Linnean analyzed four design scenarios for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, designed by Perkins Eastman, to identify the scenario that would produce the least amount of embodied and operational emissions throughout the life of the building. Linnean examined whether retrofitting the existing building would save carbon over time, or whether tearing down the building and designing an entirely new facility would be more energy and carbon efficient.

Through conducting a life-cycle analysis of the building’s materials, Linnean determined the carbon emissions from embodied carbon, and analyzed annual operating emissions from each design scenario.