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Soc. Open Sci."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Existing buildings generate 30% of global emissions because of the energy required to heat, cool and power them. Mass improvements in building fabric efficiency and heating\/cooling systems are therefore imperative. Fast-running modelling approaches are thus necessary to identify appropriate interventions for the global building stock. This paper presents a new parametric formulation to determine the best whole-life carbon intervention as a function of building form. We demonstrate that buildings of inefficient form have greater potential for energy savings, providing a useful prioritization tool for future planning decisions. We present results as a novel graphical tool, which can be used to identify the lowest carbon scenario for any building form across a combination of building storeys and glazing ratios. This is applied to a cool-temperate climate, comparing a retrofit scenario, to the option of replacement with new construction. Finally, we apply the formulation to a subset of the UK educational building stock, assessing 15\u2009193 forms. For this scenario, we conclude that retrofit always results in lower whole-life carbon compared to replacement with attainable new construction standards. This work provides practical assistance with early stage decision-making and theoretical understanding of how form influences energy consumption and whole- life carbon emissions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1098\/rsos.241953","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]],"date-time":"2025-07-15T23:07:27Z","timestamp":1752620847000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1098\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Parametric contribution of building form to whole-life carbon decision-making"],"prefix":"10.1098","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-4412-2944","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Danielle","family":"Abbey","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Sheffield","place":["Sheffield, UK"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8518-9022","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hadi","family":"Arbabi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Sheffield","place":["Sheffield, UK"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Danielle","family":"Densley Tingley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Sheffield","place":["Sheffield, UK"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"175","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_7_2_2","unstructured":"Adams M Burrows V Richardson S. 2019 Bringing embodied carbon upfront. 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