04 · Academic · Research

Material Circularity

Examining the role of lifecycle assessment (LCA) and circularity in the design of a five-story residential building.
Category
Academic · Research
Location
Ithaca, NY
Year
Jan – May 2024
Role
Research · Lifecycle assessment · Reporting
Advisor
Felix Heisel
LCAEmbodied carbonCircular economyMaterial recovery

Through the development of a Material and Building Circularity Report, the project quantifies embodied carbon, material recovery potential, and resource efficiency across the building's major components.

Overview

The study demonstrates how data-driven environmental analysis can inform architectural design, enabling more resilient, low-carbon buildings that embrace circular-economy principles from conception through to end-of-life.

The five-story residential building studied.
The five-story residential building studied.
Material & Building Circularity Report, quantifying embodied carbon and recovery.
Material & Building Circularity Report, quantifying embodied carbon and recovery.
Wall-section material assemblies.
Wall-section material assemblies.