Thesis Question

'The current use of the term 'Net Zero Energy' fails to take into account a building's embodied energy, which accounts for nearly 30% of the world's carbon emissions1. This thesis aims to gain further knowledge into the processes of life cycle analysis and embodied energy, through the researching of materials and their inherent carbon emissions, in

order to find a truly net zero form of construction.

Using the framework of housing, the thesis will focus on a new community that may arrive in Ireland - the climate migrant. It is estimated that by the year 2050 there will be 200 million climate migrants world-wide2. This surge in population in the world's cities, coupled with rapid economic urban migration will put huge pressure on our cities' infrastructures3. This thesis aims to look at

Dublin by challenging traditional forms of housing and our views on density; how might we cater to these migrants in a way which does not cause further harm to our environment?'

1. Benjamin, David N. Embodied Energy and Design: Making Architecture between Metrics and Narratives. Zürich, Switzerland;New York;: Columbia University GSAPP, 2017.

2. International Organisation for Migration. Migration and Climate Change. (2008). .

3. Burdett, Richard, Deyan Sudjic, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft für Internationalen Dialog. The Endless City: The Urban Age Project by the London School of Economics and Deutsche Bank's Alfred Herrhausen Sociey. London: Phaidon, 2007.