VII Congress of Architecture and Health of the COAC
Next Thursday, May 18, 2023, Jade Serra will give a presentation at the VII Congress of Architecture and Health: Architecture and the Health of the Planet and People, organized by the Barcelona Delegation of the Official College of Architects of Catalonia COAC and the Architecture and Sustainability Group and the Association of Geobiological Studies GEA.
The Congress aims to promote tools and techniques that contribute to the creation of spaces that consider people’s health through rehabilitation, the use of natural materials, and environmental impact to ensure the quality of indoor environments in buildings.
The event, which will be held in the assembly hall of the COAC’s Barcelona headquarters in Plaça Nova, is structured into 2 blocks, each including several conferences and a round table. The first part will focus on “healthy decarbonized and circular buildings,” and the second will be dedicated to “the role of building materials in climate change: health of the planet and health of people.”
The title of the conference is Zero-Impact Architecture.
Introductory Summary
In a scenario of climate emergency and having generally accepted that architecture must have zero energy consumption, the need arises to address the remaining impacts of the built environment.
Carbon emissions, the use of natural resources, or the impact on people’s health, among other impacts generated throughout a project’s life cycle, are issues that are already regulated in some European countries and that we must begin to consider to build buildings in harmony with the planet and with people.
If you attended the conference or watched the recording and wish to expand on the sources mentioned, we provide the reference for each of them here.
CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS GRAPH
IPCC, 2022: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change
This graph compiles the 8 plausible global warming scenarios accepted by the IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – which issues an assessment report every 5-7 years.
The graph has been extracted from the summary for policymakers on climate change mitigation, a study that compiles options for mitigating climate change on the planet, highlighting some key relevant developments: an evolving international landscape, greater diversity of actors and approaches to mitigation, close links between climate change mitigation, adaptation, and development pathways, new approaches in assessment, and increased diversity of analytical frameworks from multiple disciplines, including social sciences.
For further information, we also recommend reading the summary for policymakers on the Physical Science Basis (2021).
IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis
This is another IPCC study on the physical science basis of climate change, divided into four sections: the current state of the climate, possible future climates, climate information for risk assessment and regional adaptation, and limiting future climate change.
THE UNINHABITABLE EARTH – David Wallace-Wells
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming starts from the premise that our world is ending and asks what we can do. A harrowing account of how we are precipitating the planet towards its demise.
Today, rising sea levels are a widespread cause for alarm among those who have abandoned the dream that global warming is a myth. However, this is not even the tip of the iceberg of threats to life on Earth: fires, hurricanes, droughts, floods… All these disturbing manifestations of climate change, already recurrent for millions of people, are just a preview of what is to come.
With precision and lucidity, David Wallace-Wells, an American journalist known for his writings on climate change, constructs a kaleidoscopic narrative of the consequences that our impassivity in the face of the ecological crisis will have in just one generation; all presented as a call for change.
SCIENTIST REBELLION MOVEMENT
Scientist Rebellion is an international organization of environmental scientists campaigning for degrowth with the aim of raising awareness about global warming through non-violent civil disobedience. They denounce political inaction in the face of the climate and ecological crisis, calling it criminal and demonstrating that delaying action means deaths.
After decades of scientific publications warning of the dangers of the consumption model and greenhouse gas emissions, these continue to rise. As members of the scientific community, who understand the extreme gravity of the problem, they feel a responsibility to act and to do so alongside citizens who trust their knowledge and scientific collectives.
FERNANDO VALLADARES, CSIC SCIENTIST
“It is no coincidence that the health of ecosystems and the health of people follow the same principles” with this quote, Fernando Valladares, a scientist and research professor at the CSIC (Spanish National Research Council), one of the most prominent climate scientists in our country, an excellent communicator and climate activist, and a member of the Scientist Rebellion movement, introduces himself.
Valladares aims to discuss the strong relationships between health and the loss of environmental biodiversity. Many of his reflections focus on Spain and the necessary regulations or legislation on issues such as large-scale agricultural operations or mega-farms.
Furthermore, he has developed a website as dynamic as his profile, full of videos and publications, where we highlight a section with all his books and another with infographics that summarize complex data very clearly in a single image. These reflections are summarized in a very understandable way on his Instagram account @la_salud_de_la_humanidad.
PETER KALMUS, NASA SCIENTIST
Peter Kalmus is an American scientist and writer, working as a data scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and also as an associate project scientist at UCLA’s Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering. In addition to his scientific work, he is the author of the book Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution and the complementary documentary of the same title. Besides writing articles on climate change, he is the founder of the website noflyclimatesci.org, an association of people who do not fly or are trying to fly less due to their growing environmental awareness. His Instagram account @climatehuman is full of short reflections that demonstrate his great work and activism.
AUS – ARCHITECTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY ASSOCIATION OF THE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTS OF CATALONIA
Arquitectura i Sostenibilitat (AUS) is an association of architects committed to the climate emergency, actively participating in achieving a more sustainable model of architecture and urban planning: carbon-independent and free from non-renewable energy sources, resource-efficient, culturally and territorially rooted, and a driver of sustainable societal transformation.
Our partner, Jade Serra, is part of the Association’s board of directors, as well as an active member of the decarbonization group.
CO2 emissions from buildings and construction hit new high – United Nations
In November 2022, the United Nations issued a press release calling for climate action as emissions from the construction sector have reached a new record, making it impossible to meet decarbonization targets by 2050. These conclusions are based on their latest and unfavorable 2022 report, the Global Status Report For Buildings and Construction.
EMBODIED and OPERATIONAL CARBON – Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction
This graph is extracted from the 2021 Global Status Report For Buildings and Construction, developed by the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction and the United Nations within the framework of its Environment Programme.
Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, GlobalABC, is an association founded at COP21, organized by the United Nations Environment Programme, and with 280 members, including 38 countries, it is the leading global platform for all building stakeholders committed to a common vision: a zero-emission construction sector and efficient and resilient buildings.
Embodied Carbon
This diagram is extracted from the Embodied Carbon Primer study, a complementary guidance document to the Climate Emergency Design Guide developed by LETI, London Energy Transformation Initiative, a voluntary network of over 1000 built environment professionals based in the UK.
It explains the difference between operational carbon, consumed in the use of a building throughout its lifespan, and embodied carbon, that consumed in the manufacturing of building materials, their subsequent replacement and maintenance, and end-of-life management of the building.
Until relatively recently, European regulations did not consider embodied carbon and only spoke of energy efficiency, even though 11% of global emissions correspond to this latter type, which is largely concentrated in building construction due to its high carbon footprint.
EPBD – Energy Performance of Buildings
European Commission, 2018: Energy performance of Buildings Directive
The latest draft of the EPBD, Energy Performance of Buildings, published last year in 2021 and currently in the approval period, recognizes the construction sector as crucial for achieving the EU’s energy and environmental objectives.
To boost the energy performance of buildings, the EU has established a legislative framework that includes the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive, which promote policies that will help achieve a highly energy-efficient and decarbonized building stock by 2050. It specifies that by 2030, all new buildings must be zero-emission and their Global Warming Potential calculated according to the Level(s) framework.
EUROPEAN UNION CLIMATE ACTION PAGE
European Commission, 2019: Climate change, what the EU is doing
The Council of the European Union has developed this informative and interactive summary designed to help citizens understand basic concepts such as the definition of climate neutrality, how the EU will transform climate objectives into legislation, and the price of climate change through videos and infographics.
Towards Embodied Carbon Benchmarks for Buildings in Europe
This graph is extracted from the report Towards Embodied Carbon Benchmarks for Buildings in Europe – Facing the data challenge, whose technical citation is as follows:
Röck M, Sørensen A, Steinmann J, Le Den X, Lynge K, Horup L H,, Tozan B, Birgisdottir H. Towards Embodied Carbon Benchmarks for Buildings in Europe – Facing the data challenge, 2022
This is a study prepared by Aalborg University in Denmark together with the consultancy Ramboll and funded by the Laudes Foundation, which addresses the problem of establishing reference lines for calculating and limiting emissions based on the study of carbon emission cases in buildings throughout their life cycle.
The study consists of a total of 4 parts and can be downloaded at the following link:
https://c.ramboll.com/lets-reduce-embodied-carbon
The study proposes a framework for assessing and monitoring embodied emissions at the building level and a recommended benchmarking process related to the carbon budgets of EU countries.
This report aims to provide fundamental guidance to policymakers and investors, and advocates for greater cooperation across the value chain to collect life cycle assessment data and set targets aligned with the Paris Agreement to support the decarbonization of the built environment.
EMISSION LIMITATION GRAPH IN DENMARK
Videncenter om Bygningers Klimapåvirkninger, 2022: LCA according to climate requirements
This publication from the Danish Knowledge Centre for Building Climate Impacts provides an introduction to life cycle assessment (LCA) in construction, offering a good basis for working with climate requirements in practice and using calculation tools, as it is a requirement
in the new building regulations in Denmark.
CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS CONSIDERED IN LCA IN DENMARK
Danish Transport and Construction Agency, 2016: Introduction to LCA of Buildings
The Danish Transport and Construction Agency has developed a very informative introduction to Life Cycle Assessment, thanks to numerous infographics and graphs. It describes what LCA is about, what it can show about a building, what is needed to carry it out, and what are the most commonly used indicators to assess environmental impact and resource use.
THE CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL PYRAMID
The Construction Material Pyramid
The Construction Material Pyramid is a way to visualize the environmental impact associated with material production through an interactive tool that allows comparing CO2 footprints between different material categories or between material types within the same category. This project was developed in Denmark under the premise that everyone knows the food pyramid, so this parallel speaks to us about the relationship between our consumption and our health and that of the planet.
PROJECT: HOUSE IN SIERRA DE ORDAL
Finally, an explanation was given about the House in Sierra de Ordal, an ecological house project with zero consumption and reduced impact that complies with strict health criteria. This dwelling prioritizes the use of exposed natural materials, which avoid the presence of toxins in finishes, such as compacted earth blocks for vertical walls and a CLT roof structure.
THANATIA THE MINERAL LIMITS OF THE PLANET – ANTONIO AND ALICIA VALERO
The work of Antonio Valero and Alicia Valero, father and daughter, thermodynamic engineers from the University of Zaragoza, is fundamental to understanding the physical and geological limits of Planet Earth.
In 2020, they published the book Thanatia, the mineral limits of the planet in an interview format by philosophy doctor Adrián Almazán, where they explain in a didactic way and without technicalities what happens when the unlimited consumerism of capitalism clashes with a planet with limited resources.
Every year, the quantity and variety of extracted mineral resources increase. All technologies require large amounts of raw materials, some of which are very scarce. On a planet with limited resources, is it possible to satisfy the incessant demand of the world’s population?
Studying the consequences of excessive resource consumption from geology, mining, and thermodynamics is key to trying to prevent Gaia from becoming Thanatia, a planet depleted of resources.
Thanatia is the description of this planet if we continue to deplete its geodiversity. Climate change and digitalization lead to electric mobility, renewable energies with their batteries, robotization, the internet of things; all these technologies require raw materials that already account for all elements of the periodic table.
Greater extraction means more energy consumed, more degradation of ecosystems, and more affected native populations.
Since design is not geared towards recycling, technological waste grows and disperses, contaminating everything. Thus, there will never be enough for everyone or for everything, and we know that in 25 years we will consume twice as much as today. The Anthropocene has spiraled out of control, which is why a material transition, not just an energy one, is needed to restore nature and effectively reuse materials. We must care for Gaia by extending life on Earth and curbing its degradation towards Thanatia.