Call for Research Collaborations
We are currently leading a study at the University of Toronto investigating material intensity and embodied GHG in small multi-unit buildings (3-30 units) around the world. We are seeking data collaboration partners. The goal of this study is to better understand how material use and embodied GHG vary with location and changes in construction norms and traditions.
Specifically we are collecting data from:
- UAE
- Argentina
- Columbia
- Greece
- Israel
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Switzerland
Specifically, we are requesting copies of drawings (structural, architectural, and optionally MEP) for buildings built or in construction. We would also welcome BIMs if the projects have them but generally find we need to work from drawings. We ask that the drawings be from 100% design or later to as closely as possible reflect the real built building.
We will keep the drawings confidential; they will be stored on University of Toronto systems only and only seen by the Principal Investigator (Shoshanna Saxe) and her research team. In all public facing outputs from the research we will only reference the general location of the building(s) and will refer to each building by a number. We use the drawings to build detailed BIMs in Revit and complete material take offs to Uniformat and Master format Level 5 (both are widely used construction classification systems in North America). Full details on our methods can be found here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-022-01141-8. To date we have completed take offs for nearly 200 buildings in Canada, the United States, Australia, Nigeria and the Philippines.
As we go through the takes offs, material intensity and embodied GHG assessments, we will share back to you the findings and detailed results for your own buildings. We will also share the ultimate paper we write for review two weeks before we submit it to a journal for publication and will thank your firm as a data contributor in the acknowledgements (or as an anonymous data contributor if you prefer).
Contact Details:
Shoshanna Saxe, PhD, P. Eng.
Associate Professor
Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Infrastructure
Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering
University of Toronto
