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Lucy Humphrey of Lucy Humphrey Studio and Studio Ecology with Claire McCaughan of Custom Mad, (together they are Archrival)
How do we halve the emissions of our housing stock this decade?
HALF STUDIO, is a climate-focused exploration into the future of housing, examined through the lens of embodied carbon. In the midst of climate breakdown, how can we reimagine the provision of housing, where building and construction contribute up to 40% of global emissions, 50% of extracted materials, and one-third of global waste? Can we justify demolition and new building, in a context of growing resource scarcity and inequality, and the imperative to drastically reduce emissions to meet global net-zero targets?
Beginning with “Half of what?”, students engage with nine leading practices to explore questions of material providence and production and utilise Life Cycle Assessment tools to examine the embodied carbon impacts of selected case study housing. This is followed by a single dwelling housing project on Darug Country (Blacktown City Council LGA), to explore retrofit, adaptive re-use and innovation around materials, building circularity and regenerative design. To halve emissions by 2030, we must create new design values and an approach centred on Country, care and repair.
