EMC2B

EMC2B is the framework we use to make our post-carbon approach operational. EMC2B evaluates the ecological footprint of a project, be it a very small-scale project (for example, street furniture) or a regional scale project (when we assist local authorities with their transition strategy, as in Luxembourg or the Greater Annecy area).

EMC2B is a simple metric that allows us to assess the five types of transition that any project must address. Using a set of values, we identify, for example, the quantity of materials used and their origin (materials), greenhouse gas emissions (carbon), energy consumption and production (energy), albedo (climate) or the number of trees preserved or planted (biodiversity). This approach is open, free to share, because we all share a common goal: to preserve the liveability of cities, regions and the planet.

• Promote sufficiency and efficiency and question comfort with regard to real needs.
• Encourage bioclimatic construction systems throughout the process, from the initial construction stages to the finest details.
• Understand and make the most of the physical constraints of the site before turning to technology.
• Use passive systems wherever possible.
• Identify and assess the low-tech solutions that could be employed and the associated costs (construction-operations-maintenance) and deadlines.
• Make the best efforts to wean off fossil fuels and energy over-consumption, promote renewable and diffuse sources of energy.

• As early as the programming stage, question uses and plan spaces so that they occupy the right footprint.
• Choose the performance of the materials according to their use (e.g. the performance of glazing) and the life span of the structure.
• Favor solutions that best preserve the existing structure.
• Favor the use of less materials, easy implementation and maintenance.
  Halt the extraction of non-renewable resources, build “light” by turning mainly to reuse, bio-sourced and earth-sourced materials.
• Minimize the weight of the various elements and the quantity of materials and components by using appropriate building modules.

• Draw on carbon weight to guide architectural choices from the outset.

• Use whenever possible materials that reduce the carbon footprint of the project, store biogenic carbon, and limit to a minimum carbon emissions.

• Use the “carbon payback time” to adjust design choices and consider the obsolescence period as an essential parameter.

• Anticipate global warming (heat waves, increase in natural risks, etc.) by adapting spaces to preserve health and comfort: creation of cool areas, climatic shelters, study of the atmosphere of sites (aerology), natural regulation of rainwater, increase in the albedo of exposed surfaces, cooling of volumes, etc.

• Ensure that living things and human constructions can coexist by working on uses, biophilic design, and the ability of the envelope and the exterior fittings to integrate with an ecosystem.

• Preserve biodiversity, work with the existing topography, conceive a landscape where vegetation has several layers, merge the urban fringes with open green spaces.