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Fig. 01 / Materials / Embodied carbon

A1 to A3 / Norrvik working values

What we buildwith, and whatit costs the air.

Five materials make up almost all of our structures. Each is chosen for where it does the most work for the least carbon, and every number below is the value we design with.

Materials
05
Timber share
46%
Avoided to date
412 t CO2e
Unit
kgCO2e per m³

Fig. 02 / Five materials / Carbon and share

Bars share one scale, from 0 to 4 800 kgCO2e per m³

Measured bythe cubic metre.

Steel and glass carry many times more carbon per cubic metre than timber or brick, which is why we use them only where nothing else can do the job.

  1. M.01

    Timber

    Glulam and cross-laminated

    0

    kgCO2e per m³ / A1 to A3

    Share of portfolio structural mass

    0%Timber

    Our first choice for frames, floors and roofs up to eight storeys. Glulam columns and CLT slabs arrive cut to the millimetre from the scanned model, go up quickly and dry, and keep their carbon locked in for the life of the building. We protect them from water with detailing rather than coatings.

  2. M.02

    Concrete

    Low-carbon mix

    0

    kgCO2e per m³ / A1 to A3

    Share of portfolio structural mass

    0%Concrete

    Used where mass or water resistance is the point: foundations, cores, pools and ground slabs. We specify mixes with at least half of the cement replaced by slag or calcined clay, and size every element from the measured loads rather than rules of thumb.

  3. M.03

    Steel

    Recycled

    0

    kgCO2e per m³ / A1 to A3

    Share of portfolio structural mass

    0%Steel

    For long spans and slender pavilions, such as the truss over Ostra Cultural Hall and the Ribeira roof. We use electric-arc steel with high recycled content, bolt rather than weld so it can come apart again, and keep the tonnage as low as the spans allow.

  4. M.04

    Glass

    Laminated

    0

    kgCO2e per m³ / A1 to A3

    Share of portfolio structural mass

    0%Glass

    Placed where daylight earns it, guided by the daylight model rather than the elevation. Laminated units with warm-edge spacers and frames sized to be reglazed, so a failed seal means a new pane, not a new facade.

  5. M.05

    Brick

    Reclaimed

    0

    kgCO2e per m³ / A1 to A3

    Share of portfolio structural mass

    0%Other, including reclaimed brick

    Reclaimed from demolition within 200 km, cleaned, sorted and relaid in lime mortar so it can be reclaimed again. We use it for ground floors, garden walls and repairs to existing facades, where it carries almost no new carbon.

Fig. 03 / Compare / Two materials side by side

Pick one material for each side

Side by side,on one scale.

Material A

Material B

A / Glulam and cross-laminated

Timber

190

kgCO2e per m³

46% of portfolio mass

B / Recycled

Steel

4 800

kgCO2e per m³

14% of portfolio mass

Steel holds 25 times the embodied carbon of timber per m³

Fig. 04 / Calculator / Embodied carbon of a building

Typical values per m² of floor area

Choose the frame,count the tonnes.

Move the slider to set the floor area and pick a structure. The totals cover materials and their manufacture, stages A1 to A3, using our typical values per square metre.

6 000m²
Structure

Timber first, 6 000 square metres: 1 260 tonnes of CO2e, 1 860 tonnes less than all concrete.

Embodied carbon / Timber first

1 260

Tonnes CO2e / A1 to A3

Saving vs all concrete
1 860 t
Reduction
60%
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