50 students from ten European countries participated in the “Zero Carbon Hack” at the global LafargeHolcim Innovation Centre in Lyon, France. Together with a dozen mentors they spent an entire weekend searching for ways to minimize the embodied carbon footprint of a reference building. John Orr, Lecturer in Concrete Structures at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, explained why he believes that up to 50% less material could be used in construction thanks to better design.

What if materials were not just non-toxic but also regenerative – could a building clean the air? Titanium dioxide facade coatings are being studied for pollution capture and a range of studies are underway on carbon sequestration in common materials. Designing for non-toxicity is a first step toward regeneration that can be taken today. Materials that contain chemicals hazardous to human or environmental health are not recyclable, create enduring waste, may harm the workers producing them, and may emit hazardous chemicals – especially if they catch fire.