EPISODE · Mar 1, 2024 · 1H 25M

Wood is Good?

from The Building Science Podcast · host Nico Mignardi

Chris MagwoodChris works with the Embodied Carbon Team in the Carbon Free Buildings Program. He brings focus on carbon-storing material and the residential sector to the team, using his experience with LCA studies and policy development to support the team’s work.Chris has been designing and building zero-carbon buildings throughout his 25-year career. From 2005 to 2018, he was a lead instructor in a hands-on design/build program at Endeavour Centre and was responsible for many zero-carbon, zero-toxin, and zero-waste buildings.In 2019, he helped found Builders for Climate Action and codeveloped the BEAM tool for measuring material emissions in residential buildings. He authored four major studies of embodied carbon in new construction for Canadian governments and helped Canadian cities develop an embodied carbon policy.Chris published eight books on green construction, most recently coauthoring Build Beyond Zero: New Ideas for Carbon Smart Architecture (Island Press, 2022) with Bruce King.Jacob RacusinJacob Deva Racusin is co-owner of New Frameworks Natural Building, LLC, offering services in green remodeling, new construction, consultation, and education featuring natural building technologies.  Through their work as a builder, consultant, and educator, Jacob is able to merge their passions for fine craft, ecological stewardship, relationship to place, and social justice.  Their goal in this work is to create a meaningful impact on the built environment in developing healthy, resilient communities.  Deva is an instructor at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School, where they are the former director of the Natural Building Intensive Program.  A BPI-certified contractor and Certified Passive House Consultant, Jacob has conducted field research on moisture and thermal performance of straw bale wall systems, which is featured in the book The Natural Building Companion which they co-authored with Ace McArleton (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2012). They have lectured and presented at universities, conferences, and other events across the Northeast.  Jacob lives with their family in Montgomery, VT, in a straw bale house on their permaculture-inspired homestead.TeamHosted by Kristof IrwinEdited by Nico MignardiProduced by M. Walker

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 1, 2024

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What this episode covers

What’s old is new again. This episode shines a light on the current industry move back toward biogenic building materials, with a specific focus on the wood products we use for the construction of homes and buildings. The core question we explore here is “Is wood good, always and in all cases? “ What are the right perspectives to have regarding forests, trees, wood, and carbon accounting? The basic situation is clear: Wood comes from trees, and trees come from forests. But forests are complex ecosystems with interdependencies that are inextricably woven into a rapidly changing set of climate patterns, forest management practices, and societal demands for building materials for both today and for generations to come. Guided by two deeply knowledgeable and thoughtful industry leaders, Chris Magwood and Jacob Racusin, we unpack the seemingly simple question of “Is wood good?” With this as a starting point other questions logically follow. What would be the carbon outcome of not cutting the tree down? Where is carbon stored in forests? How much of that forest-sequestered carbon ends up in our lumber yards and homes? Are current forest management practices appropriate? Are the certification programs trusted to protect our forests up to the task? These are relevant questions that are not asked frequently enough to inform decisions about wood and other biogenic materials. More broadly this episode is about selecting building materials. These decisions have gotten more complicated for all involved in recent years - impacts to the geobiosphere and human health impacts are now top of mind - expanding an already vast range of material considerations that includes aesthetics, thermal and moisture properties, strength and durability, availability and cost. Still, the overarching fact of the matter is that we have arrived at a time in our industry where carbon accounting is an important new normal and tools like BEAM (Building Emissions Accounting for Materials) are here to stay so now is the time to engage.