Kael Opie discusses concrete’s future on Speaking Concretely

August 26, 2026

In a rapidly warming world, what is the role of concrete in architecture and construction?

Principal Kael Opie recently appeared on Speaking Concretely, the podcast of the Cement Association of Canada, where he discussed the need to reduce emissions from the built environment.

“Concrete plays such a unique and fundamental role within [the building industry] that it’s not going to be possible to replace. But we need to be more considerate of how we use it,” Kael tells host Adam Auer, the association’s president and CEO.

In the episode, Kael discusses a research project aimed at reducing concrete’s carbon footprint.  In 2022, KPMB Lab was invited to collaborate with Dr. Evan Bentz and Dr. Neil Hoult on the design of a new instructional facility for the City of Kingston’s Fire and Rescue Training Campus.

Using only conventional, affordable, and widely available materials and processes, the project achieved an embodied carbon footprint 86 percent lower than that of a conventional concrete structure.

“[The solution] is not just specifying low-carbon concrete,” adds Kael. “As architects and engineers, we need to be more careful about how we design. Be judicious [and] think about the volume of material that you’re using.”

Listen to the full episode.