The Construction Material Pyramid: ‘Upfront impacts’ as a methodical change in architectural design

This article aims to discuss the methodical change in architectural design processes when using a new tool as the Construction Material Pyramid (CMP), which offers basic environmental data visualized as dynamic hierarchies. Based on the food pyramid’s graphical language, a digital version of the Construction Material Pyramid has been developed. The digital version of the Construction Material Pyramid enables a comparison of e.g., CO2 emissions between different categories of materials or between material types within the same category. It is also possible to compare and relate different kinds of environmental impacts across the different sorts of materials. It thus offers a tangible, interactive calculation tool and at the same time it opens up for a dialogue about more detailed studies of the materials’ position in the pyramid and later their place in the project design. The idea is to provide a simple way to gain a quick overview of the relative sustainability of the individual building materials.