This teaching and learning activity is taught as part of the ESM [Environment, Services, Materials] subject strand to TU Dublin students in their second year of architectural studies and is intended to provide both knowledge of the carbon implications of material choice and to assist students in making informed design decisions and test the impact of these decisions on their studio design projects.

The activity uses the tool One-Click LCA, as modified by the IGBC for the Irish construction industry and presented as Carbon Designer tool. This is used to assess the embodied carbon of the student’s design proposals and to creatively work on reducing it with the specific aim to achieve an A rated building design

• Students are asked to use a previous design studio project from the first semester of second year to undertake a brief exercise using an Excel sheet or similar, to quantify the areas of their building. In this respect it is a retrospective design exercise to look at how a building may change when assessed from the point of view of low embodied carbon.

• In order to assess the embodied carbon, the ‘Carbon Designer’ tool is used, this is part of the one-click LCA software programme and delivered for free by the IGBC . The ‘Carbon Designer’ tool is used to help determine the types of structure and the basic constructional build up; it is simplified – in comparison with the full One-Click LCA - for early-stage design decisions but includes floor build up, wall build up, glazing, roof, internal finishes and stairs. Students select the materials that most closely fit their material choices.

• The software programme is then used to determine the embodied energy of the design and its rating, students should select a suitable benchmark for comparison and then work towards improving the embodied carbon impact performance of the building design by targeting problem areas.

• The activity concludes with an evaluation and discussion of the results and the design implications of material changes. The work is assessed on the basis of achieving an A rated building and on the creative measures utilised to reach this. Students receive formative feedback from studio staff to assist in their understanding of key principles and develop an iterative approach to their work.

Students must submit the following for assessment:

• Details of the initial design inputs and corresponding initial results, using graphics from the OneClick LCA. Diagnose the key impact, the key impact stages and key structures having the most impact

• Details of subsequent design changes undertaken to the building materials design to improve the embodied impacts and the improved design results, again using graphics from the OneClick LCA

• An A3 design report outlining: the key design changes which have occurred to the design as a result of the move towards an A rated building.

• Understand environmental impacts and characteristics of typical building materials for architecture.

• Provide the learner with the necessary knowledge and understanding of environment to inform the development of studio projects.

• Analyse and select materials based on embodied carbon for diverse building types, usages, and locations

This project sits in a series of lectures and assignments termed Material Stewardship which introduces the student to the idea of an environmental responsibility in terms of the material choices they make in design. It is a retrospective look at a previous design project so that the student can compare their initial design with one that takes carbon into account. It is followed by a second project using Carbon Designer which proactively assists the studio design of a building. It is a useful method to introduce the idea of carbon accounting to the student; indeed the second part of the exercise – to move the design to an A rated building – allows the student to be quite radical in their material suggestions. There are however, from the tutor’s perspective a number of issues:

• Students in their second year of studies do not have a high level of understanding of the constructional implications of their designs, thus a student might believe they have achieved an A-rated building but have not understood that their design is for example, problematic to insulate/ requires a brise soleil to protect large expanses of glazing etc. The importance of formative feedback during

• Students can feel restricted in their design material choices when asked to reference back to carbon accounting – their range of material design exemplars needs to be expanded.

• Carbon designer is a useful simplified tool but does not look at the carbon implications of operational energy – this is however covered in the more sophisticated One Click LCA and students should ‘graduate’ to this in year 3.

• Notwithstanding the above, students should have a grasp of construction by the second semester of second year and it is felt that understanding carbon implications in design is appropriate for this learning stage. A greater tie-in with Technical Studio is recommended

• The duration of the project looking at two semesters’ work, as both a reactive and a proactive engagement with design, appears to be working well, but should be further reviewed following completion of the academic year.