Build Beyond Zero: New Ideas for Carbon-Smart Architecture

by Bruce King, Chris Magwood

“Net Zero” has been an effective rallying cry for the green building movement, signaling a goal of having every building generate at least as much energy as it uses. Enormous strides have been made in improving the performance of every type of new building, and even more importantly, renovating the vast and energy-inefficient collection of existing buildings in every country. If we can get every building to net-zero energy use in the next few decades, it will be a huge success, but it will not be enough.  
 
In Build Beyond Zero, carbon pioneers Bruce King and Chris Magwood re-envision buildings as one of our most practical and affordable climate solutions instead of leading drivers of climate change. They provide a snapshot of a beginning and map towards a carbon-smart built environment that acts as a CO2 filter. Professional engineers, designers, and developers are invited to imagine the very real potential for our built environment to be a site of net carbon storage, a massive drawdown pool that could help to heal our climate.
 
The authors, with the help of other industry experts, show the importance of examining what components of an efficient building (from windows to solar photovoltaics) are made with, and how the supply chains deliver all those products and materials to a jobsite. Build Beyond Zero looks at the good and the bad of how we track carbon (Life Cycle Assessment), then takes a deep dive into materials (with a focus on steel and concrete) and biological architecture, and wraps up with education, policy and governance, circular economy, and where we go in the next three decades. 
 
In Build Beyond Zero , King and Magwood show how buildings are culprits but stand poised to act as climate healers. They offer an exciting vision of climate-friendly architecture, along with practical advice for professionals working to address the carbon footprint of our built environment.

280 pages, Paperback

Published June 16, 2022

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Reviews

[Kyle Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This. Book. Is. Excellent.

Everyone should read it, but especially architects, engineers, contractors, entrepreneurs, and other people who like buildings.

The authors make incredibly complex issues approachable. I feel inspired to take on the climate crisis in a more intentional and proactive way.

Please read it and buy it for 10 of your friends!

[Mary Ghattas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must read for all architects who are building buildings from now until the solution of the climate crisis. The building industry is hugely responsible for the amount of greenhouse gas warming carbon emissions from the use of fossil fuels and chemicals. How we calculate carbon emissions and embodied carbon is covered as well as many ideas for building materials that can replace current problematic materials. The authors discuss and untangle the complicated road blocks we are facing when solving the climate crisis, like technology, the economy, and the industry's unwillingness to change its ways. Climate governance and policies also play a major role in how carbon could be managed and part of the building consent process. The science behind CO2 emissions and how they impact green house gases is explained. The book tells a complete story about embodied carbon and the challenges we face as a civilization. Materials like concrete, steel, and wood are presented in detail both from the perspective of embodied carbon, carbon emissions, and life-cycle awareness. Buildings are currently one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis by way of emissions, but they could one day, with an overhaul on education and better materials, be a large part of the solution by becoming carbon storage.