A comparative analysis of quantification and validation methods for prospecting the anthropogenic mine as material reserve for circular construction

Abstract

Globally, buildings account for at least 39% of CO2 emissions and more than 50% of resource extraction and solid waste production. Therefore, any transition to carbon neutral buildings must be paired with new resource sensibilities and a shift from linear models of material consumption to continuous material use within a circular economy. Prospecting the (urban) anthropogenic mine represents an essential step towards circular construction and requires a robust methodology for data collection and interpretation. This paper presents a comparative analysis of survey methods, evaluated by parameters of time, accuracy, equipment, and labor to determine the ability of each tool in providing the necessary data to activate the existing built environment as a material resource. Chosen methods span from on-site manual and analog surveys to off-site digital technologies on a variety of case study scales. In all cases, the output’s data format (sketch book, images, mesh or point cloud outputs) can be cumbersome to process with CAD and BIM software, increasing time to results and limiting the technology’s potential, introducing the call for a new generation of survey tools specifically addressing the needs of deconstruction and salvage in circular construction.