How Low Can You Go? : An investigation into the embodied carbon of MURBs and a case for how architects can be leaders in the solution

It is no secret that the built envirnoment is responsible for 40% of annual global emissions, what is less known is that approximately 1/3 of these emissions come directly from new builds. In other words 13% of annual emissions come from 0.1% of our buildings. Simultaneously, we are in the midst of a housing crisis as populations continue to swell. A trend expected to double our gross floor area by 2060. The way we build is killing our planet, but we must build more to house our population. The thesis confronts these issues and argues that early design decisions present the most signifigant decarbonization opportunity, through optimizing material realities and minimizing carbon inevitabilities.