On the TechVancouver stage ×1
First seen on the TechVancouver stage in 2017. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Joseph ↗
In their words
Global carbon dioxide, 7% overall, is from the production of cement alone. That doesn't sound like a lot, 7%, but from a single source it's astronomical.
Rammed earth has been around for ten thousand years using site soils to build buildings. If we could make the clays a little more durable, we could just excavate the foundation and process it right there at the site.
We can cut out about 80 to 90 percent of the embodied impacts in the material by doing that. So it's actually not that complicated.
Around the web ×1
Quick answers
Who is Joseph Dahmen?
An associate professor at UBC's School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture who works on low-carbon and biogenic building materials. He co-founded Watershed Materials and Mycofoundry and directs UBC's Biogenic Architecture Lab.
What did he present at TechVancouver?
Watershed Materials — using site soils and activated clay to make durable masonry blocks, cutting the huge carbon footprint of cement. Cement production alone is about 7% of global CO2. TechVancouver, 2017.
What does he work on now?
Architectural applications of mycelium and other living materials at UBC's Biogenic Architecture Lab, which he founded in 2021, and through his startup Mycofoundry.