University of Waterloo Mathematics Building


Client
Moriyama & Teshmia Architects
The University of Waterloo

Project Type 
Life Cycle Assessment, Schematic Design and Design Development
Ha/f conducted a Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the University of Waterloo’s Math 4 building, commissioned by Moriyama Teshima Architects. The assessment provides a detailed accounting of the building’s embodied carbon across its life cycle and identifies opportunities to reduce climate impacts through design and material choices.

Math 4 serves as a key case study for applying LCA early in the design process to guide low-carbon decision-making. The report helps the design team understand the carbon implications of key elements such as structural systems, envelope assemblies, and material specifications. It also supports the client’s broader sustainability objectives by offering actionable insights for future building projects on campus.

In addition to quantifying total life cycle emissions, the report benchmarks the building’s performance relative to key industry standards, helping to establish a baseline for continuous improvement. By identifying high-impact interventions, the study contributes to the University of Waterloo’s evolving strategy for climate-resilient, carbon-conscious campus infrastructure.





Key Recommendations

  • Steel specification: Structural steel and steel decking have the highest Upfront Carbon impact for Math 4. Significant emissions reductions are possible by specifying environmental performance criteria to guide steel procurement.
  • Concrete specification: Specifying general-use limestone (GUL) instead of general-use (GU) concrete can have immediate embodied carbon reductions of 13%. Further reductions can be found by substituting the cement in the concrete mix for alternatives called Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM).
  • Curtain Wall Reduction: The CW3 curtain wall assembly has an embodied carbon intensity for life-cycle stages A-C of 553 kgCO2e/m2 which is the highest of all envelope systems. As the system is largely located along the ground floor area, Ha/f proposes introducing a ‘knee wall’ at the lobby and retail spaces.
  • Benefits of Design for Disassembly (DfD): Focusing on DfD accounted for 43% of the A-C emissions for aluminum windows systems.
  • Circular and Biobased materials: Incorporating biobased materials into parts of the design for Math 4 will enable further carbon savings beyond those from the reuse of materials, while also ensuring a healthier interior environment for occupants.
Sankey diagram illustrating the material mass flow of the Erin House project, totaling 495 metric tonnes.
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