Beaudry

Team

Architect

Marmol Radziner, w/LARGE Architecture

Contractor

Webcor

Stats

PROJECT TYPE

Residential

COMPLETION

2022

PROJECT SIZE

1.3 million ft²

MKA ROLE

Structural Engineer

Los Angeles, CA
Beaudry

An early test case for the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3), this 57-story Performance-Based Seismic Design tower includes 758 apartments, 11 parking levels above and below grade, and space for amenities and street-level retail. The project team utilized the EC3 and requested Environmental Product Declarations from suppliers to evaluate opportunities to incorporate low-carbon concrete mix strategies and prevent 13,650 metric tons of verifiable equivalent carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere during construction at no additional cost to the owner.

A Strategy for Lower Environmental Impacts

Presented with an opportunity to design a high-rise residential tower in downtown Los Angeles using concrete and steel while being environmentally mindful, MKA employed the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) to identify local supply-chain challenges related to high-carbon materials. That led MKA to develop strategies for lower-carbon concrete mixes that reduced the building’s overall carbon footprint.

In addition, the developer made it clear that cost-effective, low-carbon concrete was important to this project, creating competition among suppliers to provide the most economical, lowest-carbon concrete available.

As a result, imported aggregate mixes were incorporated into the project’s development, reducing the post-tensioned slab mix’s carbon footprint by 47% and achieving a 24% reduction in the project’s total embodied carbon at no additional cost. That carbon savings is equal to released carbon dioxide associated with nearly 43,000 barrels of crude oil or nearly 3,000 vehicles—proving that low-carbon alternatives and cost savings do not have to be independent objectives in high-rise construction.