We Can't Build Our Way To Net Zero

Op-ed: Reusing and retrofitting existing buildings is vital to achieving significant emissions reduction targets in the few years we have.

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Kira Gould Hon. AIA
Kira Gould CONNECT
Oakland CA
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thanks for sharing Kira!  Great article!
Some building are meant to be restored per the secretary of the interior standards but many many others are just great to re-use.  They truly don't make them like they used to and and most old and existing buildings CAN be fairly easily adapted to fit other uses.  We did a study on a old load bearing brick fire station and realized with just added roof insulation (no new windows or wall insulation) that we could get to net zero with just a small array of solar panels.  And that was just looking at operational carbon - we should certainly be looking at embodied carbon when making the case to clients.

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Elizabeth Brant AIA
DSGN Associates
Dallas TX
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