Research Projects

The Gulf Coast Climate Futures Project

This program is a design research program, funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's (NASEM) Gulf Research Program, to prepare the next generation of professionals to identify, visualize, explore, and propose interdisciplinary design-based interventions to critical challenges in the Gulf of Mexico. Please visit the GCCF Project webpage for more information.

The Center on Climate Change and Urbanism (CCU) within the School of Architecture and Built Environment at Tulane University represents the culmination of several generations. 

Carbon Budget Zero Research Studio

 Assistant Professor of Architecture Sonsoles Vela’s Carbon Budget Zero; Adaptive Reuse studio considers how to integrate climate-awareness into design decisions. The research is guided by a central question: How can we design buildings with a net-zero carbon impact? In Fall 2025, students focused on adaptive reuse in warm climates, specifically in Miami. The project explores the concept of buildings as material banks, a strategy rooted in lifecycle thinking that reimagines buildings not as end-products but as repositories of reusable components. Through the design of disassembly, cataloging materials, applying reversible construction techniques, and the careful selection of a new palette of carbon neutral materials, the project progresses from a conceptual framework into a detailed proposal for a new adaptive reuse concept that prioritizes sustainability and has zero carbon impact. Utilizing Life Cycle Assessment tools, students explore how their design and material choices affect each project.

CCU Faculty Fellows Projects

Under development.

CCU Student Grant Recipients

Under development.