Juliana is an Italian-Brazilian architect with over 25 years of professional experience, specializing in integrated design solutions through a holistic, collaborative, and multidisciplinary approach. Her work focuses on building science, with emphasis on high-performance design, sustainability, decarbonization, and indoor environmental quality (IEQ).
She is the Director and Co-owner of Studio Symbios, a consultancy dedicated to advancing sustainability, energy efficiency, and IEQ in the built environment. Her practice spans sustainable design, computational analysis, and environmental policy development. She integrates passive design strategies informed by vernacular architecture with simulation-based, data-driven methodologies. Her approach emphasizes performance, thermal comfort, lighting and net-zero carbon outcomes, while identifying synergies across building systems related to energy, water, and waste. Her portfolio includes consulting, applied research, and policy-driven initiatives developed in collaboration with private clients and institutions across Brazil and internationally. Juliana has worked with renowned architectural firms in the environmental consultancy team, including those at Calatrava and Foster & Partners.
Within ASHRAE, Juliana contributes at both the Society and regional levels. She currently serves on Society Standing Committees and participates in Technical Committees T.C. 2.8 (Building Environmental Impacts and Sustainability) and T.C. 7.1 (Integrated Building Design). In Region XII — covering Florida, Central America, and South America — she serves as Regional Vice-Chair for Student Activities (SA RVC). She was the first woman to serve as President of the ASHRAE Brazil Chapter (2021–2022) and remains engaged in governmental affairs initiatives. Her contributions include supporting the adaptation and implementation of international standards and the development of local frameworks for energy efficiency and whole life carbon accounting in the built environment.
Whole Life Carbon Assessment | New Paradigm for The Built Environment
The Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) changes the benchmarks, metrics and performance indicators of a building. Consequently, changes the way we design, build, refurbish and operate our buildings. With the commitments made by many countries and the impacts related to climate change, global efforts are being put in place to ensure the achievement of net zero and the mitigation of carbon emissions for the built environment.
This lecture presents the concept, the methodology used for the assessment of the WLC (the embodied carbon + the operational carbon) through the life cycle analysis (LCA), which considers the impacts throughout the life cycle of a material accounting from the Upfront Carbon to its disposal. In addition to presenting the concept of Circular Economy.
Morover presents carbon accounting tools and holistic carbon reduction strategies as part of the design process (whether for new buildings or retrofits). With the aim of contributing to the dissemination and accelerating the qualification of professionals to reach the goals set for 2050 for the construction sector.
Holistic Design Approach to achieve Sustainability, Decarbonization and IEQ
In the current context of climate change and the post-pandemic world, there is an awareness of the importance of discussing sustainability and decarbonization of the built environment, as well the indoor environment quality for occupants.
This lecture presents concepts related to these topics, understanding the role, the necessary integration and the holistic approach among all multidisciplinary stakeholders involved in the design process.
Furthermore, it presents the tools and methods that have been used to achieve these goals, which need to be implemented since the beginning of the design stages (early design), to be successful for achieving a high-performance building.
Decarbonizing Building Systems: A Whole Life Carbon Approach to Embodied Carbon in MEP
This lecture addresses a critical gap in building decarbonization by focusing on Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) systems. The proper performance of these systems is essential to ensuring occupant comfort, health, and productivity, as well as the efficient operation of buildings. MEP systems impact both operational energy use and embodied carbon emissions across the entire building life cycle.
The absence of reliable and comparable data—such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) - poses a significant challenge to balancing embodied and operational emissions. While MEP engineers have traditionally prioritized optimizing operational energy performance, it is increasingly necessary to account for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout all life cycle stages—from raw material extraction, manufacturing, transport, and construction, through operation (including energy use, refrigerant leakage, and maintenance), to end-of-life treatment. Recent data indicate that MEP systems can contribute up to 27% of product-stage embodied carbon, 52% of total embodied carbon (excluding operational carbon), and 73% of whole life carbon, highlighting the urgency of a life-cycle-based approach.
The session presents key concepts, definitions, and methodologies for calculating, interpreting, and integrating life-cycle data into MEP system specifications. It also outlines practical strategies and technical guidance to support system selection and design decisions that reduce whole life carbon emissions in both new construction and retrofit projects.