensity. As low-income households and renters feature highly in metrics of energy stress, the uneven distribution of benefits suggests that a utilitarian distributive subsidy approach may be regressive and (re)produce energy inequalities. A better understanding of the contexts, compositions and mechanisms that characterise retrofits is needed to develop socially equalising and effective policy tools.

Policy relevance: This paper addresses the distributive justice implications of residential energy-efficiency subsidies in Victoria, Australia. The relationships between white certificate generation intensities and variables that have been associated with energy hardship revealed inequities in the distribution of benefits. Lower outcomes in subsidy benefits in areas with low economic resources and high percentages of rented properties suggest that non-targeted financial incentives may be regressive and (re)produce energy inequalities. However, the data also suggest that the subsidy programme may have triggered a social normalisation of residential retrofit activities. Revealing retrofit scheme participation as a multidimensional issue with monetary, social and structural indicators, the study highlights that policies addressing the social impacts of low-carbon transitions must look to retrofit opportunity (dis)advantage. A restorative justice approach points to tailored retrofit-enabling schemes targeted at enhancing capabilities of vulnerable households, which may include targets for financially disadvantaged groups and setting minimum rental housing standards.
C Schünemann, A Olfert, D Schiela, K Gruhler & R Ortlepp
Can thermal retrofit measures also enhance summer heat resilience and climate justice? Two common building types of multifamily dwellings in Central Europe are investigated: the ' Gründerzeithaus' and post-war large-panel construction along with their different inhabitant demographics. Thermal simulations and demographic surveys were undertaken for dwellings in both building types to evaluate the effectiveness of retrofit measures in reducing winter heat demand and to understand the impacts on summer overheating. Results indicate that standard retrofitting measures can reduce the overheating risks. The high summer temperatures on the top floor can be significantly lowered to values comparable with the ground floor. The remaining overheating in highly exposed rooms is reduced by additional selective adaptation measures. Adaptation requires more than technical interventions. Demographic surveys conducted for both building types show that different social groups are affected. The economics of retrofit requires policy clarity to avoid placing additional burdens on economically disadvantaged people. Inhabitants' active involvement in night-time ventilation are vital for avoiding overheating. Appropriate affordances and a clear guidance for manual window opening/closing can reduce overheating. However, inhabitants who are unable to act ( e.g. the elderly, immobile or those with chronic diseases) will be increasingly vulnerable and disadvantaged by increased exposure to overheating.

Practice relevance: The existing approaches for reducing heating demand and their impacts on overheating are examined for two common building types in Central Europe: the Gründerzeithaus and post-war large-panel multifamily housing. The evidence of physical effects and social interdependencies provides a basis both for decision-makers to select suitable measures, and for inhabitants to apply appropriate behavioural practices. Thermal retrofitting strategies for reducing winter heating demand can lead to enhanced resilience to hot summer weather, but also entail inhabitants' active involvement. Additional technical measures are needed to ensure reduced levels of overheating. Inhabitants' practices have a significant influence on resilience and the reduction of overheating. Therefore, technical interventions must be accompanied by clear strategies to empower inhabitants to control internal temperatures using natural ventilation. Elderly or ill inhabitants may not be able to perform these practices and, therefore, remain vulnerable. Increased rents caused by retrofits may displace socially disadvantaged inhabitants.
Z Hamstead, P Coseo,S AlKhaled, E Frimpong Boamah, D M Hondula, A Middel & N Rajkovich
Extreme temperatures claim more lives than any other weather-related event, posing escalating socio-technical and governance challenges that few urban communities have addressed in a systematic, coordinated and comprehensive way. Scholars have only recently begun to investigate the granular scales at which distributions of thermal risk are produced, people's individual subjective thermal experiences and environmental justice dimensions of the hazard. Advances in research pave the way for concomitant improvements in management and policies, but bridges are needed to connect the thermal vulnerability knowledge base with place-based protective practices that are climatically, politically and culturally appropriate. The research presented in this paper uses actor-network theory (ANT) to describe the planning phase framework of a socio-technical collaborative for managing thermal extremes. The Thermally Resilient Communities Collaborative (TRCC) is a framework for planning and test-bed design phases of a thermal management system. Drawing lessons from two case studies, the framework examines how socio-cognitive spaces for collaboration change with technical and policy disruptions, and provides a way to design experiments that test how technical and governance interventions can enable collective action around urban thermal management.

Practice relevance: Thermal extremes claim more lives than all other weather events and pose an escalating socio-technical challenge. Often the problem is exacerbated by lack of clarity about organizational responsibilities and coordination between local governmental departments or agencies. The TRCC framework can be used to understand current practices, identify data gaps and create opportunities to engage in cross-sectoral management. This approach engages actors in identifying built environments and societal practices that create hazardous indoor and outdoor thermal conditions, develops effective ways to convey microclimate information and peoples' subjective thermal experiences to responders and prevention planners, and elevates experiences of marginalized communities. The TRCC describes how governance networks are harnessed to solve collective action problems by integrating new data, technology, and governance capacities. Two case studies indicate how this process was used to create capacities to protect vulnerable people from the impacts of extreme temperatures in two US cities: Tempe, Arizona, and Buffalo, New York.
S Axon & J Morrissey
The transitions literature has framed energy transitions as a process involving material and social consequences. Such radical changes can also be viewed as constituting discursive dimensions, involving debate, idea exchange and value positioning. The implementation of a biomass energy system in residential buildings in a socio-economically deprived community near Liverpool, UK is investigated for its acceptance by, and impacts on, the community.A mixed-methods approach involving questionnaire, focus group, and interview data reveal how practical, on-the-ground energy transitions are understood at the community level. Given the changes to how residents pay for their energy in the study community, from prepayment meters to pay-as-you-use methods, considerations of 'efficiency' are debated and framed on the cost of energy rather than from an environmental performance perspective. Although the intention of low-carbon energy transitions in low-income communities is to deliver economic and environmental benefits, many unintended social consequences arose from top-down decision-making choices and implementation mechanisms. These processes exacerbate economic inequalities and inequities. Justice implications arising from this study have clear repercussions for future implementation of similar, and additional, sustainability interventions that attempt to address climate change in the built environment.

Practice relevance: The successful implementation of a decentralised energy system requires more than a technological approach. This case study emphasises the need for extensive community engagement when undertaking local energy transitions. In particular, attention needs to be given to how vulnerable people are affected by pricing and given clear information on how to use the new system. Policy recommendations include: the choice of energy technologies should not disrupt vulnerable residents' daily routines and ability to pay; the provision of substantial pre-, during, and post-installation community engagement is needed to improve familiarity with new energy systems; and adequate opportunities for listening and responding to residents' concerns prior, during, and after the installation of low-carbon energy systems.
M Patrick, G Grewal, W Chelagat & G Shannon
The planetary health concept describes the relations between health and climate. The inequities that connect these two domains are experienced most by low-resource and vulnerable populations, e.g. the impact of drought on subsistence livelihoods and associated mental health issues. Climate justice and health justice are framed through capabilities and integrated with ecofeminist approaches. Spatial justice is introduced as the ability to conceptualise how these interconnected injustices are mediated through environments. The integration of these theories can provide a justice-based planetary health approach that could overcome several barriers. Design and spatial practice offer processes and tools to understand the complexity of planetary health across scales, systems and relations; and to generate design solutions that promote equity and justice. Practical examples of Global South design projects are presented that connect health and climate. The example of a maternal health project in rural Kenya shows how a conceptual design framework for a justice-based planetary health can contribute to the planetary health.

Practice relevance: Global challenges of inequity are increasingly understood as complex and interconnected. The planetary health movement conceptualises a holistic view of the world incorporating an ecofeminist perspective. Addressing these challenges requires the ability to conceptualise interconnected injustices in climate and health and practical approaches, where participatory design processes can be useful. A conceptual framework can be used to design integrated solutions to planetary health injustices, relevant for built environment and development practitioners. The processes, tools and components of practice from the Global South are explored, which can be used to promote equity within the built environment.
U. Passe, M. C. Dorneich, C. Krejci, D. Malekpour, B. Marmur, L. Shenk, J. Stonewall, J. Thompson & Y. Zhou

Climate predictions indicate a strong likelihood of more frequent, intense heat events. Resource-vulnerable, low-income neighbourhood populations are likely to be strongly impacted by future climate change, especially with respect to an energy burden. In order to identify existing and new vulnerabilities to climate change, local authorities need to understand the dynamics of extreme heat events at the neighbourhood level, particularly to identify those people who are adversely affected. A new comprehensive framework is presented that integrates human and biophysical data: occupancy/behaviour, building energy use, future climate scenarios and near-building microclimate projections. The framework is used to create an urban energy model for a low-resource neighbourhood in Des Moines, Iowa, US. Data were integrated into urban modelling interface ( umi) software simulations, based on detailed surveys of residents' practices, their buildings and near-building microclimates (tree canopy effects, etc.). The simulations predict annual and seasonal building energy use in response to different climate scenarios. Preliminary results, based on 50 simulation runs with different variable combinations, indicate the importance of using locally derived building occupant schedules and point toward increased summer cooling demand and increased vulnerability for parts of the population.

Practice relevance : To support planning responses to increased heat, local authorities need to ascertain which neighbourhoods will be negatively impacted in order to develop appropriate strategies. Localised data can provide good insights into the impacts of human decisions and climate variability in low-resource, vulnerable urban neighbourhoods. A new detailed modelling framework synthesises data on occupant-building interactions with present and future urban climate characteristics. This identifies the areas most vulnerable to extreme heat using future climate projections and community demographics. Cities can use this framework to support decisions and climate-adaptation responses, especially for low-resource neighbourhoods. Fine-grained and locally collected data influence the outcome of combined urban energy simulations that integrate human-building interactions and occupancy schedules as well as microclimate characteristics influenced by nearby vegetation.

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Climate Justice: The Role of the Built Environment

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Questions of justice are embedded in every aspect of climate change. Ongoing and future anthropogenic climate change will exacerbate inequities worldwide. Guest editors: Anna Mavrogianni and Sonja Klinsky Climate change will function as a 'risk modifier' in the built environment, exacerbating inequalities and inequities associated with indoor environmental exposures, such as excess indoor temperatures, indoor air pollution, contaminated water, allergens and mould.

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David Lammy - Climate justice can't happen without racial justice

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David Lammy - Climate justice can't happen without racial justice

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#podcast
10min overview calling for racial, social and intergenerational justice as part of the climate justice movement.

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We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.

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Climate justice can't happen without racial justice | David Lammy

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Listen to this episode from TED Talks Daily on Spotify. Why has there been so little mention of saving Black lives from the climate emergency? For too long, racial justice efforts have been distinguished from climate justice work, says David Lammy, Member of Parliament for Tottenham, England.

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#lectures
4 presentations hosted by The Edge and Buildings & Cities

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Climate Justice: The Role of the Built Environment

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On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal

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On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal

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by Naomi Klein
#book

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The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis

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The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis

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by Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac
#book

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by Julia Watson
#book
An exploratory series of case studies of indigenous interventions and land management techniques.
(website contains info not full text)

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Architecture: Buildings and Energy from Prehistory to the Present

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Architecture: Buildings and Energy from Prehistory to the Present

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by Barnabas Calder
#book
info here

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Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture: Principles and examples with reference to hot and arid climates

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Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture: Principles and examples with reference to hot and arid climates

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by Hassan Fathy
#book

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Ecological Architecture: A Critical History

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Ecological Architecture: A Critical History

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by James Steele
#book

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Black Females in Architecture - 'Decolonising Architecture'

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Black Females in Architecture - 'Decolonising Architecture'

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Education-focused discussion lead by BFA as part of the Architecture Foundation 100 Day Studio

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100 Day Studio: Black Females in Architecture - 'Decolonising Architecture'

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#resourceslist

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#lectures
Online series of readings on critical discourse of architecture and urbanism.
https://loudreaders.com/LOUDREADERS / https://www.waithinktank.com/Loudreaders-1

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Left: Loudreader reads from the newspaper Below: Luisa Capetillo Loudreads in a tobacco factory

A century ago, at the same time that the celebrated Bauhaus, under the direction of Walter Gropius, kept women away from the main disciplines of architecture, sculpture, and painting, in the US colony of Puerto Rico, a group of tobacco workers, organized in anarchist syndicates, created a simple and fascinating alternative practice of education. That practice grew international networks like tentacles over the map of the Americas, from San Juan to New York, from Ybor City and Durham to La Habana and Santo Domingo, giving birth to what some historians call the most enlightened proletariat force in the continent.

The practice was simple. While tobacco workers engaged in the alienating labor of rolling cigars, they would hire one of their own to read aloud for them during the entire work-day. While the readings consisted mostly of newspapers, magazines, and literature, the Loudreaders focused on Darwin, Bakunin, Kropotkin, Marx, and Engels fomenting an anti-capitalist, decolonial imagination. As the practice of loud-reading grew, the lectores (Loudreaders) will become traveling performers with an international audience, creating new networks of solidarity all around the Caribbean as well as a massive, shared, and open access oral library to workers who were denied any other form of formal education. The tobacco workers turned the mind-numbing characteristics of their repetitive, manual, and boring work of rolling cigars into an advantage, using the same space and tools of their capitalist exploitation to create an anti-capitalist underground culture.

At first glance, the practice of the lectores could seem ironic: exploited workers at the bottom of the capitalist global machine produce tobacco, a highly addictive substance that generates more demand the more it is consumed, schooling themselves in an anti-capitalist culture of liberation through revolutionary books (anarchists, feminists, communists) read aloud while working for the same machine they are criticizing. From the perspective of the modern cynic, thelectores seem to be secretly working for the tobacco corporations serving the purpose of making the workplace more bearable, selling the illusion of an anti-capitalist society in order to make their capitalist machine more efficient and their exploitation inescapable. Thelectores, in this cynical depiction, in aHuxleyean twist would be selling a drug that would keep the workers hallucinating better worlds while being endlessly exploited in this one.

However, this was not the case. Luisa Capetillo and feminist, activist, and suffragist Juana Colón (the self-taught daughter of slaves) led a series of massive workers strikes blew up in the tobacco factories, first in the municipality of Comerío, and then around the main island causing multiple arrests and deaths of protestors at the hands of the police. Parallel to the practice of loudreading, other forms of solidary efforts executed by Capetillo, Colón, and other leaders like Dominica González, Concepción (Concha) Torres, Genara Pagán, and Franca Armin challenged the mainstream male-driven workers organizations with feminist voices. These practices includecomisiones(consisting of collecting money and provisions for the striking workers) and attendingmítines, raising their voices during the tribunas to challenge the arguments being made by male speakers, as well as creating a network of support and providing food and clean clothing for workers imprisoned during the strikes.

Luisa Capetillo: LOUDREADER

Luisa Capetillo (b. 1879, Arecibo) was a worker, writer, labor organizer, and Loudreader. In a time when Loudreading was mostly performed by men, Capetillo-who had been arrested in La Habana for wearing a shirt, tie, pants, and short brim hat-offers a model for contemporary forms of Loudreading. In Puerto Rico, Tampa, and New York, Capetillo will Loudread texts by Kropotkin, Bakunin, Malatesta, while serving as a syndicalist representative for the workers and creating and distributing emancipatory propaganda.

In 1909 she publishes La Mujer (Women), and the following year publishes La Humanidad en el futuro (Humanity in the Future), a utopian tale centered around a central strike. She writes about freedom, sexual education, and the rights of men and women.

Araceli Tinajero, El lector de tabaquería: historia de una tradición cubana , (Madrid: Editorial Verbum, 2007).

Luis Othoniel Rosa, The Tobacco Intergalactic School (Postnovis Branch in the Americas)' Feb. 1st, 2019 - Feb. 1st, 2031

LOUDREADERS Session 15: Insaf Ben Othmane
September 19, 2020
11:00pm EST

Insaf Ben Othmane Loudreads Antonio Gramci theories on cultural hegemony, Edward W. Said polemics on Orientalism, and letters from refugees in a world in crisis.

Insaf Ben Othmane is a Tunisian architect, urban development strategist and researcher. She is the founder of Oecumene Studio - as she likes to describe it : The evolving hub for creative processes, complex and connected mechanisms, disciplines, knowledge and people to rebuild resilient societies by bridging the gap between the Know and the Know how (The theory and practice). Oecumene Studio is where architecture is questioned, rethought and redefined to become a process to build societies, empower communities and support them to transmit their leg through generations: A complexe mechanism to design possibilities for positive impact.

Her main research interests revolve around architecture in development, urban resilient projects, empowerment of communities through holistic integrated projects and strategies. Working for over ten years internationally in the area of community development, urban governance and strategic planning, and urban technologies in MENA and Africa led her to initiate several projects 'Urban Catalyst' in partnership with local communities and various stakeholders, organizations like UNHCR and Terre Des Hommes and institutions in search of real and effective solutions to urban challenges of this century. Having heterogeneous studies steered her to be aware of the importance of multidisciplinary practice and the influence of sharing knowledge which led to the idea of Co-founding SCS Resilience and Sharnaqa in 2019. Parallel to her work she teaches theory of art and architecture, Urban Design, urban resilience, history of architecture and cities and she conducts several design and build workshops that aims to foster sharing knowledge and empowerment of vulnerable groups. She is also the curator of In-situ Community Build Exhibition: Ala-Abouh and ArchitectureForChange: Genius Tempus (Exhibition/Symposium/Workshop) Series.

www.oecumene-studio.org
www.sharnaqa.org
www.placemakingmena.com
www.we-ganda.org
www.architectureforchange-scsr.space

LOUDREADERS Session 14: Wilhelm Scherübl Jr.
September 6, 2020
12:00pm EST

Wilhelm Scherübl Jr. loudreads on the invisible committee in virtual space.

Wilhelm Scherübl Jr. is an architect and artist based in Vienna, Austria.

In his work he deals with social behaviour, daily routines as well as political issues. By using different media he tries to transport his observations and to cast a critical eye on topics.

He works in close connection with the group TAB, whose work also focuses on social and cultural issues related to architecture, design and space. In their conceptual and architectural projects they question current trends and seek alternative solutions.

www.scheruebl.me

www.tabcollective.net

LOUDREADERS Session 13: Franziska Stöhr
August 9, 2020
12:00pm EST

Franziska Stöhr Loudreads Utopia as Method by Ruth Levitas and asks What if...? on the Utopian.

After completing her studies in Art History, Philosophy, and Curatorial Practicein Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, and Bern, Franziska Stöhr authored her PhD thesis endlos, the first comprehensive publication on the history of film and video loops in the interplay of technology, art, and exhibition history. She has been working as a curator and lecturer since. Franziska Stöhr has taught at the University of Television and Film Munich, the Karlsruhe University of Art and Design, and the University of Freiburg. Exhibitions co-curated by her include Creating Realities. Encounters Between Art and Cinema at the Pinakothek der Moderne, Archaeology of the Future. Art and Games at the State Museum of Egyptian Art (both 2015 as part of Kino der Kunstin Munich), Pop Pictures People at the Museum Brandhorst (2017), Thrill of Deception. From Ancient Art to Virtual Reality at Kunsthalle München (2018), and Hermann Glöckner-A Master of Modernism at the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München (2019). Franziska Stöhr furthermore curated the video art presentations Im Blick (2017), Inversed World (2019), Dance Images (2019), and this year's interdisciplinary exhibition What If ...? On the Utopian in Art, Architecture, and Design (2020) at the Neues Museum Nürnberg. In July 2020 she took up her position as a curator at the Kunsthalle München.

LOUDREADERS Session 12: Jimenez Lai loudreads on Metamodernism
August 1, 2020
8:00pm EST

Jimenez Lai joins from Los Angeles to Loudread on Metamodernism and Bureau Spectacular.

Jimenez Lai works in the world of art, culture, and education. Around the turn of the century, Jimenez Lai lived in a desert shelter at Taliesin and resided in a shipping container at Atelier Van Lieshout on the piers of Rotterdam. Before founding Bureau Spectacular, Lai worked for various international offices, including MOS and OMA. Lai is widely exhibited and published around the world, including the MoMA-collected White Elephant. His first book, Citizens of No Place, was published by Princeton Architectural Press with a grant from the Graham Foundation. Draft II of this book has been archived at the New Museum. Lai has won various awards, including the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects and Debut Award at the Lisbon Triennale, and the 2017 Designer of the Future Award at Art Basel / Design Miami. In 2014, Lai represented Taiwan at the 14th Venice Architectural Biennale. In 2015, Lai organized the Treatise exhibition and publication series at the Graham Foundation. Alongside MoMA, Lai's work has been collected by SFMOMA, Art Institute of Chicago, and LACMA. Lai has taught at various universities, including Texas Tech, OSU, UIC, Syracuse, Cornell, Columbia, and UCLA.

http://bureau-spectacular.net/

LOUDREADERS Session 11:
WAI Think Tank an illustrated Loudreading of An Anti-Racist Manifesto
June 13, 2020
4:00pm EST

On the occasion of the vital uprisings of manifestations demanding justice and dignity for Black Lives, WAI loudreads 'Un-Making Architecture: An Anti-Racist Manifesto'.

LOUDREADERS Session 10:
Luis Othoniel Rosa Loudreads Pyotr Kropotkin Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution
June 6, 2020
4:00pm EST

Luis Othoniel Rosa discusses other worlds gestated within capitalism by Loudreading Pyotr Kropotkin Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution

Luis Othoniel Rosa (Puerto Rico, 1985) is the author of the novels Otra vez me alejo (Argentina, 2012) and Caja de fractales (Argentina/Puerto Rico 2017), and of the study Comienzos para una estética anarquista: Borges con Macedonio (Chile, 2016). His last novel has been translated as Down with Gargamel! (Argos Books, 2020). He studied at the University of Puerto Rico and holds a Ph.D. from Princeton. He teaches ar University of Nebraska.

LOUDREADERS Session 9:
Ryan Scavnicky discussesick Hebdige's Subculture: The Meaning of Style, Memes, and the Architecture of Video Games
May 30, 2020
4:00pm EST

Ryan Scavnicky loudreades Dick Hebdige's Subculture: The Meaning of Style while discussing the work of Extra Office, Memes, and Style.

Ryan Scavnicky is the founder of Extra Office.

His work is published in ArchDaily, Architect's Newspaper, SCI-Arc Offramp, UCLA POOL, Archinect, and Hyperallergic.

In addition, he has over 6 years of experience in international offices in Beijing, San Francisco, and Vienna.

He received his Masters in Design Theory and Pedagogy with distinction from SCI-Arc in Los Angeles. He studied at DAAP in Cincinnati for his Masters of Architecture.

Ryan is currently teaching at the Ohio State University and Kent State University.

He has previously held appointments at the University of Cincinnati, the School of Architecture at Taliesin, and SCI-Arc.

https://www.extraoffice.co/

LOUDREADERS Session 8:
VenidaDevenida Loudreads on Queer Carthographies and Dissident Practices
May 23, 2020
4:00pm EST

Madrid-based collective VenidaDevenida Loudreads Paul B. Preciado Queer Cartographies and discusses Annie Sprinke, Post-Porn, and alternative and subversive Cartographies.

VenidaDevenida identify as a collective, centred on the collaboration between Ana Olmedo and Elena Águila. With shared backgrounds in architecture and art, they first worked together while at the European University of Madrid in 2014. Their joint research focused on an approach to architecture and design as tools for activism, using them as speculative and investigative mediums.

The name VenidaDevenida refers to being and becoming, based on the idea that identity is a continual process of conflict and negotiation. The name was adopted from 2016 on, and established a mode of working related to identity manifested through reappropriated objects and spaces used as resistance to promote divergent positions. As a collaborative work, their projects underline the importance of building a collective alternative to question the prevalent architectural narratives. VenidaDevenida's work is centred on the idea that architecture and design can be unfixed, in flux and constantly changing. Through these ideas they see users not as mere spectators, but actors who can construct and perform their own rules within architecture.

Their practice exists across multiple channels -spatial installations, publications, garments, graphic identities and videos- to examine the hegemonic means of representations in visual practices and suggesting critical alternatives to them. Their aim is to be sensible to the political understanding of cities, communities and spaces.

LOUDREADERS Session 7:
Léopold Lambert loudreads on the politics of space and bodies, Architecture of the Counterrevolution, Potential History, and Our History is the Future
May 16, 2020
12:00pm EST

Joining from Paris, Léopold Lambert, editor-in-chief of The Funambulist, reads from Samia Henni's Architecture of the Counterrevolution, Ariella Azoulay's Potential History, and Nick Estes' Our History is the Future.

Léopold Lambert is the editor-in-chief of The Funambulist. He is a trained architect, as well as the author of three books that examine the inherent violence of architecture on bodies, and its political instrumentalization at various scales and in various geographical contexts. He is the author of Weaponized Architecture:The Impossibility of Innocence (dpr-barcelona, 2012), Topie Impitoyable: The Corporeal Politics of the Cloth, the Wall, and the Street (punctum, 2016) and La politique du Bulldozer: La ruine palestinienne comme projet israélien (B2, 2016). His forthcoming book (2020) is tentatively called States of Emergency: A Spatial History of the French Colonial Continuum.

Joining the discussion is Insaf Ben Othmane
Architect and urban development strategist, Insaf's research interests revolve around sustainable architecture, integrated urban planning and the dynamics of urban transformations and development of urban policies around the world and especially in the South.

LOUDREADERS Session 6:
inter·punct, FOLD, and WASH discuss alternative platforms for Loudreading
May 9, 2020
5:00pm EST

The sixth session of Loudreaders welcomes three platforms ran by students for the presentation and diffusion of discourses. Carnegie Mellon University inter·punc, The School of Architecture at Taliesin WASH Magazine, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln FOLD exchange questions, strategies, and projections.

LOUDREADERS Session 5:
Ilze Wolff presents Achille Mbembe 'Aesthetics of Superfluity' and Yakhal' Inkomo by Winston "Mankunku" Ngozi
May 2, 2020
3:00pm

Ilze Wolff proposes the Loudreading of 'Aesthetics of Superfluity' by Achille Mbembe, and presents Yakhal' Inkomo by Capetonian Jazz Legend Winston "Mankunku" Ngozi.

Ilze Wolff is an architect working in Cape Town. She co-directs Wolff Architects with Heinrich Wolff, a practice that is concerned with developing an architecture of consequence. In 2007 she co-founded Open House Architecture a research practice concerned with documenting architecture of Southern Africa. In 2013 she completed a Masters in Heritage and Public Culture at UCT with the thesis dissertation titled Unstitching Rex Trueform, an interdisciplinary study of the Rex Trueform garment manufacturing factory in Salt River, Cape Town. In 2016 the manuscript won the first edition of the International L'erma C prize, Rome and she is now working on preparing the manuscript for publication. Ilze has lectured and taught widely including at IUAV, Venice, Goa, India, Lisbon, Portugal. The work of the practice, has been exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark and the Chicago Architecture Biennale.

LOUDREADERS session 4:
Andrew Kovacs Loudreads picture books
April 25, 2020
5:00pm EST

On the ocassion of the fourth session of LOUDREADERS, Los Angeles-based Andrew Kovacs discusses picture books, the Archive of Affinities, serious fun in Architecture, architectural B-Sides, collecting versus hoarding, selfies, and Persistance Hunters.

Andrew Kovacs '06 (BArch) is a Los Angeles-based architectural designer and educator. Kovacs' work on architecture and urbanism has been published widely including A+U, Pidgin, Project, Pool, Perspecta, Manifest, Metropolis, Clog, Domus, and The Real Review.

Additionally, Kovacs is the creator and curator of Archive of Affinities, a widely viewed website devoted to the collection and display of architectural b-sides. In 2015, Kovacs published the book, Architectural Affinities as part of the Treatise series organized and sponsored by the Graham Foundation in Chicago.

Kovacs' design studio, Office Kovacs works on projects at all scales from books, exhibitions, temporary installations, interiors, homes, speculative architectural proposals and public architecture competitions. The recent design work of Office Kovacs includes a proposal for a network of parks in the downtown Los Angeles alleys, a large-scale installation entitled "Colossal Cacti" at the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival, and an experimental camping pavilion in the Morongo Valley Desert.

LOUDREADERS Session 3:
Narrative Architecture Book Release and Discussion
April 4, 2020
4:00pm EST

In the third session of LOUDREADERS WAI Architecture Think Tank discusses with Loes Van Esch and Simone Trum of Team Thursday the contents, concepts, process, strategies, ideas, and design of the recently published Narrative Architecture: A Kynical Manifesto (Rotterdam: NAI010 Publishers, 2020). As the world remains in unprecedented suspense, the authors and designers reflect on a book devised as an allegorical lantern to shed light on an honest architecture able to respond to the pressing challenges of our times.

The discussion features inter·punct as well as Traumnovelle, Daan Roggeveen and several students and designers from across the globe.

Cruz Garcia & Nathalie Frankowski / WAI Architecture Think Tank are the authors of Narrative Architecture: A Kynical Manifesto
WAI Architecture Think Tank is a studio practice architecture from a panoramic approach co-founded by Cruz Garcia and Nathalie Frankowski. Garcia and Frankowski are the current Ann Kalla Professors at Carnegie Mellon University and the former Hyde Chairs of Excellence in Architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Visiting Teaching Fellows at The School of Architecture at Taliesin Previous publications include Pure Hardcore Icons: A Manifesto on Pure Form in Architecture (London: Artifice Books on Architecture, 2013), Shapes, Islands, Text: A Garcia Frankowski Manifesto (Sevilla: Vibok Works, 2014), and the independent zine What About It?

Team Thursday are the graphic designers of Narrative Architecture: A Kynical Manifesto
Team Thursday is a graphic design studio founded by Loes van Esch and Simone Trum, collaborating as a duo since 2010. Team Thursday focuses on the design of visual identities and books varying in scale and complexity. Team Thursday irregularly hosts exhibitions and events in the front part of their studiospace, TTHQ.

Team Thursday works with cultural institutions, businesses and individuals like nai010 Publishers, Mondriaan Fund, Wilfried Lentz, Failed Architecture, Koen Taselaar, Independent School for the City and Stedelijk Museum Breda.

In addition to their daily practice they teach Typography at ArtEZ Arnhem, give workshops and lectures in various international institutions like OTIS Los Angeles, University of Seoul and HKU Utrecht.
teamthursday.com
inter·punct
inter·punct is a platform for ideas, theory, and discourse - sometimes about architecture and sometimes at its periphery. The group was founded by students at Carnegie Mellon University in 2011. As a collective we have no set agenda and go wherever our interests take us - from broadsheets to books to installations to lectures.

Loudreaders Session 1:
Traumnovelle discusses Octavia Butler 'Parable of the Sower'
April 4, 2020
4:00pm EST

In the inaugural session of Loudreaders, Léone Drapeaud of Traumnovelle reads and discusses Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower (1993).

Traumnovelle is a militant faction founded by three Belgian architects: Léone Drapeaud, Manuel León Fanjul and Johnny Leya. Traumnovelle uses architecture and fiction as analytical, critical and subversive tools to emphasize contemporary issues and dissect their resolutions.

Traumnovelle alternates between cynicism and enthusiasm all the while advocating for critical thinking in architecture. Traumnovelle champions a multi-disciplinary approach with architecture at the crossroads. Traumnovelle distances itself from current forms of naive architecture and refuses to glorify the mundane. Traumnovelle sides with those who have not sacrificed ambition and criticism.

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Loudreaders Trade School is a free online series of talks and workshops dealing with critical positions and discourses in Architecture through networks of solidarity

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Left: Loudreader reads from the newspaper Below: Luisa Capetillo Loudreads in a tobacco factory A century ago, at the same time that the celebrated Bauhaus, under the direction of Walter Gropius, kept women away from the main disciplines of architecture, sculpture, and painting, in the US colony of Puerto Rico, a group of tobacco workers, organized in anarchist syndicates, created a simple and fascinating alternative practice of education.