Reuse Of Building Materials Research Articles

A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR IN TURKEY IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY

The construction sector is of critical importance for economic growth and employment creation. However, it also has significant environmental impacts, including high energy consumption, extensive use of natural resources, and substantial waste production. Currently, the construction sector in Turkey accounts for 35% of the country’s total energy consumption, making it a significant energy consumer. Research conducted in European Union countries indicates that buildings are responsible for 40% of total energy consumption and 36% of total CO2 emissions. It is believed that a similar situation exists in Turkey. Furthermore, the long lifespan of structures built in the sector is of great importance for sustainability. The contribution of poor-quality and unhealthy structures to environmental stress further highlights the role of the construction sector in sustainability. The study addresses the impacts of strategic goals such as the design and construction of sustainable building models, the recyclability and reuse of building materials, energy efficiency, and the reduction of CO2 emissions on the construction sector. The findings indicate that the integration of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies is crucial for the Turkish construction sector to move towards a sustainable future. In this context, it is recommended that the Turkish construction sector implement the necessary steps and engage in strategic planning in order to achieve its sustainability goals. The findings of the study emphasise the pivotal role and significance of the construction sector in this regard.

Building material reuse: An optimization framework for sourcing new and reclaimed building materials

The process of sourcing Reclaimed Construction Materials (RCMs) is predominantly manual and hindered by the limited digital presence of RCMs. However, the advancing technological landscape provides an opportunity to create a modular framework that can assess the value proposition of New Construction Materials (NCMs) and RCMs for a project before acquiring them. A field study in the Kitchener/Waterloo region inspired the development of a framework that has three underlying systems encompassing digital tools for data collection and analysis: (1) The Real Environment uses 3D scanners and a spreadsheet software, (2) The Model Environment uses Building Information Modeling (BIM) software and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool, and (3) The Core Engine uses an optimization program. Real-world data collected from RCM stores (The Habitat for Humanity) and NCM stores (The Home Depot) are used for a realistic demonstration of the framework. By practically applying the framework to source window and door components for a modeled multi-residential building design, an integrated selection of 35% RCMs and 65% NCMs was proposed for the building design. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis is also performed for validation. The framework may disrupt the ongoing building design practices that deem material reuse problematic by enabling flexible sourcing of used and new building materials. A modular and iterative framework for facilitating reuse is thus contributed.

Digital information management to increase the reuse of building materials

The construction industry contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions and extraction of primary resources. The linear economy models used in building development projects are unsustainable. Hence, implementing circular economy models in the building development process is necessary. This paper aims to increase reuse in building projects. The study utilized a literature study, 18 interviews with construction industry professionals, and two case studies. The focus of the study was the role of digital information management in achieving a circular economy and a narrowed scope on the reuse of building materials and components. The results show six challenges for increasing the reuse of building materials in construction projects. The most central challenges are profitability, human willingness to action and change, and storage of reusable building materials. Based on the findings in this paper, a framework is developed for how digital information of construction resources can be utilized and managed throughout the lifetime of buildings. The suggested solutions will enhance the ability of property owners and developers to achieve circularity in their building projects and existing building stocks. In this respect, this paper contributes to the emergence of new profitable business models and markets within a circular value chain for building materials in the construction industry.

Converging Directions of Organic Architecture and City Planning: A Theoretical Exploration

The 'organic’ direction and energy saving are key postulates of sustainable development today. The term "organic architecture" was first formulated in the 1890s in the works of Louis Sullivan, who used this phrase to distinguish himself from prevailing eclecticism. Later, its principles were defined in the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, developed in the works of Alvar Aalto, Richard Neutra, Luigi Fiumara, and others. This paper examines this issue of organic architecture and city planning and its relevance to the modern world. It employs complex and systematic approach as a research methodology. Systematic approach was manifested in the analysis and synthesis of the main directions of organic architecture, their types and genres, which correlate with the evolution of city planning, Historical and urban planning analysis has been utilized to understand the impact of organic principles on cityscapes, and a scientifically based complex approach explores the relationships between organic architecture and a range of social, economic and environmental phenomena at the current stage. The research methodology employed in this study revolves around a comprehensive examination of the formation and evolution of organic architecture and city planning, with a focus on the integration of energy-saving and Nature-saving technologies. The paper identifies four main directions of organic architecture. The first is based on a harmonious combination of Nature, Architecture, and Man. Here, ‘organic’ means ‘subordinate to the landscape and climatic conditions of the environment.’ The founder of this idea is Frank Lloyd Wright. The period of emergence and flourishing was the 20s in the 20th century. The second stage, biomorphism, was formed in the 1950s and 1960s and was based on imitating natural forms. Oleksandr Lazarev, Santiago Kalatrava and others promoted this aspect of organic architecture. The third which appeared at the end of the 20th century, is aimed at preserving natural resources using energy-saving technologies. The fourth is the reuse of building materials and products and recycling. Receieved Reviewed Revised Published 27.07.2023 17.08.2023 25.08.2023 31.08.2023 ISVS e-journal, Vol. 10, Issue 8 August, 2023 Journal of the International Society for the Study of Vernacular Settlements Scopus Indexed Since 2016 224 The paper shows a gradual convergence of all directions; that is, buildings are increasingly combined with the surrounding spaces, and simultaneously, their forms are becoming more plastic, reminiscent of natural ones. Energy-saving technologies and recycling building materials and waste are becoming integral to organic architecture. Nevertheless, the most important thing is a person's connection with the environment and creating comfortable living conditions.

The use and re-use of timber structure elements, within a waste hierarchy concept, as a tool towards circular economy for buildings

Wood is the only natural renewable building material, produced by photosynthesis. It has the ability to preserve the stored carbon in its molecular structure as long as it remains within a structure. Timber dwellings are re-gaining recognition worldwide, especially in remote areas due to their aesthetic superiority, durability and harmony with the natural landscape. Research findings, as well as industrial operations indicate that timber buildings present beneficial environmental impacts, compared to other common building materials. Specifically, timber has substantial strength characteristics, low embodied energy, less CO2 emissions and also an easy and fast construction, combined with minimum disruption to the environment. Moreover, timber buildings have a high potential to reduce waste at site and ability for re-use, when designed for future ease of deconstruction, providing the repeated utilization of the used material, known as, the cascading concept. It is already recognized that successful waste management is a measure towards the containment of climate change. Using timber structures enhances the chances to accomplish the contemporary waste hierarchy concept, which can be implemented according to the application of Design for Deconstruction and Reuse (DfDR) concept, at an early stage. These waste management techniques are strongly related to circular economy, but can only be achieved through the aim of a long-lasting design. Finally, in most countries, the existing building codes should be revised in order to overcome the imposed limitations on the re-use of building materials.

Mapping of construction materials reuse practices within large Norwegian municipalities

An increase in the reuse of building materials is identified as crucial to fulfil the UN Sustainable Development Goals within the built environment. The ambition of this paper is to examine systems for reuse in five of Norway’s largest municipalities, to understand the barriers and drivers for their well-functioning. Through a literature review, Norwegian praxis is then compared to best practices internationally. The methodological approach was based on a two-stage process. First, a preliminary round of informal interviews (N=28), and site visits to the sites were scrutinized. This first round gave the basis for the research design of the consecutive stage. Here, a scoping literature review was carried out to map the existing literature within the field. In the second stage, in-depth interviews of key actors (N=8) were carried out, along with renewed site visits. Document studies were carried out in the second round (contracts, site descriptions, and project descriptions). Norwegian praxis within the field of reuse lags behind best practices internationally. This is particularly true when compared to other northern-European countries. The main barriers to effective reuse within Norwegian municipalities are time, costs, lack of logistics, and requirements relating to materials, construction products and building design. Of particular importance is the lack of a system for reusing when existing buildings are terminated. If reuse is to gain adherence, there is a need for an improved understanding of how to systemise the logistics of reuse. It is therefore needed to increase theoretical knowledge and initiate change among practitioners.

BIM-технологии в решении проблем управления строительными отходами

During the process of new construction and demolition of old buildings, a huge amount of waste is generated. In some regions, the construction industry is responsible for more than half of the solid waste generated. From a technical point of view, it is impossible to completely eliminate construction waste, but it must be managed to minimize the negative impact on the environment. The goal of all participants in the project work program should not only be to complete the construction of the building as soon as possible, but also to comply with environmental requirements. In developed countries, for several decades, the rules for handling such waste have been introduced at the legislative level, and they are constantly being improved. At the state level, laws are passed regarding the recycling and reuse of building materials in order to reduce waste. Scientists are also developing waste management strategies and models for construction and demolition. As a result, up to 90% of such waste "gets a second life", i.e. reused in the manufacturing process. In Russia, this problem has not yet been given enough attention, which is why no more than 30% of construction waste is reused. This article analyzes the causes of waste generation in the construction sector, highlights their main categories. To solve the problem, recommendations are proposed on some promising areas for the development of the construction industry. The need to amend the legal framework governing the process of construction and demolition (C&D) was noted. As an innovative vector of development, the potential of building information modeling (BIM) technology for managing the design and construction of buildings, including waste management, is being explored. It is noted that BIM allows you to effectively manage construction and demolition waste, avoiding problems at all stages of the building life cycle. As a result of the study, recommendations were developed for the implementation of specific measures for the construction waste management strategy using BIM.

Recycling and Reuse of Building Materials in a Historical Landscape—Viminacium Natural Brick (Serbia)

During the MoDeCo2000 scientific and research project on mortars used in the territory of the Roman Danube Limes in Serbia, the biggest challenge was the quest for the provenance of raw materials. The area where Viminacium, the largest city in the province of Moesia Superior developed, with millennial continuity of land use and settlement, was selected as research case study and is presented in this research. People throughout history have always used what they had at hand, and the building remains were not only reused but also recycled for new constructions. Thus, the building material of Roman Viminacium has survived in the landscape through the in situ preserved remains of Roman buildings, as well as in the structures from the later periods, up to today. To the best of our knowledge, the use of natural sediments baked during the self-combustion or combustion of underneath layers (coal in our case) for the purpose of construction was extremely rare in the Roman Empire. In this study, we follow the presence of this type of material precisely in Viminacium construction, naming it natural brick, while focusing on its potential use in lime mortars whose production was perfected in the Roman period and has never been surpassed afterward. Archaeological contexts in which this material was found have been studied, along with simultaneous work in the laboratory and in the field during the research and experimental use of the natural brick in lime mortars. We sought to determine whether this material could have been recognised by Romans in Viminacium as a potential valuable pozzolanic component of mortar, along with or instead of fired brick, being locally available and recyclable. The final confirmation of its pozzolanic features and later discussion open completely new directions for the future research of Viminacium lime mortars.

Automating building element detection for deconstruction planning and material reuse: A case study

To address the need for a shift from a linear to a circular economy in the built environment, this paper develops a semi-automated assistive process for planning building material deconstruction for reuse using sensing and scanning, Scan-to-BIM, and computer vision techniques. These methods are applied and tested in a real-world case study in Geneva, Switzerland, with a focus on reconstruction and recovery analysis for floor beam systems. First, accessible sensing and scanning tools, such as mobile photography and smartphone-based consumer-grade Lidar devices, are used to capture imagery and other data from an active demolition site. Then, photogrammetry and point cloud data analysis are performed to construct a 3D BIM model of relevant areas. The structural relationships between reconstructed BIM elements are evaluated to score the feasibility for recovery of each element. This study illustrates what is feasible and where further development is necessary for automating building material reuse planning at scale to increase the uptake of circular economy practices in the construction sector.

Circular, biomimicry-based, and energy-efficient façade development for renovating terraced dwellings in the Netherlands

Many studies concerning lowering the Operational Energy (OE) of existing dwellings have been conducted. However, those studies barely cover its collateral Embodied Energy (EE). As the Circular Economy is gaining momentum and the balance between OE and EE is shifting, the Life Cycle Energy Performance (LCEP) is becoming increasingly relevant as an indicator. LCEP accounts for all the OE and EE a building consumes during its lifespan. However, clear insights into the LCEP are still to be investigated. This study focuses on developing a circular and energy-efficient renovation solution for a common terraced dwelling typology in the Netherlands. The energy-efficient renovation is based on three circular strategies: Biomimicry, Urban Mining, and Design for Disassembly (DfD), covering the aspects of EE and future reuse of building materials and components. The developed renovation solution reduces 82% of the LCEP compared to the existing scenario. With additional photovoltaic (PV) modules, the dwelling reduces 100% of the LCEP. Applying biomimicry, urban mining, and DfD-based renovation can significantly lower the overall LCEP and its collateral environmental impacts to achieve a Life Cycle Zero Energy circular renovation.

The Durability of Recycled Fine Aggregate Concrete: A Review.

With the rapid development of urbanization, many new buildings are erected, and old ones are demolished and/or recycled. Thus, the reuse of building materials and improvements in reuse efficiency have become hot research topics. In recent years, scholars around the world have worked on improving recycle aggregates in concrete and broadening the scope of applications of recycled concrete. This paper reviews the findings of research on the effects of recycled fine aggregates (RFAs) on the permeability, drying shrinkage, carbonation, chloride ion penetration, acid resistance, and freeze–thaw resistance of concrete. The results show that the content of old mortar and the quality of recycled concrete are closely related to the durability of prepared RFA concrete. For example, the drying shrinkage value with a 100% RFA replacement rate is twice that of normal concrete, and the depth of carbonation increases by approximately 110%. Moreover, the durability of RFA concrete decreases as the RFA replacement rate and the water–cement ratio improve. Fortunately, the use of zeolite materials such as fly ash, silica fume, and meta kaolin as surface coatings for RFAs or as external admixtures for RFA concrete had a positive effect on durability. Furthermore, the proper mixing methods and/or recycled aggregates with optimized moisture content can further improve the durability of RFA concrete.

Adaptive reuse of old houses as coffee shop: Environmental and spatial aspects

Adaptive reuse is a transformation carried out on buildings to provide new functions both from aesthetic and functional aspects. For decades, adaptive reuse has been a panacea for bridging the conservation and current needs for development. In addition, adaptive reuse has been considered an environmentally friendly approach to architectural conservation practices regarding the reuse of building materials and spaces. Besides government-imposed conservation, the community initiated to conserve everyday buildings by spontaneously and informally reusing and adapting various types of buildings known as a vernacular adaptive reuse. This study examines this vernacular approach by analyzing the process and changes that occur because of its application. The case study examined three residential houses that were built in the late 1960s and have been transformed into coffee shops. A research method is an approach through interviews with coffee shop business owners and local government, site observations on the surrounding area of old houses, building measurements, as well as literature studies related to adaptive reuse. The results showed that the process of the vernacular adaptive reuse approach was carried out by the business owners in a creative and pragmatic way with minimal cost and without expert’s involvement. Its application has positive impacts on the surrounding environment, such as social and economic activities, and it reduces environmental impacts by reusing abandoned buildings. In the spatial aspect, the old houses are regenerated by using a new spatial organization that still utilizes some of the spatial organization from the previous function.

Experience of Development and Implementation of a House Project by an Architect

This paper proposes to build individual, economical residential buildings in the suburban and rural areas, in the structure of which new materials are combined with reusable ones. Some practical recommendations on their design and construction are given. It is shown, that the correct choice of space-planning solution and the re-use of building materials in housing construction leads to money saving. The new housing should be not only cheap but also rational in the broad sense of the word. Different professionals should take part in the process of rational construction: architects, designers, economists, consultants in infrastructure and communications. The role of architects is indicated when the consumer chooses the future planning of the house. The architect, together with scientists and engineers, takes into account the possibility of building structures from existing used materials. Experts in the field of building structures evaluate the possibility of building the foundation and supporting structure of a future house from existing used materials obtained after demolition. The experience of other countries shows the possibility of transforming buildings using only the building materials already existing in them without using new ones. Foreign scientists are working on the concept of developing reusable construction materials, products and structures, their certification. As evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed approach, the author gives an estimate of the construction of a house with an attic and a comparison of its total actual cost with the market average in the Voronezh region.

Locating heritage value in building material reuse

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the intersection of building material reuse and heritage value, and raises questions about how “preservation” has traditionally been defined and conceptualized. With a grounding in the realities of global climate change, the paper argues for further research on the topic and for the active engagement of the preservation field in reuse efforts.Design/methodology/approachAfter a review of existing literature, this study takes a descriptive and conceptual approach to explore the heritage values generated through material reuse.FindingsThis paper finds that processes of material reuse are richly embedded with heritage value and offer a conceptual challenge to established modes of heritage practice.Practical implicationsThe findings of this paper suggest that heritage practitioners should actively engage with material reuse efforts to better understand the heritage values generated from such processes. Areas of future research and collaboration are identified.Originality/valueDespite their intrinsic interaction with aged and existing infrastructure, there has been limited engagement in the heritage and preservation field with the topics of deconstruction, building material reuse, or construction and demolition waste practices more generally. This paper thus provides descriptive research on a topic that has been unevenly explored.

Barriers and opportunities to reuse of building materials in the Norwegian construction sector

In spite of ambitious goals regarding implementing circular economy, many well-intended projects fail in practice. One essential question is how reuse of building materials from demolitions can be realized at industrial scale in the high-cost country of Norway? The paper points to barriers and opportunities for reuse of construction products and technical installations in Norwegian buildings. The technical, legislative and market barriers are interrelated and linked to 1) An undeveloped market due to lack of economic driving forces, 2) Lack of information about used construction products and 3) Inexpedient legislation that is not adapted to the sale and use of used building materials. Proposals for measures to increase reuse are linked to the legal framework, economic incentives, competence, information system/marketplace, technical control and certification procedures as well as risk management. It is recommended to clarify and adjust the regulations relating to both the trading and the use of reused construction products. Also, it may be useful to study how other EEA countries deal with the challenges presented by the Construction Products Regulation. The study will be further followed up by the NHP-network, consisting of 15 Norwegian building industry organizations.

Mapping a Resource-Based Design Workflow to Activate a Circular Economy in Building Design and Construction

This paper introduces an innovative restructuring of the traditional Design-Bid-Build (DBB) project delivery method in the AEC industry, that enables the creative reuse of building materials and components. The restructuring intends to transform the DBB method into an Integrated Project Delivery approach by including building materials reuse stakeholders in the early phases of the design process. The model was developed by capturing the critical expert knowledge using a Delphi research protocol and the Business Process Modelling and Notation standards (BPMN). The proposed business process workflows are integrated with the BIM Project Execution Planning Guide. The study also identifies the critical decision nodes within the proposed process maps and suggests a decision-support framework that aid architects and building professionals when integrating sustainable building solutions regarding reusable building materials and components. The Knowledge Capturing Process (KCP) utilized in this study was applied using a qualitative method and a modified Delphi research protocol with the research participants. Triangulation with literature and built case studies were checked and the results were integrated in an illustrated detailed blueprint set of BPMN workflow maps, which were then used to reach consensus with the industry stakeholders research participants.

L'entretien des centres civiques dans les provinces occidentales de l'Empire (IVe-VIIe siècles)

This article deals, for the western part of the Empire, with the question of the maintenance and survival of the civic centers of the High Empire during late Antiquity. Because of the changes in the municipal administration, its financial management, the takeover of the so-called "barbarian" peoples, and the emergence of Christianity, the buildings of the civic centers (forum, curia, basilica) have become useless and may have underwent rather different evolutions, between a simple abandonment, a re-use or a voluntary dismantling for the reuse of building materials. The chronology of these events, however, varies from one region to another, sometimes as early as the third century, notably in Gaul, but in most cases, abandonment does not occur before the end of the fourth century or the beginning of the fifth century. The rise of Christianity as a state religion under Theodosius is probably one of the explanations of this evolution.

Architecture within a circular economy: Process mapping a resource-based design-bid-build project delivery system

In this paper, we develop a novel method for integrating system thinking into architectural design by mapping its processes in a standard process modeling language. We structured a decision-support framework using process mapping workflows to incorporate sustainable building materials and resource-based design decisions into the architectural practice. We turned to other disciplines' knowledgebases, such as Business Information Technology (BIT), to develop a workflow for the Design-Bid-Build project delivery method (DBB). Mapping both current and the proposed design processes, including their activities, workflow, and decision nodes, was critical in defining roles, flow of information, and subsequent decisions. In this study, we utilized a qualitative methodology to capture the required knowledge from industry experts in resource-based design and then integrated our findings into a set of process maps to support the materials decisions by the architectural project team. This study establishes a system of information exchange to support the growth of the newly emerging industry of reuse stores and vendors. Through numerous interviews and knowledge capturing sessions with industry experts from the building material reuse industry that acknowledged an absence of a "system of information exchange." It is through this study that an overall system of information exchange will connect the links between the reuse industry and the AEC industry. The primary outcome of this study is a structured process for design with resource reuse. This process will redefine the DBB traditional design process by introducing new procedures, define information exchange and identify key decisions within the proposed processes, define responsibilities and identify key stakeholders. The author conducted an extensive multi-year knowledge capturing process with constructive feedback from the industry experts.

Application of Crushed Concrete in Geotechnical Engineering – Selected Issues

The reuse of building materials becomes an important issue in sustainable engineering. As the technical requirements for civil engineering structures changes with time and the life time is limited, the need of building new objects meets the necessity of recycling of the existing ones. In the case of steel structures, the possibility of recycling is obvious, also in the case of wooden constructions, the possibility of “burning” solves the problem. The concrete waste is generated mainly as a result of the demolition and reconstruction of residential and industrial buildings. These types of waste are basically made from crushed rocks and cement minerals and contain non-hydrated cement particles in its composition. Concrete poses a lot of problems mainly for two reasons. It is difficult to crush, heavy and hard to transport and demanding in reuse. Different fractions (particle sizes) may be used for different purposes. Starting from very fine particles which can be used in concrete production, through regular 16-300 mm fractions used to form new fills and fill the mats, up to very irregular mixtures used to form stone columns by means of Impulse Compaction or in Dynamic Replacement. The presented study juxtaposes authors experience with crushed concrete used in civil engineering, mainly in geotechnical projects. Authors’ experiences comprise the application of crushed concrete in the new concrete production in Russia, changing pulverized bridge into the fill of mesh sacks, or mattresses used as an effective way to protect the shoreline and the New Orleans East land bridge after Katrina storm (forming a new shoreline better able to withstand wave actions), and finally the use of very irregular concrete fractions to form stone columns in week soils on the example of railway and road projects in Poland. Selected case studies are presented and summarized with regard to social, technical and economic issues including energy consumption needed for proposed technologies and dynamic impact of ground transmitted vibrations and noise.

3S and 4N Concept as Independence Being Victims in Post-Earthquake Reconstruction

A Victims of the 2006 earthquake in Bantul realize and accept the fact their homes have been leseh (destroyed), but they remain be grateful that ruins was still at their homes location . Awareness is encouraging to conduct an inventory and reuse of building materials to build a house ruins after the earthquake. This study is to find answers to the problems: how is the concept of reuse of building materials ruins, and the role of building materials ruins in realizing the building after the earthquake? This study focuses on post-earthquake houses were built independently. The experiment was conducted in a naturalistic paradigm with qualitative methods. The results of this study is the concept in the reuse of the rubble on independent reconstruction after the earthquake in Bantul, the concept 3S (sakanane-sakisane-sakdadine) and 4N (niteni-niroake-nambahake-nemoake)