This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Reusing existing buildings is one of the most effective strategies architects have to reduce embodied carbon and structural steel plays a critical role in making reuse viable, adaptable, and measurable. This course examines how steel supports circular design strategies that extend building life, enable program change, and reduce carbon impacts beyond end-of-life recycling.

Using whole-building life-cycle assessment as a framework, the session explores how retaining and adapting steel structures compares to new construction. Case studies demonstrate how architects leveraged existing steel frames, selective reinforcement, and targeted interventions to achieve substantial embodied carbon savings while delivering new uses, density, and performance. The course emphasizes actionable design decisions architects can make early to preserve value, reduce waste, and document carbon outcomes.


Learning Objectives

  • Describe how retaining and adapting existing steel structures affects embodied carbon outcomes across whole-building life-cycle assessment stages.
  • Explain how design decisions related to steel reuse, modification, and reinforcement influence carbon reduction compared to new construction scenarios.
  • Identify strategies architects can use to enable building reuse with steel, including adaptability, selective deconstruction, and design for future change.
  • Apply evaluation tools and material data, such as life-cycle assessment results and Environmental Product Declarations, to support reuse-focused design and specification decisions.

Pre-requisite: None.