Here’s How: Embodied Carbon

This season finale steps back from a single technical challenge to examine how mass timber fits into the broader climate action landscape. Senior Principal Paul Becker and Vice President Kristina Rogers speak with Corporate Responsibility Officer Amy Hattan about how built-environment climate strategy must address both carbon reduction and resilience. The conversation connects several recurring th...

This episode introduces GreenBox® , a prefabricated mass timber cassette system that reimagines how timber floors are manufactured, installed, maintained, and reused. Paul Becker and Kristina Rogers hear from Harry Crofton , who explains how cassette construction shifts work from the jobsite to the factory, where components can be built with tighter tolerances, greater quality control, and without...

In this episode, Senior Principal Paul Becker and Vice President Kristina Rogers talk with Associate Sami Rahman about vibration and acoustic performance in mass timber buildings . They discuss why mass timber floors behave differently from steel or concrete systems, suggest effective design strategies, and explain how modeling and field testing are helping us fine-tune performance so mass timber...

Engineers are still learning about how fire behaves in mass timber buildings, so codes – though evolving quickly – impose conservative limits on timber buildings. In this episode, Senior Principal Paul Becker and Vice President Kristina Rogers speak with Principal Ali Ashrafi about how fire risk is evaluated in mass timber buildings and how teams use performance-based fire engineering to design bu...

Mass timber procurement has a direct impact on structural design decisions, connection design, fabrication, and project delivery. In this episode, Senior Principal Paul Becker and Vice President Kristina Rogers discuss how supplier involvement in the SD (schematic design) phase, with or without a formal design-assist process, can help architects and structural engineers better align their designs...

In this episode, hosts  Paul Becker  and  Kristina Rogers  take a deep dive with  Jordan Komp into the design and delivery of Ascent , a landmark project that set a new precedent for tall mass timber construction. As the first building of its kind at this scale in the United States, the project required rethinking traditional approaches to structural design, code compliance and interdisciplinary c...

In this episode, hosts Paul Becker  and  Kristina Rogers  talk with  Doug Schweizer about how proprietary systems are transforming mass timber construction through the lens of the Under Armour Global Headquarters , a 280,000-square-foot office building. The discussion highlights how proprietary connections introduced by timber manufacturer binderholz streamlined fabrication, reduced installation t...

In this episode, hosts  Paul Becker  and  Kristina Rogers  talk with  Chris Williams about how hybrid mass timber systems are emerging as a practical solution for low-rise residential construction , particularly in markets already reliant on light-frame wood buildings. Rather than fully replacing traditional systems, mass timber is introduced strategically in elements such as floor slabs and shaft...

In this episode, hosts  Paul Becker  and  Kristina Rogers  talk with  Alejandro Fernandez about how the role of the engineer has evolved into a true strategic partnership within developer-led mass timber projects . When engaged at the earliest stages, experienced engineers can prevent complications by sharing effective approaches to schedule, accurate early pricing, insurance strategy, and permitt...

Interested in designing or building with mass timber but unsure where to start or if it’s right for your project? This podcast provides practical information on how to efficiently and cost-effectively integrate mass timber into projects of every size and type. Owners, developers, architects, and engineers will learn how to overcome concerns about cost, code compliance, insurance issues, fire safet...

Learn how creative design is bringing down the cost of mass timber buildings and making the material work in dramatic and unconventional structures. In this episode, hosts Paul Becker and Kristina Rodgers talk with Eli Gottlieb about how mass timber is shifting from a niche material to a mainstream building system. Successful timber projects require early planning around layout, spans, orientation...

Join experts in engineering, science, and technology for conversations about how to make the built environment – and the world – better for everyone. In Season Two, Mainstreaming Mass Timber, we talk with innovators who are pushing the limits of mass timber about the ways new technologies and creative design are making mass timber viable for more projects than ever before.

In the final episode of the first season, host Amy Hattan speaks with Scott Schneider, Senior Principal and co-leader of Thornton Tomasetti’s Structural Engineering practice, about the role of engineers in meeting the climate-change crisis by making smart, integrated design decisions early in the process. They discuss Scott’s motivations for taking the lead on the firm’s efforts to reduce embodied...

In this episode, host Amy Hattan talks with Bridget Kane and Lisa Bolle, leaders of Thornton Tomasetti’s ethical decarbonization working group. Together, they explore how the construction industry can reduce embodied carbon while also addressing labor ethics in material supply chains. They discuss how the manual, labor-intensive manufacturing of materials like solar panels is prone to labor violat...

In this episode, host Amy Hattan talks with Jackson Pitofsky, a structural engineer in Thornton Tomasetti’s Denver office, and co-leader of the firm’s embodied-carbon community of practice assessments working group. Jackson shares practical strategies structural engineers can use to dramatically reduce embodied carbon in the buildings they design. He discusses the impacts of structural system sele...

In this episode, host Amy Hattan talks with Meghan Kalisz, a consultant in Thornton Tomasetti’s Sustainability and Resilience practice, about achieving high levels of embodied carbon reduction in building design. Meghan shares her expertise in life cycle assessment (LCA) and discusses best practices for achieving ambitious embodied-carbon reduction targets. She explains how a rigorous certificatio...

In this episode, host Amy Hattan talks with Amanda Garvey, a vice president in Thornton Tomasetti’s Sustainability and Resilience practice, about reducing embodied carbon in higher education facilities. Amanda discusses how focusing on Scope 3 emissions from building materials can help colleges and universities meet carbon neutrality goals. She shares ways that certifications like LEED and ILFI pr...

In this episode, host Amy Hattan talks with structural engineer Elizabeth Brownell about reducing embodied carbon in bridges. Elizabeth discusses the importance of policies like New York’s Buy Clean Concrete and Executive Order 22 and shares insights on how engineers can measure and optimize embodied carbon throughout a bridge’s design and construction. She also emphasizes the need for changes in...

In this episode, host Amy Hattan talks with Chris Williams, a structural engineer and associate principal in Thornton Tomasetti’s Portland, Maine office. Chris discusses his work on developing embodied-carbon specifications for timber, sharing insights on the potential and complexities involved in using mass timber to reduce embodied carbon in construction. He explains timber’s biogenic carbon sto...

In this episode, host Amy Hattan talks with Nisha Kakde, a senior consultant in sustainability. Nisha shares her research on reducing the carbon footprint of steel production – including the potential of alternative fuels, like hydrogen, and technologies such as carbon capture, the use of biochar and the reconversion of blast-furnace off-gas – to achieve significant emissions reductions and move c...

In this episode, host Amy Hattan talks with Patrick Kenny, a structural engineer who co-leads our Embodied Carbon community of practice’s materials working group. Patrick explains how using portland-limestone cement (PLC) as an alternative to traditional portland cement offers a 5-10% reduction in embodied carbon. The conversation highlights the potential for substantial environmental benefits fro...

In this episode, host Amy Hattan talks with Heather Walters, a vice president in our Sustainability and Resilience practice. Heather, an expert in sustainable design, shares insights from a project using three LCA tools: Beacon, One Click LCA, and EC3. These assessments revealed varying results in embodied-carbon reduction, highlighting the importance of understanding the purpose of each study.

In this episode, host Amy Hattan talks with Erin Gallagher, a senior sustainability consultant at Thornton Tomasetti. Erin explains the “ABCs” of environmental product declarations, or EPDs, and they discuss ways to access and use EPDs to lower embodied carbon in building designs. 

Host Amy Hattan talks with Emily Kunkel, an expert in decarbonization strategies, about an innovative approach to tackling industrial carbon emissions. They will explore the impactful role of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in substantially reducing emissions from cement manufacturing.

Host Amy Hattan sits down with Julie Pietrzak, the leader of Thornton Tomasetti's Resilience practice, to delve into the application of resilient thinking in design. They discuss how this approach can contribute to embodied carbon reductions in the built environment.