Preserving Historic Architecture, Mitigating Climate Change: Life Cycle Carbon Footprint and Sustainability Insights From World Heritage Fujian Tulou

ABSTRACT The intersection of historic preservation and climate change mitigation presents a complex challenge, particularly in developing regions, compounded by a Eurocentric focus in global conservation and academic research. This disparity leaves the vast majority of historic vernacular architecture vulnerable to irreversible damage. These culturally invaluable buildings are often replaced with high‐carbon modern alternatives, thereby exacerbating climate change and resulting in the loss of heritage. This research develops and validates a novel historic building information modeling‐life cycle carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (HBIM‐LCCO 2 e) framework. The approach is founded on a time‐based perspective, integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprint analysis (CFA). Applied to the World Heritage Fujian Tulou, this approach quantifies the life cycle carbon performance of various exterior wall schemes, demonstrates how adaptive reuse can significantly lower per capita emissions, and elucidates the critical interplay between embodied carbon (driven by material choice) and operational carbon (moderated by wall thickness). The resulting framework proves applicable even with limited data, serving as a robust, quantifiable guide for informed decision‐making regarding the preservation, renovation, and adaptive reuse of historic architecture. This work establishes a quantitative method for the sustainable management of the historic built environment, contributing directly to the objectives of sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) and climate action (SDG 13), thereby supporting innovation (SDG 9), equity in conservation (SDG 10), and responsible consumption (SDG 12).