Buildings: A Climate Solution tells the emerging story of architecture that heals the climate by storing more carbon than ever emitted: Building to cool the planet. Around the world, the theory and the practice of making “carbon smart” buildings is being developed by a rapidly expanding network of experts and innovators. Here we will explore the time value of carbon, low-carbon concrete and the new family of low-carbon building codes, and plant-based, carbon-storing materials, mapping an ambitious but practical pathway toward a built environment that has net zero operating emissions but also acts as a massive carbon sponge.

Bruce King is the author of “The New Carbon Architecture,” and has been a structural engineer for 40 years, designing buildings of every size and type all over the world. He is also author of the ASTM standard for earthen construction, the Marin County Low-Carbon Concrete code, and the books “Buildings of Earth and Straw,” “Making Better Concrete,” and “Design of Straw Bale Buildings.” Mr. King is also the Founder and Director of the Ecological Building Network (EBNet), a non-profit information resource that sponsors the BuildWell Source, an online library of low-carbon and carbon storing materials.

Panelists:

Lucca Henrion, Research Fellow, Global CO2 Initiative, University of Michigan

Lionel Lemay, Executive Vice President/Division Head, Structures and Sustainability, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA)

Missy Stults, Sustainability and Innovations Manager, City of Ann Arbor