Professor Kate Simonen
Title of Talk:
Building Climate Solutions
Talk Abstract:
The importance of decarbonizing structures -eliminating the emissions resulting from manufacturing, using and disposing of the materials used to construct buildings and infrastructure-is inarguable. Approximately 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to just two major structural materials, cement and steel. We will not meet global climate goals unless we address these significant emissions.
While lower carbon structural solutions are available today and novel methods and materials are emerging, the pathway to totally decarbonize structures remains uncertain. The changes required to building design and construction practice, material production and social and economic systems are dramatic. Professor Simonen will draw connections between past evidence, present potential, and future pathways speculating on some of the structures that show promise to help us achieve decarbonization goals while we build the future.
Short Bio:
Based in Seattle, Simonen is founding director of the Carbon Leadership Forum and a professor of architecture at the University of Washington. Licensed as an architect and structural engineer, she connects professional experience in high-performance building design and technical expertise in life-cycle assessment to advance the methods and to provide actionable data for decision makers looking to evaluate strategies to optimize material decisions.
She is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects, an honorary fellow of the UK's Institution of Structural Engineers, was named Engineering News Record Top 25 Newsmaker in 2020 and received Architecture Record's Women in Architecture Leadership Award in 2024 for her impact rallying industry to reduce embodied carbon. She was instrumental in conceptualizing and launching two building sector nonprofits, Building Transparency and Carbon Leadership Forum, that accelerate the transformation of the building sector to radically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions attributed to materials (also known as embodied carbon) used in buildings and infrastructure.