Construction shapes the world we live in, but also drives significant environmental harm, contributing 10% of global CO₂ emissions, consuming vast resources, and significantly accelerating biodiversity loss. Addressing these challenges requires not only new materials and construction practices but also better ways to measure their true impact on nature. This project responds directly to that need by focusing on the development of a robust new framework to assess the often-overlooked ecological impacts of construction.

While industry tools like Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) are widely used to measure carbon impacts in the construction sector, they fall short in capturing the full effects of construction on ecosystems and biodiversity. This project addresses that gap by developing a new framework to assess embodied ecological impacts (EEIs), combining data-driven analysis with site-specific ecological understanding.

You will evaluate existing assessment tools, identify data gaps, and create improved methods to measure how construction affects nature. The work will also examine emerging opportunities, such as carbon capture through carbonation of reused concrete. Finally, you will test the framework on both conventional and cutting-edge building designs, which incorporate reclaimed concrete elements that have been repurposed into new structural systems.

Construction shapes the world we live in, but also drives significant environmental harm, contributing 10% of global CO₂ emissions, consuming vast resources, and significantly accelerating biodiversity loss. Addressing these challenges requires not only new materials and construction practices but also better ways to measure their true impact on nature. This project responds directly to that need by focusing on the development of a robust new framework to assess the often-overlooked ecological impacts of construction.

While industry tools like Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) are widely used to measure carbon impacts in the construction sector, they fall short in capturing the full effects of construction on ecosystems and biodiversity. This project addresses that gap by developing a new framework to assess embodied ecological impacts (EEIs), combining data-driven analysis with site-specific ecological understanding.

You will evaluate existing assessment tools, identify data gaps, and create improved methods to measure how construction affects nature. The work will also examine emerging opportunities, such as carbon capture through carbonation of reused concrete. Finally, you will test the framework on both conventional and cutting-edge building designs, which incorporate reclaimed concrete elements that have been repurposed into new structural systems.