EXISTING ASSETS

Our choice of construction materials greatly impacts our contribution to embodied energy (energy used during the construction of a building) and operational energy (energy used through the lifetime of a building). We should therefore choose materials that consider both the embodied, and, operational impact of a development.

Existing assets (buildings and infrastructure) inherently have a lot of embodied carbon and should be retained and refurbished as a first strategy, before demolition is considered. Even when demolition is considered, materials should be re-used on site as part of new buildings, or hard landscape infrastructure.