Abstract
This paper discusses the design of load-bearing systems for buildings with regard to their current lack of open-ended reusability. The reason for dismantling load-bearing systems today tends to be less related to material degradation than to a loss of functional fit with an evolving building program. It can therefore be expected that load-bearing components are reused in other systems, which extends their service life and avoids the manufacture of other components. Common design strategies to ensure the actual reusability of components consist in guaranteeing that the assembly is durable, versatile, modular, reversible, and adaptable. This paper (a) reviews these features, (b) illustrates by means of case studies that, without minimum threshold, they do not guarantee the repurpose of components into different, unforeseen systems, and (c) describes opportunities and challenges related to the design of more open-ended sets of load-bearing elements, i.e. sets whose element types allow for a substantially large number of diverse assemblies, in terms of floor plans, spans, loads, support layouts, connection types, architectural language, and integration with other building systems.
Highlights
The design of load-bearing systems – i.e. systems of slabs, walls, beams, and columns – rarely aims at producing reusable parts
The demolition of load-bearing systems happens at a non-negligible rate, especially in areas subject to high land-value pressures
Load-bearing systems are declared obsolete because support layouts, loadcarrying capacities, or ceiling heights do not meet new functional requirements
Summary
The design of load-bearing systems – i.e. systems of slabs, walls, beams, and columns – rarely aims at producing reusable parts They are commonly assumed to be the building systems with the longest service life. The following subsections recompile five necessary features for reusable assemblies: durability, versatility, modularity, reversibility, and adaptability They concern all scales: the system, the components, and the connections between parts. Their load-bearing system was designed for reassembly, which originated more from the need for versatility than from environmental concerns Fifty years later, they constitute first-hand examples to study shifts of functional and technical requirements that happen over long periods. Designed for reuse, they are effectively able of disassembly and reassembly, but they are not fully able of repurpose
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