Climate change is a wicked problem architects can and should play a significant role in addressing. Buildings are responsible for nearly 40% of carbon emissions globally. Opportunities abound through design, education, development and support of policy, research, and more. 

With the need to draw down carbon emissions sooner rather than later and the current and forthcoming policies worldwide, the ethical and business case for design firms focusing on carbon is easy to make. 

“We have to draw the carbon back down as fast as we can, and buildings have a huge role to play in that effort,” writes Chris Magwood and Bruce King in their book Build Beyond Zero. 

Furthermore, as the late Lance Hosey eloquently expressed in his book The Shape of Green, design—or aesthetics—and sustainability do not have to be mutually exclusive. This idea is celebrated by the AIA’s Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten awards recognizing beautiful buildings that have implemented many of the measures defined in the AIA Framework for Design Excellence.  

We are not all starting from the same place in the journey to mitigate climate change. If any of this is new to you, the AIA and Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) have developed an Embodied Carbon Toolkit for Architects which is a great place to start. Another great “getting started” resource is the Lake|Flato white paper on embodied carbon, discussed later in this article.

As we are all in this together, we believe that sharing methods and practices can be a good way to solve the climate change problem. In this article, I am going to tell you a bit about Lake|Flato’s story.

Design

“Design can save the world…” wrote Corey Squire, architect, author, and sustainability expert, next to his name when signing my copy of his new book People Planet Design. Understanding the opportunities, policies, and tools goes a long way in making meaningful impacts on carbon pollution reductions through design.

Policy

I recently worked with a small team of about six people to update the Architects Are Environmentally Responsible section of the AIA Public Policies and Position Statements. There are three sections related to carbon: Operational, Reuse, and Embodied. Architects, especially AIA members, should read this and understand the obligation to “consider with their clients the environmental effects of their project decisions” per the AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

More pointedly, governments are implementing policies that can leave design firms empty-handed when it comes to being awarded commissions if they are not prepared to design and deliver low-carbon projects, specifications, and required reports and documentation. Current examples abound, from the Embodied Carbon Guidelines in Vancouver, Canada, to the LCA requirements in Minnesota’s B3 Guidelines, to policies in unexpected places, such as the deconstruction ordinance in San Antonio, Texas. 

AIA 2030 Commitment

As design firms become more invested in operation and embodied carbon, a good next step is making a firm-wide tracking commitment. The AIA 2030 Commitment supports a firm culture of high-performance design because, like municipal policy, the firm has obligated itself (although, not legally) to portfolio-wide tracking of operational carbon with optional embodied carbon and light power density (LPD) metrics.  

Every year, the AIA publishes a report, 2030 By the Numbers, to show how the collective group of reporting firms is tracking towards the net zero carbon goal by 2030. Lake|Flato has been a 2030 Commitment signatory since the program’s inception 14 years ago. 

Architecture firm Mahlum recently presented at the 2024 AIA Conference on Architecture in Washington D.C. on a Tableau dashboard they created to better visualize their downloaded AIA 2030 Design Data Exchange (DDx) data. They have made this dashboard freely available via this link: Tableau 2030 Dashboard by Mahlum Architects. 

A key component of becoming a 2030 commitment signatory is creating a firmwide Sustainability Action Plan (SAP). An SAP creates actionable goals and strategies that help firms progress even when projects, business, and life compete for valuable time and resources. 

If your firm does not have an SAP and needs inspiration, the AIA maintains a Dropbox repository of firm SAPs you can download, compare, and be inspired by. We would love to inspire you— so if you are interested, Lake|Flato recently updated its SAP, which is easy to find in the AIA Dropbox folder. Our document is divided into Practice, People, and Planet. The base and reach goals for operational and embodied carbon are shown below. At the very least, we strive to consider each base goal on every project. 

Tools and Workflows

Well-defined strategies and tested tools are critical in verifying assumptions and validating results. For example, the Path to Zero graphic below is often presented internally, to clients, and at conferences to reinforce the importance of timing and decision-making within the design process. We also highlight the tools our firm uses during new hire orientations, studio huddles, design charettes, with clients, and at conferences.

Another tool, Autodesk Forma is a powerful analysis tool designers can use to understand microclimate conditions, daylight, wind, and noise for one or more design solutions. A newer feature is the ability to develop a carbon budget or benchmark/baseline – more on the backstory for this later in this article. You can check out my YouTube playlist, sponsored by Autodesk, on Forma: Autodesk Forma Series by Daniel John Stine. 

An embodied carbon benchmark/baseline has traditionally been much more challenging to understand than operational carbon, given the years of development and post-occupancy evaluations not to mention robust codes such as ASHRAE 90.1, which list EUIs by building type and climate zone. Great work is being done on the embodied carbon front by the Carbon Leadership Forum, Rocky Mountain Institute, and others. 

Due to the limited benchmark data for embodied carbon and the fact that the number and size of columns and beams are not 1:1 between a steel/concrete structure and mass timber, on one project Lake|Flato paid the structural engineer to do a basic structural design for the baseline design for a more accurate comparison. You can also see an example of Lake|Flato’s use of Forma in this Autodesk customer story and video: Architecture firm Lake|Flato’s adaptive-reuse project embodies sustainability 

The image below shows the embodied carbon results of three options in Forma. Using AI, simple massing, and a handful of inputs about the project, we can arrive at some helpful early metrics to use as a guidepost (or budget) throughout the project. Fun fact: For the concrete structure option, Forma uses carbon data that is accurate to the zip code level in the US.

A popular Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) tool for architects is TallyLCA. This is an add-in for Revit, which allows Tally material definitions to be assigned to objects and materials within Revit. In addition to Tally, Lake|Flato also uses OneClick LCA. 

The image below features an LCA I performed on a boutique hotel in Austin, Texas – Hotel Magdalena. The building has a mass timber structure, which is primarily a Dowel Laminated Timber (DLT) system. Notably, the DLT system does not have glue in it like CLT so the global warming potential was even lower! The result from a Tally LCA is a spreadsheet (shown in the image below) that itemizes and tallies the global warming potential as well as biogenic carbon, eutrophication, and acidification.

Autodesk also offers two robust tools for understanding the predictive energy use intensity (pEUI) of a project: Insight and Systems Analysis. The first primarily works in the cloud, and the latter works locally using OpenStudio (NREL) and EnergyPlus (US DOE). In addition to being able to develop a highly accurate envelope, the image below shows the internal loads being specified at the room level, including set points, LPD, schedules, and more. Notice the OpenStudio/EnergyPlus results are even seen within Revit. 

Autodesk Total Carbon

A new tool Autodesk has been working on, and one I have been attending customer-facing sprint reviews for, is the cloud-based Total Carbon. Using the same Revit model preparation for operation carbon/energy the model can be studied for embodied carbon impacts. Not to reinvent the wheel and for more transparency and credibility, Autodesk uses the open source EPD data by EC3 from Building Transparency. 

Once configured in the cloud, a project dashboard with custom factors can be created as shown in the image below.

Another example of Autodesk Total Carbon in action can be seen in the image below. This is a healthcare project in Australia by Warren and Mahoney. Sustainability Lead and Low Carbon Design and Research Specialist, Emily Newmarch gave a compelling presentation at Autodesk University 2023 titled The Carbon Legacy of Building Portfolios: Time Bombs for Future Generations. In this session, she shares her firm’s staunch commitment to historic preservation, circular economy, and minimizing embodied carbon throughout the lifecycle of a building.

EPIC and C.Scale by EHDD Architects

The embodied carbon engine added to Forma was created by EHDD Architects. This is a wonderful example of practice and software working together to address this wicked problem of solving climate change! EHDD has a free standalone tool called EPIC that uses an AI/ML engine (they also created) under the hood called C.Scale. EHDD used their own tool in the interview and during the design of the national AIA Headquarters project in Washington D.C.

While working on the Autodesk Forma series I created, I had the opportunity to sit down with Jack Rusk, Climate Strategist at EHDD, and talk about their tool and its integration into Forma. You can see that video here: Talking Climate Strategy with Jack Rusk from EHDD. 

Research

Whether embedded in a project, a partnership with academia, or an independent effort, research can significantly impact a firm’s understanding of carbon, especially as it relates to its specific project types and location in the world. Engaging in research also enhances staff/firm knowledge, efficiency, and can start to develop a thought leadership position within the industry. 

I lead the research program at Lake|Flato called Investigations. It is a self-funded program that allows designers to submit proposals for projects that, if selected, offer dedicated billable time to focus on the topic they are interested in. The deliverable is a whitepaper and an officewide presentation. They also often result in presentations, recent examples include the national AIA conference, AIA/ACSA Intersections, and Environmental Design and Research Association (EDRA) conferences. 

You can learn more about the Lake|Flato research program. In recent months, we have also submitted for grants with academic institutions to further some of our research on carbon and circularity and design for deconstruction. 

Embodied Carbon White Paper

You can learn more about the research on embodied carbon by Kate Sector, Design Performance Manager at Lake|Flato in “Embodied Carbon: Exploring Global Warming Potential Using Life Cycle Assessments.” The featured case studies include Hotel Magdalena and a project currently under construction at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). 

Let me conclude by saying architects are crucial in combating climate change. Architects can significantly reduce carbon pollution by integrating innovative design, education, supportive policies, and research. The ethical and business incentives for focusing on carbon reduction are clear, especially with emerging global policies.  

Aesthetic and sustainable design can coexist, as evidenced by the AIA COTE Top Ten awards. Resources like the AIA’s Embodied Carbon Toolkit, and Lake|Flato’s white paper provide essential guidance. Policy advancements will continue to demand low-carbon projects, and the AIA 2030 Commitment supports firms in tracking and improving their carbon footprint. Tools like Autodesk Forma and Tally help analyze and reduce carbon impacts. 

Research initiatives, such as Lake|Flato’s Investigations program, enhance personal, firm, and industry knowledge and efficiency. By embracing sustainable design, adhering to policies, making commitments, and engaging in research, architects can take charge of reducing carbon emissions, benefiting both the environment and their businesses. 

Dan Stine

Dan Stine, AIA, IES, CSI, CDT, Well AP. Dan is the Director of Design Technology and leads the internal research program, Investigations, at the top-ranked architecture firm Lake|Flato, in San Antonio, Texas. He is a registered architect (WI), educator, author, blogger, and international speaker.

In addition to teaching graduate architecture students at NDSU, he has written 19 textbooks, including the #1 Revit book in North America, which is used extensively in the academic market. Committed to climate action, Dan was on a six-person team commissioned by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to write the AIA Climate Action Business Playbook. He also serves on the national AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Leadership Group. He chairs a national Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) committee.

Dedicated to furthering the design profession, Dan has given presentations on building performance and design technology in North America, Europe, Singapore, and Australia. He has also presented at AIA conferences (National, TX, MN), AIA-COTE working groups (Philly, New Orleans, San Antonio, LA), universities (Penn State, Pratt, University of MN, UTSA, and more), lightfair, NVIDIA GTC, Autodesk University, and more.