SEAONC Continuing Education Committee presents a seminar on
Holistic Strategies for Decarbonizing the Built Environment
Date: Thursday, June 24th, 2025
The structural engineering profession's SE 2050 commitment establishes the goal of achieving net-zero embodied carbon structures by 2050. While significant advancements have been made to quantify and reduce the impact of our structures, widespread implementation at scale remains challenging, particularly in high-seismic regions where resilience and carbon objectives must be carefully balanced. This session will provide practical strategies for reducing embodied carbon and explore the latest innovations and sustainable strategies that structural engineers should be aware of. Through diverse case studies spanning different structural typologies, we'll illustrate how different approaches have been successfully implemented in real projects with measurable carbon reductions. Emerging policy requirements and green building certification pathways will be discussed. This session will also dig into the details of life cycle assessment, highlighting lessons learned and will explore the LCA completed on a project that just started construction in San Francisco, 100 McAllister, that makes the case for retrofitting existing buildings. Attendees will leave armed with practical tools to implement, from material selection frameworks and low carbon specifications, to implementing LCA best practices on their next project.
100 McAllister is a 28-story, landmarked residential tower built in San Francisco in 1929, undergoing a substantial renovation by UC Law. When complete, the building's neo-gothic architecture and envelope, MEP, and structural upgrades will allow the building's life to be extended, increasing its energy resiliency and lowering its seismic risk. With the benefit of 3D laser scans, converted to Revit elements, converted to a bill of quantities, a life-cycle assessment was conducted on the existing structure. Life-cycle assessment software is used to determine the various environmental impacts (especially global warming potential i.e. carbon footprint) that a building or product contributes during its lifetime, through its construction, operation, and end-of-life disposal. 100 McAllister shows that the benefits of landmarked buildings go beyond saving historical character. Its multi-generational use and upkeep is more sustainable than new construction. This reinforces the narrative that these buildings deserve to be protected. The upgrades undertaken demonstrate that extending the building's life has a lower carbon footprint over building a new building for equivalent functions, even when adding significant strengthening in a high-seismic region.
Agenda:
12:00 - 1:30 pm - Presentation
Location: Virtual (Microsoft Teams meeting)
Cost:
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Virtual
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| Members |
$50 |
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Non-members
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$75
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Firm registration (up to 5 attendees)
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$175
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Firm registration (more than 5 attendees)
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$275
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Registration Deadline: Registrations must be made by 10 AM PST on 6/24
Speakers:
Megan Stringer
Megan Stringer is an Associate Principal with Holmes and works out of their San Francisco office. Motivated by our impact on the built environment, Megan is at the forefront of reducing structural embodied carbon. She champions Holmes' commitment to SE 2050 and gets sustainable structures built at impressive scales. Megan has overseen the construction of North America’s largest mass timber building, numerous low-carbon concrete pours, and many life-cycle assessments. Megan is a Past President of SEAONC and she educates the building industry on the role structural engineers have in quantifying and reducing the environmental impacts of the built environment.
Adam Slivers
Adam Slivers is an Associate Principal at Holmes, based out of Seattle. He has a passion for sustainable projects, focusing his design practice on mass timber construction and building reuse. He is the lead LCA practitioner for Holmes U.S., where he is responsible for Holmes embodied carbon reporting to SE 2050. He has been active in SEAW and SEI's sustainability committee and is currently steering the Carbon Leadership Forum's Seattle Hub. Adam has over 25 years of experience in a broad range of building project types, but his favorites are ones where the public sees meaningful improvements to the environment and quality of life.