Embodied Impact

Abstract

The building industry's unmistakable share in climate change ensured that many policies have been implemented to reduce its impact. However, most policies cover the operational energy and -emissions of buildings, and not their upfront embodied impacts. Fortunately, wood-based building products proved to be viable alternatives to more conventional materials such as concrete and steel since they have been attributed a lower environmental impact. Thus, they are often regarded as sustainable. However, the sustainability of wood is not absolute. The research paper explores just how much more sustainable wood-based structures are compared to their conventional counterparts in terms of their embodied impact. It turns out that a sustainable building starts with compact city design which has a lower energy use per capita. This sustainable urbanism paradigm, in combination with timber building design, yields the lowest environmental impact. Moreover, technical innovation in timber engineering ensured that it is now able to compete with concrete and steel, and the added benefit of timbers versatility vouches for its use. In the research paper, Life-cycle-assessment (LCA) is applied to a built case in Rotterdam which illustrates the environmental benefit of multi-storey timber building structures, even in the most unfavorable scenario for the timber variants. The findings of the research directly inform the architectural design. The design proposes a way forward for the TU Delft amidst many contradictory considerations; How can the TU Delft accommodate the growing student population whilst complying with its sustainability goals? The design focuses on the worst-performing building on campus, building 22. It has been redesigned in accordance with the TU Delft ambitions and facilitates cross-pollination between different faculties. Because if we want to truly tackle our most urgent societal issues, we should bring all ideas together, and have a diverse group of people look at them creatively.