The Low-Carbon Circular Design Framework provides a comprehensive template for developing design guidance that promotes both low-carbon and circular outcomes in the built environment. Applicable to all materials, typologies, and systems, the framework equips participants with the knowledge to design structures that achieve the lowest whole-of-life embodied carbon while supporting system circularity.

Central to the course is the HERA Low-Carbon Circular Design Hierarchy, which visualizes strategies for both greenfield and brownfield projects. Building on the waste minimization hierarchy, the framework distinctly defines and integrates low-carbon and circular strategies, ensuring clarity while fostering synergies between the two. Participants will also gain an overview of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and its modules (A–D), understanding how LCA informs design decisions across the entire life cycle of a structure — from material sourcing to end-of-life reuse.

Through evidence-based concepts, case insights, and practical design scenarios, this course prepares learners to apply whole-of-life and cradle-to-cradle principles, supporting the transition toward dynamic LCA methodologies and truly sustainable design practices in the construction sector.