A Taxonomy of Construction Material Reuse and Recycling: Designing for Future Disassembly

Abstract

The construction and demolition industry accounts for approximately one third of all material waste in the industrialised nations of the world. This material and energy waste can however be reduced through increased levels of material and component reuse. A strategy of design for disassembly has been well implemented in product design and manufacture, but the construction industry has failed to adopt such approaches, largely due to the more bespoke nature of architectural projects. This paper explores the technological options for material and component disassembly in buildings. The research projects utilises inductive reasoning to conduct a number of architectural case studies, observing the reoccurring patterns of design that have facilitated material disassembly, then proposes a model or taxonomy of recycling and reuse strategies. The case studies reveal a hierarchy of recycling potentials, each facilitated by different strategies of design for disassembly. This hierarchical taxonomy of recycling can be used to guide design decisions at the early stages of architectural projects; thus increasing the potential for material and component recovery, and reduce negative environmental impact at the future stage of building obsolescence. The paper concludes with design principles, linked to the taxonomy of reuse and recycling.

Taxonomy supporting design strategies for reuse of building parts in timber-based construction

“…This taxonomy covers the holistic picture of CE. Other related CE tools are taxonomy of the waste of production in construction (Bølviken, 2014); taxonomy for circular product design and business model strategies (Bocken et al , 2016); taxonomy of CE business models (Urbinati et al , 2017; Lüdeke-Freund et al , 2019); taxonomy on material waste recovery scenarios (Crowther, 2018a); taxonomy of design strategies (Moreno et al , 2017; den Hollander et al , 2017) and taxonomy of CE indicators (Saidani et al , 2019). There is no taxonomy on the adoption of reuse as a value-retention strategy in timber-based buildings during the conceptual stage of a building’s design.…”

Development of the Circular Economy Design Guidelines for the Australian Built Environment Sector

“…Allow parallel rather than sequential disassembly. [56,57] Use lightweight materials to facilitate the easy handling of components. [47,55,56] Size components to suit the proposed means of handling.…”

“…[56,57] Use lightweight materials to facilitate the easy handling of components. [47,55,56] Size components to suit the proposed means of handling. [56] Separate structure from cladding to allow changes to the building envelope.…”

“…[47,55,56] Size components to suit the proposed means of handling. [56] Separate structure from cladding to allow changes to the building envelope. [56] Provide access to all parts of the building that are to be disassembled [56] Arrange components in a hierarchy of access related to life spans.…”

“…In fact, through DfD protocols, the value of a building can be retained as well as increased [10]. If buildings are designed for disassembly, a wide variety of end-of-life scenarios for the building's components and materials can be reached, such as reusing, recycling, relocation, and composting [56]. Table 7 shows actions that have been identified as key when conducting DfD.…”