The Architects’ Journal Architecture News & Buildings
In this episode, we speak to Hawkins\Brown partner Louisa Bowles, this year’s AJ100 sustainability champion. She talks about her practice’s two-pronged approach to sustainability: reducing carbon emissions and enhancing society. She explains that in order to avoid the ‘smoke and mirrors’ of carbon offsets, calling a project ‘net zero’ should increasingly rely on annual operational energy reporting, public data disclosure, and third-party verification.
She explains that, while methodologies for calculating embodied carbon may vary, it’s actually ‘quite a simple calculation: the volume of every material in the building multiplied by its carbon coefficient.’ She describes the many resources available for a practice to get started calculating embodied carbon.
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About Louisa Bowles
Louisa Bowles joined Hawkins\Brown in 2004, became a partner in 2013 and was appointed sustainability lead in 2020. She is an active member of LETI, on the steering group of the Whole Life Carbon Network and took part in the UKGBC task force for defining the Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap. She is also a London mayor’s design advocate and is part of a group updating RICS’ Whole Life Carbon Assessment Methodology. She recently presented to the Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee advocating the adoption of Part Z.
Source:Jack Hobhouse
Agar Grove
Show notes: Projects and resources mentioned in this episode
Carbon alignment and carbon definitions
AJ/Roca panel discussion: Getting Started with Embodied Carbon
Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee
Nottingham Trent University School of Art and Design
Nottingham Trent Unviersity
Credits
Climate Champions is produced in association with ACAN, the Architects’ Climate Action Network
Podcast produced and edited by Concept Culture
Music: Edmilson do Pífano, Forró de dois Amigos. Interpretation: Felipe Tanaka e banda Balaio de Baião