A practical approach to foster structural embodied carbon awareness in architectural education

Abstract

The integration of sustainability into architectural education is increasingly critical in response to the global climate crisis, yet structural embodied carbon remains an underexplored aspect in curricula. This study presents a practical approach designed to enhance embodied carbon awareness among architecture students by incorporating active learning strategies that integrate structural engineering concepts with carbon accounting methods. The research was conducted within the undergraduate-level Bachelor of Arts in Architecture programme at the University of Liverpool in the UK, engaging 240 students over a semester. A four-stage framework was developed, comprising a structural embodied carbon literacy test, targeted lectures, hands-on coursework, and a final exam. The literacy test was designed to assess students’ baseline understanding of embodied carbon principles, while coursework involved deconstructing architectural precedents to facilitate numerical estimations of embodied carbon associated to the precedents’ structural systems. Findings indicate a significant improvement in students’ understanding of structural embodied carbon, particularly in numeracy skills related to carbon calculations. Moreover, a rating system was introduced as a pedagogical tool to simplify the classification of complex carbon performances. The results suggest that structured, active learning approaches foster meaningful engagement with embodied carbon concepts and support the integration of sustainability within architectural education. This study provides a scalable framework for incorporating embodied carbon awareness into architecture curricula, aligning with industry efforts towards net-zero carbon buildings.