Hozhabr Dabbagh

The climate change crisis has transformed the built environment into a pivotal arena for intervention aimed at reducing emissions and enhancing resilience. Drawing on specialized literature, this article introduces the "Net-Zero Carbon and Resilient Building" (NZCRB) framework as an integrated standard that simultaneously addresses two key objectives: reducing life-cycle emissions and adapting to future physical climate hazards. Regarding emission reduction, the "efficiency-first" strategy is outlined as the starting point, demonstrating that standards such as Passive House—with their rigorous quantitative criteria—can drastically lower operational energy demand.Addressing the climate change crisis, the electrification of building systems and the integration of on-site renewable energy generation are proposed as complementary pathways to eliminating operational carbon. Subsequently, as operational energy use approaches zero, the significance of embodied carbon comes to the fore; strategies to mitigate it—such as adaptive reuse, structural lightweighting, the substitution of low-carbon materials (particularly mass timber), and the application of circular economy principles and design for disassembly—are discussed. The article also emphasizes that focusing exclusively on envelope efficiency and airtightness can heighten the risk of internal overheating; therefore, passive cooling strategies and adaptive thermal comfort must be integral components of the design.At the urban scale, green and blue infrastructure is also presented as a multi-benefit solution for mitigating the urban heat island effect and managing runoff. Finally, the role of digital tools—such as IoT, digital twins, and artificial intelligence—in monitoring and verifying performance, as well as supporting LCA requirements and future regulations, is summarized.