CIB W115

Construction
Lifecycle Design of Buildings,
Materials
Stewardship Systems and Materials
Conference Proceedings

CIB Report 323 Edited by Elma Durmisevic ISBN 978-90-9024420-4

 Conference Proceedings
of CIB W115 Construction Material Stewardship

Lifecycle Design of Buildings, Systems and Materials

Enschede, The Netherlands 12-15 June 2009

Edited by
Elma Durmisevic
Published by International Council for Building Research Studies and
Documentation (CIB), Working Commission W115 and the University of Twente, the Netherlands.

Copyright © International Council for Building Research Studies and

Documentation (CIB), Working Commission W115 and the University of Twente, the Netherlands.

June 2009

ISBN: 978-90-9024420-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Conference Organization
Dr. Elma Durmisevic: Chair, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Dr. Robin de Graaf: Co-chair, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Mrs. Yolanda Bosch: University of Twente, the Netherlands
Mr. Mark Roelofsen: Student assistant, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Mr. Stefan Binnemars: Student assistant, University of Twente, the Netherlands

Steering Committee - tentative

Prof. Dr. Fred van Houten, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Abdol Chini, University of Florida, USA
Prof. Dr. Joop Halman, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Rikus Eising, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Dr. Wim Bakens, Secretary General of CIB, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Prof. Dr. André Dorée, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Prof. Dr. John Story, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Prof. Dr. Frank Schultmann, University of Siegen, Germany
Prof. Dr. Jos Brouwers, University of Twente, the Netherlands

Scientific Board
Dr. Elma Durmisevic, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Prof. Dr. André Dorée: University of Twente, the Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Joop Halman, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Jos Brouwers, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Abdol Chini, University of Florida, USA
Prof. Dr. Frank Schultmann, University of Siegen, Germany
Prof. Dr. John Story, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Technical Committee - tentative

Prof. Dr. Jos Brouwers, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Abdol Chini, University of Florida, USA
Prof. Dr. John Story, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Prof. Dr. Frank Schultmann, University of Siegen, Germany
Prof. Dr. Joop Halman, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Dr. Elma Durmisevic, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Gilli Hobbs, BRE, UK
Catarina Thormark, TU, Sweden
Prof. Dr. Charles Kibert, University of Florida, USA
Dr. Shiro Nakajima, Japan
Prof. Dr.Chyime Anumba
Prof. Hendrik Hendrickx, University of Brussels, Belgium
Prof. Patric de Wilde, University of Brussels, Belgium
Prof. Dr. Andre Dorée, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Prof. Dr.Fred van Houten, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Wim Debacker, University Brussels, Belgium
Dr. Laura Itard OTB – Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands
Dr. Robin de Graaf, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Prof. A. Miller, University of Brighton, UK
Prof. Dr. Holger Wallbaum, ETH Zurich, Germany
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface

DESIGN FOR TRANSFORMATION AND REUSE OF BUILDINGS, SYSTEMS AND MATERIALS

Sustainable Construction Strategies: A Singapore Perspective……………………………….…...................................…8
K. C. G. Ong, E Anggadjaja, S. L. Y Soh
National University of Singapore, Singapore

From Ugly Duckling to Swan - Transformation as an Alternative to Demolition.....……………………...........................14

J.B. Storey
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Transforming Cities: Introducing Adaptability in Existing Residential Buildings through Reuse and Disassembly
Strategies for Retrofitting………………………...……………………………………………...............................................18
A. Paduart, W. Debacker, C. Henrotay, N. De Temmerman, W. P. De Wilde, H. Hendrickx
Vrije universiteit Brussel, Belgium

DESIGN OF SYSTEMS TO AVOID CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL WASTE

Requirements for Sustainable Construction Materials and Components.......................................................................24
N. Sunke, F. Schultmann
University of Siegen, Germany

Building green via design for deconstruction and adaptive reuse..................................................................................29

T. Saleh, A. Chini
University of Florida, USA

Developing the Stavne Timber Block; Life cycle design in practice...............................................................................35

A.S. Nordby, K.S. Wigum, B. Berge
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, GAIA Trondheim, GAIA Lista, Norway

ADAPTABLE ARCHITECTURE
How could a Flexible and Integrated Shelter Approach Sustain the Post-Disaster Recovery?.....................................41
C. Henrotay, W. Debacker, A. Paduart, N. De Temmerman, H. Hendrickx, M. Mollaert, P. De Wilde
Vrije universiteit Brussel, Belgium

A Deployable Mast for Adaptable Architecture..............................................................................................................47

N. De Temmerman, M. Mollaert, L. De Laet, C. Henrotay, A. Paduart, L. Guldentops, T. Van Mele, W. Debacker
Vrije universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Adaptable Architecture with the Application of Dynamic Materials................................................................................53
C.M.J.L. Lelieveld, A.I.M Voorbij
Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands

DECONSTRUCTION
Barriers for Deconstruction and Recycling of the Currently Built Single Detached Houses…......................................59
S. Nakajima, J. Koga
Building research institute, Japan

A Neurofuzzy Knowledge Model for the Quantification of Structural Flexibility.............................................................66

R.W.J. Hoekman, R. Blok, F. van Herwijnen
Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands

Construction Materials and C&D Waste in India...........................................................................................................72

Sandeep Shrivastava and Abdol Chini
University of Florida, USA

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF BUILDINGS

Embodied and operational energy use of buildings.......................................................................................................77
L.C.M. Itard
Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands

Research Framework for an Experimental Study on Phase Change Materials in Scaled Models of Dutch Dwellings.85
F. Muthing, A.G. Entrop, H.J.H. Brouwers
University of Twente, the Netherlands

The Jerusalem Eco-Housing Project - Applying Integrated Design Solutions……........................................................93

Gil Peled
Eco challenges, Jerusalem

The influence of changes in the physical and technical design on social interactions in a cohousing community......100
J.T. Bouma, A.I.M Voorbij, W. A. Poelman
Hanze University Groningen, University of Twente, the Netherlands

DESIGN WITH REUSED MATERIALS AND COMPONENTS

The Process of Designing with Reused Building components....................................................................................105
Mark Gorgolewski, Lawrence Morettin
Ryerson University , The Fountainhead Design Group, Canada
Supply Driven Architecture (SDA)................................................................................................................................110
W. A. Poelman
University of Twente, the Netherlands

Conservation of Resources by Designing a Meccano for Temporary constructions....................................................118

W. Debacker, A. Paduart, C. Henrotay, N. De Temmerman, W.P. De Wilde, H. Hendrickx
Vrije universiteit Brussel, Belgium

INTELLIGENT AND ECO MATERIALS

Eco Concrete Stones with TiO2 for Atmospheric Decontamination.............................................................................126
M. M. Ballari, M. Hunger, G. Hüsken and H. J. H. Brouwers
University of Twente, the Netherlands

Construction Process Assessment or “Black Box Opener”..........................................................................................131

L. Abarca, F.M. Scheublin, A.J.D. Lambert
Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands

Constitutive modelling of viscoelastic behaviour of CNT/Polymer composites............................................................136

K. Yazdchi, M. Salehi
University of Twente, the Netherlands, Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran

The direct incorporation of micro-encapsulated Phase Change Materials in the concrete mixing process – A feasibility
study.............................................................................................................................................................................141
M. Hunger, A.G. Entrop, I. Mandilaras, H.J.H. Brouwers, M. Founti
University of Twente, the Netherlands, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Preface
become undeniable in 21st century. The appetite for
raw materials and landfill sites, as well as
University of Twente in Enschede, the Netherlands,
acceleration of the changing demands by users
hosted the CIB W115 conference on Life Cycle
clearly indicates that a fundamental change in the
Design of Buildings Systems and Materials from 12-
way buildings are designed and constructed is
15 June 2009. Unique feature of the conference was
needed.
its attempt to bridge the gap between the theory and
During the conference the state of the art papers
practice in the field of sustainable building
have been presented with respect to life cycle design
construction by involving construction Industry
of buildings and materials.
(region of Twente, The Netherlands) into the debate
This subject integrates issues from spatial
during the conference. Innovation in sustainable
adaptability and flexibility of building systems to
construction has been presented through number of
material efficiency and energy saving (embodied
case studies by the industry members of the
energy).
Innovation Platform Twente (working Group IDF).
The conference was organized by the University
Development of the research agenda with respect to
Twente, Innovation Platform Twente ( Working group
this topic deal with issues such as, life cycle
IDF) and CIB.
performance and strategies, design methodology,
systems development, reuse, renewable materials,
The emphasis of the conference was on innovative
cad manufacturing, and development of performance
design and construction methods and assessment
measurement tools (transformation capacity-
methods that will incorporate effective use of
measurement tool, life cycle costing, life cycle
materials into the whole life cycle of buildings and
assessments etc.).
building materials.

Background on CIB W115

The conventional way of construction has become a
burden to the dynamic and changing society of the
This CIB W115 Commission on Construction Material
21st century. Developers and real estate managers
Stewardship aims to:
warn that there is a miss-match between the
• Drastically reduce the deployment and
existing building stock and the dynamic and
consumption of new non-renewable
changing demands with respect to the use of
construction materials, to replace non-
buildings and their systems.
renewable materials with renewable ones
A report by the World Resource Institute projects
whenever possible, to achieve equilibrium in
300% rise in material use as world population and
the demand and supply of renewable
economic activity increases over the next 50 years.
materials and ultimately to restore the
Steel price is rising. Raw materials are gradually
renewable resource base
diminishing and becoming expensive, landfill sites
• Carry out these tasks in ways to maximize
are filling up forcing disposal fees to increase and
positive financial, social and environmental
making the waste management exceptionally
and ecological sustainability effects, impacts
expensive.
and outcomes.
The physical impact of increasing building mass in
industrialised nations and developing world has
Dr. Elma Durmisevic
 Sustainable Construction Strategies: A Singapore
Perspective
1 2 2
K. C. G. Ong , E Anggadjaja , S. L. Y Soh
1
Department of Civil Engineering, National University of Singapore,
2
Building and Construction Authority, Singapore

Abstract
This paper presents an overview of the Sustainable Construction Master Plan envisaged by the
Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Singapore. Various initiatives that are currently being
pursued to drive sustainable construction are discussed. To highlight strategic Thrust 3, one of the
projects funded by the Ministry of Development’s Research Fund for the Built Environment is briefly
described. The project utilizes microwave heating to increase the yield and quality of recycled
concrete aggregates. The preliminary results obtained using the proposed system is briefly reported
in this paper.

Keywords:
Sustainable construction, Singapore, Waste to resource, Microwave heating, Recycled concrete
aggregates

(2) Promoting sustainable construction in the private

1 INTRODUCTION sector;
Singapore is a small city state sited on about 700 km2 of
land, supporting a population of 4.6 million people. With (3) Collaborative research & development with industry;
one of the highest population densities in the world but
practically no natural resources, the development of the
(4) Building industry capabilities;
city has to be undertaken in a sustainable manner to
ensure a first-rate living environment not only for current,
but also future generations of Singaporeans. (5) Strategic profiling and raising awareness to generate
sustained demand; and
As most construction materials are imported, concrete has
been the construction material of choice due primarily to (6) Setting minimum standards through legislative
its lower cost and the availability of low-cost migrant requirements.
labour employed in the construction industry. Construction
materials are generally sourced from regional countries
and till recent times, recycled materials were not 2.1 THRUST 1: Public sector taking the lead
commonly used in the production of concrete [Annex A]. Sustainable development has been and will continue to
be a national issue in Singapore and the government will
The global economic crisis notwithstanding, the continue to take the lead in efforts to address
phenomenon of spiraling construction cost has been environmental challenges. An Inter-Ministerial Committee
attributed to increased global demand and rising costs of on Sustainable Development comprising government
construction materials. Coupled with the need to preserve leaders from key sectors, champions the national effort
the environment, unlimited supplies of construction on developing holistic strategies towards sustainable
materials for urban infrastructure are now no longer viable development for Singapore. At the industry level, a
and sustainable construction is the way forward. Steering Group, comprising representatives from
regulatory and government procurement agencies, as
2 SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION MASTER PLAN well as industry associations, drives policies and other
initiatives to encourage the adoption of sustainable
construction practices. As the public sector currently
Singapore launched the Sustainable Construction Master accounts for about 30-40% of the total construction
Plan in 2008 to reduce the use of natural aggregates in demand, it is important for government agencies to take
building projects through a combination of recycling and the lead in adopting sustainable construction practices in
more efficient use of materials. To deliver on the twin their projects and showcase these efforts to the industry.
targets, six strategic thrusts have been identified to drive
the industry towards sustainable construction. The six 2.2 THRUST 2: Promoting sustainable construction
strategic thrusts are: in the private sector
Promotion of sustainable construction in the private
(1) Public sector taking the lead; sector is mainly being done through BCA’s Green Mark
Scheme. The Green Mark Scheme is a locally-developed

8
green building rating system to evaluate a building for its construction practices, such as use of construction
environmental impact and performance. Since April 2008, products made using recycled or environmentally friendly
the Green Mark basic standard has been legislated as the materials.
minimum mandatory standard for all building works with a 2.3 THRUST 3: Collaborative R&D with industry
gross floor area of 2,000 m2 or more. Recognition is given
in the Green Mark Scheme for the adoption of sustainable
In 2007, Singapore launched a S$50 million Research In Singapore, older buildings are often demolished to
Fund for the Built Environment, managed by the Ministry make way for new ones as land use intensifies. As part of
of National Development (MND). Research projects that BCA’s efforts to encourage recovery of higher quality
have been approved for funding include the use of recycled materials, a Demolition Protocol for Resource
recycled concrete aggregates in structural concrete, the Recovery, which covers issues such as pre-demolition
conversion of dredged materials and selected industrial audits and procedures for sequential demolition and
waste into synthetic sand and aggregate materials, and sorting of waste on site, was incorporated into the local
the use of microwave technology to improve the quality of code of practice for demolition works. Going forward,
recycled concrete aggregates (RCA). To supplement BCA will assess the need to implement the submission of
research and development efforts and to test the a waste management plan for demolition projects, where
effectiveness and commercial viability of new recycled selected demolition waste materials have to be sorted
products, BCA works with the industry to conduct pilot and sent to accredited recycling firms. This would then
projects involving the use of recycled products. Examples ensure a constant stream of recycled materials that can
of pilot projects include the use of recycled materials in an be further channeled for value-added applications.
office building project and the extensive use of RCA in a To highlight the types of projects funded under Strategic
commercial building project for long term monitoring Thrust 3 one of the projects funded by the Ministry of
purposes. Development’s Research Fund for the Built Environment
2.4 THRUST 4: Building industry capabilities is described briefly in the following section.
The success of sustainable construction in Singapore will
not be possible without the partnership of the industry in 3 RESEARCH ON MICROWAVE HEATING FOR RCA
actively adopting best practices. BCA has worked with the PRODUCTION
Waste Management and Recycling Association of This project is one of a slew of projects funded through
Singapore (WMRAS) to upgrade the standards of RCA- Strategic Thrust 3 under the MND’s Research Fund for
recyclers and accredit them under an industry-led the Built Environment. The main objective of the project is
accreditation scheme. The scheme aims to upgrade the to improve the quality and yield of the recycled concrete
capabilities of recyclers, encourage greater self- production plants in Singapore.
regulation, and improve the quality and consistency of
The use of recycled aggregates in structural applications
recycled aggregates. The accreditation scheme was
is limited due to the presence of adhering cementitious
launched in November 2008. BCA is also in the midst of
mortar on the individual recycled aggregate particles. The
formulating suitable incentive schemes to build up the
adhering mortar has been reported to result in higher
industry’s capability in sustainable construction.
porosity, higher water absorption, lower modulus of
2.5 THRUST 5: Strategic profiling and raising elasticity and weaker interfacial zone (ITZ) between the
awareness to generate sustained demand newly cast cementitious mortar and the recycled
The sustainable construction movement itself will not be aggregates. The method under investigation takes
sustainable if the demand and awareness within the advantage of the differences between the
construction industry cannot be sustained. As part of electromagnetic and thermal properties [1 to 8] of the
BCA’s efforts to continually educate the industry on the coarse aggregate and adhering cementitious mortar to
benefits of sustainable construction, conferences and cause delamination at the ITZ, separating the aggregate
exhibitions have been organized to provide a platform for from the adhering cementitious mortar. The results of
knowledge-sharing, such as the recent International Solid both experimental and analytical studies show that
Waste Association (ISWA)/WMRAS World Congress held microwave heating is effective in increasing the yield and
in Singapore in November 2008. Singapore will also be quality of the recycled concrete aggregates compared to
holding the International Green Building Conference in more traditional methods of recycling.
October 2009 to showcase and discuss the latest 3.1 Analytical results
developments.
Analytical modeling was used for the microwave
2.6 THRUST 6: Setting minimum standards through decontamination system shown in Figure 1. The system
legislative requirements utilizes three frequencies 2.45, 10.6 and 18 GHz
Although the role of education and promotion is representative of the characteristics of typical low,
necessary, legislative requirements remain fundamental in intermediate and high frequencies together with a
determining the advancement of new methods and constant incident microwave power of 1.1 MW / m 2 .
materials. Previously, the national standard for Some of the results obtained are presented in Figures 2
aggregates was the Singapore Standard (SS) 31: to 4. For clarity Figures 2 to 4 show only the temperature
Specification for Aggregates from Natural Sources for developed within the first 10 cm thick surface layer of the
Concrete, which covers only the use of natural aggregates concrete block when subjected to microwave heating.
in concrete. In March 2008, a move was made to adopt
the local equivalent of BS EN 12620: Specification for The amount of energy dissipated in the concrete
Aggregates for Concrete, which has provisions for the use specimen varies dramatically with its electromagnetic
of manufactured and recycled concrete aggregates as properties. The electromagnetic properties of concrete
well. The recognition of the new Standard is crucial for are a function of factors including concrete ingredients
providing guidelines to the industry on the performance of and mix proportions, water content, microwave frequency,
new construction materials from non-natural sources. temperature, etc. The significant effects of concrete water

9
content (Figure 2 to 4) and microwave frequency on the
heating process are confirmed. ( inch )
0 1 2 3
140

120 Wet 250

Temperature ( °C )
100
200
80 Saturated

( °F )
150
60 Air-Dried
Oven-Dried
40 100
20
50
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Distance from the microwave exposed surface ( cm )
Figure 1: Sketch of the microwave heating system
Figure 4: Temperature distribution in concrete after 1
second of microwave heating at 18 GHz frequency
(inch)
0 1 2 3
100 The results indicate that drenching of the concrete
90 Wet 200
Saturated 180 surface may be used to increase the efficiency of the
80
Temperature ( °C )

160
microwave decontamination process as considerably
70
60 140
higher stresses in a thinner surface layer may be
generated in a wet concrete when compared to a dry
( °F )

50 Air-Dried 120
40 concrete. However excessive amounts of water may not
100
30 be desirable as energy would be unnecessarily
80
20 Oven-Dried consumed in generating steam from the surface water
60
10 present. The temperature reached and the stress
40
0 generated in the concrete seemed to vary proportionally
0 2 4 6 8 10
with the microwave initial power and heating duration.
Distance from the microwave exposed surface (cm)
Typical results plotted in Figure 5 shows the thermal
stress development developed within the concrete block.
Figure 2: Temperature distribution in concrete after 5
The results confirmed that the stresses developed were
seconds of microwave heating at 2.45 GHz frequency
significant and sufficient to cause delamination at the
concrete surface. The model was expanded to study the
concomitant contribution of pore pressure (Figure 6)
developed due to microwave heating until concrete
( inch ) surface delamination occurs.
0 1 2 3
160 320
( inch )
140 Wet 280 0 1 2 3
Radial Compressive Stress ( MPa )

100
Temperature ( °C )

120 240 14
100 Saturated Wet
200 80 12
Oven-Dried
( °F )

80
Air-Dried 160 10
60 60
120 8
( ksi )

40
Saturated
80 40 6
20
0 40 Air-Dried 4
0 2 4 6 8 10 20 Oven-Dried
2
Distance from the microwave exposed surface ( cm )
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Figure 3: Temperature distribution in concrete after 2 Distance from the microwave exposed surface ( cm )
seconds of microwave heating at 10.6 GHz frequency
Figure 5: Radial compressive stress in concrete after
2 seconds of microwave heating at 10.6GHz
frequency

10
 ( inch )
0 1 2 3
1.6
1.4 5s 0.20
Pore Pressure ( MPa )

1.2
0.15
1.0

( ksi )
0.8
3s 0.10
0.6
0.4 1s 0.05
0.2
0.0 0.00
0 2 4 6 8 10
Distance from the microwave exposed surface ( cm )

Figure 6: Pore Pressure in saturated concrete after 5

seconds of microwave heating

The feasibility of the new pilot microwave heating system

to improve the quality of recycled concrete aggregates
(RCA) was investigated by modeling the temperature rise
and plotting the temperature distribution in individual RCA
particles when subjected to high frequency microwave
heating. Typical results (Figure 7) shows that a high
temperature differential may be developed in the layer of
adhering cementitious mortar, especially at the interface
between the natural granite aggregate and the adhering
cementitious mortar. These high temperature differentials
are expected to result in high thermal stresses at the
interfacial zone ITZ and thus are effectively harnessed in Figure7: Temperature, temperature gradient, normal
detaching the adhering cementitious mortar from the stresses and tangential stresses developed in a RCA
RCA. The spalling depth of the surface layer of the particle subjected to microwave heating at 2.45 GHz
aggregate particle and the microwave exposure time for frequency and 10 kW power
spalling to take place are inversely proportional to
microwave frequency. Once the adhering cementious
mortar is delaminated from the surface of RCA, the yield
and quality of the resultant aggregates would improve
significantly.
Besides numerical modeling, an experimental study is
also on-going to verify the numerical results. Preliminary
experimental results obtained confirmed the capability of
the microwave heating system to remove the adhering
mortar within a very short period of exposure. Figure 8
and 9 show samples of aggregate particles after being
subjected to microwave heating. The aggregate particles
are sieved into various sizes and showed that in most
cases the adhering cementitious mortar detached cleanly
from the granite aggregates. Light brushing is sufficient to
dislodge the loosely attached mortar after microwave Figure 8 : Granite aggregates obtained after removal of
heating. The original surface of the granite aggregate was adhering mortar from RCA
clearly visible under closer examination.
The analytical results obtained yielded results which were
of much use as background information for the design of
the pilot microwave heating facility to improve the yield
and quality of RCA. The processes involved will be further
fine tuned to address various decontamination, handling,
production, storage and safety issues before a fully
functional system may be incorporated for actual
production of RCA using microwave heating. This next
phase would involve the active participation of an
industrial collaborator.

Figure 9: Cementitious mortar detached from RCA

11
4 SUMMARY ANNEX A
A concerted and holistic approach that covers the whole
construction value chain is currently taking shape in CURRENT USAGE OF RECYCLED MATERIALS
Singapore to sustain the supply and demand for recycled The various types of waste materials available for
materials. BCA has been working closely with the industry recycling and its current usage in Singpaore’s
to shift from conventional construction methods to construction industry are briefly discussed below.
sustainable construction. Through tackling design and
regulatory issues related to sustainable construction and
encouraging the use of recycled materials, the industry A.1 Demolition waste
has increased its awareness and receptiveness to Demolition waste is the material resulting from the
alternative construction materials and methods. Besides demolition of buildings and other structures. As
minimizing depletion of natural resources, sustainable Singapore’s infrastructure ages, demolition waste can be
construction strategies will also enhance sustainability expected to increase. It consists of a mixture of hardcore
and preserve natural resources for use by future (concrete, masonry, bricks, tiles), reinforcement bars,
generations. gypsum boards, wood, plastic, glass, and other metals
etc. The average amount of demolition waste generated
5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS is estimated to be 2 million tons per year (based on
construction demand of S$17 billion), of which concrete
We extend our sincere thanks to all who contributed to the waste makes up about 70% (or 1.4 million tons) of
contents of this paper. demolition waste. The bulk of concrete waste generated
from demolition works is normally used either as hardcore
6 REFERENCES for construction of temporary site access in new
[1] Watson, A., Breaking of concrete. Microwave power construction sites or as materials for road sub-base layer.
engineering, E. C. Okress, 1968. 2(Academic New Demolition waste in Singapore is relatively uniform based
York). on type of coarse aggregate since granite is the main
[2] White, T.L., Grubb, R.G., Pugh L.P., Foster, D. Jr., type of coarse aggregate used for concreting here.
Box, W.D., Removal of Contaminated Concrete Concrete waste, which was manufactured originally with
Surface by Microwave Heating - Phase 1 Results. natural aggregates, can be processed into Recycled
th
Proceedings of 18 American Nuclear Society Concrete Aggregates (RCA) to supplement the use of
Symposium on Waste Management, Tucson, natural aggregates. However, currently only a small
Arizona, 1992. portion of the concrete waste is processed into RCA for
[3] Li, W., Ebadian, M.A., White, T.L., and Grubb, R.G., use in non-structural precast components such as road
heat Transfer within a concrete slab applying the kerbs, paving slabs, small drains, etc. Going forward,
microwave decontamination process. J. Heat BCA will introduce various measures and initiatives to
Transfer, 1993. 115: p. 42-50. promote the up-cycling of RCA obtained from demolition
waste for a range of structural and non-structural
[4] Li, W., Ebadian, M.A., White T. L., Grubb, R. G., and concrete applications.
Foster, D., Heat and mass transfer in a
contaminated porous concrete slab with variable
dielectric properties. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, A.2 Milled waste
1994. 37(6): p. 1013-1027 Milled waste is asphalt that has been machine-milled from
[5] White, T.L., Foster, D., Jr., Wilson, C. T., and existing roads. It is bitumen-based and is commonly
Schaich, C. R., Phase II microwave concrete recycled and reused as a sub-base material for the
decontamination results, in ORNL Rep. No. DE- construction of new roads. The amount of milled waste
AC05-84OR21400. 1995, Oak Ridge National generated per year is estimated to be 0.5 million tons.
Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn. Milled waste is currently being explored for recycling
under a closed-loop concept where it is processed into
[6] Lagos, L.E., Li, W. and, Ebadian, M. A, Heat transfer Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) to replace part of the
within a concrete slab with a finite microwave aggregates and bitumen used in the manufacturing of
heating source. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 1995. asphalt concrete for the wearing and binder courses.
38(5): p. 887-897.
[7] Zdeněk P. Bažant, F.A., and Goangseup Zi,
Decontamination of Radionuclides from concrete by A.3 Spent copper slag
microwave heating. I: Theory. J.Eng Mech., 2003. Copper slag is a by-product formed during the copper
129(7): p. 777-784. smelting process. In Singapore, copper slag is imported
from various countries by shipyards for grit-blasting to
[8] Goangseup Zi and Zdeněk P. Bažant, F.A., remove rust and marine deposits accumulated on ships.
Decontamination of radionuclides from concrete by The spent copper slag is then treated and washed to
microwave heating. II: Computations. J.Eng Mech., meet criteria imposed by the National Environment
2003. 129(7): p. 785-792. Agency (NEA). It can then be explored for further use in
other applications or disposed off if no suitable use can
be found. NEA requires spent copper slag recycling
companies to submit regular Toxicity Characteristic
Leaching Procedure (TCLP) test results to ensure that the
copper slag has been processed properly. The amount of
spent copper slag available for reuse is estimated to be
0.4 million tons per year.

12
Since 2005, spent copper slag has been used as fine technology has been developed and patented by a local
aggregates or sand replacement for concrete production. company to treat and convert dredged marine clay into a
In using spent copper slag, it is allowed to replace up to ceramic-based product. The newly developed technology
10% by mass of sand (fine aggregates) in the production is also able to encapsulate contaminants in the materials
of structural grade concrete. For non-structural concrete, and covert them into ceramic matrices. On-going
BCA encourages the use of RCA and spent copper slag research has shown that dredged materials can be
to a greater degree, with a replacement rate of 50% by manufactured into engineered aggregates with properties
mass of total aggregate content, recognized under the similar to lightweight aggregates through a series of
Green Mark Scheme. physical, chemical and thermal processes. Trial projects
will be conducted to determine suitable applications of the
material.
A.4 Steel slag
Steel slag is a by-product formed during the steel-making
process. It further undergoes a physical process of
crushing and separation to produce the required gradation
for further use. The amount of steel slag available locally
for reuse is estimated to be 0.1 million tons per year. Steel
slag can be beneficially used for road surfacing
aggregates when it has been properly processed. Since
1994, 100% of steel slag generated in Singapore has
been fully recycled into aggregates used in the asphalt
mix for the wearing course of roads.

A.5 Incineration ash

In view of the constraints of limited land, Singapore has
adopted waste-to-energy incineration as a waste disposal
method. Incineration ash, the residual product from the
combustion of local municipal solid waste, is currently
disposed at Singapore’s only offshore landfill at Pulau
Semakau. Incineration ash comprises about 15% fly ash
and 85% incineration bottom ash (IBA). IBA has to be
processed to render it suitable as an aggregate. The
amount of incineration ash generated per year is
estimated to be 0.5 million tons.
The use of IBA for road construction is currently at the
pilot project stage. Successful trials for road usage by the
Land Transport Authority (LTA) have been conducted and
it was found that treated IBA may be suitable for use as a
road base material. However, further long-term tests may
be needed to monitor the impact of its use on
groundwater.

A.6 Excavated & Dredged Materials

Excavated materials are land-based soils generated
mainly from construction activities, e.g. earthwork,
tunneling. It can be further categorized into 2 groups,
namely Good Earth and Soft Clay. Good Earth is used
directly as backfill materials or for reclamation purposes
while Soft Clay can be mixed with cement to produce a
highly flowable grout material (also known as liquid soil)
for backfilling and soil stabilization applications. The
amount of excavated materials is estimated to be about
3.8 million tons per year. Currently all excavated materials
are reused.

Dredged materials are soils excavated under water which

consist mostly of marine clay and may contain organic
material. The amount of dredged materials ranges from
0.5 to 4 million tons per year, depending on capital and
maintenance dredging activities for that particular year.
While the non-contaminated dredged materials can be
used in land reclamation projects, the contaminated
dredged materials are currently disposed at the offshore
Semakau Spoil Ground. BCA is currently exploring the
use of dredged material for non-structural concrete
applications through a R&D project. A new crystallization

13
 From Ugly Duckling to Swan
- Transformation as an Alternative to Demolition
Storey J.B.1
1
Centre for Building Performance Research, School of Architecture,
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract
This paper focuses on the transformation of a crude, minimalistic, inefficient 1970s office building into a high quality
office tower utilising a fraction of the material resources, and with very significant benefits in both time and cost
compared with the construction of a new building. The paper examines the technical processes involved, analyses
the triple bottom line sustainability benefits, describes the lessons that have been learnt and explains their
application to other buildings of a similar nature both nationally and internationally. It concludes that renovation is
not only a sustainable option to the future use of these buildings but that in most cases it is a better option than
demolition or even deconstruction.

Keywords
Reuse, renovation, existing buildings, offices, resource stewardship,

INTRODUCTION space were as much at blame as the speculators. All were

interested more in money than quality. All were playing
the same game, maximum space for lowest cost; with little
Office buildings built in the period 1960 to 1990 were often consideration being given to the well-being of the end
substandard in terms of their performance materials used user. Planning controls generally stressed height planes
and in space. Today, these buildings are quite simply an which indirectly encouraged minimal floor to floor heights.
embarrassment. The general feeling in both the building The New Zealand Building Code was essentially written
sector and the community at large is that they should be around domestic buildings. Builders and designers were
demolished. Yet they represent a huge investment of required to operate to impossible deadlines and to design
resources. or build right down to the cheapest standards included in
the Building Code but took the work anyway, were all part
So, is there a resource effective and financially beneficial of the matrix.
way of dealing with these buildings? A progressive
developer/owner and a skilled design team thought that This situation came to an abrupt halt in 1987 when a
there was, and transformed a low quality 1970’s structure stockmarket crash was accompanied by a wholesale
into a 5 star NZ Green Star (New Zealand Excellence) downsizing of Central Government. Suddenly there was a
building, which is equivalent to a LEED Gold Standard glut of office space. Many developers went bankrupt and
rated office building. In the process it has been changed many of those building owners that had invested in low
from a typical unlovely, unloved and unwanted technically grade office buildings also went bankrupt, because users
inferior, Brutalist era concrete stub into a crystalline tower preferred not to rent these substandard office buildings if
that will enhance the urban quality of the area. The other options were available.
scheme will transform the building from an ugly duckling
into a swan, in the very best tradition of Hans Christian
Anderson. Virtually no new office buildings were built in New Zealand
in the following 15 years. Instead existing office buildings
were upgraded. However, upgrading for the most part was
BACKGROUND cosmetic in nature with the only energy efficiency
improvements in being in the lighting area.
The period 1960 to 1990 saw the creation of generation of
cheap and inefficient office buildings. They were 21 QUEEN STREET
commissioned by developer/speculators, who quickly sold
them on to building owners. They were built down to the
lowest legal construction and space standards at a time of Dating from the 1970s, 21 Queen Street is one such
widespread speculative development and space marginal value buildings referred to above. Over the
shortages in the office sector. This situation meant that years this building and many more like it have become
even poor quality office space could find tenants. increasingly difficult to tenant. In the case of 21 Queen
Street this has led to a prolonged period of decline which
has affected not only the building itself but also the area
While fault is usually assigned to developer/speculators surrounding the building at street level. However it is
the whole of the building sector must share at least some located in the heart of Auckland’s Central Business
of the blame for this situation. It could be argued that the District and has outstanding views over the harbour from
organisations that bought and let these low quality at laest 505 of the office space.
buildings and the occupier organisations who rented the

14
 gross to net lettable area ratio 92.5% to be achieved.
Many developers/owners would have demolished the Together these factors make a major difference to the
building and started anew. However the architects ran a commercial viability of the renovated building.
series of scenarios and were able to demonstrate to the
building owners that a major renovation rather than The modern, high performance, pressure equalised
starting new was the best overall option both in terms of double glazed curtain wall system (figures 6 and 7)
time and cost. In this case, an enlightened client incorporates heat absorbing solar control glass externally
combined with a skilled and imaginative design team and low-E glass on the inner layer This double glazing
found ways to retain the buildings original use and system permits 51% light transmission and gives a
upgrade it to current standards. This has been achieved shading index of .29 with a maximum external reflectance
at a fraction of the cost and time compared with building a of 6% and a maximum interior reflectance of 7%.
new building of equivalent standard.

Energy efficient, single tube T5 tri phosphor fluorescent

The design has achieved a NZGBC 5 Green Star ‘New lamps are currently specified. These are semi recessed to
Zealand Excellence’ design rating (NZGBC 2007), which illuminate and bounce light off the ceiling. The lighting
requires achieving between 60-74 points. In this case the system is designed to allow for the incorporation of LED
building achieved 65 points. The 5 Green Star NZ rating strip lights as these become available on the NZ market.
fulfils the requirements for government office leasing in These will further reduce energy demand. The energy
Central Business Districts and provides the building with a efficient chilled beam air conditioning system uses 100%
strong marketing cache. fresh air and incorporates an energy recovery interface
between the exhaust and inlet air intakes which recovers
The use of energy efficient lighting, chilled beam space about 68% of the energy and can operate in both cooling
conditioning, water saving technologies, the incorporation and heating mode. The energy recovery system also has
of environmentally friendly materials, the building’s a bypass to allow the direct introduction of outside air into
location adjacent to Auckland’s transport hub, harbour the system when this is a more energy optimal mode of
and expansive city views and the fulfilment of project operation. This mode can for example be used for night
management criteria all made strong contributions to the time cool air flushing.
award of Green Star points.
Together these measures have drastically improved the
One of the key design decisions was remove the original energy efficiency of the building. With buildings of this era
heavy concrete spandrel panels, as shown in Figure 5, base building energy utilisation was around 200kW/m²/yr
and their replacement with a high performance solar and Base building energy demand in the renovated building
energy control double glazing façade system that has been calculated at 55.5kWh/m²/yr, which is roughly
improved energy efficiency, daylighting and glare control 42% of the typical air conditioned base building energy
and reduced interior traffic noise, as well as presenting a load and well within the NZGBC (PBNZ 2000) target
modern image and increasing net lettable area. benchmark figure of 120kW/m²/yr.

The lighter weight of the curtain wall system permitted the Rainwater harvesting and storage is incorporated into the
addition of 4 extra floors while permitting the retention of design. A 40,000 litre subsoil tank is installed and will be
the original foundations and structure. These changes used for stormwater detention and toilet flushing. Low flow
allow the addition of an extra 4,500m² to the original water taps are provided to all bathroom areas.
14,000m² of net lettable space. The existing core is
retained and reused and this plus the thinner façade allow
a

Figures 1, 2, 3 showing progressive removal of heavy concrete spandrel panels and their replacement with
high performance double glazed unitised panels which allowed the addition of 4 new floors of accommodation.
Note glazed pedestrian way at ground level that ties scheme into the city.

15
CRUCIAL DESIGN DECISSIONS
Air Conditioning and Ventilation
Retained Structure A chilled beam heating/cooling water system with a
As noted previously buildings of this era are typical separate ventilation system was selected for the
poorly constructed. One major exception to this building. The ventilation system uses 100% outside
generalisation is that structural elements always air but incorporates a energy recovery interface.
been carefully controlled and built to high and This interface recovers about 67% of the energy
strictly enforced design and constructional criteria in which is used to precondition the incoming air. A
New Zealand. This is necessary because bypass system This provides
earthquakes and high winds can be both frequent
and severe. Due to this condition the whole ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
structure was able to be reused. This in itself saved
months of construction time and a very significant
quantity of material resources. In this type of The author acknowledges the help provide by
building the massive, reinforced concrete structure, Peddle Thorp Architects and AMP NZ Property
floor slabs and foundations conventionally Trust in the preparation of this paper. Particular
contribute 75% or more to the building’s total thanks is extended to Wade Jennings of Peddle
embodied energy content (Storey 1995). Thorp Architects.

Replacement of concrete spandrel panels REFERENCES

A key element in the economic refurbishment of the
building was that it was originally constructed with Govt 2006 Cabinet Minutes CAB (06)34/16 Cabinet
very heavy precast non-loadbearing concrete Office Wellington New Zealand
spandrel panels and obviously the structure was
designed to take the loadings imposed. Therefore
the removal of these panels and their replacement Govt 2008 Cabinet Minutes CAB (08)24/11 Cabinet
with much lighter full height high performance Office Wellington New Zealand
glazing allowed four floors of extra lettable space to
be added to the height of the building without Govt 2007a Cabinet Minutes CAB Min (07)18/7
changing the structure. This combined with the extra Cabinet Office Wellington New Zealand
space due to the use of thin rather than a thick wall
resulted in an extra 4500m² of net lettable space
being generated in the building which made the Govt 2007b Cabinet Paper POL (07)131 Cabinet
whole scheme economically viable despite the Office Wellington New Zealand
resulting building being some 40 metres less in
height than was allowed with current height
Hince, M. 2007, Office Space Demand Is Still
regulations. rd
Growing. Dominion Post newspaper 23 June
2007, Wellington, N Z.
Retained Structural Core
Core size is another crucial factor. In buildings of Ministry for the Environment 2008 DOC HQ Case
this era the core provides most of the sheer strength Study. DOC Website. www.doc.govt.nz Wellington,
of the structure. In many buildings the core is as New Zealand
dimensionally mean an as all other parts of the
construction. If it had been necessary to beach the
structural core, to meet user demands for vertical Ministry for the Environment. 2007a “Targets in the
services and lifts/escape stairs the scheme would New Zealand Waste Strategy – 2006 Review of
have been rendered financially unfeasible. Progress.” Publication number 802. Wellington, New
Fortunately, in this case the structural core was just Zealand
large enough to take all the extra servicing
requirements and the modified lifts able to meet the
reduced lift waiting times demanded by today’s Ministry for the Environment 2007b New Zealand
tenants. Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy
(NZEECS) Wellington, New Zealand

Improved Floor to Ceiling Height

Ministry for the Environment 2005 Sustainable
The original building had a floor to ceiling height of Fitout Guide MfE Publication ME703 Wellington,
2400mm which is now deemed unacceptable by New Zealand
users. In the original design scheme the underside
of the slab and the services were exposed which
allowed a floor to ceiling height of 3000mm. New Zealand Green Building Council. 2007, Green
However the client considered that it was Star NZ – Office Design v1. Auckland, NZ.
commercially unacceptable to dispense with a New Zealand Government.2008, Waste
ceiling. The design team managed in the end to Minimisation Act (2008). Government Publications,
incorporate a ceiling and increase the floor to ceiling Wellington, NZ.
height in the existing building to 2650mm.

16
New Zealand Government. 2004, Building Act
(2004). Government Publications, Wellington, New
Zealand.

Peddle Thorp Architects/AMP NZ Office Trust 2008

NZ GBC Green Star Assessment Submission

Pierce M. 2007, Personal Communications

Property Council of New Zealand 2000 Office

Building Energy Consumption Survey, Auckland,
New Zealand

Storey J.B. 2007a, Overcoming the Barriers to

Improving the Sustainability of Existing Commercial
Buildings. Conference Portugal SB07, Sustainable
Construction, Materials and Practices – Challenges
of the Industry for the New Millennium, Lisbon,
Portugal.

2007 Storey J.B. 2007b, Resource Conservation in

Existing Commercial Office Buildings, Conference
CESB 07, Central Europe Towards Sustainable
Building, Prague, Czech Republic,

Storey J.B. 2007c, Improving the Sustainability of

New Zealand’s Existing Commercial Office
Buildings, Conference SB07 NZ, Transforming Our
Built Environment, Auckland, New Zealand

Storey, J.B. 1995, Relocation and Reuse of Herd

Street Post Office. Confidential, Unpublished
Consultants Report, Wellington, New Zealand.

17
 Transforming Cities: Introducing Adaptability in Existing
Residential Buildings through Reuse and Disassembly Strategies
for Retrofitting

1 1 2 1 2
A. Paduart , W. Debacker , C. Henrotay , N. De Temmerman², W. P. De Wilde , H. Hendrickx

1
Department of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
2
Department of Architectural Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract
Since the existing building stock will remain with us for decades, their importance as economic, social and
cultural capital should not be wasted. In the framework of the current ecological and social issues,
residential buildings need to be re-designed and adapted according to their environmental impacts.
However, the lack of flexibility in the conventional building design does not enable these crucial
transformations, often causing demolition of building parts or entire building structures.
The aim of this paper is to specify a systemic design approach to update residential buildings, extending
their initial material and energy consumption while integrating future adaptability. Reuse and potential
reconfiguration of building products provide answers to the increasing construction and demolition waste
issues. Through a case study of retrofitting of a semi-high-rise residential building, the opportunities using
disassembly and reuse strategies are being explored, by stripping the building to its bearing structure and
adding a new adaptable infill, composed of reconfigurable and reusable building components.

Keywords:
4 Dimensional Design, design for disassembly, material and component recovery, reuse of
existing buildings, transformation

increasing, as the number of building activities increase

1 INTRODUCTION yearly.
To produce our buildings, finite resources such as Consequently, the construction and demolition waste
petroleum products, minerals and water are being represents, for example in Flanders (Belgium), the largest
consumed in high rates. As the world’s population is fraction of the total waste disposal composition [2]. This
continuing to grow, the depletion of the earth’s material growing tendency has been observed in several
and energy resources will continue to increase, leading to European countries.
degradation of our natural environmental and human Regarding demolition of buildings, it is identified that
health. The built construction world is a sector that is buildings, no longer satisfactory in terms of spatial,
responsible for a high contribution to the consumption of functional or formal requirements, may still incorporate
these natural resources. New construction, maintenance numerous materials containing various lifecycle benefits
and renovation of buildings, including the production of [3]. To bypass the wasteful processes of demolition and
building materials, generate 45% of the European waste reconstruction, reuse of entire buildings must therefore
[1] [2]. set as a priority, and subsequently, reuse of the building’s
In addition, traditional buildings are unable to answer the components and materials must be maximised.
variable factors of everyday life, the changing social The process of adapting old structures for alternative
needs and evolving functional requirements of the uses, thereby extending the useful life of the existing
building, due to the current static building design. Lack of building stock and their components, supports key
integrated flexibility and adaptability often causes concepts of sustainability by lowering material, transport
demolition of major building parts or even demolition of and energy consumption and pollution. Indeed, since
entire buildings. As a result, the conventional building buildings usually last for decades, the importance of the
design is responsible for a vast amount of redundant existing building stock as an economic, social and cultural
construction and demolition waste - an amount that is still capital should not be wasted. Although their
environmental impact has been estimated significantly

18
higher than new buildings [4], the number of new buildings extraction of
processing
manufacture
assembly waste for
natural into building use DISASSEMBLY
constructed annually in developed countries barely resources
into materials
components
into buildings dumping

corresponds to 1,5 - 2 % of the existing building stock. reuse of a

This means that even with strategies that replace all reuse of components
whole building

existing buildings with more energy and material efficient reprocessing of materials

new buildings, at the current construction rate it would recycling of materials

take from 50 to 100 years to replace the entire current Figure 1: Different possible reincarnation scenarios in the
building stock [5]. built environment [7].
It is therefore important to introduce new strategies that
minimise the impact of the existing buildings, integrating a Figure 1 shows that on the highest level or reuse, the
long term vision and creating new opportunities. primary step to achieve a sustainable built environment is
This paper discusses a general approach for reuse of to consider 4D approaches for the reuse of the existing
existing buildings, integrating adaptability and reuse of buildings (reuse of entire building).
building components, with the focus on (social) high-rise
housing. 3 A 4 DIMENSIONAL DESIGN FOR ADAPTIVE
REUSE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS
2 4 DIMENSIONAL DESIGN 3.1 An alternative approach to reuse of existing
2.1 From fixed to demountable structures buildings
Due to the conventional building design, the world of Approaches to reuse the existing buildings, need to
today is facing the environmental impacts of our short intervene in the existing building stock in a way that these
term building design vision and excessive consuming buildings can again participate in a positive environmental
construction environment. Alternative building design development.
strategies are needed that take a total life cycle of Research has shown that the existing building stock has
buildings into account. The reuse of building components the greatest potential to lower the environmental load of
in adaptable constructions clearly presents environmental, the built environment over the next 20 to 30 years,
social and economic benefits, compared to the demolition particularly as a result of performance upgrading of the
of traditional buildings. existing buildings [4]. The vast majority of social high- rise
The main problem regarding adaptability, disassembly buildings erected in the 1970’s in Flanders are in an
and reuse is the fact that over the past decades designers urgent need for renovation. The small-format interior
conceived buildings as being fixed and permanent. They layouts and the inflexible (outdated) typologies with fixed
did not make any provisions for their future adaptation or technical facilities suitable in those days are no longer
disposal. The lack of design for adaptability and accepted by the current users and buyers. As infill
disassembly in current buildings is therefore a major development increases, more individuality and freedom of
barrier to effective transformation and deconstruction for expression in housing is being claimed. However,
reuse. To increase the building’s transformation capacity changing spatial configurations in the current structural
and allow reuse of building components, building design conception of buildings currently still means a material
will be primarily different from traditional design methods. consuming and expensive intervention [8].
4Dimensional design (4D) refers to a design attitude to Therefore a 4Dimensional Design approach is proposed
conceive ‘objects’ from a long term vision, therefore for the renovation process of high-rise housing supporting
integrating the fourth dimension, i.e. time, in the initial the natural evolution of the resident’s needs while
design phase [6]. As a result of evolving circumstances, minimising its environmental impacts. The proposal
there is a growing need for buildings to adapt themselves makes use of the existing bearing structure of the building
in spatial as well as in structural terms. 4D strategies as a support with empty plots for a new adaptable infill,
conceive building artefacts that support evolving independent of the old structure. The infill can exist of
processes in life and society instead of predetermined different typologies of dwellings, designed according to
designing for a specific situation. Possible change over the individual needs of the inhabitants. These dwellings
time is therefore being incorporated from the first stages are set up using a construction kit based on the
of conception of a building and its components. These HENDRICKX and VANWALLEGHEM approach (further
design strategies take into account buildings’ life cycles discussed in 3.2), allowing each dwelling to interact with
on three different levels - material, component and the individual (changing) needs of the inhabitants.
artefact and introducing adaptability, reuse and recycling The 4D designed renovation kit supports the different
[6]. present functional layers in constructions. It is
This design vision enables different possibilities for reuse fundamental to introduce a physical separation between
of materials and components on different levels of the the existing bearing structure and the new infill, its
built environment (Figure 1): [7]: technical facilities, etcetera, since the different building
• relocation and/or reuse of an entire building; parts carry out different functions and have characteristic
life spans. In present buildings, fast-cycling components,
• reuse of major parts of a building - renovation of a such as for instance, dividing walls, can experience
building; conflicts with slow-cycling building parts, for example, the
• reuse of components in a new building or elsewhere in structure of the building, when they need to be adapted.
the same building ; In that case, not only the affected components will need
• reprocessing of components and materials into new to be repaired or replaced, but several adjacent and
components - recycling of materials into new connecting elements will have to be removed as well [9].
materials. Brand [10] therefore introduces a conceptual framework
to divide a building into different lifespan layers (Figure 2),
with different functions, characterised by their anticipated
need for modification. The separation of constructions in

19
six shearing functional layers, namely Site, Structure, A structural analysis has to be made of the stripped
Skin, Services, Space plan and Stuff, allows layers to be bearing structure to remove all non-structural walls,
changed over time without affecting the other layers columns, beams, etc., respecting the stability and the
[9][10]: stiffness of the building. This will allow minimising the
existing structure’s impact on the new independent infill.
Different types of bearing structures will have
characteristic implications on the possibilities of a new
spatial organisation of the building. For instance, a
skeleton structure (Figure 3(c)) allows more vertical
flexibility than a structure characterised by bearing walls
and floors (Figure 3(a)).

Structure Skin

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 3: Types of bearing structures in semi-high-rise
buildings: (a) bearing walls and floors structure; (b)
bearing columns structure; (c) skeleton structure.
Space Plan Services
Figure 2: Shearing layers of change in buildings [11]. Adaptive Reorganisation of a Building (SERVICES1,
SPACE PLAN1)
For the approach of the case of existing high-rise housing The existing bearing structure needs to support a large
buildings, a specific interpretation is given to the variety of infill configurations. Therefore, the
formulated functional layers of Brand: (re)organisation of the building needs to be given
additional attention. Regarding the access per storey to
• Considering the global construction, SITE1 and the
the dwellings, different variations can be considered
(bearing) STRUCTURE1 are predefined in existing
between extremities; Figure 4(a) shows variants between
structures and are consequently unchanging layers for
a minimal centralised access and a maximised circulation
this case.
through the perimeter of the floor-plan. As a result of the
• A primary global SKIN1 definition indicates the space positioning, some variations offer a higher rate of
decision-making on the level of the global new infill of flexible partitioning. Figure 4(b) depicts a centralised
the structure through variable typologies of housing. access to the surrounding zones, offering a greater
• The primary SERVICES1 and SPACE PLAN1 layers organisation freedom for the configuration of apartments,
indicate the interventions for the global circulation than for instance a double linear circulation organised in
organisation and the technical distribution organisation the centre of the building floor plan. To create a flexible
of the entire building structure. support, the designer therefore has to make a legitimate
choice between different possible variations, according to
• Thereafter, on a secondary scale regarding the the opportunities in the considered bearing structure.
individual dwellings, a further layering can be made
into (secondary) STRUCTURE2, SKIN2, etc. Regarding the distribution of technical services (water,
electricity, etc.), analogue organisation schemes variable
in flexibility can be formulated (Figure 5(a)-(b)).
Different guidelines for Design for Adaptive Reuse will be
further discussed on the primary and secondary level of
the 4 global functional layers for this case: STRUCTURE1,
SERVICES1, SPACE PLAN1 and SKIN1.
It is put forward that in this paper only a selection is
presented of the most critical measures to be taken for
adaptive reuse.

3.2 Guidelines for a 4D approach of existing high- (a) (b)

rise housing buildings Figure 4: (a) Horizontal circulation organisation illustrated
Reuse of a Building (STRUCTURE1) by an example (b) of a flexible centralised organisation
High-rise buildings are favoured with a logical ordered versus a fixed double linear organisation.
bearing construction in good structural condition. The
extent of work required to revive a problematic building
(such as moisture problems in the structure) would cause
it to not be cost-effective.
In a first step, the original building is stripped down to the
bearing structure, creating empty plots, as a support for
the new infill of various housing typologies. Direct reuse of
the removed elements should be maximised, and (a) (b)
subsequently, recycling of the materials of damaged Figure 5: (a) Organisation of the distribution of technical
components into new ones. services illustrated by (b) a flexible centralised linear

20
distribution organisation versus a linear lateral distribution.
Multi-use construction kit for adaptable infill of existing This approach can be applied to an entire construction.
buildings (SKIN1) The concluding result is a set of design catalogues, each
The new adaptable infill of the bearing structure (support) one based on combinations of selected parametric rules.
is built up using a construction kit designed applying the They allow choosing basic elements based on their
HENDRICKX and VANWALLEGHEM approach [12]. According formal and functional characteristics.
to this approach, to enlarge the possibilities of reuse of
these components it is of major importance to design 3.3 Case Study: Building n° 9 of Cité Modèle,
these components from a non-specific and non-contextual Brussels (Belgium)
approach, and to focus on systematisation and
standardisation of form and dimension. Therefore, two SPACE PLAN1, SERVICES1 and SKIN1
useful design tools are being considered: a generating A feasibility study of the described design approach for
form and dimensioning system and theoretical design existing buildings is done through a virtual renovation
catalogues. project for (semi-) high-rise buildings.
First, every building component has to be considered as Building n° 9, situated at “Cité Modèle” in Brussels
an assembly of functional basic elements with multiple life (Belgium) is representative for many semi-high-rise
spans, designed using a set of standardisation rules. The housing buildings in Flanders. As a result of the static
generating form and dimensioning system ensures full design of these types of buildings, adequate living
compatibility of form and dimensions between all basic conditions have been obstructed after several years of
elements. HENDRICKX and VANWALLEGHEM presume that use. The small-format interior layouts do not longer
any basic element, in any construction phase, can be answer the current surface regulations for social housing,
approximated with a minimal diversity of basic forms: the and offer few typology variations for different family
square, its diagonals and the inscribed circle (Figure 6). In compositions.
order to achieve optimal flexibility and combination, this Since the analysis of Building n° 9 has revealed that the
set of basic forms is provided with basic dimensions thermal and acoustic performances of the building are
obtained using the rules of either halving or doubling, minimal, it is preferable to entirely replace the existing
creating geometrical series [12]. building envelope and infill. The proposition consists of
stripping the building to the bearing skeleton, removing all
length
non-bearing structural elements and preserving the
staircases and the elevators for the global stiffness of the
building. This provides spatial freedom for the new infill of
individual housing. The individual dwellings that will be
reinserted independently of this structure, can thus
reconfigure, expand or contract inside the open plan
structure, when fundamental changes would occur in the
socio-economical situation of the inhabitants. The open
plan also enables the introduction of various dwelling
typologies for different family compositions.
The existing circulation zone to the different dwellings is
organised through two centralised zones for each storey,
accessible through the staircases and the elevator. This
initial circulation organisation is preserved, because it
depth
minimises the space loss due to circulation zone, offers
sufficient access to all dwellings and gives a high spatial
width thickness
flexibility of different housing typologies around this
Figure 6: Designing basic elements such as a structural access zone.
beam through a fractal model of the generating system.

Applying this standardisation model on all material

solutions increases the opportunities of reuse of buildings
and their components after deconstruction significantly,
because of the higher potential of exchangeability.
To simplify and rationalise the reuse of basic elements, it
(a)
is advantageous to make use of systemised catalogues of
constructions systems (i.e. a grouping of all possible
variations within a chosen set of basic elements).
Therefore the construction elements of each material
solution are objectively and verbally described, based on
characteristics, strengths and weaknesses [12]. Each
characteristic has one or more parameters as a
counterpart, all ranged between predefined limits. This (b)
can be illustrated with the example of the bearing capacity Figure 7: (a) Typical floor plan of building n° 9 at “Cité
of a steel corrugated plate, subject to transverse loads. Modèle” (Brussels) with current plan with 4 fixed dwelling
This can be described with three parameters: its typologies; (b) Reorganisation of the circulation and the
thickness, the number of waves per unit length and the distribution of services of building n° 9, providing a flexible
height of the waves. These parameters can be entered basic plan.
into series by defining the extreme values.

21
The distribution of services (water, electricity, etc.) is solutions in the floors/ ceilings, without reinforcing the
organised linear through the longitudinal axis of the initial lack of useful storey height. Flexible technical
building (Figure 7(b)). Consequently, it is possible to facilities are therefore integrated in the further discussed
provide technical services in diverse spatial configurations wall system.
of the dwellings, using a minimal distribution length for The global concept for the infill of the main building
cables, plumbing, etc. An efficient and flexible distribution structure consists of inserting a primary longitudinal
of technical services becomes possible to the surrounding functional axis, providing all supply and transport
rooms, perpendicular on the longitudinal axis. facilities, and providing plug-in appliances for the insertion
The connections for the sanitary facilities are provided of the secondary walls and the sanitary facilities (Figure
along this central longitudinal axis, in order to group the 10 (a)). Both primary and secondary wall configurations
facilities where natural daylight is not required, allowing have the potential to integrate technical services and are
the remaining living spaces to be organised along the therefore conceived as a multi-layered wall element, built
façade. Secondary sanitary connection points are up with the same basic elements and configured
provided along the existing internal bearing walls, given according to the applied scenario (Figure 10 (b),(c)).
the permanent character of these walls.
The general organisation enables the realisation of
transverse apartments in the 4D renovation proposal.
Transverse apartments posses various advantages
compared with the existing unidirectional typologies: the
comfort for the users is increased since natural ventilation
can be achieved and a diversified interaction between the
use of the rooms and the orientation of the building is
possible [13].
(a)

(a)
(b) (c)
Figure 10: (a) Conceptual introduction of functional walls
plugging-in on the primary longitudinal distribution axis;
(b) Materialisation of primary and secondary functional
walls; (c) Multi-layering of walls.
(b)
Figure 8 (a) Unidirectional apartment The primary longitudinal axis consists of a three
configuration in current Building n° 9; (b) Transverse dimensional frame, filled in with different functional layers,
apartment in the renovation proposal for Building n° 9. depending on the scenario of the surrounding rooms.
Regarding the relations between the adjoining spaces
and this primary frame, four main situations can be
SPACE PLAN2, SKIN2 AND SERVICES2
distinguished:
The global flexible organisation of each building level
allows the implementation of a variety of housing 1. enclosed infill; to define a separation between two
scenarios and enables individual dwellings to function different spaces
independently of the structure, so that they can 2. open frame; where a passage between spaces is
reconfigure, expand or contract inside the open plan needed
structure, when in time important changes occur in the 3. technical infill; to provide technical shafts over the
socio-economical situation of the inhabitants. different floor levels
Figure 9 shows a range of possible scenarios providing 4. functional infill; to provide built-in items such as
different dwelling configurations to the users of the closets and storage space
building.
2/3 kamers 1/2 kamers 0 kamer

0 kamer 1/2 kamers 2/3 kamers

0 kamer 1/1 kamer

4 kamers

0 kamer

(a) (b)
Figure 9: Different scenarios for the infill of a floor level of Figure 11: Examples of functional infill of the primary
Building n° 9. longitudinal functional frame.

The stripped bearing structure of Building n° 9 is The secondary walls that plug-in perpendicular on the
characterised by a confined storey height of 2,49m. This main axis are variants on the primary frame. They can be
means that it is not possible to insert flexible technical configured as internal dividing walls, common walls

22
between apartments or external walls, using the same today, but maybe even more in the existing building stock
basic elements. To insert the internal walls, an since it will remain with us for several decades.
independent layer of modular floor and ceiling panels is To make exchangeability and (multiple) reuse of building
foreseen in the bearing structure, respecting the existing components achievable in practice and to allow
grid of the building (module 1,04 x 1,04 cm). Upon this adaptability of constructions through reconfiguration,
first layer, a secondary structural frame can be placed (dry design should focus on standardisation of form and
connected) and filled-in with prefabricated demountable dimension of the basic elements of construction systems
panels (Figure 12). on one hand, and on the use of building components
composed by dry assembled compatible basic elements
on the other hand.
Although this case study focuses on the particular
problem of semi-high-rise housing buildings, this design
methodology can be transferred to the framework of other
types of existing buildings. Construction kits developed
for existing buildings can be expanded to the field of new
Figure 12: Assembling the internal walls with dry- construction, when additional characteristic building
connected prefabricated wall panels. components are being designed.
However, for an adequate evaluation of the results of this
The design of this structural frame enables typical conceptual 4D design approach, it is crucial to put these
connections in buildings (Figure 13). Depending on the design guidelines in practice in a further stage.
required thermal, acoustic, and technical performances,
the configuration and materialisation of the secondary
structural frame and of the panels can be chosen from a
5 REFERENCES
set of design catalogues based on the HHV strategy, each
one based on combinations of selected parametric rules. [1] European Environment Agency (EEA), 2001,
The detailing of the secondary structure allows the use of Indicator Fact Sheet Signals 2001 - Chapter Waste,
alternative panels, of altered materials (wood, steel, 2001, via
plastic), each with particular thermal and acoustic www.eea.europa.eu/themes/waste/indicators.
behaviour and specific environmental impacts. [2] Eurostat, 2006, Environment & Energy via
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu.
[3] Bullen, P.A., 2007, Adaptive reuse and sustainability
of commercial buildings, Facilities 25 (1/2) : 20-31.
[4] Rovers, R., 2004, Existing buildings, a hidden
resource, ready for mining, Sustainable Building
Support Centre, available at
www.sustainablebuilding.info.
[5] The Sustainable Construction Task Group, 2004,
Figure 13: Example of (a) a catalogue of a wooden wall Making the most of our built environment, DTI,
configuration panel of 16cm thickness. available at www.dti.gov.uk/index.html.
[6] Debacker, W. et al., 2007, 4 Dimensional design:
From strategies to cases – Generation of fractal
The overall new infill, consisting of the primary axial grammar for reusing building elements, International
framework, the secondary wall structure and the wall Journal of Ecodynamics 2007: 258 – 277.
panels, is built up using dry connections to combine the
basic elements to building components. This enables [7] Crowther, P., 2002, Design for Buildability and the
adaptation, reconfiguration and finally, reuse of these Deconstruction Consequences, Proc. of the CIB
building components. For instance, the electrical cabling Task Group 39, 9 April, CIB Publication 272 : 7-15.
is provided in a narrow void behind the finishing layer of [8] Tichelmann, K. and Pfau, J., 2007, DETAIL
the wall and the prefabricated wall panel, which enables Practice: Dry Construction, Munich, Birkhaüser.
adaptation of this fast-cycling technical layer without [9] Morgan, C. and Stevenson, F., 2005, Design and
demolishing the entire walls. As a result of the Detailing for Deconstruction - SEDA Design Guides
dismountable character of the finishing layer, the technical for Scotland: No. 1. UK: SEDA.
layer can be easily adapted and reconfigured.
[10] Brand, S., 1995, How Buildings Learn: What
This high rate of wall flexibility will also enables further Happens After They’re Built, New York, Penguin.
performance upgrading when building legislation changes
occur in the future; by altering or adding elements, [11] Drey A., 2006, Reinventing the house, Fine
different building physics, improved acoustics, fire Homebuilding, n° of October-November 2006, p 58-
resistance, etc. can be achieved without significant 59.
demolition processes. [12] Debacker, W., 2008, Design and environmental load
assessment of multi-use construction kits for
4 SUMMARY temporary applications based on 4Dimensional
Design, PhD diss., Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
Currently, the implementation of an alternative
4Dimensional approach into the design of buildings is of [13] Liébard A., De Herde A., 2005, Traité d’Architecture
major importance since the building sector of today is et d’urbanisme bioclimatiques – Concevoir, edifier et
dealing with serious environmental issues. Strategies that aménager avec le développement durable, Paris,
consider changing preconditions in a building’s service life Editions du Moniteur, Observ’ER, 750p.
need to be integrated in the new built constructions of

23
 Requirements for Sustainable Construction Materials and
Components

1 2
N. Sunke , F. Schultmann
1
Chair of Business Administration, Construction Management and Economics, Faculty of Civil
Engineering,
University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany
2
Institute for Industrial Production (IIP) / French-German Institute for Environmental Research
(DFIU),
Universität Karlsruhe (TH), Karlsruhe, Germany

Abstract
Under the focus of construction material stewardship, negative environmental impacts in
construction arise, among others, due to various construction waste streams. With this respect,
efforts in practice as well as in science are undertaken to foster the development of new
construction materials, paying respect to the requirements set by the need for a sustainable
development. In the paper, outcomes of a Delphi study among experts with experience in the
field of architecture supported by a literature study are presented. In particular, requirements for
construction materials will be elaborated. Thereby, the focus is drawn to the ecological as well as
economic dimension of sustainability. Ecological aspects attached to construction materials
stewardship comprise required characteristics of construction materials with respect to
environmentally friendly behavior during and after use. In contrast, economic factors focus on,
among others, cost and flexibility. A third category was raised by the target group: “architectural
and engineering requirements” which are however only briefly addressed and the paper.

Keywords:
Construction materials, life-cycle, sustainability, requirements

negative ecological impact. In contrast, economic

1 INTRODUCTION factors focus on cost but also quality factors and
Under the focus of construction material associated terms like eco balancing and life cycle
stewardship, the construction industry is costing. Therefore, the whole life cycle of a
characterized by a high material intensity due to the construction material has to be taken into
heterogeneous mix of construction materials and consideration.
components inherent in buildings and the related Furthermore the paper will elaborate on the
construction and demolition waste streams. outcome of a Delphi study on sustainable
The tremendous impact of the construction industry construction materials among experts with
becomes obvious considering aspects like resource experience in the field of architecture.
deterioration as well as congestion of landfills.
Additionally, negative environmental impacts arise 2 IMPACT OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
due to various construction waste streams. With this The negative effects of construction activities can be
respect, efforts in practice as well as in science are categorized as follows [1]:
undertaken to analyze current construction
materials and to foster the development of new • Resource deterioration: depletion of forest
construction materials, paying respect to the resources by the use of timber; dereliction of
requirements set by the need for a sustainable land caused by quarrying; extraction of sand,
development. clay and other deposits such as limestone; use
of energy in the production and transportation of
In the paper, the focus is drawn to the ecological as materials and in site construction activity;
well as the economic dimension of sustainability.
Thereby, ecologic aspects attached to construction • Physical disruption of ecosystems and long-term
materials stewardship comprise required climatic changes: diversion of natural waterways
characteristics of materials in order to avoid caused by dams, loss of flora and fauna, and
upsetting of the ecological balance with possible

24
 health hazards; noise pollution caused by 3.2 Sustainability of building components
buildings in urban areas; affection of stability of Components were addressed by Weir and Muneer
fragile hillsides by highway construction; [10] with an energy and environmental impact
• Chemical pollution: particles released in the analysis of double-glazed windows, by Wilson and
production and transportation of materials such Young [11] on the embodied energy payback period
as cement and quarry products; pollutants of photovoltaic installations in the U.K., and by
produced in the production of building materials; Crawford et al. [12] as life-cycle energy analysis of
fibers released during working with asbestos building integrated photovoltaic systems.
products; accidental spillage of chemicals on site
and careless disposal of waste.
3.3 Sustainability of building materials
It becomes obvious that the construction industry
Furthermore, building materials were addressed by,
must actively react in a positive manner to
e.g., Harris [13] introducing a quantitative approach
environmental issues. Actions to be undertaken
to the assessment of the environmental impact of
include [2,3]:
building materials, by Huberman and Pearlmutter
• Arresting the depletion of resources, e. g. timber [14] as life-cycle energy analysis of building
and clay, through economic use of resources as materials in the Negev desert, by Venkatarama
well as recovery of materials and the use of Reddy and Jagadish [15] for the embodied energy
renewable varieties; of common and alternative building materials, by
• preventing and arresting pollution by a proper Morel et al. [16] who address the use of local
waste management, the development and use of materials and its impact on the environmental
non-polluting materials, as well as by applying impact of construction, by Cole and Rousseau [17]
suitable techniques for construction, using indices for building materials referring to
maintenance and demolition; low pollution or no- energy and air pollution, as well as by Abeysundara
waste technologies; et al. [18] who present a matrix for selecting
sustainable materials for buildings in Sri Lanka on a
• exploring energy sources for the extraction of
life-cycle perspective.
raw materials and the production of materials,
the construction activity as well as for the use,
maintenance and deconstruction of buildings. 4 DIMENSIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY OF
MATERIALS
In addition the environmental factors, the economic
component of construction materials has to be taken As can be seen, research most commonly focused
into consideration as well; i.e. environmentally on the analysis of the environmental performance of
sound construction materials will only find buildings, its components and materials using
widespread use if its economically reasonable to energy measures. However, looking at the three
use these materials for the construction contractors columns of sustainability materials – ecological,
(apart from laws and regulations in force). economic, and social dimension – a much wider
scope which should be considered within the
context of sustainability of building materials occurs.
3 RELATED WORK
Thereby, requirements for building materials with
Intensive research has already been undertaken respect to sustainability have not only to be
with respect to the sustainability of buildings, its considered but also need to be classified according
components and materials. Thereby, the focus of to these dimensions. However, due to the
research mainly addressed the sustainability of interdependencies of some requirements (e.g. well-
buildings or its components in terms of ecological being as social mean also includes the use of non-
impact throughout the whole life cycle. The most hazardous-materials which is most often referred to
common measures used were energy use and as ecologic aspects) overlapping of the dimensions
embodied energy. occurs.
Hence, the criteria named in the following can by no
3.1 Sustainability of buildings means classified exclusively as ecologic, economic
Analysis and research on life-cycle energy and or social. However, the illustrations given put special
embodied energy use or the related energy emphasize on the most suitable dimension with
efficiency of buildings were undertaken, for respect to the highest correlation of impact on the
instance, by Chen et al. [4] for a residential building sustainability of building materials and components.
in Hong Kong, by Yohanis and Norton [5] for a Thereby, it is not note, that in addition to the
single-storey office building in the UK, by Sartori requirements mentioned, sustainable materials and
and Hestnes [6] as a review for conventional and components still have to comply to requirements
low-energy buildings, by Thormark [7] as life-cycle regarding safety (such as health protection), quality
analysis of a building including recycling potentials, (e.g. durability, resistance), and DIN norms.
by Scheuer et al. [8] undertaking a life-cycle energy
and environmental performance analysis of a new 4.1 Ecological Requirements
university building, as well as by Meillaud et al. [9]
Ecological requirements raised by the experts
who evaluate a building using the emergy method.
interviewed were:
• Recyclability
• Contamination

25
• Insulation and thermal conductivity assessment and approval of contaminant content of
• Deconstructability construction materials are still missing. Particularly
in Germany, steps are taken by the Federal Ministry
for the Environment, Nature Conservation and
Recyclability Nuclear Safety who fund projects undertaken by the
The construction industry is the second largest German « Öko-Insitut » as well as by the
consumer of raw materials after the food processing « Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik (DIBt) » which is
industry [19]. Construction materials are highly a member of the EOTA (European Organisation for
diversified and accumulate in huge amounts at the Technical Approvals) and of UEAtc (The European
end of the life cycle either of the material or of the Union of Agrément).
building or its components. In Germany, the Waste
Management and Recycling Act (KrW-/AbfG) [20] Insulation and thermal conductivity
defines a hierarchy for waste treatment. The highest
priority is assigned to the avoidance of waste. The requirements for construction materials with
Second ranked is recovery or recycling of materials respect to insulation and thermal conductivity are
(§4). However, construction materials can still not permanently increasing. Especially in the field of
lead back into the material cycle without any retrofitting, a high potential exists with respect to
processing, or even have to be disposed off. Hence, high insulation with at the same time low material
the ability of recycling of a construction material is a thickness. Not only indoor emissions can be
prerequisite for the establishment of closed-loop decreased with improved insulation and thermal
material flows. conductivity, but also costs for heating might be
decreased which strongly interrelates with economic
However, a prerequisite for the recycling of the requirements [22].
construction materials is the existence of incentives
for the disposal at recovery facility. Hence, the user Not only with respect to heat but also with respect to
has to be provided with a functioning and affordable, noise, insulation is considered to be an important
or even beneficial in terms of refund, take back criterion for sustainable construction materials and
system. Unfortunately, due to the high costs components. However, it is claimed that although
associated with such a take back system for C&D efforts to protect people from noise have been
waste leads to a draw back in the establishment of undertaken, the situation has not significantly
these systems in the construction industry, which, improved during the last years [22]. Here as well,
naturally would have to pay for it [21]. overlapping of the ecological as well as social
dimension of sustainability occur, as increased
exposure to noise might lead to health damages.
Contamination Noise decreasing actions might include the use of
The aspect of contamination refers to the sound absorbing walls, doors, windows and roofs.
environmental burden caused by construction
materials but also to its impact on the well being and Deconstructability
health of the living environment. In the past,
construction materials were used for interiors Already in the ancient world, buildings had been
without giving cause to possible negative effects. deconstructed and construction materials had been
However, nowadays, several of the construction recovered and reused. For example, one can find
materials used in the past are now known to be columns from every epoch of the Greek architecture
hazardous to health and environment. Among these in the cistern of Istanbul [23]. For the easy
substances are asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls deconstruction, however, single components are not
(PCB), polychlorinated terphenyl (PCT), only needed to be designed for deconstruction, but
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), as well also compound materials have to be easy
as wood preservatives like lindan and resolvable and enable a non-destructive
pentachlorophenol (PCP). The use of numerous deconstruction.
substances is already interdicted, however, the Compound materials as used in practice are not
number of negative symptoms caused by indoor always sustainability in terms of resolvability and
algerns and toxins in the interior of buildings has non-destructibility. A proposed solution is to foster
risen significantly [22]. prefabricated building and modular housing.
Thereby, to avoid energy loss in buildings, building
envelops, doors and windows are tried to be sealed 4.2 Economic Requirements
as good as possible. If these buildings do not have
Economic requirements as perceived to be
appropriate ventilation, the concentration of indoor
important for the experts interviewed comprise:
pollution increases.
• Availability
With this respect, the Construction Products
Directive contains regulations not only about • Manufacturing and price
building materials. testing and approval but also • Flexibility
contains requirements regarding hygiene, health
• Life time expectancy
and environmental protection on a European basis,
which are, however not yet being implemented into
guidelines and norms. Hence, the implementation of Thereby, these requirements are not only
health and environmental protection is only at its achievable in terms of cost savings but also with
beginning [22]. Standardized methods for the respect to time savings during construction projects.

26
 Especially for façades, a high durability with low
Availability maintenance was required. In practice,
developments for self cleaning coatings exist [23].
The availability of construction materials has a
strong impact on costs as well as on the Also the bearing capacity plays a role by the
construction time of a building. Thereby, on the one development of sustainable construction materials
hand, a high availability reduces purchasing effort in the future. Despite materials already existing, a
and on the other hand leads to quick lead times, high bearing capacity with smaller cross-sections for
even if orders are made on short notice. Low easy handling and more innovative design of
availability would present an obstacle for buildings were mentioned to be important too.
construction contractors to use these materials.
Furthermore, the availability refers to local aspects. 5 SUMMARY
It might be beneficial to use local materials rather In the paper, results of a Delphi study among
than materials which have to be delivered from far experts with practical background in architecture
distances, with respect to transportation effort and were presented. With this respect, the requirements
costs (which in turn is beneficial for the environment for sustainable construction materials and
due to reduced emissions during transport) [19]. components could not be classified as solely
ecological or economic. However, the most
Manufacturing and price appropriate dimension was chosen. A high
emphasis was put on the economic requirements by
In addition to a high availability, construction the experts, though ecological requirements are
materials and components ought to be cheap in usually put in the foreground in research about the
production, hence, should not be significantly or sustainability of construction materials and
even cheaper than its less sustainable substitutes. components.
Keeping the idea of closed-loop material cycles in
mind, subsidies for the use of recycled or renewable Nevertheless, the existence of these requirements
raw materials should be encouraged, whereas the does not ensure sustainability of construction
price for primary resources should be increased, materials and components itself. Approaches and
which however, has a positive impact on the methods have to be applied to examine and proof
environment. whether and to what extend the requirements are
fulfilled. Different methods existing are, for instance,
quality management, eco balancing, labeling and
Flexibility and multiple purposes life cycle analysis. These would have to be further
The flexibility of construction materials addressed analysed regarding their scope and suitability for the
the opportunity to be able to use the materials for different criteria.
different purposes. The high flexibility could lead to
an increase in the demand for a particular
construction material, hence, to a larger production, 6 REFERENCES
and, hence, the realization of cost reductions due to
[1] Ramachandran, A., 1991, The impact of
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material use due to longer replacement intervals, Introduction – bridging the gaps in smart and
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[4] Chen, T.Y., Burnett, J., Chau, C.K., 2001,
4.3 Further Requirements Analysis of embodied energy use in the
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method, Solar Energy, 79/2:204-12.
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Bazillan, M., 2006, Life-cycle energy analysis
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Energy and Buildings, 35/129-37.
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P., 2001, Building houses with local materials:
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impact of construction, Building and
Environment, 36/10:1119-26.
[17] Cole, R.J., Rousseau, D., 1992, Environmental
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Heidelberg, Müller (C.F.).

28
 Building green via design for deconstruction and adaptive reuse

T. Saleh1, A. Chini1
1M.E. Rinker Sr. School of Building Construction,
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America

Abstract
This paper discusses the imperative need in today’s construction industry to create a design for
deconstruction and design for adaptive reuse credits in United States Green Building Council (USGBC)
Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design – New Construction (LEED-NC) point system that allows
projects that are designed for adaptability and deconstruction to earn points towards the green building
certification. Earning LEED points can be a substantial incentive for owners and architects to think about
designing new buildings for adaptation and deconstruction.

Keywords:
Sustainability, LEED, Deconstruction, Adaptive Reuse, Green Construction

1 INTRODUCTION construction industry is to close the materials loop. The

Deconstructing a building aims at recovering the building closed-loop is a recycling concept that should be the
materials while maintaining their quality at the end of the ultimate goal of the recycling industry in order to
building’s useful life; therefore reusing different salvaged maximize the usefulness of the existing used materials
building materials and recycling of the waste. Reusing a and reduce the need to extract and produce raw and
building targets its reconfiguration to accommodate a virgin materials.
different use thus considerably reducing the consumption According to Kibert, there are distinct construction
of resources and waste generation. Not only that materials that are explicitly used only in the construction
deconstruction and adaptability ultimately lessen the industry, such as aggregates and gypsum drywall, and
world’s depleting energy and natural material resources, thus their reuse and recycling are limited only to
they also contribute to preserving the cultural and construction [1]. As a result, closing the material loop in
historical values inherent in different materials and the construction industry tends to be a bit more
buildings. challenging than the case in other industries due to the
Today, projects can only earn points in LEED-NC for cycle uniqueness of some construction materials
deconstruction or adaptive reuse through the Innovation
and Design category. However, the environmental, 2.2 Embodied Energy and CO2 Emissions
economic, and even social outcomes of designing for Embodied energy, measured in KJ/Kg, is the energy
adaptive reuse or deconstruction deserve a better required to extract, process, manufacture, and even to
recognition. The United States Green Building Council transport a product. It is considered over the material’s
(USGBC) should recognize the magnitude of these life cycle from extraction all the way to installation. In
outcomes and capitalize on them by offering credits for addition to all the raw materials that need to be extracted,
designing for adaptive reuse and deconstruction in the the extraction process itself, moving this much earth and
Material and Resources category in its LEED-NC refining it, and transporting thousands of tons of
assessment system. construction material from their source to the construction
As a result, the objective of this study is to propose two site requires significant energy inputs.
separate credits, for a total of six points, for designing for CO2 emissions are generated during energy
adaptive reuse and deconstruction in the Material and consumption, and embodied CO2 is based on specific
Resources category in the LEED-NC assessment system. energy sources of a process. CO2 emissions leading to
By doing so, owners, investors, and stakeholders will be green house gases that cause climate change typically
more willing to invest in pursuing these points and in occur with embodied energy.
return expanding their environmental gains and benefiting What the industry needs is a new mental model that
from the long-term return on their investment. weighs the used construction materials as valuable
resources worth harvesting in a manner that preserves
2 BACKGROUND there embodied energy and the CO2 already invested in
2.1 Environmental Concerns those materials [2]. Nevertheless, the subsequent
In order to promote sustainability and reduce the process of harvesting used construction materials itself
environmental impacts by reducing the consumption of should not cause inordinate amounts of CO2 and
finite resources, experts in sustainable construction agree embodied energy otherwise the very purpose of salvaging
that the most efficient way to reach that goal in the construction materials will be defeated.

29
2.3 Green End-Of-Use Options destruction via classical demolition methods such as
The end of the building’s useful life generates a stream of explosives or demolition ball. Reasons range from the
used materials that can be reprocessed for new change in ownership, alternate demography and
construction. The selection of materials for reuse or residential units, to future growth and expansion.
recycling should not start at the end of the building’s life Therefore, the building no longer serves the purpose it
cycle. It should start at the design stage. Architects and was constructed for and thus its demolition or at least
engineers should keep the whole life cycle of the building modifying its layout becomes inevitable.
in mind and select construction materials based on their The adaptability of any building depends on its design,
capacity to be reused or recycled after the building has form, materials, and the extent to which a building is
served its purpose [3]. appropriate for its purpose. The building’s capacity for
Building Reuse adaptability is usually affected by its structural design, the
It revolves around repairing a building to accommodate a different services within, its finishes, the internal layout,
new use rather than tearing it down. and its external appearance.
Component Reuse Designing for adaptive reuse requires designing for the
It requires maintaining the majority of the interior recovery of the majority of the building’s components i.e.
nonstructural exterior walls, roofs, foundations, decking, exterior skin
elements such as interior walls, doors, floor and frames and so on. It also requires designing for
coverings, ceiling systems and so on to be used in a recovery of the majority of the interior non-structural
similar or different application at the end of the building’s elements i.e. interior walls, doors, floor coverings, ceiling
useful life. systems and so on. In short, designing for building
Material Reuse adaptive reuse should ideally expose the building’s
A direct reuse of the materials after the deconstruction of structure to minor changes while undergoing major
the structure in new or existing structures allows them to renovations and modifications.
retain their current economic values, reduces the
embodied energy required to recycle, and minimizes the 4.2 Why Design for Adaptive Reuse
need to extract new mold raw and virgin materials by The more flexible and adaptable the building is to
reducing carbon footprint and cutting into resource use different uses and occupiers, the longer its useful life will
Material Recycling be and that has economic and environmental investments
The degree of which increasing the recycled content over time. In the past decade, the concept of buildings’
actually has an environmental advantage is subject to the adaptive reuse gained importance due to the rapid
specific type and source of each material. Recycling change in both private and public organizations types of
consists of three different routes: down-cycling, recycling, work that demands more inventive and flexible work place
and up-cycling. Each one of these routes requires energy designs. It was also due to the increase in rebuilding
inputs and result in waste and emissions depending on costs, the focus on the environmental drawback of new
the material itself. buildings, and the effects of obsolescence. Therefore,
designing for adaptive reuse permits renovations based
3 LEED-NC on parameters that preserve the structures’ material
The official definition of LEED according to the USGBC values with more or less success in order to host a new
is,” The LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental function.
Design) green building certification system is a Building Performance
featureoriented Buildings that are not capable of adapting, with minor
certification program that awards buildings points changes in their structures, to different circumstances
for satisfying specified green building criteria” [4]. from technological, demographic, or even environmental,
Currently LEED is the primary point-system building are at risk of becoming obsolete and poorly utilized thus
assessment method that rates the building’s performance unable to serve a purpose at their current phase.
based on its environmental impacts, resource This may require major renovations and in some cases
consumption, and building health in the United States. complete demolition and new construction thus
Currently, green projects pursuing a LEED-NC increasing the use of resources within the building sector
certification are rated based on LEED-NC version 2.2. by 20 to 30% [5].
LEED-NC 2.2 consists of six major categories and seven Nevertheless, there are multiple ways that a building’s
pre-requisites, and a total of 69 points. The points reflect performance can be enhanced via designing for adaptive
the weight experts place on the different major issues that reuse. Buildings designed for adaptability ideally have a
each category entails. The weight of each LEED-NC much better use of space and materials during their life
credit is established, through the existing consensus cycle. Designing for adaptability increases the flexibility of
process, as part of a systematic, continuous improvement spaces allowing the occupants to use the floor areas
cycle for LEED-NC based on advances in green building more effectively. Also, studies have shown that most
science and technology and an expanding base of buildings get demolished for their inability to adapt to new
experience and evidence. technologies not for structural deterioration [5]. Designing
In regards for deconstruction and adaptability, currently for adaptability elongates the lifetime of a building without
LEED-NC does not directly address those two concepts in having to go through renovations that significantly affect
as a stand-alone credit or as a multi-part credit. As the integrity of the structure and infrastructure thus
mentioned previously, points for deconstruction and minimizing the environmental impacts. Also, Designing for
adaptability can potentially be earned in the Innovation adaptive reuse allows the building to adjust, at lower
and Design credit in LEED-NC. costs, to new technologies that become available.

4 DESIGN FOR ADAPTIVE REUSE

4.1 What is Design for Adaptive Reuse Environmental Benefits
There are a number of reasons that cause building The traditional demolition methods of buildings that can
modifications, renovations, and even a complete no longer serve their original purpose create large
volumes of building material debris that usually end up in

30
landfills. In addition to that, the demolition process itself is • Design partition walls to be easily removed and fully
harmful to the environment because it can release salvageable.
contaminants or particulate matter that can potentially This paper sheds light on promoting designing for
affect air and water quality. Also, the process of extracting adaptive reuse among the different construction sectors
new construction materials, manufacturing, and by suggesting an incentive that might be environmentally
transporting them to the site increase the overall energy and more importantly economicly appealing. This
consumption and release green house gases that research suggests incorporating designing for adaptive
ultimately contribute to global warming. reuse as a multi-credit category in LEED-NC. The
One of the main advantages of reusing a building is the economic, environmental, and social benefits of a
retention of the original buildings embodied energy [6]. building’s adaptive reuse are substantial and therefore
Existing buildings have certain levels of embodied energy need to be addressed directly in LEED-NC assessment
in the construction materials used. When reusing a system.
building, the embodied energy of the building materials is
retained, thus making the project much more sustainable 5 DESIGN FOR DECONSTRUCTION
than an entirely new construction. Therefore, new 5.1 What is Design for Deconstruction
construction has significantly higher embodied energy The overall objective of designing for deconstruction is to
costs compared to buildings that have been adaptively reduce the environmental impacts such as pollution from
reused. the demolition of buildings, and to increase the stream of
Economic Benefits used and recycled building materials through designing
Wilkinson and Reed ask the following, “How do you for the recovery and the eventual reprocessing of building
determine whether a building is going to be more materials. The idea is to employ design practices that
expensive or less expensive to carry out adaptive reuse?” facilitate the recovery of materials with high capacity for
[7]. Many researchers argue in favor of the adaptive reuse recycling and reuse in order to selectively and
of buildings and consider its economic benefits as equally systematically deconstruct buildings that would otherwise
appealing as its environmental ones. Studies have shown be completely or partially demolished at the end of their
that adapting a building for a different use significantly useful lives.
lowers the initial costs for the purchase and transportation
of new materials for a new build [8]. The cost of labor is 5.2 Why Design for Deconstruction
reduced depending on the complexity of the building and Designing for deconstruction requires architects and
therefore reducing the amount of structural modifications engineers to select materials that have a high capacity for
required to accommodate a new function. Also, significant reuse in subsequent projects and materials that are
savings in time can be noticed in excavating and recyclable and reprocessed into new products whether or
rebuilding major elements when reusing a building. not in the construction industry thus ultimately closing the
Gary Pokrant states that adaptive reuse is not only good materials loop. The selection of materials by building
for the communities involved, it is also a smart economic designers should take into account the results from
choice [9]. He argues that when a building is adaptable, different environmental assessments such as embodied
renovations take place quicker and are significantly less energy, closing the materials loop, and so on in order to
expensive than demolition and new construction since the identify the most environmentally friendly stream of
building’s utilities, infrastructure, and major structural construction materials.
components are still in place. Environmental Advantages
All of the above, according to Pokrant, yields a more Designing for deconstruction is a tool for reducing the
marketable project that gets a faster return on the money environmental burden by designing for the recovery of
invested in building it materials that have the capacity to be reused or recycled.
As a result, designing for deconstruction facilitates the
4.3 Design Strategies for Adaptive Reuse achievement of different environmentally cautious results
The American Society of testing and Materials such as closing the materials loop, reducing the
(ASTM) provided guidelines that architects and embodied energy and emissions of CO2 and finally
engineers are recommended to follow in order to minimizing the ecological footprint required for the lifecycle
design for adaptive reuse of a modern building of the different building materials. According to a
[10] [11] [12]: study done by BioRegional Development Group in the
• Design spaces such that minimum disruption will be United Kingdom, the potential for salvaging and recycling
caused to occupants due to physical change; building materials thus eliminating the need for new
• Design luminaries to facilitate of relocating within materials is enormous. The study suggests that
ceiling grid or when up-lighting is used; reclaiming, reusing, or recycling materials can save up to
• Design air diffusers on flexible ducts for easy 95% of their embodied energy [13].
relocating at minimum cost with minimum disruption Economic Advantages
to occupants; The labor and equipment costs for deconstructing a
• Design exhaust air ducts for special exhausts for building can get expensive depending on the complexity
easy reinstalling - space and capacity should be and location on the project. However, since designing for
available in ceiling and duct shafts; deconstruction aims at maximizing the diversion of
• Design sprinkler heads to facilitate easy relocating materials from landfills, this helps the owner or developer
within ceiling grid; minimize the tipping fees which in return offsets to a great
• Design pre-wired horizontal distribution systems in
ceilings or floors, with spare capacity and easy degree the labor and equipment costs associated with
access to accommodate change of workplace deconstructing the building. Another appealing economic
layouts; incentive for designing for deconstruction is the return on
• Design for easy relocation of partition walls that the value of salvaged building materials. This requires
causes minimum damage to flooring or ceiling establishing a market for salvaged materials with values
systems; and that are competitive with other alternatives.

31
Needless to say that the resale value of materials seven existing LEED credits thus the proposed credits will
designed for recovery at the end of the building’s life cycle be MR Credit 8 – Design for Deconstruction and MR
is crucial. Therefore, designers can promote designing for Credit 9 – Design for Adaptive Reuse.
deconstruction by choosing materials that have high The proposed credits require designers, architects, and
quality and will have a high dollar amount return when engineers to establish a plan that capitalizes on
recovered in the future. The value of many recovered construction design practices that facilitate the
resources depends on the robustness of the local deconstruction or the adaptability of a building and utilize
recovered materials markets, which varies a great deal the use of the hierarchy of the end-of-use options for
historically. buildings, elements, components, subcomponents, and
materials respectively. Ideally, the design process should
5.3 Design Strategies for Deconstruction act as an independent level of information that specifies
Guy and Shell provide architects and engineers with some exactly what the types of materials and components are
design strategies for facilitating deconstruction of used in the construction process and adopt construction
buildings [14]. strategies that architects and engineers believe best
• Nails and bolts have appropriate uses as per the type facilitate the deconstruction and adaptability processes.
of connection and size of the members. Fewer
connectors and consolidation of the types and sizes 6.1 LEED-NC and Design for Deconstruction
of connectors will reduce the need for multiple tools This paper recommends that the proposed deconstruction
and constant change from one tool to the next. credit contains of a weight factor (W.F.) for each end-of
• Long spans and post and beam construction reduce use option, an achieved product (A.P.), the percentages
interior structural elements and allow for structural of materials with the capacity for reuse, up-cycle, recycle,
stability when removing partitions and envelope and down-cycle, and finally, the points associated with
elements. the total sum of the achieved products. The percentages
• Doubling and tripling the functions that a component of materials are based on the materials weight (in tons) in
provides will help “dematerialize” the building in relation to the weight of the entire building. The achieved
general and reduce the problem of layering of product is a result of multiplying the weight factor of each
materials. end-of-use option by the weight percentage of materials
• Separating long-lived components from short-lived associated with that option.
components will facilitate adaptation and reduce the The five end-of-use options for building materials and the
complexity of deconstruction, whereby types of weight factor associated with each option are illustrated in
materials can be removed one at a time, facilitating Table 1 below:
the collection process for recycling.
• Elimination of caulking and sealants and End-of-Use Options Weight Factor
hightolerances in the connections can be offset by Reuse 8
the ease of removing components for repair and Upcycle 6
replacement, and designing in durability, using Recycle 4
mechanical instead of chemical-based water Downcycle 2
protection. Landfill 0
The goal is to make designing for deconstruction Table 1. End-of-Use Options and Their Weight Factors
mainstream and a trend in building design practices. One
day, building owners who designed their buildings for Table 2 below illustrates the amounts of LEED-NC
deconstruction might look back with great appreciation obtainable points associated with the achieved product.
towards architects and engineers who took the extra step
beyond the conventional designs that usually end building Achieved Product (A.P.) LEED Points
lives as expensive liabilities, but instead employed design A.P. < 1.5 0 points
practices and building resources that facilitated the 1.5 ≤ A.P. < 2 1 points
recovery of materials for profitable future reuse. 2 ≤ A.P. < 2.5 2 points
2.5 ≤ A.P. 3 points
6 RECOMMENDATIONS Table 2. Achieved Product and LEED-NC Points
Building elements are defined as major building parts e.g.
roofs, vertical structures, walls, floors, or foundations. MR Credit 8: Design for Deconstruction
Building components are defined as the next level of The following is a detailed description of what MR Credit
nonstructural 8 entails.
building parts such as interior walls, doors, floor MR Credit 8: Design for Deconstruction
coverings and ceiling systems. Sub-components are a 1 – 3 Points
breakdown of components into their smaller pieces such Intent
as the duct systems of heating and cooling systems, the
hardware for a door unit, or the sash of a window unit.
Finally, materials are defined as the constituent materials Establish a sustainable deconstruction plan by employing
from which all other elements, components, and design strategies that facilitate the ease of disassembly of
subcomponents buildings with the capacity for material reuse or recycling
are made, such as plastics, metals, wood, thus reducing the demand for raw materials, minimizing
and masonry. waste, and reducing environmental impacts resulting from
This study proposes two additional credits in the Material the extraction and processing of new materials
and Resources category that exclusively address design Requirements
for adaptive reuse and design for deconstruction in Maximize the achieved product (A.P.) via the ease of
LEED-NC, awarding a maximum of six points distributed disassembly of different building systems, modular
equally among both categories towards a LEED-NC construction, minimizing materials use and selecting
certification. The Materials and Resources category has building materials with the capacity for subsequent reuse

32
or the potential for recycling and reprocessing at the end percentages of the retained building elements. In short,
of the building’s useful life architects and engineers should design a flexible building
Potential Technologies and Strategies that has the ability to adapt more than 75% of its exterior
Include components that are field connected using easily shell and a minimum of 50% of its interior non-structural
removable mechanical fasteners. Avoid using materials components during its life cycle to major renovations
that are connected using field-installed adhesives or leading to a new building use with minor changes to the
welds unless they may be easily removable to permit structural integrity of the building.
material reuse. Avoid nails by using screws and bolts Also, the different adaptability design strategies that
especially in wood frame connections. Minimize the use of architects and engineers implement should be consistent
cast-in-place concrete and grouted, reinforced masonry with the American Society of Testing and Materials’
and masonry laid in portland cement mortars. guidelines provided in their E1692-95a, E1679-95, and
SUBMITTALS E1334-95 international designation standard practice.
• Deconstruction Strategy Statements – details the
anticipated disassembly process and includes a MR Credit 9: Design for Adaptive Reuse
thorough description of the different strategies The following is a detailed description of what MR Credit
that architects and engineers devised to ease the 9 entails.
disassembly of the material and the end of the MR Credit 9: Design for Adaptive Reuse
building’s life cycle. 1 - 3 points
• A list of Building’s Elements, Components, and Intent
Materials – includes the specifications of the Coordinate designs for building interior modules and
elements, components, and materials used in building structural system that permit reconfigurations of
constructing the building in addition to their space layout increasing the longevity of buildings,
expected service life, weight, end of life options improving its operating performance, and allowing for
e.g. reuse, recycle, or landfill, and a spatial flexibility for future reuse.
recommended handling strategy when salvaged Requirements
during the deconstruction process. MR Credit 9.1 – ADAPTIVE REUSE: Maintain 75% of
• A Set of the Deconstruction Blueprints and Building elements
Drawings – for facilitating the deconstruction 1 point
process by including all the design and Design for maintaining 75% of building elements based
specification information necessary. Information on surface area such as existing walls, floors, and roofs in
may include key structural properties, locations of the structure and envelope
wiring systems, and photographs of connections MR Credit 9.2 – ADAPTIVE REUSE: Maintain 95% of
use in construction of the building and so on. Building elements
Ideally the blueprints should be digital, made 1point
readily available, and kept up to date. Design for maintaining an additional 20% (95% total
based on surface area) of building elements such as
Calculations existing walls, floors, and roofs in the structure and
% of materials reused (1) envelope.
= Materials designed for reuse (tons) x100% MR Credit 9.3 – ADAPTIVE REUSE: Maintain 50% of
Total weight of the project (tons) Building’s Interior
% of materials up-cycled (2) 1 point
= Materials designed for up-cycling (tons) x100% Design for reusing 50% based on surface area of the
Total weight of the project (tons) interior non-structural components of the building.
% of materials re-cycled (3) Potential Technologies and Strategies
= Materials designed for re-cycling (tons) x100% Design the building for flexibility by choosing a structural
Total weight of the project (tons) system that allows spaces to be reconfigured such as
% of materials down-cycled (4) simple consolidation of MEP service points within the
= Materials designed for down-cycling (tons) x100% building reducing the length of lines and the points of
Total weight of the project (tons) entanglement and conflict with other elements. Consider
% of wasted materials (5) also designing access pathways for changes to building
= Materials ending up in a landfill (tons) x100 utilities and infrastructure. Adopt the “open-space”
Total weight of the project (tons) concept when designing offices with modular wall panel
systems.
6.2 LEED-NC and Design for Adaptive Reuse
In order for the project to earn the point associated with Submittals
this credit, the recovery of a minimum of 75% to 95% of At the design stage, submit:
building elements and 50% of the interior non-structural • Reconfiguration strategy statements - Architects
components are recommended by this study. The and engineers shall provide statements
preceding percentages are determined by the architects presenting detailed strategies as to how and to
and engineers at the design stage based on the square what extend the building’s structural and spatial
footage of the components designed for retaining and the adaptability is provided.
total square footage of the area containing those • A list of building’s elements, components, and
components. For instance, interior non-structural materials - includes the specifications of the
components reuse is determined by dividing the total elements, components, and materials used in
proposed area (sq. ft.) of retained interior non-structural constructing the building in addition to their
components by the total area (sq. ft.) of the entire interior, expected service life and a proposed handling
nonstructural components included in the completed strategy during the building’s rehabilitation
design. process.
The same formula applies towards determining the

33
• A set of the reconfiguration blueprints and http://www.lifecyclebuilding.org/files/DFD.pdf,
drawings – Architects and engineers shall include December 2008
building plans and detailed specifications. The [3] Webster, M. & Costello, D. Designing Structural
blueprints and drawings shall elaborate specific Systems for Deconstruction: How to Extend a
design strategies justifying the intended outcome. New Building’s Useful Life and Prevent it from
Ideally the blueprints should be digital, made Going to Waste When the End Finally Comes,
readily available, and kept up to date. Greenbuild Conference, Atlanta, GA, 2005
[4] Katz, A. National Studies Show Green Building
Calculations as Key Part of America’s Economic Future Green
% of interior components (6) Building Creates Green Jobs that Save Energy
= Components designed for adaptive reuse (sf) x100% and Money,
Total area of interior components (sf) http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/News/National%20Stu
% of structural envelope (7) dies%20Show%20Green%20Building%20as%20
= envelope designed for adaptive reuse (sf) x100% Key%20Part%20of%20America%20(2).pdf,
Total area of structural envelope (sf) January2009
[5] Annex 31. Energy-Related Environmental Impact
Reference Standard of Buildings, Assessing the Adaptability of
• ASTM International Designation E1692-95a Buildings. International Energy Agency,
Stand ard Classification for Serviceability of an November 2001
Office for Change and Churn by Occupants [6] Existing Site Structures (DRAFT), Sustainable
• ASTM International Designation E1679-95 Design Guidelines Reference Manual, WTC
Standard Practice for Setting the Requirements Redevelopment Projects, SEQ-7, March 2004
for the Serviceability of a Building or Building- [7] Wilkinson, S. & Reed, R. The Business Case for
Related Facility Incorporating Sustainability in Office Buildings:
• ASTM International Designation E1334-95 The Adaptive Reuse of Existing Buildings, 14th
Standard Practice for Setting the Requirements Annual Pacific Real Estate Conference, Malaysia,
for the Serviceability of a Building or Building- 2008
Related Facility [8] Ball, R. M. Re use potential and vacant industrial
premises: revisiting the regeneration issue in
7 SUMMARY Stoke on Trent, Journal of Property Research
Aside from their environmental advantages, designing for 19(2): 93-110, 2002
adaptive reuse and deconstruction add short term [9] Pokrant, G. The Profit Statement, Reznick
economic and possibly environmental costs to the project, Group,
but on a bigger scale of the lifecycle of the project, the http://www.reznickgroup.com/pdf/ProfitStatement
long term benefits of utilizing those two concepts outweigh Spring2006.pdf, Spring 2009
any initial costs. [10] ASTM International. Designation E1692-95a
The USGBC should recognize the magnitude of these Standard Classification for Serviceability of an
outcomes and capitalize on them by offering two separate Office for Change and Churn by Occupants, 2005
credits, for a total of six points, for designing for adaptive [11] ASTM International. Designation E1679-95
reuse and deconstruction in the Material and Resources Standard Practice for Setting the Requirements
category in its LEED-NC assessment system. for the Serviceability of a Building or Building-
Related Facility, 2005
8 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS [12] ASTM International. Designation E1334-95
We would like to sincerely thank Dr. Robert J. Ries and Standard Practice for Rating the Serviceability of
Dr. James G. Sullivan for their feedback throughout the a Building or Building-Related Facility, 2005
research and the writing process of this paper. [13] Lazarus, N. Potential for Reducing the
Environmental Impact of Construction Materials,
9 REFERENCES commissoned by BioRegional Development
[1] Kibert, C. Sustainable Construction: Green Group, January 2005
BuildingDesign and Delivery, John Wiley and [14] Bradly G. & Shell S. Design for Deconstruction
Sons, 2nd edition, 2008, page 258 and Material Reuse, Proceedings of the CIB Task
[2] Shell, S., Gutierrez, O., & Fisher, L. Design for Group 39-Deconstruction Meeting, CIB
Deconstruction The Chartwell School Case Study, Publication no. 272, 2002

34
 Developing the Stavne Timber Block;
Life cycle design in practice
1 2 3
A.S. Nordby , K.S. Wigum , B. Berge
1
Department of Product Design, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
2
GAIA Trondheim, Design for sustainability, Norway
3
GAIA Lista architect group, Vanse, Norway

Abstract
This paper reports on a development project where a prototype building component in massive wood [1] is being
redesigned for full scale production. By utilizing reclaimed wood, the environmental efficiency of local material loops
is improved. The component facilitates flexibility in construction and user phase, and also future reuse. Furthermore,
the block intervenes with work adaptation in the production line as well as with life style and identity for the users.
Through simplicity of construction, the block supports self-building and thus economic feasible dwellings. The paper
describes the criteria for the development process, and discusses their influence on construction method.

Keywords:
Massive wood components, Carbon-neutral, Closing the loop, Work training, Self-building

where work adaptation for young people is a main target.

1 INTRODUCTION The project is partly supported by Innovasjon Norge
(Innovation Norway) and by the municipality of
1.1 The Concept of the Timber Block
Trondheim.
A building block based on stubs and reclaimed wood is
1.2 Stavne Gård Salvage Yard (ReBygg)
introduced and described by architect Bjørn Berge as
„Klimablokka” (The Climate Block”) [1]. The building Stavne Gård Salvage Yard is part of Stavne Gård KF,
system aims at carbon mitigation by addressing life cycle that is an institution but also business related organisation
design, low-impact material use and production as well as owned by the municipality of Trondheim. The employees
carbon storage. The prototype Timber Block is made up at the salvage yard have ten years of experinece,
by cross-laid boards, fastened by wooden dowels. The cooperating with the largest regional entrepreneurs in the
construction method is described as a stacked system, process of demolishing old buildings. The participants in
where the components are joined by plugs. the work adaptation programme at Stavne Gård are
trained to disassemble and take out different building
In contrast to contemporary massive wood components
components (windows, doors, roof tiles etc.), furnishings
that are usually provided in large-scale and often custom-
and materials that can be prepared for sales and be
made for each project, the Timber Block system aims at
reused. Stavne Gård Salvage Yard is in charge of 2000
suitability for self-building. Also, future flexibility and reuse
tons of waste from buildings pr. year. This is about 2% of
is facilitated. In the end, as wood-burning stoves are
the total building and construction waste in the Trondheim
installed in as much as 80% of Norwegian dwellings, heat
region (middle part of Norway).
recovery is an obvious option.
1.3 Scope of research
The Stavne Timber Block project can be described as an
investigation process with many aspects related to
environmental and social sustainability. Climate change
mitigation is met through environmentally efficient
material supply and producion processes as well as
through carbon storage in wood. Adaptation is pursued
through a flexible building system that can adapt to
various technical and functional reqirements and that also
facilitate changes and salvage. Furthermore, in the
production line of the block, work adaptation is an
important aspect. As for the final user of the Timber
Block, the project aims to design a new self-building
Figure 1 The prototype Timber Block “Klimablokka” made concept.
of reclaimed wood. [1] The investigation involves a number of practical and
theoretical problems. It also involves a number of stake
The prototype Timber Block is now being redeveloped for
holders. The scope of this paper is to fold out the issues
production at Stavne Gård Salvage Yard in Trondheim,

35
related to the project and to discuss viable options for the may enforce more focus on reuse of materials in general.
design of the block. Therefore, the experiences gained today by Stavne Gård
Every design process is unique and in many ways it can become valuable also for enterprises operating in a
resembles a research process. The investigations of the building industry governed by pure market forces.
Stavne Timber Block are informed by a comprehensive The original prototype of the Timber Block is considering
list of criteria to guide the design. Furthermore, as this is the concept to be economically compatible with other
not a closed industrial development but rather an open building solutions of middle and high quality. Even though
democratic process, the decision-making is made the production line at Stavne Gård to some degree is
transparent to the stake-holders. Therefore, the process supported by the social working programme, the Timber
requires a level of systematization and dissemination that Block concept must be further developed and evaluated
is not common in architectural or product design. The in terms of work intensity. The goal is to establish a
development process is thus reported as research - or production line that can be cost-efficient and thus provide
more precisely as research by design. Four different a building system that is economically feasible for first-
construction systems for the block are outlined and time home buyers.
discussed in relation to the given criteria. The aim is to
inspire and aid similar development projects based on 3 MATERIAL SUPPLY
specific, local premises.
The raw material supply is based on local and low-grade
wood such as stubs and reclaimed waste (Figure 3). This
2 SUSTAINABILITY material counts for approximately 17% of the total
2.1 Environmental efficiency building and construction waste in Norway. The
Wood is generally regarded as an environmentally sound percentage is estimated to increase the next 10 years
building material, and it also has a range of end-of-life simultaneously with new prohibition against organic
options. Wood components may be reused, shredded and based waste to landfill by June 2009. The Stavne Timber
recycled into fibreboards and paper products or it may be Block will be produced of wood stubs and reclaimed wood
burned for heat recovery. from new building projects, rehabilitation and demolishing
of old buildings (Figure 2).
Recycling is referred to as down-cycling, which indicates
that a lower-grade material is produced. Down-cycling
procedures often include industrial processes and long-
distance transport, which demand energy and release
emissions and waste. According to the “recycling
hierarchy”, reuse is therefore a more preferred option
because the material quality is retained at a minimal
environmental cost [2]. Also, reuse is the only option that
addresses carbon storage.
The production of the Stavne Timber Block can be
described as an up-cycling process. By reusing waste
material and developing a building block through product-
and system-design, the material is given new functional
and economic value.
2.2 Social empowerment
The project of development is based on Stavne Gård KF
and their support-activites to young people for work
adaptation, social training and personal develpoment. The
production line and sales of the Timber Block will be
important to Stavne Gård empowering the participants in Figure 2. The production of the Stavne Timber Block
their special programmes. integrated in local wood material loops.
The building block aims for a self-building concept.
Norway has a long tradition in self-building. This is an
activity executed by the individual users and owners of the
house. The tradition opens for exchanging knowledge
about materials, construction and functions necessary to
support a dwelling of comfort, and environmentally sound
solutions. The self-building culture is often involving
neighbours, friends and family in the building process as
well.
2.3 Financial considerations
Although industrial recycling is becoming more common
and is also profitable for some building materials, reuse
and up-cycling of components are not commonly
performed. One important reason is that the costs run
high with the extra time use required.
Stavne Gård is in a special situation because the financial Figure 3 Material supply at Franzefoss. (Photo: K. S.
framework is based on work adaptation. Thus, the reuse Wigum)
activity can be performed at more ideal premises. In a
future perspective, however, factors such as shortage of
resources, environmental legislation and taxation policies

36
4 DESIGN CRITERIA • Carbon storage. The issue of carbon storage in the
To reach the high ambitions regarding a full specter of wood material should be maintained. This
sustainability targets, a comprehensive list of design presupposes long-term management of the blocks.
criteria was worked out. As described in chapter 3, the Technical properties of wood such as shrinkage/ swelling
raw material supply will be based on local and low-grade capacity, moisture transport capacity, thermal insulation
wood such as stubs and reclaimed waste. A second basic capacity and structural strength are variable according to
principle is to keep the environmental investments low the direction of the wood fibre cells. The main principles
throughout the production process. This regards energy are summarized in figure 5. The properties of wood with
use for processing and transport as well as choice of regard to the choice of construction methods are further
secondary construction materials. In addition, criteria are discussed in chapter 5.
connected to four aspects of the block design. 4.4 The production line
The design criteria are given as general performance Important design criteria are posited by the production
standards. The first aspect regards environmentally line at Stavne Gård, where work adaptation for young
efficient use of materials in the lifecycle, or salvageability. people is the main objective. Also, the building process is
The second aspect considers the various user needs addressed:
through the lifetime of the house. The third aspect regards
utilizing the specific material properties of wood in a best • Simplicity of production. The blocks must be suitable
possible manner. The fourth aspect regards designing the for uncomplicated, local production, possibly at
blocks so that the production line and distribution systems movable plants.
can benefit. • Logistics. The blocks should be designed with regard
4.1 Salvageability to ease of handling, transport and storage.
Environmentally efficient use of materials must be 4.5 Potentials for improving the prototype
pursued throughout the lifecycle, addressing: The design process is now in the phase of exploring the
• Reuse and recycling. Relevant design criteria to possibilities of the original concept in the perspective of
achieve this are: Limited Material Selection, Durable the four areas of design criteria presented.
Design, High Generality, Flexible Connections, The prototype Timber Block is made up by cross-laid
Suitable layering and Information and Access. These boards, fastened by wooden dowels. As wood shrinks
criteria are further detailed in [2]. and swells depending on the relative humidity of the
• Heat recovery. After the components last service life, ambient air, cross-laying of the boards helps achieve
the blocks should be suitable for heat recovery in stabilization of the wood. The construction method is
standard wood-burning stoves, without the need for described as a stacked system, where the components
flue gas cleaning. are joined by plugs. Stabilization is further achieved by an
exterior layer of wallboard sheeting.
4.2 User needs
The product must adapt to demands for design and
construction, as well as for the use-phase of the house.
• Self-building. The blocks should facilitate self-building,
which regards simplicity of building method, weight of
components and safety of work. Point of sale should
introduce instructions to the concept and support the
idea of healthy and sustainable living, both as an
urban and rural solution.
• Adaptability. The building system must adapt to
various design needs. Also, changing life situations in
use phase must be met in simple ways so that self-
building is still a viable option.
• Economy. The blocks should facilitate economic
feasible dwelling solutions. The final housing should Figure 4 The prototype Timber Block as a stacked
also be a cost effective dwelling in terms of low energy construction system using plugs. [1]
demand for heating, easy maintenance and flexibility
in reconstructing the building.
4.3 Material properties of wood
The development of the Stavne Timber Block aim at
utilizing the specific material properties of wood in a best
possible manner:
• Indoor air quality. Wood’s capacity to regulate
humidity as well as heat should be maintained, and its’
thermal insulation qualities should be utilized in the
construction.
• Thermal insulation. Preferably, the blocks should
achieve existing thermal insulation standards with only
a complementing layer of fibreboard sheeting and
aerated cladding. For low-energy buildings, auxiliary
insulation can be an option. This must be investigated
through model testing.
Figure 5 Sectional drawing of the prototype. [1]

37
After analyzing the prototype regarding the Figure 6 Proposed timber block (1x2x3 M), shown with
comprehensive list of design criteria, potentials for basic technical properties, variable according to the
improvements were pointed out. Thus, the block was direction of the wood fibre cells.
more or less taken apart and new designs emerged.
Technical properties of wood have been determining for
The prototype measures 374 mm each way in a cubic the development of various vernacular building methods
volume. The generality of the prototype can be improved in wood. Aiming at using these properties cleverly in the
by adapting directly to the 6M (600 mm) norm, which is new design, a side look to traditional building methods
implemented as an overall standard for construction can be worthwhile. Also, comparisons with various
materials. Secondly, smaller dimensions of the block contemporary building techniques, in wood as well as in
would result in easier handling (important for both the other materials, can be relevant.
production line and for self-building) as well as improved
architectural flexibility: A smaller block could be used in a 5.1 Node connection
variety of constructions; both interior and exterior walls The first ideas evolved around developing a type of node
with different thermal insulation requirements. Also, a connection which is fully reversible and easily accessed
smaller block could easily be burned in standard stoves from all sides. This would give full flexibility of the blocks
after its’ last service life. which could be used to build up not only walls with
The flexibility can be further improved by choosing different thermal insulation requirements, but also could
connection points that are visible and easily accessed. A be used in a variety of bonds to give architecturally
method for joining the blocks that also allows for parallel interesting patterns.
disassembly could be investigated. Finally, a method for The connection points are localized at the corners of the
tagging product information - concerning manufacturer, block. Either a tongue and groove system - as used in
material quality and production date - directly on the vernacular log constructions (Figure 7) - or separate
blocks could assist decision making in a potential second fasteners can be specified.
(or third etc.) service life.
Thus, the two main issues for the redesign are 1) smaller
dimensions of the blocks and 2) flexible joints that are
easily accessed. An additional desire is to design a block
that also utilizes the potential for architectural articulation
of the components. The lay-out of the blocks as well as
the detailing of the joints can be used to support
component-bound ornamentation of exposed surfaces.
Addressing the architectural flexibility as well as its’
inherent potential for articulation could add value to the
new building system.

5 CONSTRUCTION METHODS
The two main issues for the redesign - smaller dimensions Figure 7 Node connection in vernacular log construction
of the blocks and easily accessed flexible joints - both (Photo: A.S. Nordby)
affect the construction in new ways, and challenges are
posed. When decreasing the size of the blocks, cross-
laying of boards becomes less practical. Stabilization
must therefore to a greater extent be achieved in the
joining of the components. After some initial sketching, the
design ideas for the new block were divided in four
groups, according to their constructive principles.
In the following, these four constructive principles will be
discussed. Although different formats for the blocks have
been proposed, a point of departure for the discussions is
a block with gross measures 1x2x3 M (100x200x300
mm). This format can adapt in a number of ways to the
6M norm, and is highly flexible in meeting various
architectural demands. The joining of the blocks is thus
the variable input and the main issue for the discussions.
Figure 8 Node connection of the Stavne Timber Block
Maximum thermal insulation capacity Although this construction alternative would optimize
flexibility, the method raises some problems: The transfer
Maximum structural strength of loads is depending on the precision of the blocks and
joints. A high precision of the block measures can be hard
Maximum moisture transport to obtain as an important criterion for the production line
Minimum moisture elasticity is simple tools and operation. Also, movements of the
wood caused by moisture could represent problems.
Moreover, in the building process, the many node
connections could result in a complicated and time-
consuming construction period.
Maximum moisture elasticity 5.2 Prestress bonding
A second alternative for bonding small wood components
is prestress. Rods are set in holes in the blocks and used

38
to compress the blocks by nuts. This system would Also, the infill partitions would be architecturally flexible to
enforce stability and be less dependent of the precision of suit different demands.
the block measures. However, it would be less flexible in
construction and for later adaptations than using node
connections.

Figure 11 Load bearing members and in-fill system using

the Stavne Timber Block

Figure 9 Pre-stress used in the Stavne Timber Block 5.4 “Timber masonry”
The last alternative that will be discussed here is bonding
The pre-stress bonding method could be used to connect of the blocks by using mortar. Timber masonry (or
whole walls and also sub-partitions. Furthermore, the cordwood masonry) in various shapes is known from both
method could be used to construct beams and columns. vernacular buildings and from experiments performed the
Pre-stress is commonly used in concrete beams with steel last 10-30 years by self-builders.
rods. Steel is also commonly used in wood constructions. The mortar works as a bonding agent as well as a
However, as a basic principle is to keep the environmental supplementary fill between the timber pieces. Clay mortar
investments for production low, the use of steel should be is preferred because it adapts to humidity in similar ways
avoided. Therefore, other construction materials for the as wood does. Often the clay is mixed with sawdust,
rods should be considered. which may increase the homogeneity with the wood as
5.3 Independent load bearing structure well as the mortar’s thermal insulation capacity. [3]
A third alternative construction method is to separate the
load bearing structure from the filling. This step would
simplify the considerations regarding the structural
calculations. The different constructional members could
then be optimized according to the more specific
requirements.
Various two-level structures in wood are known from
vernacular buildings. “Stavverk”, “sleppverk” and
“skjelterverk” are some known Norwegian methods. In all
these constructions, the structural strength in the
longitudinal direction of the wood is utilized in the load-
bearing members. In the infill-parts, the moisture elasticity
works independently so that the movement of the wood
does not disturb the structure. Rather, the movement
assures tightness of the construction in different weather
conditions throughout the year. Figure 12 Vernacular “Log masonry” used in a barn from
1840 at Ner-Skjørstad in Oppdal, Norway. [3]

Figure 10 Vernacular “Sleppverk” (Drawing by Dag

Nilsen)
Figure 13 Timber masonry using in the Stavne Timber
The division in two separate member types could Block
represent a more complicated production at Stavne Gård.
Since wood has a higher thermal insulation capacity than
However, it would make it easier to optimize the design
clay, the mortar fillets generally represent cold bridges in
according to the specific material properties of wood.
the construction. Another challenge with this alternative is

39
that the building process may be more complicated the longitudinal direction of the cells, the system
because the construction involves a second material and would benefit if the blocks could be stacked so that
also - when not self-building is the case - the second this property is utilized.
profession of a bricklayer. • The wooden dowels. The fastening of the dowels is
At the advantageous side, as the mortar works as a critical for the stability of the single block. The stress
supplementary fill between the blocks, the precision of the on the ambient wood caused by the dowels varies
block measures is not critical. according to the direction of the wood fiber cells. Also,
the moisture elasticity could cause problems for the
6 DISCUSSION fastening in the long-term.
6.1 Material supply • The boards. The fastening of the boards depends on
The design process and research so far has shown that precision in production, use, structural stress as well
Norway, with a majority of wood-based housing as on moisture in the wood.
construction, needs a variety of solutions for salvage of A combination of construction methods could be
wood in the near future. However, building traditions from functional. E.g. in a two-level structure, the load-bearing
the twentieth century is not including the flexibility and members could use pre-stress bonding to assemble
easy disassembly qualities that is required for reuse. The blocks into columns and beams, whereas in the infill parts
handling of nails and metals in the reclaimed wood is a the blocks could keep their architectural flexibility and
challenge both for machines and work participants. This is respond to various requirements such as thermal and
both an economic and time consuming barrier, as well as noise insulation, moisture transfer (particularly relevant in
a question to human safety in the work situation. e.g. cow barns) as well as to different visual expressions.
6.2 Design methodology
7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As a part of an iterative design process, we might want to
return to some basic discussions concerning the Timber As many architects, engineers and builders have been
Block’s principle of reusing wood. To press grounded involved in developing the ideas for the design of the new
wood in blocks is an example of a totally different block, there is a large group of people who contributed
approach to the solution. However, in the meaning of along the way. Discussions have basically taken place
playing along with the qualities of the wood as such, this informally over work desks and during breaks. The idea of
solution is not as suitable. Every decision must however designing a building component based on stubs and
include an evaluation stage in the process regarding the reclaimed waste seems to trigger creative minds. Also
design criteria set up. moral support as well as sceptical questions has been
welcomed. Thanks to all who contributed in one way or
6.3 Construction methods
the other, and in particular to Jan Siem.
Today, massive wood is usually provided in large-scale
components that are often custom-made, and structural 8 REFERENCES
calculations are performed for each project. The small
scale of the Timber Block, however, generally poses more [1] Berge, B., 2006, Klimablokken, Gaia Lista.
complex considerations for the structure than the larger [2] Nordby, A.S. et al., 2007, Salvageability of building
components. The block has to provide structural stability materials, Proceedings for the SB07 conference,
locally within each block and globally within the system. Braganca, L. et al. (eds.) pp. 593-599, IOS Press,
Independent of which one of the four constructive Lisbon.
principles that will be pursued, some basic aspects must [3] Hemmingsen, C., Stensen, E., 2004, Kubbevegg-
be considered: teknikken. Studentoppgave, NTNU
• The direction of the structural stress on the system. As
the structural strength of wood is significantly higher in

40
 How could a Flexible and Integrated Shelter Approach Sustain
the Post-Disaster Recovery?
1 2 1 1 1 1 2
C. Henrotay , W. Debacker , A. Paduart , N. De Temmerman , H. Hendrickx , M. Mollaert , P. De Wilde
1
Department of Architectural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences,
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
2
Department of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions, Faculty of Engineering Sciences,
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract
The variety of contexts and the unpredictable character of post-disaster situations as well as the quickly
evolving and divergent needs defining the different stages of the response stand for a serious challenge:
post-disaster shelter solutions must be able to sustain these dynamics. A novel post-disaster shelter
approach has been developed at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. It relies on the conception of flexible and
transformable shelter and construction systems. In order to investigate the feasibility of the presented
concept, among other things, a real-scale prototype has been developed in cooperation with the Field
Accommodation Unit of the Belgian Army.

Keywords:
Post-disaster shelter response; short-term versus long-term; process-based design; adaptation;
transformation; up-grading; prototype testing.

provide urgent, short-term humanitarian assistance. It is

1 INTRODUCTION oriented towards saving lives and alleviating human
For a long time the sole cause of natural disasters was suffering. Development on the other hand is
attributed to natural hazards – conceived as inevitable and characterized by a long-term nature, concerned with
uncontrollable physical phenomena – such as sustainable capacity building and strengthening local
earthquakes, volcanic activity, landslides, tropical economic, political, and social structures. [8], [9]
cyclones, drought, etc. Yet this conception could not Consequently, in almost all sectors, such as water and
explain why disasters triggered by natural hazards are sanitation for example, agencies are expected to act
killing more people over time and why the cost of sequentially, providing emergency relief and/or support
disasters has risen in an accelerating manner [1], [2]. Nor during the reconstruction, this approach is generally also
could it explain the disparate and disproportionate implied for shelter and housing. Still, the question
affectation between different persons, communities and/or remains: “what happens between relief and
countries [3]. It is now clear and widely accepted that reconstruction?”.
disasters have to be understood as the complex 2.1 From emergency to reconstruction
interaction between a natural hazard and the vulnerability The transitional phase is a ‘grey zone’ between the
of a community or household to the impact of that hazard. emergency phase and the completion of the
Vulnerability has a social character and is not limited to reconstruction. During this phase people try to resume
the potential physical damage or to demographic daily activities like work and school, the permanent repair
determinants only. It considers the condition of a person of infrastructure and damaged buildings starts and
or group in terms of their capacity to anticipate, cope with, actions necessary to help the community to return to
resist, and recover from the impact of a natural hazard; normal as quickly as possible are initiated. The high cost1
and thus the ability to adapt or adjust to changing and inappropriate design of transitional shelter are often
environmental circumstances [4], [5], [6]. Factors such as cited by its opponents, who consider the need for
poverty, population growth and urbanisation tend to transitional shelter as redundant and a waste of time,
increase the level of vulnerability. material and financial means. These opponents, in many
cases, prefer to opt for immediate and accelerated
2 POST-DISASTER SHELTER RESPONSE reconstruction. They denote the resourcefulness and
Agencies and organisations operating in post-disaster coping capacity of the affected population that is
contexts tend to describe themselves through mandates estimated to be able to provide itself with shelter during
that do not overlap, in order to minimise duplication. This the transition period from emergency to reconstruction.
leads to phasing and sequential planning and support,
through the different stages of the response, which is
broken down into three phases – the emergency phase,
1
the transitional phase and the reconstruction [7]. Two Different post-disaster cases have proved that the provision of
categories of agencies are distinguished, namely relief current transitional shelter can be as expensive as local
oriented and development oriented organisations. permanent housing, and that spending funds on temporary,
Traditionally, relief and development have been separate transitional accommodation is likely to reduce the means
spheres of activity. The role of relief assistance is to available for more permanent solutions.

41
Nevertheless, even if the affected population can manage capacity and economic strength are interconnected and
to provide itself with shelter, the developed settlements that they should be addressed simultaneously in order to
may lead to increased vulnerability. This was e.g. the avoid the development of a culture of helplessness and
case after the 1999 earthquake in Colombia, where the dependency, a decrease in resilience and the
government initially didn’t intend to provide transitional undercutting of normal markets. Housing reconstruction is
shelter or support transitional shelter initiatives. Yet, as a thus pivotal for the overall social and economic recovery
result of the formation of slums on ill-adapted sites – as of disaster-affected countries and communities.
the way of the population to meet the demand for shelter However, the recovery process needs to be initiated as
–, one year after the disaster the government decided to quickly as possible. Reconstruction – even immediate
manage and provide transitional shelter and settlements. and accelerated – takes time. Most countries affected by
[10], [11], [12] disasters are developing countries, which face serious
As Nigg (1995) states, “recovery is not merely an problems providing adequate housing to their citizens in
outcome, but rather a social process”. After a disaster the normal circumstances. As a result, the post-disaster
affected population has lost most, if not all, of their assets. reconstruction is a difficult and time consuming task for
The provision of well-designed transitional shelter and the authorities of developing countries. Years may elapse
settlements enables the affected population to restart a before the reconstruction has occurred and daily life can
more or less normal life and can avoid the affected resume with normality. Consequently, there is a time gap
population from falling into a spiral of poverty and that needs to be bridged over. The provision and/or
vulnerability, which would foster future disasters. Housing support of post-disaster transitional shelters that enable
can take different forms and directly impacts on people’s to sustain the divergent socio-economic needs and
life, physical and psychological health, livelihoods, socio- cultural habits of the affected households and community
economic development, etc [14], [15], [16], [17]. Beyond can therefore play a key role in the recovery process.
the physical object, the house is endowed with meaning. It Efficient post-disaster shelter response thus comprises
is a manifestation of a personal and public symbol. The more than providing protection from physical elements.
design determines the inter-relationship between the Transitional shelter should be intended to enable people
house and its inhabitants and expresses their identity. to initiate the recovery process and to get back to a more
normal life. Consequently, one-fits-all, standard designs
The delimitation of space and the location of activities
for shelter and housing reconstruction can never offer an
respond to cultural, social and personal parameters which
adequate answer to the needs and aspirations of its
are context-dependent and variable [14]. Within cultures
inhabitants. Additionally, the roots of each natural disaster
there are sub-cultures and social groups, and the design
are to be found in the daily-life features characterising the
and use of houses commonly reflects this diversity.
pre-disaster context. The post-disaster reconstruction
Furthermore, housing has an important economic impact.
should be seen as an opportunity to investigate
It e.g. embraces the effects shelter supply has on people’s
vulnerabilities and capacities and to take these into
productivity in the economy through the provision of a
account during the reconstruction in order to mitigate or
safer environment that satisfies basic needs, the
even avoid future disasters. The provision of transitional
consumption pattern of the household and as a productive
shelter offers the opportunity to take the time to “build
capital in its own right as a workplace [18]. Housing and
back better”.
shelter thus posses important (socio-economic)
developmental qualities and potentials. It is crucial to
exploit these in order to at least not increase, and if 3 A MORE INTEGRATED AND SUSTAINABLE
possible decrease household’s vulnerabilities. DESIGN APPROACH FOR SHELTER AFTER
DISASTER
2.2 Potentials and limitations of housing and shelter
in post-disaster recovery Due to their short-term commitment and the relief-
oriented character, but especially due to the lack of
Housing plays a key role in people’s lives and in society. preparedness, humanitarian agencies have to make
The loss of a home does not only constitute a physical decisions that respond to the immediate situation at hand.
deprivation, but also loss of identity, orientation, security, In the chaos following the disaster, decisions have to be
privacy and dignity. When housing is destroyed in a made quickly and often on the basis of incomplete
conflict or a natural disaster, its physical loss undermines information, resulting in ad hoc interventions that do not,
many aspects of daily life, with a profound negative effect in most cases, take proper account of longer-term
on the community. It can cause psychological traumas, objectives. The provision of transitional shelter occurs in
challenges perceptions of cultural identity, disrupts social the same way, relying on the delivery of standard, one-fits
structures and accepted social behaviour, poses a threat all shelter designs. Yet, as described in above
to security, and has a significant negative economic paragraphs transitional shelter is a short-term intervention
impact. with a long-term impact on the recovery process. It is
Post-disaster recovery depends on many aspects, is concerned with sustainable capacity building and
influenced by different disciplines and regulated on strengthening local economic and social structures.
different levels. Many studies and field reports have Therefore, the design of transitional shelters must enable
demonstrated that physical reconstruction alone is far to support the livelihoods and socio-economic processes
from enough to support effective recovery [13], [19], [20]. of the affected population.
Yet, due to its multi-facetted character, housing has the A new conception of a flexible and integrated material
potential to support and facilitate personal, social and support for shelter after disaster has been developed at
economic recovery. Bolin (1985) identified a linkage the Department of Architectural Engineering Sciences of
between housing and mental health issues in post- the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. It goes out from the design
disaster situations. He suggested that family recovery and strategy Design for Deconstruction (DfD) and the
the prolongation of psychosocial effects identified after a 4Dimensional Design approach developed by H.
disaster are closely tied to the personal evaluation of the Hendrickx and H. Vanwalleghem at the Vrije Universiteit
status of recovery and to income and home size recovery. Brussel. Based on this design strategy and approach,
Sheppard and Hill (2005) argue that the recovery of social

42
adaptable, versatile and compatible shelter systems have 3.1 Increasing the preparedness and sustainability
been conceived that make it possible to provide different of post-disaster response
types of shelters, which can evolve from a small The presented design approach enables to provide a
emergency shelter to a more robust transitional shelter. large variety of different shelter configurations. Based on
The aim is to enable a quick support in the aftermath of a a limited number of different basic elements, shelters with
disaster that offers the potential to reuse the shelter a varying shape, size and structural typology can be
material for the construction of a transitional that can be created. However, in the aftermath of a disaster decisions
adapted, extended, transformed and upgraded with local have to be quickly. Therefore a number of standard
materials by the inhabitants. The initial shelter system shelter kits have been distilled that can immediately be
consists of linear structural aluminium profiles, fabric packed and transported to the affected area. Yet these
cover elements and innovative connection elements. The basic shelters can be adapted to the local climate by the
result can be compared with a Meccano like system that use of complementary ‘climate kits’ composed of, e.g.,
enables to configure a variety of shelter shapes, insulation and a complementary cover element provided
structures, sizes, etc. with a flue plate, or shading elements and mosquito nets.
When the chaos of the emergency has passed and all
affected households are provided with shelter, the
emergency shelter can be dismantled and combined with
additional materials to construct a more robust transit
shelter.
The adaptability and the versatile character of the
presented shelter and construction systems make it
possible to better adapt the shelter to the needs and
preferences of the inhabitants and thus to support the
shelter process in a more sustainable way. By taking the
broader context into account, the presented design
approach aims to support the personal and economical
development of the affected households by means of a
flexible and adaptable material support. It therefore
concentrates on an incremental, bottom-up approach that
enables the inhabitants to use their own skills to
construct, adapt and upgrade their shelter and reinforce
their dignity. Consequently, the presented approach
enables to better link relief, rehabilitation and
development. Furthermore, the dismountable character of
the presented approach enables to better maintain,
repair, transform and upgrade the shelter. This will enable
to provide more durable shelter solutions. However, the
durability is only possible if the design encloses materials
that are universally available and relies on simple, low-
tech processing techniques, so that the elements can be
Figure 1: Scheme of the presented post-disaster shelter repaired and reproduced locally.
approach. 3.2 Prototype tests
The key element to these transformable and reusable The feasibility of the presented concept has been
shelter systems are the newly developed connection investigated based on interviews, design-based research,
elements. By means of two different types of connection structural analysis calculations, laboratory tests and the
elements– a flat plate and a three dimensional element – field testing of a real-scale prototype.
a large variety of different corner connections can be
realised as illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 3: Elements of the shelter system prototype.

This real-scale prototype has been developed in
cooperation with the Belgian Army (see Figure 3) with the
scope of analysing the ease and speed of assembly, the
constructability, the employability and suitability of the
system, the ease of handling the elements and
components, the versatility of the elements, and the
adaptability of the system. In addition, the development of
a prototype enabled to discover and inspect bottlenecks
Figure 2: Potential combinations. and to examine the design of the developed connection
elements.

43
A quantitative as well as a qualitative analysis was
pursued to investigate and evaluate the developed
prototype, based on workshops that were held with
different target groups among whom NGOs – Médecins
Sans Frontières, Red Cross Flanders Belgium and
Architecten Zonder Grenzen (Architects Without Borders)
–, the Field Accommodation Unit of the Belgian Army
Corps, architecture students and laymen women. By
means of recording times, observations, surveys and Figure 5: Errors in the connection of the fabric cover
focus group interviews better insight was gained regarding elements.
the different points of investigation mentioned above. The
results complement the data that have been collected Beside the increased complexity the large number of
during the production and the initial testing phase. connection points on the cover elements – provided to
guarantee water and windtight connections – dramatically
increased the weight of the elements. The mass of a 1,98
x 2,56 m2 piece of fabric, for example, amounts to 3 kg
without connection elements and to 13,3 kg with the
additional connection elements.
3.3 Elaboration and improvement of the presented
concept
The research presented in this paper was intended to
investigate the feasibility of an innovative approach for
post-disaster shelter response. The scope was thus not to
design a ready to use product, but more to explore the
opportunities 4Dimensional Design could offer with regard
to post-disaster shelter issues. It has enabled to find out
the potentials and shortcomings of presented shelter and
construction systems. Based on these findings the
concept can be elaborated and the shelter and
construction systems can be improved. The next step in
the product development of the presented systems is to
fine-tune the current design and investigate the economic
feasibility in order to deliver a ready to use and to
produce ‘product’.
According to the assessment of the workshops, the
constructability needs to be enhanced. The complexity
and confusion related to the fabric connection points can
be reduced by decreasing the amount of connection
Figure 4: Configurations assessed during the workshops. points and by using different connection techniques,
Although some bottlenecks have been encountered depending on the function of the connection point
during the manufacturing and testing, the results of the (connection with the structure, inner layer, etc.). The use
investigation of the first prototype are encouraging and of different connection techniques for each type of
promising. The different two-dimensional and three- connection may increase the ease of identification.
dimensional frames have proved to perform very well with The opportunity could be provided to upgrade the
regard to their structural behaviour and their construction as well as the basic elements composing the
transformability. The tested construction system has construction. For example, the upgrading and increased
proved to present sufficient structural integrity to withstand versatility of the fabric could be enabled by printing a
heavy rain, storm and wind squalls of up to 100 km/hour. model, defining the position of additional connection
Different types of shelters have been erected with a points, on the fabric. Further more, the amount of bolt
limited amount of different elements. The shelter holes and slotted holes in the connection plates should be
typologies can be extended and adapted by adding and reduced in order to minimize confusion. The position of
removing basic elements or by changing the combination potential holes and slotted holes could be printed or
of the elements. And at last, when assembled correctly, carved into the plates. The elements can then be
the shelter provides a wind and watertight indoor space. upgraded by providing perforations in the plate at the right
However, the prototype testing has indicated that some position.
improvements are needed in order to guarantee an In the search for an equilibrium between emergency
efficient implementation in the field. needs and longer-term requirements, the weight of the
The most important finding is that equilibrium has to be shelter kit plays an important role. The different phases of
found between the degree of versatility, on the one hand, the relief and recovery process are characterised by
and the complexity and the ease of assembly on the other divergent and sometimes contradicting needs and
hand. Since one of the scopes was to investigate the requirements. During the emergency phase actions that
flexibility and transformability of the system, the prototype are necessary to save lives are taken. People need help
was designed to be as versatile as possible. This fast, especially in cold and harsh climates. The delivery
versatility led to a wide variety of potential combinations time for supply is critical. The logistic requirements such
and thus confusion, which caused some assembly errors. as a lightweight and compact transport volume prevail.
Some difficulties in the connection of the cover elements During the transitional phase actions necessary to help
resulted in the set-up of a shelter that is e.g. not wind and the community to return to normal as quickly as possible
watertight (see Figure 5). are initiated. Therefore, during the transitional phase,

44
more robust shelter solutions, which can master time for a of shelter material over the different stages of the
couple of years, are necessary. Consequently, the mass response, the limited material and financial means can be
of the structure and its components may be high. In optimally used.
addition, in order to support the recovery process it is In order to investigate the proof of concept of the
crucial that the transitional shelters enable to support the presented post-disaster shelter approach, among other
livelihoods and socio-economic processes of the affected things, a real scale prototype of a flexible and
population. The mass of the shelter/construction kits is transformable construction system has been developed.
related to the material chosen, the strength requirements, The assessment of the prototype, based on workshops
the versatility and the price of the shelter kit. with different target groups, led to important findings with
The structural and logistic requirements of these divergent regard to the possibilities and limitation of transformable
functions and scenario’s need to be examined in order to construction systems within the post-disaster shelter
distil an integrated system made up of elements that are response. The overall results of the prototype testing
compatible and that can be interchanged within different have been encouraging. The aim to develop a
configurations and scenarios. It has to be investigated transformable construction system that enables to provide
how lightweight elements with a compact transport different types of structurally sound, wind and watertight
volume can be used in different structures, e.g. to shelters has been reached. Nevertheless, some
reinforce more robust or larger scale structures. shortcomings with regard to an efficient field
At last, the shelter and construction systems should be implementation have been detected. On the one hand,
elaborated by integrating different structural and cover the aim for versatility led to a high complexity (or lack of
materials. The motivation to implement different types of identification) and confusion. Furthermore, the mass of
materials for the cover as well as for the structure is two- the elements, especially of the cover is too high to be
fold: it will broaden the open character of the suggested implemented during the emergency phase. On the other
shelter/construction systems and increase the potential to hand, the tests complementing focus group interviews
combine the elements of the ‘tent system’ with stiff cover made it possible to have an insight of what relief and
materials, which will ease the conversion for a temporary developmental workers need and attach importance to in
solution to a semi-permanent or permanent one. The order to facilitate and improve the response.
integration of different materials in the presented design The development of a real-scale prototype and its testing
approach will be investigated based on case studies. The with different potential user groups have enabled to
choice of the material relies on standardisation and the investigate the strong points and bottlenecks of the
worldwide availability. For the structure it is suggested to presented approach in order to elaborate it and fine-tune
examine the implementation of aluminium, steel, wood the resulting shelter and construction systems into a
and bamboo. Due to its advantageous characteristics, ready to use post-disaster shelter system.
bamboo is extensively used as a building material around
the world for the construction of temporary as well as 5 REFERENCES
permanent structures. With regard to the cover fabrics, flat
[1] O’Brien G., O’Keefe P., Rose J., and Wisner B.,
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[2] Alexander, D., The study of natural disasters, 1997,
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of Knowledge, Disasters, 21 (4), pp. 284-304, 1997.
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[4] Blaikie, P., Cannon T., Davis I., and Wisner B.,
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and/or on long-term reconstruction of the build Concepts of Vulnerability and Risk from a Holistic
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poverty and vulnerability? Science & Policy, 9, pp. 607-613.
Previous research has indicated that flexible and [7] UNOCHA, 2006, Exploring key changes and
transformable shelter design is crucial to anticipate on developments in post-disaster settlement, shelter
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support the dynamics of the post-disaster shelter process. the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, pg. 79.
The transformable character makes it possible to provide
[8] Boano C., Rottlaender A., Sanchez-Bayo A and
shelter solutions that better suit the socio-economic
Viliani F., 2003, Bridging the gap. Involuntary
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CRIC.
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[9] Skotte H., 2004, Tents in concrete. What [17] Newell P. B., 1995, Perspectives on privacy,
internationally funded housing does to support Journal of environmental psychology, 15, pp. 87-
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Bosnia-Herzegovina, Doctoral Theses at Norwegian [18] Kellet P. and Tipple G., April 2000, The home as
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[10] Barakat S., December 2003, Housing reconstruction within the domestic setting, Environment and
after conflict and disaster, Humanitarian Practice Urbanization, 12 (1), pp. 203-214.
Network at Overseas Development Institute, [19] Zetter R., 1995, Shelter Provision and Settlement
Network paper Number 43. Policies for Refugees : A state of the art review,
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Management and Economics, 24, pp. 367-378. Relief, Report No. 2.
[12] Johnson C., 2007, Strategic planning for post- [20] El-Masri S., Kellett P., 2001, Post-war
disaster temporary housing, Disasters, 31 (4), pp. reconstruction. Participatory approaches to
435-458. rebuilding the damaged villages of Lebanon: a case
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environmental psychology, 15, pp. 311- 320.

46
 A Deployable Mast for Adaptable Architecture

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
N. De Temmerman , M. Mollaert , L. De Laet , C. Henrotay , A. Paduart , L. Guldentops , T. Van Mele , W. Debacker
Æ-lab (Research Group for Architectural Engineering),
Department of Architectonic Engineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels – Belgium
Abstract
Proposed here is a concept for a deployable mast with angulated scissor units, for use in adaptable temporary architectural
constructions. The adaptable structure serves as a tower or truss-like mast for a temporary tensile surface structure and
doubles up as an active element during the erection process. The mast consists of scissor-like elements (SLE’s) which are
an effective way of introducing a single D.O.F.(degree of freedom) mechanism into a structure, providing it with the
necessary kinematic properties for transforming from a compact state to a larger, expanded state. The scissor units used
here are not comprised of straight bars, but rather consist of angulated elements, i.e. bars having a kink angle. Although
primarily intended for radially deployable closed loop structures, it is shown in this paper that angulated elements can also
prove valuable for use in a linear three-dimensional scissor geometry.

Keywords:
Deployable structures, transformable structures, adaptable architecture, angulated scissor elements, kinetic architecture

for additional lifting equipment. After connections between

1 INTRODUCTION the membrane elements and the mast have been made,
An innovative concept for a deployable hyperboloid mast the mechanism is deployed until the required height is
with angulated scissor elements is presented. The scissor reached and the membrane elements become tensioned.
structure is a central vertical linear element, used to hold The mast could be deployed to such an extent that a
up several anticlastic membrane canopies at their high sufficient amount of pre-tension is introduced in the
points. The question was raised whether it would be membrane, ensuring the ability to withstand external
possible to design such a deployable mast for a loads. Since the mast is basically a mechanism,
temporary tensile structure and to use it as an active additional bracing is needed after full deployment to turn it
element during the erection process. In addition, the into a load-bearing structure. To illustrate the concept, the
pantographic mast allows visitors to access several simplest incarnation of the concept is used throughout the
platforms to enjoy the views, under or above the different paper: a mast of triangular shape. But it must be noted
membrane elements. The proposed concept is a that the concept is valid for any n-sided polygon. The
transformable version of the static concept shown in extensive formulas for obtaining the geometry based on
Figure 1. The original (undeployable) mast (or tower) architectural design parameters [1] have been omitted for
consists of several modules which are assembled and clarity.
dismantled on-site by stacking them vertically, for which a 2 GEOMETRY
lifting device is needed. After assembly the membrane 2.1 Dimensions
would have to be attached to the top, after which the pre-
tension in the membrane can be introduced. The deployable mast is horizontally divided in several
modules, which are closed-loop configurations of identical
hoberman’s units or otherwise called angulated SLE‘s.
Figure 2 shows an example of a mast with - in this case -
triangular modules, of which three are stacked vertically.

Figure 1: Mobile structure with membrane surfaces and

arranged around a demountable central tower (© The Figure 2: Side elevation and top view of the structure
Nomad Concept) showing the three tensile surfaces arranged radially
around the central mast

By making the mast deployable, all connections can be

made on ground level, while the mechanism is in its The mast is 8.5 m high and 2.7 m wide, while the tensile
undeployed, compact state, therefore eliminating the need surfaces are identical and measure 10 m along their
longest diagonal. The top of the second module, at which

47
the membrane elements are attached, is located at 5.2 Figure 4: Imposed condition on the length of the semi-
metres above ground level. The other high point of the bars a and b (a<b), in order to make the linkage foldable
membranes is held 4 m above ground by additional along the vertical axis
masts. The most important parameters are the kink angle β of
the angulated element and the deployment angle θ, as
2.2 Angulated elements vs. polar elements depicted in Figure 5. The relationship between a and b,
as shown in Figure 4, leads to a hyperbolic shape for the
It could be argued that a mast with a broad base and a mast. By satisfying alternative relationships between a
narrow top can equally be built with polar units with and b, a simpler, prismoid shape for the mast can be
decreasing size as they are located nearer to the top. In obtained, with a simpler kinematic behaviour, as later will
Figure 3 two linkages – one with angulated elements, be explained.
another with polar units - are shown, with identical height
and width, but with varying number of units U and different
bar lengths. Using the angulated elements offers an
advantage: while the linkage with angulated elements is
built from only 3 SLE’s with 11 hinges and nodes, the
equivalent polar mechanism needs 8 units with 26
connections to reach a similar deployed geometry. The
effect that the angulated elements have on the modules is θ2
that, during deployment, the top of a module becomes
narrower than its base. The radius of the top of a certain
module becomes equal to the radius of the base of the
next, higher located module. This means that the θ1 β
narrowing effect is enhanced and passed on through the
mechanism, from module to module, from bottom to top.

Linkage with angulated Equivalent linkage with Figure 5: Most important parameters used for describing
SLE’s: polar SLE’s: the geometry and the deployment

For a full and exhaustive description of all relevant design

parameters and a comprehensive geometric design
method, drawn up from the designer’s point of view, the
reader is referred to [1].
3 TRANSFORMATION
3.1 Compacting for transport
The imaginary vertical axes connecting the end nodes of
the bars can act as fold lines, used to further flatten the
linkage. Therefore, the modules are ‘cut open’ along one
fold line, after which the whole can be flatly folded for
easier transport. Such a fold sequence is shown in Figure
6, which depicts the simplest possible structure: the one
with a triangular base. This way of further compacting is
presented as an option and could be ignored, on the
condition that the dimensions in the undeployed state are
kept reasonable.

Number of SLE’s: n=3 Number of SLE’s: n=8

Number of hinges and end Number of hinges and
nodes: 11 end nodes: 26
Step 1 (Compacted for Step 2
Figure 3: Comparison between a linkage with transport)
angulated SLE’s and its conventional polar equivalent

The dimensions of the individual bars of the scissor units

are such, that the horizontal projection of b is equal to a,
as shown in Figure 4.

Step 3 Step 4 (ready to deploy)

Figure 6: Initial unfolding of the compacted linkage
a b (transport) to its polygonal form (ready to deploy)

48
 A short description is given of how the erection process
could be executed, as shown in Figure 8:
• A: the tower is in its undeployed form. The
membrane elements are attached to the nodes
of the mechanism and fixed by their low points to
the ground
• B: As the tower gradually deploys, the
membranes are raised. When sufficient height is
Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 achieved, the additional masts are inserted and
gradually put in their right location. Then, the
cables fixing the secondary masts to the ground
are brought under tension.
• C: Finally, the tower is slightly deployed further
to add pre-tension in the membrane. Then, the
tower is fixed to the ground by pinned supports
and additional horizontal ties (cables or struts)
can be inserted at the appropriate level.
After deployment horizontal ties are added to enhance
structural stiffness. Several solutions are possible: cable
ties could be used, which are already present before
deployment and are shortened as the structure deploys
and becomes narrower. Struts could be added afterwards
to brace the structure. An active cable can run over
Step 8 Step 9 Step 10 appropriately chosen nodes along a path and can be
shortened to aid in the deployment.
Figure 7: Six stages in the deployment of a triangular
mast: elevation and top view
3.3 Influence of parameters
3.2 Deployment Minimal changes in the design values can have a
The deployment sequence of the tower is presented in profound effect on the overall geometry. The parameters
Figure 7, showing a top view and a side elevation for each with the strongest impact on the geometry are the kink
stage. Stage 5 is the most compacted state, while stage angle β (as shown in Figure 5) and, logically, the number
10 illustrates the fully deployed state. The maximum of stacked modules n in the linkage. Figure 9 shows the
deployment is reached when the upper end nodes of the undeployed and fully deployed position for three different
top module meet in one point. configurations with specific values for β of 135°, 150° and
165°. All configurations have the same edge length. As β
increases, the overall height of the deployed configuration
also increases, while the radius of the footprint
decreases.

n=3, β=135° n=3, β=150° n=3, β=165°

Figure 9: Illustration of the influence of the apex angle

β on the geometry of a linkage with angulated SLE’s
with three modules (n=3) in the undeployed (top) and
fully deployed configuration (below)

Figure 8: Deployment sequence (A, B and C) for the

tower with the membrane elements attached
49
The biggest impact however is noticeable in the constrain the movement of the rotational degree of
undeployed configuration. By increasing β from 135° to freedom of the scissor units. As usual, fixing two
165°, the height in the stacked position is reduced to a appropriately chosen nodes is enough to remove the
third. So blunter kink angles lead to linkages which are rotational D.O.F from the scissor linkage. But for using
more compact – easier transportable - in their undeployed the tower as a load bearing structure, all three lower
state. nodes have to be fixed to the ground by pinned supports.
The top module in the linkage is the determining factor for Additionally, it has been found through preliminary
the deployment range. Units with sharp kink angles tend structural analyses, that horizontal ties - cables or struts -
to quickly reach their maximal deployment, therefore between the nodes greatly improve structural
halting the deployment of the remaining modules. So if a performance and lead to much smaller sections for the
substantial expansion in height is desired, it would be a individual bars, thus enhancing the weight/height ratio [1].
better option to choose a blunt kink angle in combination
with a higher number of modules: the blunt kink angle
makes the undeployed configuration more compact in
height and increases the deployment interval (0 to θmax).
A choice will have to be made concerning the optimal
number of modules that will suit the design, taking all
relevant parameters into consideration.
4 KINEMATIC BEHAVIOUR
Figure 10 shows a schematic representation of an
undeployed and an intermediate deployment position of
the same linkage. As the deployment progresses, the Figure 11: Kinematic joint connecting the angulated
angulated SLE’s of each module tilt inward at the top. The elements at their end nodes
dotted lines are imaginary fold lines around which mobility
has to be allowed in order to complete the deployment.
Through connection of the end nodes, each scissor unit
can be represented by a trapezoid, of which the contour
changes constantly during deployment. Between
quadrilaterals ABDC and CDFE and between CDFE and
EFHG there is a relative rotation which causes them not
to remain coplanar

H
G

F Figure 12: The kinematic joint and the axes of

E
revolution for the seven rotational degrees of freedom
D

B
C

Figure 10: A schematic representation of the relative

rotations of the quadrilaterals around imaginary fold
axes during deployment

The joints connecting the end nodes of the units will have
to take into account all aspects of this mobility. In Figure Figure 13: The scissor linkage in its deployed state and
11 and Figure 12 a proposal for such a joint is pictured, its equivalent hinged plate structure for mobility
showing the seven rotational degrees of freedom needed analysis (left) – Fixing the structure by pinned supports
for the deployment, as well as for the linkage to be (right)
compactly folded.
5 simplified geometry
In order for the mechanism to be usable as a structure,
the mobility will have to be constrained. To analyse the The scissor linkage in the previously described geometry
mobility of the system, an equivalent hinged plate model has in its undeployed state a prismatic shape and all
is presented in Figure 13. which represents the linkage angulated elements per vertical row (or lateral face of the
with the rotational degree of freedom of the scissor prism) are coplanar. During deployment, however, the
linkage removed. After removal of this D.O.F. the shape gradually changes into a hyperboloid, which
remaining mobility determines to what extent constraints means that the angulated elements per vertical row are
have to be added. Due to triangulation of the modules, no longer coplanar, i.e. they experience relative rotation,
there is no additional mobility which means it is basically a as can be seen in the triangular example of Figure 14
single D.O.F.-mechanism. Therefore, it is sufficient to (left). As a consequence, the articulated hinges (Figure
12) will have to allow an extra rotational D.O.F around the

50
horizontal axes between modules to cope with this length of the semi-bar a1 can be expressed in terms of a0
movement, which adds to the complexity of the joint as follows:
design.
(
a = a cos π − β
1 0 ) (1)

With the kink angle β and the length of the semi-bar of

the bottom most angulated element a0 chosen as design
th
parameters, the length semi-bar of the n element can be
written as:

a n = a0 (cos(π − β )) (2)
n

To illustrate what happens during deployment, Figure 16

shows the corresponding closed loop structure which
Hyperboloid Prismoid (simplified) uses the same vertical linkage, but arranged radially in a
common plane. The planar linkage is depicted in three
Figure 14: Difference in geometry between the
consecutive stages - undeployed, partially deployed and
hyperboloid and the prismoid version
fully deployed. During deployment, a constant angle
(marked by the red intersecting lines), is subtended by
The described deployment behaviour is caused by the each vertical linkage. This characteristic is precisely what
particular geometry of the angulated elements, which makes the design of radially deployable closed loop
consist of two differently sized semi-bars a and b, turning structures possible [3].
the angulated elements non-symmetrical. The overall
geometry of this solution shall be referred to as
hyperboloid.
Now, an alternative concept is proposed, which is similar
in setup to the hyperboloid version, but has simplified
joints for interconnecting the modules. If the angulated
elements within a vertical row can be kept coplanar, then
the hinges between modules would not have to allow an
extra rotational D.O.F. around the horizontal axes Figure 16: Three consecutive stages of the
between modules, effectively decreasing the mechanical corresponding planar closed-loop structure
complexity. Also, the end nodes of the angulated
elements remain collinear, as shown in the triangular
example of Figure 14 (right). The effect on the overall Figure 17 shows a three-dimensional model of a
shape is that it resembles a prism before, during and after triangular prismoid tower in three deployment stages.
deployment. More precisely, such a shape is known in
geometry as a prismoid.
This particular prismoid geometry can only be achieved if
symmetrical angulated elements are used, i.e. elements
with identical semi-lengths.

a1
β a1
a1

β a0
Figure 17: Perspective view of the deployment of a
a0 triangular prismoid tower
The simplified solution for the articulated hinge - which
Figure 15: Symmetrical and non-identical angulated connects four bars at once - is shown in Figure 18.
elements result in a fully compactable configuration:
prismoid solution

Furthermore, an extra condition is imposed on the scissor

geometry, as Figure 15 shows. The angulated elements
become smaller near the top and their geometry is such
that their lower end nodes and intermediate hinge are
collinear in the undeployed position. This configuration
ensures the highest degree of compactness.
The relationship between the lengths of semi-bars of Figure 18: Detailed view of the simplified hinge
consecutive angulated elements can be derived. The connecting four scissor bars

51
 additional lifting equipment. Angulated elements are of
In Figure 13, an equivalent hinged-plate structure for the great use in the design of all kinds of radially retractable
hyperboloid geometry was introduced, which has shown roof structures [3]. This concept has shown that these
that the only D.O.F. in the system is the rotational D.O.F. elements can be used in a slightly different way, i.e. in a
of the scissors. When the same method is applied to the linear mechanism. The two-fold purpose of the mast,
prismoid solution, it can be seen that this holds no longer namely holding up the membrane elements in the
true. It can be concluded that the prismoid solution is – deployed position and serving as an active element
apart from the triangular geometry – a multiple D.O.F.- during the erection process, has been demonstrated. It
mechanism [1]. To turn the mechanism into a structure, has been found that the proposed linear structure offers
and therefore removing all D.O.F.’s, all lower nodes are an advantage over existing solutions: using angulated
fixed to the ground by pinned supports. elements instead of polar units for the same deployed
geometry, has lead to a significant reduction of the
6 FROM MODEL to realisation number of scissor members and connections.
6.1 1/20 scale model
In order to evaluate whether the obtained kinematic
behaviour of the hyperboloid mechanism is indeed the
desired one, a detailed working model has been
constructed, as shown in Figure 19. This 1/20 scale model
with triangular section allows the same D.O.F.’s as the full
scale original and demonstrates, as expected, a single
kinematic D.O.F.

Figure 21: Rendered image of the concept : a triangular

actuated mast for temporary tensile surface structures

Figure 19: Deployment of the 1/20 detailed scale model

Further, an alternative shape, called a prismoid geometry,
has been proposed. This has proven to be a simpler
6.2 1/2 scale model solution compared to the hyperboloid geometry in terms
The kinematic behaviour of the simplified prismoid of kinematic behaviour, therefore allowing the use of
solution has been verified by means of a ½ scale model, greatly simplified joints. Through the use of an equivalent
resulting in a 4 m high mast, as shown in Figure 20. hinged-plate model, the mobility of both the hyperboloid
Laminated wood was used for the angulated elements and prismoid geometry has been assessed. It was found
and steel for the connections. A cable-pulley system that the hyperboloid configuration is always, regardless of
driven by an electric winch is used for the deployment. the polygonal shape, a one-degree-of-freedom
mechanism. The prismoid solution, on the other hand, is
always, apart from the triangular geometry, a multiple-
D.O.F.- mechanism.
The proposed concept has made innovative use of
angulated scissor elements in an original application
(Figure 21). Although the concept has been proven to
work, more detailed analysis, including structural design
of the joints, is needed.
8 References
[1] De Temmerman, N., Design and Analysis of
Deployable Bar Structures for Mobile Architectural
Applications, PhD-dissertation, Vrije Universiteit
Brussel, Brussel, 2007
[2] Hoberman, C., Reversibly Expandable Doubly-
Curved Truss Structure, United States Patent No.
4942700, 1990
[3] Jensen, F., Concepts for Retractable Roof
Figure 20: Compacted and deployed state of the proof-of-
Structures. PhD-dissertation, University of
concept scale model
Cambridge, Cambridge, 2004
7 SUMMARY
In this paper, a novel idea has been put forward for a
deployable hyperboloid mast or tower, used for the
deployment of a membrane canopy, without the need for

52
Adaptable Architecture with the Application of Dynamic Materials
1 1
C.M.J.L. Lelieveld , A.I.M Voorbij
1
Chair Product Development, Section Building Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of
Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

Abstract
This paper is part of a thesis study which focuses on the realization of an adaptable architecture with the
use of dynamic materials. This research was executed based on the theory of design-driven research. The
design is based on an active bending slab of material which can be implemented in an adaptable
environment. Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) and Shape Memory Polymers (SMPs) were determined as
dynamic materials suitable for this design concept. SMAs can be used for actuator material responsible for
deformation. SMP can be used as surface material, which has the characteristic of retaining deformation
and recovery. The material properties need to be determined previous to application in a prototype. With
torsion test the deformation force of the SMP was determined as well as the recovery force of the SMA
under constrained recovery. The tests revealed that both dynamic materials have the characteristic to be
combined in an adaptable component, which causes bend deformation.

Keywords:
Adaptable architecture, Dynamic materials, Shape Memory Alloys, Shape Memory Polymers.

have a large life-time the character of the environment of

1 INTRODUCTION the buildings change, the actual setting of the buildings
This paper is part of a thesis study which focuses on the change, the function of the building changes, the
realization of an adaptable architecture with the use of inhabitants of the building change, and mostly society
dynamic materials. Adaptable architecture can be changes. A discrepancy between the way we live and the
described as an architecture of which its components can world surrounding us, leads to houses which are a product
be adapted according to external input, such as of the past [6].
environmental aspects and/or the behavior of the users. The aim of this paper is to focus on the possibility of
Dynamic materials are materials with the ability to change shape-adaptation for functional and aesthetical purposes
their physical appearance induced by external stimuli. in architectural environments. With the investigation of
In literature also the term “smart” is used for adaptable dynamic materials an attempt is made to assemble a
components. On the architectural level adaptability is prototype which will fulfill this purpose. With material
mostly examined on a structural level [2-4]. According to testing the characteristics of the materials will be
Wadhawan a smart structure is that “which has the ability determined for the prospect of further application in a
to respond adaptively in a pre-designed useful and efficient working prototype. In this paper the results of these
manner to changes of environmental conditions, as also experiments are presented.
any changes in its own condition”[4]. A higher level could
be reached with the use of adaptive control algorithms; the 2 DESIGN CONCEPT
structure can become self-learning. The appliance of smart This research was executed based on the theory of
structures is mostly focusing environmental impact, e.g.; design-driven research [7]. In which the design, which is
noise, light, earthquakes, wind loads etc.[5]. Over- showed in figure 1a, will form the basis for the research.
dimensioning is avoided due to “smart” structures, which The concept is based on an actively bending slab of
opens the way to lightweight structures. dynamic material which can be implemented in an
In the outfit of the building dynamic materials are also adaptable environment on various ways, for example; as a
implemented; for example on the level of sun-protection. facade element (figure 1b), as a ceiling element, as a
With electro chromic window technology the glass of a space division or as a furniture element. After analyzing
window can change its transparency under the influence of the design in relation to materials and techniques it was
electric current. However, on the level of adaptability of determined that the bending detail as encircled in figure 1a
functional aspects dynamic material implementation is is the most crucial element, which needs to be studied
lagging behind. primarily.
It will be challenging to create a building on the functional
level which has the characteristic to adapt to the
environment or users. Imagine the change of the size of a
building or the change of the amount of rooms according to
the amount of persons in the house. In urban districts the
lack of space can be translated into an adaptable building
which can be changed to different functions or activities.
Nowadays our buildings are a static representation of a
setting which has been designed in the past. As buildings

53
 chosen to be the best solution for the visualization of the
bending component [9]. The Shape Memory Alloy (SMA)
used for this prototype is Nickel-Titanium based. SMAs
have two different phases in solid state; normally around
room temperature the SMA is in martensite phase, in this
phase the SMA can be easily deformed. When heated, the
alloy transforms into a stronger austenite phase, in which
the SMA can recover to its original composition. The
(a) (b) transformation temperature depends on the Nickel-
Titanium proportion. The transformation behavior of the
Figure 14 a: Design bending principle of slab, b: Bending SMA can be seen in figure 3. SMAs have the
component in façade. characteristics to generate a higher recovery force under
Based on the design concept a composite material should constrained recovery compared to the force needed to
be appointed which contains the characteristic to bend on recover itself under free recovery. The SMA is cold worked
activation and retain this deformation without constant after manufacturing, to induce the shape memory
energy input. The material should be able to have large properties the Ni-Ti needs to be annealed according to
deformations and return to its original setting when specific settings.
necessary. The bending angle of the material should be For these experiments a wire with a diameter of 0,8 mm is
controlled accurately, and a considerable amount of employed. The 0,8 mm wire has an transformation
bending and recovering cycles should be conceivable. The finishing temperature (Af) of 65ºC.
deformation of the slab should be realized with small
energy input. Also the materials should be able to be Test Method annealing settings
applied on large scale to establish application on The annealing settings need to be determined with the
architectural scale. Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) [10]. The SMA is
After a dynamic material inventory it was concluded that annealed at different temperatures in a range of 450 to 650
the bending component should be assembled of two degrees with a heating time of 10, 20 and 30 minutes. For
materials; a surface material which has the characteristic this test the Perkin Elmer DSC 7 has been used. During
of being flexible for bending, as well as being stiff for DSC testing the amount of heat required to raise the
structural purposes and an actuator material which provide temperature of a sample is compared to a reference
active bending properties. In figure 2 a schematic overview sample. When the sample undergoes a phase transition
of the component is given. more (endothermic) or less (exothermic) heat will be
required to maintain the same temperature as the
reference specimen (figure 3).
3 EXPERIMENTS
Results
3.1 Actuator
Every test was cycled twice; in figure 4 it is shown that
For the actuator material Shape Memory Alloy [8] wire was
after the first cycle equilibrium is set. In figure 5 an
overview is given of the DSC results with the specific heat
and the temperatures. From testing with DSC it can be
concluded that temperatures as low as 450 degrees do not
give clear phase transition lines which is also true for
temperatures above 500ºC. At temperatures around 500ºC
the most optimum settings are found. A clear difference
between the first time cycle for heating and cooling are
found in contrast to the following cycling. After annealing
SMA contains defects in the molecules lattice, like
dislocations [11]. By cycling these defects stabilize.
Test method torsion
For the actuation properties of the SMA the actual amount
of deformation force must be determined. In this design
concept the actuator needs to deliver a bending
deformation. With torsion tests the given actuation force
can be determined. As the actuator has to deform a
surface material, the recovery force should be determined
for the SMA. With the use of a torsion testing machine,
Zwick/Roell Z005, the maximum recovery torsion moment
is determined. The Zwick/Roel is performed with an oven
for the heating of the SMA to the austenite phase.
The test is executed with straight annealed wire. In the
research of Duerig and Loughlan it is revealed that SMA
loaded above an approximately strain of 6-8 % will give a
controlled recovery with a considerable amount of cycling
[12] [11]. Higher strains will lead to plastic deformation
after which the induced strain will not be recoverable. In
this experiment a straight annealed material is bended in
an angle of 20º. The strain is calculated to prevent the
exceeding of 8% strain. SMA is commercial available in
Figure 2 Schematic overview of bending different sizes, for this research a wire with a diameter of
component. 0,8 mm is used. Even though the SMA has the ability to

54
 Figure 3 DSC cycle phase transition, the austenite phase transition starts at the austenite start temperature, at
austenite finish the SMA is fully austenite. Between austenite and martensite the rhombohedral phase is
found[1].

Figure 4 DSC Cycle SMA 0,49 mm.

recover under constrain, a decrease in recovery force is wires [13]. The same test set-up is used for the SMA as is
shown after cycling [11]. With high constrain a larger shown in figure 7 for the SMP.
decrease in recovery force is found in contrast to The cycle was executed as followed: first in martensite
unconstrained recovery. The torsion test is executed with phase the wires were bended in a 20º angle, subsequently
two wires for a secure measurement. From previous the temperature was raised above the austenite finishing
research it is presented that the force capacity of the SMA temperature (T=70ºC), the deformation was retained to
actuator can be obtained by multiplying the number of prevent recovery.

55
 Figure 5 DSC results.
temperature (in the case of thermoset material)[4]. SMP is
Results in glass state [14] when the temperature is under the glass
temperature (Tg), above the Tg the material becomes
Throughout the test the torsion was measured. Due to rubbery and easy to deform by external forces. If this force
convection heating, fluctuation of the wires is caused, is maintained and the material cooled down under Tg, the
which leads to oscillation of the test results. An average of deformation is fixed and the material regains its glass
the torsion was calculated for martensite torsion and properties. When the SMP is unloaded and heated again,
austenite torsion, and is shown in table 1. From the results the SMP will return to its original position. This cycle can
it can be concluded that after cycle 5 the torsion be repeated without degradation, the material can be
settles. The difference in torsion between martensite and elongated 200% without the
austenite is defined between the factor 2 and 3.
Cycle (n) Martensite Torque Austenite
torsion (Nmm) Torque Torsion
(Nmm)
1 5 18
2 4 19
3 5 20
4 11 20
5 10 20
6 10 24
7 9 23
8 9 23
9 9 24
10 9 23
Table 1 Cycling of one SMA wire in Martensite and
Austenite phase.
3.2 Surface material
For the realization of the design concept (figure 1a) Shape
Memory Polymer (SMP) is an appropriate material for the
application as a surface material. The material can be
easily deformed with small forces and can recover this
deformation with low energy input. SMP has the ability to
be deformed when heated above the glass transition Figure 6 Test arrangement Zwick/Roel Z005
torsion testing machine

56
occurrence of plastic deformation [15]. In research of with the given dimensions in an angle of 40º a torsion of 16
Tobushi the strain recovery of SMP is determined to be Nmm is needed. The SMA wire with the diameter of 0,8
98% in the case of a unconstrained recovery [16]. This is mm gives under full constrained recovery a torsion of 23
an acceptable accuracy. Furthermore, SMP can be applied Nmm. This means that the 0,8mm wire is suitable for the
on large scale with a maximum thickness of 1,3 cm[15]. deformation of the SMP. However further research should
be executed on the assembly of both materials in a
prototype.
During the DSC tests a clear difference between the first
cycle for heating and cooling are found in contrast to the
Test Method deformation force SMP following cycles. After annealing SMA contains defects in
For appliance in combination of SMA it is necessary to the molecules lattice, like dislocations [11]. By cycling
determine the deformation force. In contrast to SMA, SMP these defects stabilize, which can be concluded by cycling
are unable to deliver a recovery stress higher than the the DSC tests.
force required for the deformation of the SMP. Torsion With DSC testing the temperatures around 500-550ºC
tests will be executed to determine the deformation force gave clear graphs, however, during cooling the
of the SMP. According to research of Tobushi et al. [17] Rhombohedral appears, this is addressed by the fact that
cycling of SMP will lead to consistent deformation the SMA is annealed under the recrystallization
characteristics. After cycling, a SMP sample is bended by temperature [1]. The effect of the R-phase on the shape
a torsion rate of 5º/min. Previous to deformation the memory effect has not been investigated in this research.
environmental temperature of the sample is raised to 90ºC. The SMA torsion test is cycled 10 times; literature reveals
Even though the Tg is determined by the manufacturer [15] that after cycling equilibrium is found[11, 18]. From the
at 62ºC the sample didn’t become fully rubbery. The same torsion tests it can be clearly concluded that the phase
sample is bended in angles of 20, 30 and 40º to determine transition of the SMA leads to a considerable raise of
whether the deformation forces related to the torsion torsion force, this is direct related to the increase of Young
angle. The dimensions of the sample were determined at: modulus which is found in martensite around 30 GPa and
5x23x44mm at which the material is clamped in the torsion in austenite around 75 GPa [19]. It is recommended to
test machine with 20mm. The set up of the test can be prevent maximum constrain of the SMA wires, this will lead
seen in figure 8. to fatigue of the wires, and prevents multiple cycling [12].
Results Further research should examine the relation between
In figure 8 the outcome of the torsion test is plotted by constrained recovery and maximum cycling without fatigue
various torsion angles. Only after an angle of 10º the The next step in this research should be the integration of
torsion for the different test are found in the same data both materials for the manufacturing of the prototype on
range. The maximum torsion found by 20º is 7,85 Nmm, by scale. Then the scaling to architectural sizes will be an
30º this:12,12 Nmm and by 40º this is:15,64 Nmm. The important issue of concern.
torsion behaves linear as can be expected.
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION We would like to give our gratitude to the Faculty of
These experiments can be seen as the first step to Chemical engineering, Mechanical engineering and
determine the characteristics of the dynamic materials for Aerospace engineering for the utilization of the research
application in an adaptable composite component. Further labs. We also extend our sincere thank to the Young Wild
research should be executed to determine the behaviour of Ideas Award of the Delft Centre of Materials, for the
the materials precisely. Based on these experiments it can sponsoring of the materials.
be concluded that for the deformation of a SMP sample

Figure 7 Relation torsion and angle

57
 13. Troisfontaine, N., P. Bidaud, and M. Larnicol, Optimal
design of micro-actuators based on SMA wires.
Smart Materials and Structures, 1999. 8(2): p. 197-
203.
14. Airoldi, G., et al., DSC calibration in the study of
shape memory alloys. Journal of Thermal Analysis
6 REFERENCES and Calorimetry, 1994. 42(4): p. 781-791.
1. Miyazaki, S. and K. Otsuka, Deformation and 15. Corner Stone Research Group Industries. [cited 09-
transition behavior associated with the R -phase in Ti- 07-08]; Available from: www.crg-industries.com.
Ni alloys. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 16. Tobushi, H., et al., Shape Fixity and Shape Recovery
1986. 17(1): p. 53-63. in a Film of Shape Memory Polymer of Polyurethane
2. Culshaw, B., Smart structures and materials. Artech Series. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and
House optoelectronics library. 1996, Boston: Artech Structures, 1998. 9(2): p. 127-136.
House. 207. 17. Tobushi, H., S. Hayashi, and S. Kojima, Mechanical
3. Teuffel, P., Smart- Or However We Call it, in IASS Properties of Shape Memory Polymer of
2005; International Symposium on Shell and Spatial Polyurethane Series : Basic Characteristics of Stress-
Structures; Theory, Technique, Valuation, Strain-Temperature Relationship. JSME international
Maintenance. 2005: Bucharest, Romania. p. 745-752. journal. Series A, Solid mechanics and material
4. Wadhawan, V.K., Smart structures blurring the engineering, 1992. 35(3): p. 296-302.
distinction between the living and the nonliving. 18. Prahlad, H. and I. Chopra, Comparative Evaluation of
Monographs on the physics and chemistry of Shape Memory Alloy Constitutive Models with
materials. Vol. 65. 2007, Oxford: Oxford University Experimental Data. Journal of Intelligent Material
Press. 341. Systems and Structures, 2001. 12(6): p. 383-395.
5. Teuffel, P., Responsive Building Envelopes: 19. Memory Metalle GmbH. [cited 16-04-2008];
Optimization for Environmental Impact, in IASS-IACM Available from: www.memory-metalle.com.
2008; Spanning Nano to Mega, J.F. Abel and R.
Cooke, Editors. 2008: Ithaca, Ny, USA.
6. Lelieveld, C.M.J.L. and A.I.M. Voorbij, The
Application of Dynamic Materials in Adaptable
Architecture, in ManuBuild, The transformation of the
Industry: Open Building Manufacturing. 2007:
Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
7. Breen, J., Design driven research, in Ways to study
and research urban, architectural and technical
design, T.M. Jong and v.d.D.J.M. Voordt, Editors.
2002, DUP Science: Delft. p. 137-149.
8. Kuiper-Hoyng, L.L.M.L. and J.W.F. Beusmans, Using
home networks to create atmospheres in the home:
technology push or (latent) user need?, in
Proceedings of the conference on Dutch directions in
HCI. 2004, ACM: Amsterdam, Holland.
9. Lelieveld, C.M.J.L. and A.I.M. Voorbij (2008) Dynamic
Material Application for Architectural Purposes.
Advances in Science and Technology Volume, 595-
600
10. Liu, Y., et al., Some Aspects of the Properties of NiTi
Shape Memory Alloy. Journal of Alloys and
Compounds, 1997. 247(1-2): p. 115-121.
11. Loughlan, J., S.P. Thompson, and H. Smith, Buckling
control using embedded shape memory actuators
and the utilisation of smart technology in future
aerospace platforms. Composite Structures, 2002.
58(3): p. 319-347.
12. Duerig, T.W. Engineering Aspects of Shape Memory
Alloys. 1990. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.

58
 Barriers for Deconstruction and Recycling of the Currently
Built Single Detached Houses
1 2
S. Nakajima , J. Koga
1
Departmemt of Production Engineering, Building Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
2
Departmemt of Building Materials and Components, Building Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan

Abstract
The whole deconstruction processes of 16 single detached houses were recorded in detail. The 16 houses
included timber post and beam houses, two by four houses, steel framed houses and a prefabricated steel unit
house. Most of them were dismantled and two of them, the timber post and beam house and the prefabricated
steel unit house, were deconstructed. The amount of the workers, the types and amount of the waste and the
logistics of the waste were recorded to create a database. And all undesirable designs for deconstruction were
listed up.

Keywords:
Dismantling, Deconstruction, Single Detached House, Waste, Design

houses were carefully investigated and recorded.

1 INTRODUCTION The result of the investigation was formed as a
The currently built single detached houses are database. And also the undesirable design for
significantly difficult to deconstruct and the waste deconstruction was listed up.
generated during the dismantling process have low 2 INVESTIGATion
potential to be recycled as raw materials to 2.1 Houses in investigation
reproduce building materials or other products. To
make effective feedback loops of the building The whole dismantling or deconstruction process of
materials it is quite necessary to design houses that 16 demonstration houses was recorded during their
can be easily deconstructed. And we should dismantling or deconstruction process. The
precisely know what is ongoing on the construction methods, floor area and numbers of
deconstruction or dismantle sites to get useful stories are of these houses are summarized in
design ideas. Table 1.
Some designing idea has been proposed [1][2] to The 16 houses include five post and beam houses,
make wooden houses easy to deconstruct but three 2X4 houses, one wood panel house and
buildings and houses are still not designed seven steel frame houses. Most of the houses were
considering the deconstruction phase. By improving dismantled by using dismantling machines. One of
the design of the buildings we can reduce the tasks the post and beam houses was deconstructed
on the deconstruction site and improve the recycle carefully by hand and rebuilt on a different site. And
ratio of waste. on of the steel houses was divided into several
pieces of units and the units were carried to a
The dismantling process of the 16 single detached
Days Spent for Necessary
Number of Dismantled/
Construction Type Floor Area (m2) Dismantle/ Works
Stories Deconstructed
Deconstruction (Man x Hour)
House A Post and Beam Construction 2 249.25 Dismantled 13 544
House B Post and Beam Construction 2 330.17 Dismantled 17 748
House C Post and Beam Construction 2 221.51 Dismantled 15 504
House D Post and Beam Construction 2 239.37 Dismantled 15 476
House E 2X4 Construction 3 254.48 Dismantled 19 689
House F 2X4 Construction 2 191.19 Dismantled 12 334
House G 2X4 Construction 2 228.84 Dismantled 9 526
House H Wooden Panel Construction 2 239.38 Dismantled 14 422
House I Steel Construction 3 188.11 Dismantled 18 828
House J Steel Construction 3 182.43 Dismantled 16 673
House K Steel Construction 2 258.99 Dismantled 17 553
House L Steel Construction 2 278.16 Dismantled 13 423
House M Steel Construction 2 273.53 Dismantled 16 785
House N Steel Construction 2 256.13 Dismantled 17 564
House O Post and Beam Construction 2 253.38 Deconstructed 32 923
House P Steel Construction 2 234.47 Deconstructed 16 533
Table 1 : Summaries of the house being dismantled or deconstructed.

59
different site and rebuilt. items. And each main item was divided into several
The floor area of the houses in investigation was sub items and again the sub items were divided into
2
around 250m and this is rather larger than the floor several detail items.
area of the normally built single detached houses in 2.3 Collection of waste declarer documents
Japan. And as the houses in investigation were The waste declarer documents of some of the
demonstration houses the water supply system and investigated houses were collected. The waste
the gas supply system were not installed. These declare document gives information on the types
are the difference between the normally dwelled and amount of the waste generated from the
houses and the demonstration houses. dismantling site. It also gives information on the
2.2 Record keeping on site distribution of the waste and the final processing
The record of the whole dismantling or methods of the waste.
deconstruction process of the 16 houses was kept 3 DATABASE
on site. The dismantling or deconstruction works 3.1 Dismantling and deconstruction works
were recorded every 30 minutes. And the numbers
of the workers being involved in each dismantling or The records kept on the dismantling and
deconstruction works were counted and recorded. deconstruction site were formed into a database. In
the process of forming a database the dismantling
Every dismantling works recorded was categorized works were categorized into 6 groups. The 6
into the three layers of items listed in Table 2. The groups are as follows:
dismantling works were roughly divided into 4 main
Item Sub Item Detail Item Category Group
Hand works Curing Setting curing sheets and scaffold Preparation works
Removing curing sheets and scaffold Preparation works
Removing furniture Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing facilities Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing doors and windows Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing flooring materials Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing fixed furniture Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing interior finish Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing interior fittings Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing gypsum boards Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing interior framings Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing insulation Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing exterior finish Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing roofing materials Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing exterior fittings Dismantling Dismantling
Carrying out and loading Loading
Removing plants Removing Other Works
Loading Loading
Machine works Preparation works Setting steel plates for curing Preparation works
Removing steel plates Preparation works
Moving building materials Preparation works
Transportation and setting of dismantling machine Preparation works
Adjustment of dismantling machine Preparation works
Fueling Preparation works
Dismantling Building Dismantling buildings Dismantling
Separation of the waste Separation and selection
Moving the waste Separation and selection
Loading the waste Loading
Water sprinkling by hand Dismantling
Separation of the waste assisted by hand Separation and selection
Loading the waste assisted by hand Loading
Dismantling Foundation Dismantling foundation by machine Dismantling
Separation of the waste by machine Separation and selection
Loading the waste by machine Loading
Dismantling foundation assisted by hand Dismantling
Separation of the waste assisted by hand Separation and selection
Leveling of Ground Leveling of ground by machine Other Works
Leveling of ground by hand Other Works
Removing Plantings Removing plants Other Works
Loading plants Loading
Transportation Transportation Arranging the bed of the truck/Taking photo Other Works
Filling up the declarer sheet Other Works
Transportation Transportation
Preparation works Loading and unloading the container Preparation works
Truck washing Preparation works
Other works - Cleaning Other Works
Consultation Other Works
Break Other Works
Waiting Other Works
60 works
Preparation Preparation works
Instruction Other Works
Table 2 : Items and category groups of the dismantling works.
 types of the waste generated during the dismantling
process are as follows:
(1) Concrete
(2) Concrete, tiles and other inorganic materials
(3) Glass and ceramics
(4) Gypsum board
(5) Steel and metal
(6) Plastics
(7) Wood
(8) Fiber
(9) Paper
Figure 1 : Data veiw window. (10) Mixed waste
Group 1: Dismantling / deconstruction In most cases the amount of the waste was
Group 2: Separation and selection measured in volume. The volume of the waste was
converted to weight by using the following equation.
Group 3: Loading
Weight = Volume × Densty
Group 4: Preparation works
(1)
Group 5: Transportation
Where,
Group 6: Other works
Weight is the weight of the waste (ton)
A tool was prepared to view and analyze the data.
Figure 1 shows an example of the data view Volume is the volume of the waste (m3)
windows. The information given in the data view Density is the density of the waste.
windows are as follows: The values of the density [3] applied in the
(1) The main items. calculation are summarized as follows:
(2) The sub items. (1) Concrete: 1.1
(3) The detail items. (2) Concrete, tiles and other inorganic materials:
(4) Detail explanation of the works. 1.1
(5) The number of workers. (3) Glass and ceramics: 0.6
(6) Usage of machine operation. (4) Gypsum board: 0.4
(7) Date and time. (5) Steel and metal: 0.7
(8) Representative photograph. (6) Plastics: 0.1
Figure 2 shows an example of the data analyzing (7) Wood: 0.2
windows. The subtotal of the works consumed in a (8) Fiber: 0.1
certain dismantling or deconstruction work can be (9) Paper: 0.1
calculated for each main items, sub items and detail
(10) Mixed waste: 0.3
items. And the works consumed in each category
group and the machine operating hours can also be 4 result AND DISCUSSION
calculated. 4.1 Analysis of Works
3.2 Waste 4.1.1 Dismantling Works
The data of the types and amount of the waste One result of the analysis of the dismantling works
generated from the dismantling site were collected is given in Figure 3. Figure 3 shows the results of
by analyzing the waste declare documents. The House A and it gives the detail sketch of the time

61

Figure 2 : Data analyzing window.

and task consumed during the dismantling process. construction types. In average the ratio of the hand
Labor Consumed
100% Other Works
(Man x Hour)
Cleaning 16.8
Consulation 5.5
90% Break 90.5
Other Works Waiting 8.0
Preparation 8.5
Instruction 0.0
80%
Labor Consumed
Transportation Works
(Man x Hour)
Transportation Transportation 66.0
70% Works Preparation 0.0
Labor Consumed
Types of Machine Dismantling Works
(Man x Hour)
60% Preparation 7.5
Dismantling Building 113.0
Ratio (%)

Dismanting Dismantling Foundation 27.8

50% Works by Machine Leveling of Ground 3.5
Removing Plantings 0.8
Labor Consumed
Types of Hand Dismantling Works
40% (Man x Hour)
Curing 22.0
Removing Furniture 33.0
Removing Facilities 24.5
30%
Removing Doors and Windows 7.3
Removing Flooring Materials 0.0
Removing Fixed Furniture 9.5
20% Dismantling Works Removing Interior Finish 0.0
by Hand Removing Interior Fittings 2.3
Removing Gypsum Boards 56.0
10% Removing Interior Framings 0.5
Removing Insulation 7.3
Removing Exterior Finish 3.5
Removing Roofing Materials 30.5
0% Removing Exterior Fittings 0.0
Figure 3: Result of the analysis of the dismantling works (House A).
100%

Other Works
80%
Transportation Works

60% Dismantling Works

Ratio(%)

by Machine

40%
Dismantling Works
by Hands
20%

0%
House M
House I
House A

House H

House N
House G

House J

House L
House F
House B

House E

House K

House P
House C

House D

House O

Figure 4: Summary of the analysis of the dismantling works.

Figure 4 gives the summarized results of the dismantling works was calculated as 57% for the
dismantling works of the 14 houses being post and beam construction, 48% for the 2X4
dismantled and the 2 houses being deconstructed. construction and 21% for the wood panel
There are roughly two processes in the dismantling construction.
works. One is the process to remove finishing And ratio of the hand dismantling works was
materials, joineries, fittings, gypsum boards, roof calculated as 72% for the group of steel framed
tiles and insulation materials from the skeleton of houses I, J, M and N and 37% for the group of the
the house by hand. In this paper this process will steel framed houses L and M. The difference
be call as “Hand Dismantling”. And another process between these two groups was that the former
is the process to pull down the skeleton of the group was rather carefully dismantled than the latter
house by machine. In this paper this process will be group.
called as “Machine Dismantling”.
The amount of the works consumed in dismantling a
In average almost 40% of the dismantling works unit area is summarized in Table 3. The works
were consumed in the hand dismantling process consumed in dismantling the unit area was 2.18 for
and almost 25% of the dismantling works were the post and beam construction, 2.25 for the 2X4
consumed in the machine dismantling process. The construction, 1.76 for the wood panel construction
ratio of the works consumed in these two and 2.80 for the steel framed construction.
dismantling processes differed among the

62
In general the total amount of the dismantling works works and the machine dismantling works seems to
was affected by the amount of the works consumed have no good correlation.
in the hand dismantling process. Figure 5(a) shows 4.1.2 Transportation and other works
the relationship between the total dismantling works
and the hand dismantling works. And Figure 5(b) In average 15% of the works was consumed in the
shows the relationship between the total dismantling transportation process and 25% was consumed in
works and the machine dismantling works. The total the other activities such as coffee break, lunch and
dismantling works and the hand dismantling works meeting.
have a good correlation but the total dismantling 4.1.3 Works consumed in category groups
5.0 5.0

4.0 4.0
Total Works consumed

Total Works consumed

(Man x Hour / m )

(Man x Hour / m )
2

2
3.0 3.0

2.0 2.0

y = 1.2966x + 1.2412 y = 0.6013x + 2.0469

1.0 R2 = 0.8894 1.0 R2 = 0.0096

0.0 0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
Works consumed in hand dismantling Works consumed in machine dismantling
(Man x hour / m2 ) (Man x hour / m 2 )

(a) Hand dismantling works (b) Machine dismantling works

Figure 5: Relationship between the total dismantling works and the hand or machine dismantling works.

100%
Others

Transportation
80%
Preparation Works

60%
Ratio(%)

Loading

Separation/
40%
Selection

Dismantling/
20% Deconstruction

0%
House M
House I
House A

House H

House N
House G

House J

House L
House F
House B

House E

House K

House P
House C

House D

House O

1.2
Figure 6: Works consumed in each category group.Mixed Waste
Paper
Fiber
Wood
1.0 Plastics
Metal
Tiles and Concrete
Glass/Ceramics
Gypsum Board
Concrete
Unit Dismantling Work 0.8
Construction
Amount of Waste (ton/m 2)

Name 2
Type (Man x Time / m )
Post and Beam House A 2.18
House B 2.26
2.18
House C 2.27 0.6
House D 1.99
Two by four House E 2.71
House F 1.75 2.25
House G 2.30
0.4
Wood Panel House H 1.76 1.76
Steel Framed House I 4.40
House J 3.69
House K 2.14
2.80
House L 1.52 0.2
House M 2.87
House N 2.20
Post and Beam House O 3.64 3.64
Steel Framed House P 2.27 2.27
0.0
Table 3: Works consumed in dismanlting or
House M
House H
House E

House P
House C

House O

deconstructing a unit floor area.

63

Figure 7: Types and amount of waste.

 2
The dismantling works were grouped in to 6 steel framed house (House M) was 0.25ton/m . The
category groups as shown in Table2. The works amount of the wooden waste generated from the
2
consumed for each category group are calculated steel framed house (House M) was 0.01ton/m .
and summarized in Figure 6. In average 26% of the Most of the wooden waste generated from the
works was consumed in the dismantling or House M are supposed be treated as mixed waste.
deconstruction process. And 14% was consumed in The total amount of the wooden waste and mixed
the separation and selection process, 17% in the waste generated from the steel framed house M
2
loading process, 8% in the preparation process and was 0.16ton/m .
4% in the transportation process. The rest 31% was Considering all these results the wooden waste
spent for the coffee break, meeting and standby. generated from a unit area of single detached
2
4.2 Waste houses can be roughly defined as 0.15ton/m . As
Figure 7 shows the types and amount of the waste the average floor area of the Japanese houses is
2
generated from the deconstruction site for some of approximately 150m it can be roughly said that one
the representative house. The figure shows the single detached house store 11tons of carbon.
weight generated from a unit floor area of the The waste generated from the unit area of the two
following houses: removed and rebuilt houses were less than those of
(1) House C: Post and beam construction the dismantled ones. The amount of the waste not
2
including the concrete waste was 0.09ton/m for
(2) House E: 2X4 construction House O and 0.06ton/m2 for House P. The wooden
(3) House H: Wood panel construction waste generated from House O was 0.06 and it was
(4) House M: Steel framed construction less than half the wooden waste generated from the
dismantled houses. This means that more than half
(5) House O: Post and beam construction
of the wooden materials were reused and kept
(Reused)
storing the carbon.
(6) House P: Steel framed construction (Reused)
The amount of the wooden waste generated from
4.3 Undesirable design for deconstruction
wooden houses (House C, E and H) ranged from
2 2 Most of the workers were once troubled in removing
0.05ton/m to 0.13ton/m . Some of the wooden
wastes are supposed to be treated as mixed waste. and separating material from the dismantled or
The total amount of the wooden waste and mixed deconstructed houses. Figure 8 shows some
waste is almost same for the 3 types of wooden example of the undesirable design for
house and it ranged from 0.13ton/m2 to 0.14ton/m2. deconstruction. The followings are some of the bad
The amount of the steel waste generated from the designs, production and constructions being

Fiber type insulation Pulp type insulation Interior finishing Gypsum boards are Gypsum boards are Vapor barrier are glued
materials are used. materials are used. materials are glued to glued to the wood glued to the wood to the wood framings.
Difficult to handle. Difficult to handle. plywood. Difficult to framings. Difficult to framings. Difficult to Difficult to separate.
separate. separate. separate.

(2X4) (Steel Framed) (Steel Framed) (Post and Beam) (Steel Framed) (Steel Framed)

Wood framings are Wood framings are Floor is composed of 4 Flooring is glued to the Plastic mats are glued Flooring is glued to the
glued to the exterior glued to the steel layers of different concrete slab. Difficult to the floor. Difficult to concrete slab. Difficult
sidings. Difficult to framings. Difficult to materials. Difficult to to remove. remove. to remove.
separate. separate. separate.

(Steel Framed) (Steel Framed) (Post and Beam) (Steel Framed) (Steel Framed) (Post and Beam)

Concrete panels are Composite exterior Composite exterior Insulation glued to Floor composed with
jointed with sealant to material. The material. The concrete slab. Difficult steel, plywood and
the steel framings. composing materials composing materials to separate. insulation. Difficult to
Difficult to separate. are separated on site. are separated on site. separate.
Difficult to separate. Difficult to separate.
(Steel Framed) (2X4) (Steel Framed) (Post and Beam) (Steel Framed)
Figure 8: Undesirable design for deconstruction.

64
observed. The database for the dismantling process of the
(1) Use difficult to handle materials. single detached houses was formed. The database
gives useful information for the future designing of
For example non-packaged fiber or pulp insulation the buildings. Particularly the finishing materials are
materials. These materials can easily brew away all usually replaced say every 15 years during the
over the floor and become difficult to handle. service life of buildings. At least for these materials
(2) Use materials composed with different types of we should think about the alternative design that
materials. enables the resource circulation.
(3) Glue finishing materials to the structural sub
materials. 6 REFERENCE
(4) Glue finishing materials or sub materials to the [1] Nakajima S. Research program to promote
wood framings or steel framings. recycle and reuse of houses. A monthly of the
(5) Glue different types of materials to compose housing, Japan housing association, pp.13-17,
slabs or walls. Tokyo, 2001.
(6) Seal the gap between the steel framings and [2] Building Research Institute, Building Center
the concrete panels. Japan. Annual report of the general technology
development project “C&D Waste reduction
technologies for wooden buildings”, Tsukuba, 2001.
5 CONCLUSION

65
 A Neurofuzzy Knowledge Model for the Quantification of
Structural Flexibility
1 1 1
R.W.J. Hoekman , R. Blok , F. van Herwijnen
1
Department of Architecture, Building and Planning, Eindhoven University of
Technology, The Netherlands

Abstract
An assessment tool in the form of a neurofuzzy knowledge model is proposed, intended to
quantitatively express the performance of building structures in relation to the suitability of a
building regarding its structural flexibility. Structural flexibility is seen as a critical design criterion
in the development of buildings fostering a prolonged service life, whose performance is
dependant on their level of adaptability. The knowledge model is designed as a hybrid
neurofuzzy system, built upon the principles of Fuzzy Logic and neural networks.

Keywords:
adaptability, load bearing structures, structural flexibility, knowledge model, assessment tool

In this paper the current development of an

1 INTRODUCTION assessment tool is introduced to identify, and more
Buildings nowadays tend to be more and more importantly, quantify such capacities, in order to be
subject to the accelerating pace of modern society. able to actively implement features in favour of
The typical life span of a building in metropolitan adaptability during the design phase of a building.
Tokyo for instance is as short as seventeen years, The specific focus of this research concerns a
and in numerous countries a serious shift in the buildings' main load bearing structure, as its
focus of building activities can be noticed towards qualities in relation to a certain level of adaptability
the refurbishment and replenishment of the existing are considered to be of critical importance.
and not seldom considerably young stock [1]. With The paper is structured as follows. In section 2
this shortening in life cycles of buildings, an adaptability will be further evaluated, and more in
increase in discrepancies between functional, particular the concept of structural flexibility. Section
technical and economical service lives can be 3 will discuss the development of the assessment
identified. These discrepancies contribute to the tool and its typical merits, and section 4 will
unwanted degeneration of the quality of the building elaborate on its implementation. Finally, in section 5
stock, constraining the development of a the preliminary conclusions of this research will be
sustainable built environment: the increasing discussed.
influence of shortening functional service lives on
life cycles as a whole and the typical linear 2 ADAPTABILITY OF BUILDINGS
metabolism of building activities put a heavy burden
on the availability of natural resources, energy and 2.1 Feasibility of adaptability
space. Although the concept of flexibility or adaptability has
It is presumed that buildings intentionally designed surfaced in various appearances in the architectural
to foster a prolonged service life, are able to debate for as long as nearly a century [3], little
address these issues [2]. However, instigated by consensus is reached on how to pinpoint the matter,
among others the observed amplification of urban in particular in the case of issues related to service
density, demographic diversity and shifts in the lives of buildings and consequently, sustainability. In
nature of work, future demands on a buildings' general, adaptable buildings are considered to be
performance are becoming increasingly uncertain. able to provide a more efficient use of space, an
Therefore, the embodiment of certain capacities to increase in longevity and an overall improvement in
accommodate substantial change in the future is operating performance. Nevertheless, within the
recognized as a key precondition for the successful context of the intended virtues of performance-
and sustainable development of such buildings: based design, the need for clear and unambiguous
capacities generally referred to as flexibility or criteria to establish a certain level of adaptability
adaptability. reverberates in several studies [4,5,6].

66
This need sterns from the notion that the definition building structure represents an important share of a
of minimum functional requirements in order to buildings' longevity potential as a whole, while
assess the performance of a building, does not concurrently expressing the largest possible hazard
suffice to address the uncertainties concerned with for friction when the pace of changing user
changes in future demands on the serviceability of demands is concerned. Furthermore, the
the building; defining minimum levels of adaptability considerable amount of resources, energy and
could overcome these problems, provided their subsequently environmental load involved during its
performance can be measured and used for life cycle, emphasizes the importance of a
comparison of alternative configurations. sustainable management of this asset.
The difficulties characterizing the subject, as pointed Structural flexibility therefore, the ability to facilitate
out by Durmisevic [7], originate from the notion that changes within the use of a building or its
adaptability addresses spatial as well as technical configuration without compromising structural
information, complicated by the typical richness and performance, is considered to be a key precondition
often subjective nature of design information for the performance on adaptability as a whole. Note
concerning a buildings' design process. This leads the passive disposition characterizing this approach,
to a vast amount of complex direct and indirect as opposed to a more active strategy, in which the
relationships, hindering the optimization of a design main structure itself is exposed to substantial
as a whole. changes, denoted as structural adaptability in this
2.2 Design strategies for adaptability context.
Adaptability as a design strategy is closely related to
two other strategies attempting to enhance the long-
term environmental performance of buildings,
namely Durability and Design for Disassembly.
For the purpose of this research solely focussing on
adaptability however, three typical design strategies
can be identified [1]:
• Design for Flexibility (DfF) Figure 1: Bigger is better; obvious favourable
capacities of load bearing structures concerning
• Design for Convertibility (DfC) structural flexibility, particular in relation to spatial
• Design for Expandability (DfE) mutation.
Design for Flexibility In relation to the aforementioned design strategies,
The strategy DfF is characterized by the pursuit of some favourable capacities of load bearing
an open, systemized and exchangeable component structures concerning structural flexibility can be
configuration, minimizing functional integration of identified. As Figure 1 denotes, large floor spans
building parts and maximizing accessibility, thus and ceiling heights contribute to the range of
increasing the range of options for future possibilities for multifunctionality or spatial mutation
refurbishment without compromising overall for instance, as well as a surplus in load bearing
performance. capacities of floor plans [8]. Optimizing these
features however requires precise knowledge, and
Design for Convertibility furthermore less evident characteristics might be of
DfC as a design strategy is characterized by the critical importance in a configuration as well.
employment of a fairly neutral spatial configuration
and surplus in spatial performance, encompassing 3 ASSESSMENT OF STRUCTURAL
the possibilities for functional mutation or FLEXIBILITY
partitioning during the service life of a building.
3.1 Knowledge model
Design for Expandability
In order to actively implement features of structural
The last strategy, DfE, is characterized by the flexibility therefore, all relevant attributes should be
creation of a surplus in technical performance, identified and their suitability measured and
possibilities for partitioning and a minimization of quantified. To achieve this, an assessment tool is
structural transfer zones, all in favour of the ability to currently being developed, intended to quantitatively
expand or extend a building plan. express the performance of building structures in
Although identified as distinct strategies, they are relation to the suitability of a building regarding its
nevertheless not mutually exclusive, and moreover adaptability. This assessment tool is structured as a
currently lack clear guidelines on how to realize their knowledge model, incorporating design knowledge
intended outcomes. They do stipulate the through the systematic evaluation of fundamental
circumstances under which certain levels of interdependencies in the properties of a buildings'
adaptability are feasible, and express some configuration. The choice for this formalism has
suppositions on characteristic configurations in some advantages. For instance, as it supports an
favour of the aforementioned. object-oriented representation of knowledge, it can
2.3 Structural Flexibility be extended on without compromising already
implemented domain related expert knowledge.
As stated in the introduction, qualities regarding the
main load bearing structure are of critical Performance indicators assessing critical attribute
importance in relation to adaptability. Usually being relations are fed to the knowledge model as input
the most static entity in a buildings' configuration in variables, which, through a neurofuzzy
terms of its technical service life and use life cycle, a computational paradigm, lead to a single score

67
value output, expressing a normalized level of Autonomy
structural flexibility for the configuration under Adhering to technical aspects of adaptability,
assessment. The characteristics and development autonomy refers to qualities of the main structure
of this model will be further discussed. concerning functional decomposition and
3.2 Taxonomy of interdependencies independence in performance in relation to other
With the desire to express the aforementioned functional entities, and can be subdivided into four
interdependencies in a knowledge framework, the key indicators:
need arises to classify relevant design attributes • Integration (INT) - assessment of incorporation
involved in these relationships. To enable such a of independent functions in building components
classification, a building configuration is represented where load bearing elements are involved.
through decisions made in three main design • Redundancy (RED) - assessment of
domains, namely the functional, technical and independence in structural performance in
physical domain [7]. Based on models developed by relation to adaptations concerning the load
Brand [9] and Leupen [10], an abstract building bearing elements.
model is subsequently specified, serving as a
taxonomy for the knowledge model. Its main taxons • Penetration (PEN) - ability to facilitate
are derived from a buildings' typical functions, being intersection of entities belonging to other
structure, envelope, services, access and space functional abstractions.
plan. Aspects reaching beyond the scope of a • Connection (CON) - assessment of typology of
building itself, such as those related to its location interfaces between load bearing elements and
for instance, are omitted in this context. other building components.
Suitability
Suitability on the other hand, refers to qualities
expressing the serviceability of the structural
configuration, adhering to spatial aspects of
adaptability. As with Autonomy, this criterium can be
broken down into four key indicators:
• Spatial Surplus (SPA) - surplus of space
provided by the structural configuration.
• Obstruction (OBS) - assessment of
morphological configurations, hindering the free
positioning of entities, such as the distribution of
Figure 2: Abstract building model displaying the technical services.
main taxonomy of interdependencies concerning • Technical Surplus (TEC) - supply of load
structural flexibility, denoted with black arrows. bearing capacity provided by the structural
elements.
Within each main taxon, critical elements are • Accessibility (ACC) - level of spatial access to
identified, based on occurrence, positioning, mass, building components adjacent to load bearing
volume and service lives. The load bearing structure elements.
is subdivided into four taxons representing
Assessment of performance
horizontal elements such as floor slabs and beams,
vertical elements such as columns and load bearing Within each of these indicators, several relevant
walls, elements providing stability and the attributes determining its performance are identified.
foundation. This taxonomy forms the basis for the For instance, the key performance indicator
identification of relevant functional, technical and Connection is determined by an evaluation of the
physical interdependencies. structural relevance of the joint in question, its
topology, reversibility and technical life cycle. As
3.3 Key performance indicators
already mentioned, each of these key indicators
In relation to the aforementioned design strategies serves as a prototype for the assessment of a
and the range of relations between elements of the particular attribute relationship. The assessment of
main structure and critical elements in other building the typical bay width of a main structure in relation
layers, key performance indicators were identified, to the space plan for instance, is an implementation
serving as prototypes for the indicators to be of the prototype Spatial Surplus.
implemented in the various nodes of the knowledge
In order to be able to aggregate the performance of
model displayed in Figure 4. The solution space for
each individual indicator, a mapping is applied
the assessment of structural flexibility is thus
between the evaluation of a certain aspect and a
determined by two classes of criteria, defined as
normalized level, ranging from zero to one, the latter
Autonomy and Suitability, each containing key
representing an extreme high level of structural
indicators as depicted in Figure 3.
flexibility. The details on the computation involved
will be discussed later on.

68
 functional unit representing a structural element. As
Figure 4 depicts, this accounts for 48 terminal
nodes, as there are three design domains to be
distinguished, four building layers related to and four
main taxons of structural elements.
first hidden layer
In the first hidden layer containing non terminal
nodes, for each of the structural taxons their scores
in the functional, technical and physical domain is
aggregated, related to a specific building layer.
second hidden layer
The four non terminal nodes in the second hidden
layer represent the aggregated performance of the
load bearing structure in relation to the functional
abstractions envelope, services, access and space
plan.
output layer
In the output layer performance of the underlaying
functional abstractions is computed to a single score
value. As with the connections between the nodes
in earlier successive layers, weighing factors are
used to express the mutual relative importance.
3.5 Computational paradigm
Figure 3: Key performance indicators determining The nature of the problem statement requires the
structural flexibility, placed in their respective assessment tool on the one hand to be able to cope
domains. with complex, non linear and indirect attribute
3.4 Topological structure relationships, and on the other hand accomplish a
With a taxonomy of relevant building elements and translucent knowledge representation. These
prototypes for key performance indicators requirements limit the use of known computational
determined, the structure of the knowledge model paradigms [11], such as covariance analysis and
can be discussed. The topology of this model, as independent component analysis for instance.
displayed in Figure 4, is considered to be a feed- To accommodate these requirements, the use of a
forward tree structure which is stacked in layers, neurofuzzy system is proposed. Being a hybrid
ensuring causality among dependencies. A neural system built upon the principles of Fuzzy Logic and
tree typically consists of terminal and non terminal neural networks, it encompasses the merits of both
nodes, connected to each other through links, techniques and effectively compensates their
passing through the output of one node to the next. individual limitations. The use of a neural tree
These links also contain weighing factors, namely provides a framework for structuring
expressing the relative importance of inputs to a non information, while Fuzzy Logic enables a reasoning
terminal node. The various layers in the structure process capable of handling the imprecise form of
are denoted as the input layer, a set of hidden decision making typical for ill-structured and ill-
layers and finally the output layer. Each layer defined problems [12].
represents a different level of abstraction in the Fuzzy Logic
computation towards structural flexibility, ranging
Based on the fuzzy set theory [13], Fuzzy Logic
from low to high, starting at the input layer. The
offers a computational paradigm able to deal with
details of these layers are as follows:
lexical uncertainty. In this context Fuzzy Logic is
input layer applied in the various nodes of the knowledge
The input layer contains the terminal nodes which model. The normalized performance indicators
are being fed with the independent variables, serving as input variables are translated into fuzzy
expressing the normalized score on the variables, expressing the uncertainty accompanied
implemented performance indicators. Each terminal by their evaluation. Calculation is then carried out
node represents a typical set of attribute relations, throughout the model using inference rules,
determined by the design domain in question, the enabling the modelling of highly non linear
functional abstraction or building layer, and a relationships.

69
 Figure 4: Topology of the knowledge model.

Neural networks On a different note, one could say that the approach
Favourable aspects of neural networks are applied discussed in this paper could serve other building
in the knowledge model where inference is disciplines as well in the pursuit of acquiring
concerned. With the use of Fuzzy Associative knowledge within their domain in the context of
Memories, basically being fuzzy logic rules with an adaptability. For instance, from a point of view
associated weight, nodes with blocks containing concerning technical services, the quantification of
inference rules can be subjected to training by critical attribute relations with entities from other
supplying them with data sets consisting of an functional building layers could possibly establish
input/output mapping. In this way, specific nodes guidelines for optimizing the design of typologies for
can be trained for a specific set of relationships, distribution nets, or installation systems as a whole.
without affecting earlier established weighing factors Ideally, the integration of knowledge obtained from
or the overall structure of the model. different disciplines with respect to adaptability
3.6 Validation could truly lead to the adoption of successful design
strategies with a sustainable and viable building
As the assessment tool is still in development, its stock as their biggest merit.
reliability is yet uncertain. Nevertheless, several
techniques are available to verify its projected
outcome. For instance, the aforementioned data 6 REFERENCES
sets to be used for training nodes in the model could [1] Moffat, S. & P. Russel, 2001, Assessing
be obtained by the use of an expert panel, Buildings for Adaptability, Ottawa, Canada
evaluating various scenarios supplied. These Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
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certain notion of its reliability. Furthermore, the Rotterdam, SEV.
weighing factors linking the various nodes can be
[3] Eldonk, J. & H. Fassbinder, 1990, Flexible
obtained likewise, validating their consistency
Fixation, the paradox of Dutch housing
through the use of the Analytical Hierarchy Process
architecture, Assen, van Gorcum.
(AHP) [14].
[4] Kadowaki, K., Fukao, S. [et al.], 2000,
4 EXPECTED IMPLEMENTATION Quantitative Evaluation Method of the Capacity
of Skeletons used in SI Housing, Tokyo,
The knowledge model is expected to serve its Japan, Proceedings of the Conference of the
purpose in the assessment of existing load bearing CIB W104 Open Building Implementation
structures on their potential for a certain level of “Continuous Customization in Housing”.
structural flexibility, as well as a design tool in the
development of new buildings fostering a prolonged [5] Schneider, T. & J. Till, 2005, Flexible housing:
service life through the implementation of the means to the end, Architectural Research
adaptability as a design strategy. More importantly, Quarterly, Volume 9 (3-4), p.287-296.
its merits can provide the means to optimize specific [6] Ando, M. & S. Kendall, 2005, Theory and
design problems concerning structural flexibility and Methods in Support of Adaptable Buildings,
adaptability in general, as interdependencies in Tokyo, Japan, Proceedings of the 2005 Would
design decisions are being made more translucent. Sustainable Building Conference in Tokyo
“Action for Sustainability”.
5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS [7] Durmisevic, E., 2006, Transformable Building
The assessment tool currently in development Structures, Delft, Delft University of
provides a robust framework in the pursuit of the Technology.
quantification of structural flexibility as a design [8] Heijne R. & J. Vink, 2001, Flexgebouwen,
criterion in the design process of buildings with an Studie naar Veranderbare Gebouwen,
intended longevity. Furthermore, through the Rotterdam, RUIMTELAB.
systematic evaluation of relevant attribute [9] Brand, S., 1994, How Buildings Learn, New
relationships, insights on the characteristics of York, Viking.
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Rotterdam, Uitgeverij 010.

70
[11] Ko, C.H. & M.Y. Cheng, 2003, Hybrid Use of
AI Techniques in Developing Construction
Management Tools, Automation in
Construction, Volume 12 (2003), p.271-281.
[12] Bitterman, M.S., Ciftcioglu, O. & I.S. Sariyildiz,
2007, A Neural Fuzzy System for Soft
Computing, San Diego, United States of
America, Proceedings of the Conference
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[13] Zadeh, L., 1965, Fuzzy Sets, Automation in
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[14] Ciftcioglu, O. & I.S. Sariyildiz, 2005, The
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Engineering and Construction.

71
 Construction Materials and C&D Waste in India
Sandeep Shrivastava and Abdol Chini
M.E. Rinker Sr., School of Building Construction
University of Florida, USA

Abstract
Construction and demolition (C&D) waste generation and handling issues have been in focus to achieve
sustainable goals. Owing to growth in construction in India, it is appropriate to link generation of C&D waste
with the growth. If measures to minimize and handle the C&D waste are not developed and efficiently
adopted it may threat the environment as well as sustainable movement of Indian construction industry.
C&D waste in India in 2010 may be estimated as 24 million tonnes. This paper provides an overview of the
construction industry in India and gives some statistics about the volume of C&D waste.

Keywords:
Construction and Demolition Waste, Recycling, Sustainable Construction, Demolition

1 INTRODUCTION countries in Asia do not have specific regulations designed

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines for C&D wastes, although some countries include some
construction and demolition (C&D) waste as waste sections in their solid waste management regulations
materials consist of the debris generated during the and/or related policies. According to the study, developed
construction, renovation, and demolition of buildings, countries generate 500 to 1000 kg per capita per year
roads, and bridges. C&D materials often contain materials building & construction waste and waste in European
that include: concrete, asphalt, wood, metals, gypsum, Countries is estimated to be 175 million tonnes/year. It was
plastics and salvaged building components. It is a also mentioned that very small percentage of waste from
challenging task to handle C&D waste because it is bulky, construction industry is reused or recycled, the majority
heavy and inert and also mixture of various materials of being deposited or used as landfill.
different characteristics. It is also difficult to choose any Like other developing countries, India is also enjoying
suitable disposal method, for example, it cannot be construction boom. With the rapid growth in construction
incinerated due to its high density and inertness. With the activities of India it is appropriate to link the generation of
advent of sustainable practices in the construction C&D waste with the growth of construction industry and
industry, C&D waste generation and handling issues have related issues. It is also essential to study C&D waste
been in focus to achieve the sustainable goals for our generation and handling to develop accurate data and
common future. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3Rs) establish sustainable methods to manage construction
philosophy is highly useful in handling of C&D waste. waste.
Though recycling had already been taken place at the time
of Second World War when Germany reused most of the 2 INDIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
demolished concrete for construction purposes, yet many th
According to 11 five year plan [3], in terms of magnitude
countries, especially developing countries are not fully
construction industry is second only to agriculture. Based
aware of potential of 3Rs and hence still find land filling as
on an analysis of the forward and backward linkages of
the only method for C&D waste handling. The better
construction, the multiplier effect for construction on the
practice to handle C&D waste is to minimize generation of
economy is estimated to be significant. With around
C&D waste, but sometimes it is unavoidable due to
27,770 enterprises involved directly in the activity of
various issues such as change-orders or demolition
construction in 2005, the industry is one of the largest
requirements for redevelopment.
employers in the country and is characterized by a mix of
Globally, building waste production of 2 to 3 billion tonnes both organized and unorganized entities. The employment
per year is estimated, of which 30-40 % is concrete [1]. figures have shown a steady rise from 14.6 million in 1995
C&D waste issues are more important for the developing to more than double in 2005 that is 31.46 million personnel
countries, which are entering or already entered in comprising engineers, technicians, foremen, clerical staff,
construction boom era. According to the annual report of and skilled and unskilled workers. With several ambitious
Dubai municipality's Waste Management Department, a projects anticipated during the 11th Plan, the demand for
total of 27.7 million tonnes of construction waste were construction manpower is going to grow at a consistent
removed from various construction sites in the city in pace of at least 8%–9%, thereby resulting in an annual
2007, recording growth of 163 % in comparison to the accretion of around 2.5 million persons to the existing
waste generated in 2006, just 10.5 million tonnes [2]. In stock [3].
their study, Vilas and Guilberto [1] found that many

72
The construction industry sets in motion the process of
economical growth in the country. Over US$ 100 billion
has been invested in this sector during 2004-2005, with
the private sector contributing to 32.7 per cent of this Year 2008 2009 2010 2011
investment. This sector is likely to continue to record Residential Construction
higher growth in the coming years due to the Government
of India’s (GOI) recent initiative to allow 100 per cent 8.00 8.62 9.24 9.86
foreign direct investment in real estate development Non Residential Construction
projects [4]. As shown in Figure 1, construction share in 5.19 5.33 5.45 5.58
total GDP has grown from 6.4% in 2000-01 to 7.2% in
2004-05 [5]. Technology Information, Forecasting and Civil Eng. Construction
Assessment Council (TIFAC) study mentions that total 115.24 122.38 129.52 136.55
construction work for five years during 2006-2011 is Total
equivalent to $847 billion [5].
128.43 136.33 144.21 151.99

Table 2: Estimated investment in Indian construction

industry, amount in USD billion.

Figure 1: Percentage share of construction in total GDP.

Table 1 shows investment (in US billion Dollars) in the

construction industry from 1998 to 2002, presented by
Laskar and Murty [6]. Figure 2: Estimated investment in Indian construction
industry.
Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Residential Construction Table 3 shows the distribution of cost among various
modes of expense in Indian construction industry [7].The
2.14 2.26 3.57 4.16 4.28 importance of materials cost in construction industry can
Non Residential Construction be seen from the fact that the component of materials cost
comprises nearly 40%–60% of the project cost. This
3.80 3.92 3.57 4.04 4.40
percentage is higher for projects such as building, railway,
Civil Eng. Construction and transmission, and lower but still a critical part of other
44 47.86 55.47 63.21 72.2 projects such as power and mineral plant. In addition, the
Indian construction industry is the largest consumer of
Total material resources of both natural such as stone, clay, lime
49.94 54.04 62.61 71.41 80.9 and the processed and synthetic resources [4].
According to “India – A building Industry in Transition” [8]
many positive and negative points are associated with
Table 1: Investment in the construction industry, amount in
Indian construction industry. Continuing strong economic
USD billion.
growth, foreign investment, cheap & plentiful labor, strong
engineering education systems are some of the positive
Based on the above data, values for year 2008 to 2011 points. On the other hand, inflationary pressures, relatively
were estimated assuming the same rate of growth. Table low skilled and uneducated labors, government
2 presents the estimated values, which were read from the bureaucracy, and lack of infrastructure are some of the
graph shown in Figure 2. negative points that make the construction activity more
challenging. It also suggests that there is an urgent
requirement for a government sponsored 40–50 year
holistic infrastructure plan for India to continue on its high
growth path towards economic maturity.

73
 Construction Enabling Admin.
Materials equipment Labor Finance Expenses Expenses Surplus
% % % % % % %
Building 58-60 4-5 11-13 7-8 5.5-6.5 3.5-4.5 5-6
Roads 42-45 21-23 10-12 7-8 5.5-6.5 3.5-4.5 5-6
Bridges 46-48 16-18 11-13 7-8 5.5-6.5 3.5-4.5 5-6
Dams, etc 42-46 21-23 10-12 7-8 5.5-6.5 3.5-4.5 5-6

Power 41-43 21-24 10-12 7-8 5.5-6.5 3.5-4.5 5-6

Railway 51-53 6-8 16-18 7-8 5.5-6.5 3.5-4.5 5-6
Mineral plant 41-44 20-22 12-14 7-8 5.5-6.5 3.5-4.5 5-6
Transmission 49-51 5-7 19-21 7-8 5.5-6.5 3.5-4.5 5-6

Table 3: Percentage cost distribution in construction industry.

According to Eleventh Five Year Plan [3], the major • Develop a National Plan for human resource
challenge that the construction industry faces is to raise its development through training and certification of
delivery capabilities commensurate with the targets for construction personnel.
sectors such as transportation, housing, and urban • Accord greater importance to safety in construction
development. The planned development of infrastructure activities by establishing trained and certified Safety
would face constraints, unless the construction industry Management Teams.
improves the delivery potentials by addressing crucial
issues and impediments by bringing in systemic changes.
3 ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS RELATED TO
The major issues in the construction industry include
INDIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
productivity, construction cost, contract procedures,
dispute resolution, safety issues, construction finance, and According to Eleventh Five Year Plan[3], sustainable
environmental issues. This plan also suggests that, development concepts applied to the design, construction,
aspects related to enhanced quality in construction and operation of construction projects can enhance both
products should be accorded attention at all levels. To the economic well being and the environmental health of
achieve this, the Performance Appraisal Certificate communities. Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF)
Scheme is being implemented for the development and recognizes Environmental Impact Assessment an
promotion of materials, products, and systems under the important tool for integrating these objectives and it should
joint initiatives of Building Materials and Technology be a necessary pre-condition before construction projects
Promotion Council (BMTPC), Construction Industry beyond stipulated size are approved. Further, initiatives for
Development Council (CIDC), Bureau of Indian Standards ensuring adherence to international standards and
(BIS) and other agencies. BIS and Indian Bureau of Mines regulations, such as the Environment Protection Act 2006
are the main authorities for issuing and maintaining the and the Energy Conservation Act 2001 are also required.
codes/standards pertaining to safety and other practices in Various interdisciplinary organizations such as CIDC and
the Indian construction industry. BMTPC have been set up to address the issues of
environment-friendly technologies and energy efficiency in
GOI permits foreign investment up to 100 per cent for
development of integrated townships, including housing, building materials. Central and State Pollution Control
Board (CPCB) approves, monitors, and regulates projects
commercial premises, hotels, resorts, city and regional
level urban infrastructure facilities such as roads and from all sectors including construction, keeping in view
their impact on environment. According to Municipal Solid
bridges, mass rapid transit systems and manufacture of
building materials. The GOI permits imports of building Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules of 2000, C&D
wastes or debris shall be separately collected and
materials and products under open general license
system. Under the Government of India’s new Export- disposed of [9].
Import Policy, the duty on building products is pegged at
15 percent. The GOI has announced its intention to reduce 4 CONSTRUCTION & DEMOLITION WASTE IN INDIA
progressively the import duty rates [4]. 4.1 Components
Eleventh Five Year Plan suggests that following measures In India C&D waste has two components [5]:
should be adopted by the construction industry to achieve Major components
the desired growth in construction sector and to align it
with global trends in terms of growth, quality, and • Cement concrete
competitiveness [3]: • Bricks
• Improve productivity through introduction of efficient • Cement plaster
technologies and modern management techniques. • Steel (from RCC, door/window frames, roofing
• Reduce transactional costs by reviewing contract support, railings of staircase etc.)
procedures and dispute resolution mechanisms. • Rubble
• Enhance quality standards and provision of adequate • Stone (marble, granite, sand stone)
institutional finance to the construction sector.

74
 • Timber/wood (especially demolition of old • Some municipal corporations allow C&D waste in
buildings) their landfills, while others want to minimize it to
Minor components prolong useful life of landfill sites.
• Different constituents of waste are not segregated
• Conduits (iron, plastic) prior to disposal.
• Pipes (GI, iron, plastic) • Builders/ owners bear the cost of transportation,
• Electrical fixtures (copper/ aluminum wiring, which at present, ranges between US$ 6 to 13
wooden baton, switches, wire insulation) per truckload depending on the distance of
demolition site from landfill area.
• Panels (wooden, laminated)
• Municipal authorities incur cost of US$ 1.50 to 2
• Others (glazed tiles, glass panes) per tonnes of waste, but presently no charge is
Figure 3 and Table 4 show the percentage distribution and levied by them on the owner or builder
tonnage of various constituents of C&D waste in India in • Though directives exist for disposal of waste to
2000, respectively [5]. landfill areas, presently penal action against
violators is practically not taken.
Metal 4.3 C&D waste estimation
Wood
2% 5% Various studies have been done to estimate the quantity of
Brick &
Masonry C&D waste in India. Pappu, Saxena et al [10] presented
30% 14.5 million tonnes/year C&D waste in India. CPCB
estimated quantum of solid waste generation in India to be
Soil, Sand & to the tune of 48 million tonnes per annum for year 2000,
Gravel out of which waste from construction industry accounted
35% for about 12 to 14.7 million tonnes [5]. As shown in Figure
Bitumen
4, Singhal and Pandey [11] presented the growth in
2%
municipal solid waste in India. This graph can be used for
rough estimation of C&D waste based on assumption that
Other Concrete C&D waste is estimated to be 25-30% of municipal solid
1% 25% waste [5].

Figure 3: Different constituents of C&D waste.

Constituent million tonnes/yr

Soil, Sand and gravel 4.20 to 5.14
Bricks and masonry 3.60 to 4.40
Concrete 2.40 to 3.67
Metals 0.60 to 0.73
Bitumen 0.25 to 0.30
Wood 0.25 to 0.30
Others 0.10 to 0.15

Table 4: Quantity of various constituents generated per Figure 4: Municipal solid waste generation in India.
year.

Therefore, from Figure 4 total C&D waste generated in

4.2 C&D waste handling year 2000 was approximately 13-15 million tonnes.
In India, contractors play an important role in waste Comprehensive study for C&D waste estimation was done
management. Contractual arrangements require that by TIFAC [5]. This study presented following data related
demolition wastes have to be disposed off by the to C&D waste in India for the year 2000:
contractor at his cost. Other than new construction, • C&D waste was estimated as 14.69 million tonnes.
renovation or repair of buildings, demolition of an existing • Waste generation during construction and renovation/
building/structure is the main cause of waste generation repair work was 40 to 60 and 40 to 50 kg/m2
from the construction industry. In India, services of respectively.
demolition contractors are taken when an old building is to • The highest contribution to waste generation was from
be demolished due to deterioration of the building or to demolition of buildings, which yielded on average 425
make way for construction of a new building [5]. According 2
kg/m of waste.
to TIFAC study,
• Items recovered during demolition are sold in the Table 5 represents the comparative study of C&D waste
market at a discount with respect to price of new for India & USA for the year 2000. The data for USA were
material. collected from CIB TG 39 reports [12].
• Items, that cannot be re-used, are disposed to
landfill site.

75
 Description India USA [6] Laskar, A. and Murty, C.V.R. (2004).
1. Year 2000 2000 “Challenges before Construction Industry in India.”
www.iitk.ac.in/Nicee/Rp/2004_Challenges_
2. C&D waste generation Construction_Industry_Proceedings.Pdf.
a) New Construction 50 kg/m2 41 kg/m2 [7] Government of India (2002). “10th Five Years Plan
2 2
b) Renovation /Repair 45 kg/m 118 kg/m (2002-2007).” Planning commission, India.
c) Demolition 425 kg/m2 515 kg/m2 www.planningcommission.nic.in/Plans/Pla
nrel/Fiveyr/10th/Volume2/V2_Ch7_7.Pdf.
[8] Wildermuth, B. (2008). “India - A Building
Industry in Transition.” Construct 06.2008: 21-28.
Table 5: C&D waste data for India and USA.
[9] Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF).(2000).
Figure 4, C&D-municipal solid waste ratio assumption, and www.envfor.nic.in/legis/hsm/mswmhr.html.
TIFAC study could be used to estimate C&D waste for [10] Pappu, A., M. Saxena, et al. (2007). “Solid Wastes
future years. For example, C&D waste in India for the year Generation in India and their Recycling Potential in
2010 may be estimated as 22-26 million tonnes by using Building Materials.” Building and Environment 42:
Figure 4. This range is in agreement with the 24 million 2311-2320.
tonnes C&D waste value for the year 2010, which is [11] Singhal S. and Pandey S. (2001). “Solid Waste
estimated by following the procedure used in TIFAC study Management in India: Status and Future Directions.”
[5]. TERI Information Monitor on Environmental Science
6(1), 1-4.
5 SUMMARY [12] Chini, A. and Bruening, S. (2005). “Deconstruction
and Materials Reuse in the United States.” A. Chini
Owing to growth in construction, it is expected that C&D
Editor, International Council for Research and
waste generation in India will increase. If measures to
Innovation in Building Construction (CIB), Publication
minimize and handle the C&D waste are not developed
300.
and efficiently adopted, it may threat environment as well
www.uni-siegen.de/ fb10/ subdomains/
as sustainable movement of the country. C&D waste
cibw115/publications/tg39reports.html
minimization and handling are necessary in view of limited
landfill space and increasing quantum of demolition waste
otherwise there may be issues related to handling the
waste and finding space for landfilling. This will cause an
extra burden on solid waste management plans, which are
already looking for new ways to fight with the growth in
municipal solid waste due to increase in urban population
and developments in the country. Government policies and
laws should be reformed to motivate and make C&D waste
management mandatory for all types of construction
activities. It would be desirable to have more accurate and
detailed data such as C&D waste generation and the way
it is managed in India. 3Rs policy and use of waste
minimizing technologies e.g. design for deconstruction and
reuse of materials should be adopted to minimize C&D
waste. Recycling of C&D waste by converting it to
aggregate may offer dual benefit of saving landfill space
and reduction in extraction of natural raw material for new
construction activities, leading towards sustainable
development.

6 REFERENCES
[1] Vilas and Guilberto (2007). “Construction and
Demolition Waste Management: Current Practices in
Asia.” International Conference on Sustainable Solid
Waste Management, Chennai, India.
[2] Shukla, G. (2008).
www.brandfaqs.blogspot.com/2008/05/Dubai
Registers-163-Percent-Growth-In.html.
[3] Government of India (2007). “11th Five Years Plan
(2007-2012).” Planning commission, India.
www.planningcommission.nic.in/Plans/Planrel/Fiveyr.
[4] Market research. (2006). “Construction Materials in
India.” www.internationalbusinessstrategies.com.
[5] TIFAC, Ed. (2000). “Utilization of Waste from
Construction Industry.” Department of Science &
Technology, New Delhi.

76
 Embodied and operational energy use of buildings

1
L.C.M. Itard
1
Research Institute OTB,
Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands

Abstract
Up to now energy savings in buildings have been approached from the side of their operational energy. However, when the
operational energy use is reduced, the embodied energy use (i.e. the energy embodied in the manufacture and transport of
building components) could become an important item. In this paper we present the results of an energy flow investigation,
based on LCA considerations, on the relative values of embodied en operational energy of dwellings and dwelling renovation.
The environmental effects resulting from energy use are addressed as well.

Keywords:
Life cycle assessment, embodied energy, materials, operational energy use, passive houses

relative value of operational and embodied energy use for

1 INTRODUCTION renovation measures and for energy efficient new built
dwellings. Second, the paper elaborates on the fact that
Energy savings in the built environment have a high energy use in itself is not an environmental problem, but
priority on the politic and scientific agenda. Costs savings, the cause of a number of environmental problems. The
security of supply and the environment are the main relationship between energy use and environmental
reasons to save energy. When the operational use for impact is studied using a LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)
heating is reduced considerably, the energy embodied in approach.
the manufacture and transport of building components
(embodied energy) could become an important item. In
the past, there have been few studies of the embodied
energy of conventional dwellings. The energy use of an 2 EMBODIED AND OPERATIONAL ENERGY USE IN
Australian house has been analysed for a thirty-year life RENOVATION
cycle in [1], where the relative importance of energy
consumption with respect to the way the house is used The production of the building components that are
and to household behaviour was stressed. The relative needed when building or renovating a dwelling costs
values of the embodied and operational energies were energy. This energy is needed to extract the raw
found to be an important factor in choosing design materials, to transport them and to produce the
strategies, such as insulation ([2], [3]). In [4], the components. The overall energy use of building activities
embodied energy in a refurbishment project is compared can be quantified by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
with the embodied energy for demolition and new EcoQuantum, version 2.00 ([7], [8]) was used.
construction. It was found that the demolition of buildings EcoQuantum is a Dutch LCA tool for assessing the
should be regarded as environmentally unfriendly. These environmental effects of buildings in terms of material use,
papers provided an analysis that focused on energy use, energy consumption, water consumption and
but did not consider other environmental effects. environmental impacts. EcoQuantum uses a particular
Environmental effects were considered in [5], to compare Dutch database of building materials maintained by IVAM.
three types of dwellings. The results were aggregated for The impact assessment method is based on the CML-2
the entire life cycle of the building. Some of the impacts method. The role of the EcoQuantum tool with respect to
that were used in [5] to determine the final environmental other international LCA tools was discussed in [9] and
profile of the dwellings were interdependent (e.q. energy [10].
and global warming potential), possibly resulting in a
distorted profile. During a life cycle assessment the energy use, the type of
energy and the environmental effects are mapped from
The present paper is based on the method developed in cradle (raw materials extraction) to grave (disposal),
[6] and presents first the results of a research on the according to [11]. This includes production process and
operational energy and material use. The operational

77
energy use is defined as the energy needed to heat, cool Variant 2
and ventilate the dwelling and to power electrical In variant 2 the single and double glass windows are
appliances in the dwelling. In the present study, the replaced by high efficiency glass with an equivalent U-
operational energy use is limited to the energy use for 2
value of 1.7 W/m K.
heating and ventilating. Opposite to the operational
energy use that can be calculated simply by using the U-
values of the construction parts, the embodied primary Variant 3
energy use can only be calculated if the types and The standard efficiency combination boiler is replaced by
masses of materials used are known. The calculations in a steel high efficiency boiler with pomp control. In the
the present study were conducted for a terraced house, calculation for the embodied energy all parts of the boiler
representative of houses build between 1966 and 1976 in were taken into account, which includes thermostat,
the Netherlands ([12], [13]). The operational energy use of vessels, control blocks, ventilator and façade duct set.
the dwelling was calculated using the EPA software [14].
The main characteristics of the dwelling before renovation
are given in Table 1. To calculate the primary energy use Variant 4
related to electricity, the average efficiency of a Dutch The standard efficiency combination boiler is replaced by
electricity plant was used (0.39). The non-renovated a stainless steel high efficiency boiler combined with a
dwelling is heated by a standard efficiency combination heat pump boiler for hot tap water. The heat source of the
boiler. Auxiliary energy for pumps, ventilators and other heat pump boiler is indoor air.
HVAC equipment is taken into account, as well as the
Useful floor area (m2) 139 Variant 5
Ground floor Surface area 56 The standard efficiency combination boiler is replaced by
(m2) a steel high efficiency boiler and by 2.7m2 solar collector
U-value (W/m2K) 2.3 and a stainless steel solar boiler vessel for hot tap water.
Roof Surface area 66
(m2) In addition the heat distribution system (steel pipes and
2 radiators) is completely replaced in variants 3, 4 and 5.
U-value (W/m K) 1.0
Facades (excl. Surface area 36.2
windows) (m2) Variant 6
2
U-value (W/m K) 1.8 A balanced ventilation system is used, with a direct-
current ventilator. The balanced ventilation unit consists of
Windows Surface area 17 16 a galvanized steel heat exchanger, two ventilators, control
(m2) blocks and steel ducts and grilles. The air tightness of the
U-value (W/m2K) 5.1 2.9 dwelling is reduced as well.
Space heating & hot tap water Standard
efficiency For the service life of the components, the standard life
combination span as given in [15] was used: 75 year for insulation
boiler material; 35 year for distribution pipes; 30 years for
Ventilation Natural radiators and heat pumps; 25 year for glazing and solar
m3 gas/year for space heating 1242 (=39371 MJ boilers; 15 years for boilers and mechanical ventilation
primary energie) and 8 years for pumps. When the life span of the building
is longer than the life span of a component, the
m3 gas/year for hot tap water 506 (=16040 MJ component is replaced at the end of its service life by a
primary energy) new, but identical component. The calculations account
kWh/year auxiliary energy 427 (= 3942 MJ solely for the embodied energy use of the renovation
primary energy) measures described here above (therefore the energy
MJ Total primary energy / year 59354 embodied in the parts of the house that are not renovated
is not accounted for).
Table 1: Main characteristics of the reference dwelling

The principle of the calculations is shown in figure 1, per

electrical energy needed to power the heat pump (in m2 surface area of the dwelling: in year 0, the year of
variant 4). The electricity use related to lighting and white renovation, energy is used to produce and place the new
and brown goods is not taken into account. Six renovation building components (embodied energy). Therefore there
variants are studied. is more initial energy use when the building is being
renovated than when it is not. The operational energy use
Variant 1 decreases after renovation. Figure 1 shows the cumulated
values of the energy use all over the years. The slope of
In variant 1 the façades (including roofs and ground floor, the lines includes the replacement of the components at
but excluding windows) are insulated. The U-value of the the end of their service life (linearized value). It shows that
2
façade is then 0.35 W/m K, the U-value of the roof 0.31 the energy embodied in a combination boiler (123 MJ/m2
2 2
W/m K and the U-value of the ground floor is 0.34 W/m K.
For the facades and the roof stone wool insulation is used surface area) or in a combination and heat pump boiler
and finished by a coat of plaster. The ground floor is (156 MJ/m2 surface area), or in a solar boiler (218 MJ/m2
insulated with a Tonzon thermocushion (foldable surface area) is clearly higher than the energy embodied
2
insulation) with a Rc-value of 2.25 m2K/W. in insulation materials (26 MJ/m surface area). However,

78
the embodied energy use is paid back by the lower 100
operational energy use in less than 5 years – in all cases. 90
80
The shortest energy pay-back time is achieved by 70 Embodied energy
60
insulation measures (variants 1 and 2) and the longest by 50

%
Electrical auxiliary
the heat pomp boiler (variant 4). 40
30
energy
Hot tap water
20
10
Space heating
0

Balanced ventilation
Reference

HE glazing

HE boiler

HE boiler + Heat Pump

HE boiler + Solar boiler

Façade insulation
Primary Energy

boiler
4000
Reference

Façade
3000 insulation Energy pay-back time: 0.2 0.3 1.5 5.0 1.9 1.2 year
HE glazing

HE boiler Figure 2: Embodied and operational energy use after 30

MJ

2000
HE boiler + Heat
years for the different variants.
Pump boiler
1000 HE boiler + Solar
boiler
Balanced
ventilation
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Year
3 EMBODIED AND OPERATIONAL ENERGY IN LOW
ENERGY NEW-BUILT
Primary Energy For this part of the research, the Ecobuild dwellings were
500 Reference used. These dwellings are very low-energy test dwellings
450
Façade
used by ECN [16]. Dwellings A, B and C were compared
400
350
insulation with a reference dwelling. Dwellings A, B and C are very
HE glazing
300 well insulated and all have a comparable insulation level,
MJ

250 HE boiler
but the materials and HVAC equipment used are different.
200
150
HE boiler + Heat The main characteristics of the buildings are shown in
Pump boiler
100 HE boiler + Solar Table 2. The service life of the building was set at 75
50
0
boiler
Balanced
years. The life spans of all components can be found in
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1 ventilation [16].
Year

Figure 1: Cumulated embodied and operational energy It appears from figure 3 that the cumulated operational
use per square meter useful floor area over 10 years energy use during the whole service life can be halved if
(upper graphic) and zoomed over 1 year (lower graphic). building concepts B and C are used instead of A or the
Figure 2 shows the operational and embodied energy use reference. However, the energy embodied in dwellings B
for the reference dwelling and the different renovation and C is higher than in the reference dwelling. Dwelling C
variants after 30 years. The energy saving varies between performs better than the reference dwelling after only 6
31% (façade insulation) and 6% (balanced ventilation and years. Dwelling B needs 15 years to perform better and
heat pomp boiler). Gas is the primary energy for space for dwelling A 25 years. The energy embodied in the
hot tap water, except for variant 4, for which it is reference dwelling represents about 15 years of
electricity. Therefore the primary energy use for hot tap operational energy. Comparable values were found for
water was added to the electrical auxiliary energy in instance in [1]. The energy embodied in low-energy
variant 4 (heat pump boiler). The auxiliary energy is dwellings A, B and C represents 34, 61 and 43 years of
higher in variant 6 than in the other variants (with the their operational energy respectively. This clearly means
exception of variant 4), because of the use of ventilators that the further reduction of the environmental impacts of
for the ventilation. After 30 years of use, the embodied dwellings will necessitate the reduction of their embodied
energy represents a small percentage of the total energy energy use, because the embodied energy use may be
use, less than 6%. By considering only the operational responsible for more than half the total energy use for
energy use, the total energy savings are overestimated, heating and ventilating.
but this has hardly an effect on the relative values for the
different variants. The results are not expected to be very
different for passive house renovation, where large
quantity of insulation materials are used, but a more
detailed study should be conducted.

79
 Refe- Dwelling Dwelling Dwelling
rence A B C
Insulation(Rc in 3, >5, 3 >5, 3 >5 3 dynamic aspects of a building by making a series of LCA
m2K/W) double layer layer layer calculations for different life spans of a building, from 0 to
glass glass glass glass 80 years. This way we are able to study the effect of the
Construction bricks Con- Con- timber service life and to calculate environmental pay-back
crete crete times.
Inner walls Partly Non- Non- Non-
bearing bearing bearing bearing
Ventilation Nat/Me Nat/Mec Balance Balance 4.1 Renovation
ch. h. d d Figure 4 show examples of the cumulated values of the
Space Heating HE- HE- Heat Heat environmental effects abiotic depletion, global warming,
Boiler Boiler pump pump ozone layer depletion and terrestrial ecotoxicity for the
different renovation variants studied in chapter 2. The
Primary energy 43781 30194 17801 19456
embodied environmental effect can be seen in year 0. The
use for heating
slope of the line represents the linearized environmental
(MJ/year)
effect from operational energy and material use
Table 2: Main characteristics of the dwellings. (replacements). Comparison of figure 4 with figure 1
(primary energy use) shows that the primary energy gives
a good indication of abiotic depletion and to a lesser
extend of global warming. It doe not reflect correctly the
trends of the other environmental effects. For abiotic
depletion – as for the primary energy use, all variants
5000000 perform better than the reference after very few years.
4000000 Reference
This is also the case for global warming, with the
Energy (MJ)

exception of variant 4 (heat pump boiler) that performs

3000000 Dwelling A always worse than the reference. For terrestrial
2000000 Dwelling B ecotoxicity all variants relating to heating and ventilating
1000000 Dwelling C equipment perform worse than the reference. The variants
with insulation perform better than the reference. For
0
ozone layer depletion, the results are miscellaneous.
0

20

40

60

80

Year The results for all environmental effects are shown in

figure 5, in which the environmental effects caused by the
Figure 3: Embodied and operational primary energy use embodied and operational energy and material use over
of the Ecobuild dwellings. 30 years are plotted. Because the different environmental
effects are expressed in different units, they were
normalized to 100% for the reference dwelling.
Noticeable are the poor performances of variants 4 (heat
4 FROM ENERGY USE TO ENVIRONMENTAL pump boiler) and 6 (balanced ventilation), except for
EFFECTS abiotic depletion and to a lesser extent for global warming
and eutrophication. Also for the other variants the positive
Environmental effects are measurable damages to the
effect of the renovation measures appear to be lower than
environment. The use of fossil fuels to produce energy is
the primary energy use indicated. However, insulation
not an environmental effect, but a cause of a number of
measures (variants 1 and 2) lead clearly to less
environmental damages. In LCA studies with
environmental effects than the other variants. Insulation
EcoQuantum, nine environmental effects are addressed:
and replacement of the conventional boiler by a high
abiotic depletion; global warming; ozone layer depletion;
efficiency one result in less impact for all environmental
photochemical oxidation; acidification; eutrophication;
effects.
humane toxicity; fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity and
terrestrial ecotoxicity. In this section the concept of
environmental pay-back time is used, similarly to the Figure 6 shows the environmental effects resulting from
energy pay-back time defined in the previous section. It the operational energy use only (embodied energy and
describes after how many years the environmental effect materials are excluded). To make comparison with figure
arising from renovation or building activities, pays itself 5 possible, all environmental effects, including those of
back by a lower environmental effect because of a lower the reference, were normalized with respect to the 100%
operational energy use for heating. In our opinion, the value in figure 5. Comparison between figure 5 and figure
notion of environmental pay-back time, which is not used 6 shows that the operational energy use contributes for a
in conventional LCA (i.e. as described in [10]), is needed very large part to the environmental effects abiotic
because unlike conventional consumer goods, buildings depletion, global warming and eutrophication. The
often change in the course of their life span. Components contribution of embodied energy and embodied materials
are replaced or removed, according to their technical and is minimal for these effects, but they clearly play a much
functional life cycles ([17]). Life Cycle Assessment is a more important role in all other environmental effects. This
static method that sums up all environmental effects means that the environmental optimization of materials
during the life cycle of the product ([18]). However, the used for heating and ventilating equipment is important,
behaviour of buildings is dynamic. Therefore, it is difficult because their effect on ozone layer depletion,
to track the environmental effects of changes in buildings photochemical oxidation, acidification and all toxicity items
using a life cycle assessment ([19]). As the development is substantial, and after 30 years, still far from negligible.
of a dynamic LCA method is far beyond the scope of this Particularly important seems the optimization of the solar
project, it was decided to adapt calculations to the

80
boiler, whose poor performance arises in large measure
Terrestrial ecotoxicity
from material use (steel vessel).
1000 Reference
900

kg 1.4DCB-eq (x1000)
However, most of environmental peaks in figures 5 and 6 800 Façade insulation
700
come from the operational energy use. Variants 4 and 6 600 HE glazing
cause a particularly high worsening (up to more than 3 500
400 HE boiler
300
Abiotic depletion 200 HE boiler + Heat Pump
boiler
100
HE boiler + Solar boiler
50000 Reference 0
45000 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Balanced ventilation
40000
kg Sb-eq (x1000)

Façade insulation
Year
35000
30000 HE glazing
25000
20000 HE boiler
Figure 4: examples of the course in time of cumulated
15000 environmental effects.
HE boiler + Heat Pump
10000
boiler
5000
HE boiler + Solar boiler
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Balanced ventilation
Year times the environmental effect of the reference) for six of
the ten effects studied. This worsening is directly related
to the increase of the electricity use in comparison with
Global warming the reference. Electricity is used in variant 4 for the heat
2500000
pump boiler and in variant 6 to power the ventilators for
Reference
the balanced ventilation. The increase in environmental
kg CO2-eq (x1000)

2000000 Façade insulation effect is caused by the switch from gas use to electricity
1500000 HE glazing use. Due to the actual Dutch average fuel mix for
HE boiler
electricity production (30% oil, 5% coal, 50% gas, 10%
1000000
nuclear and 5% renewables), a very limited change-over
500000 HE boiler + Heat Pump
boiler
from gas demand to electricity demand causes a
0
HE boiler + Solar boiler substantial increase of the environmental effects ozone
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Balanced ventilation
layer depletion, photochemical oxidation, acidification,
Year humane toxicity and ecotoxicity.

Photochemical oxidation

50000 Reference
45000
kg Ethyl-eq (x1e6)

40000 Façade insulation

35000
30000 HE glazing
25000
HE boiler
20000
15000
HE boiler + Heat Pump
10000 boiler
5000
HE boiler + Solar boiler
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Balanced ventilation
Year

81
 350

300

250 Reference
Variant 1: Façade insulation
Variant 2: HE glazing
200 Variant 3: HE boiler
Variant 4: HE boiler + Heat Pump boiler
%

Variant 5: HE boiler + Solar boiler

150
Variant 6: Balanced ventilation

100

50

Human toxicity
Ozone layer

Terrestrial ecotoxicity
Global warming

Fresh water aquatic

Eutrophication
Photochemical
Abiotic depletion

Acidification
depletion

oxidation

toxicity
Figure 5: Environmental effects from embodied and operational energy and material use after 30 years.

350

300

250
Reference
Variant 1: Façade insulation
200 Variant 2: HE glazing
%

Variant 3: HE boiler
150 Variant 4: HE boiler + Heat Pump boiler
Variant 5: HE boiler + Solar boiler
Variant 6: Balanced ventilation
100

50

0
Ozone layer depletion

Human toxicity

Terrestrial ecotoxicity
Global warming

Fresh water aquatic

Eutrophication
Photochemical
Abiotic depletion

Acidification
oxidation

toxicity

Figure 6: Environmental effects from operational energy use after 30 years.

An unfair conclusion would be that heat pumps should not Similar calculations were conducted for the Ecobuild
be used because they increase the environmental dwellings (see section 3) and are presented in figure 7.
burden. The right conclusion is that heat pumps should The analysis leads to the same conclusions as for
not be used if they are powered by a conventional renovation.
electricity plant. Conventional gas is likely to have
reached its limits with the high efficiency boiler. By
contrast, heat pumps can achieve a much higher 5 CONCLUSIONS
efficiency and have a high improvement potential. The This paper compared the primary operational energy use
use of electricity produced by a more sustainable fuel mix, for heating of several renovation and new-built variants
or better, renewable sources, is a requisite when applying with the primary energy embodied in the variant itself. It
heat pump technology. was found that after 30 years of use, the embodied
energy in renovation variants is very low, opposite to the
embodied energy in “low-energy” new-built that can
4.2 New-built amount up to 60 years of operational energy use. This

82
means that the further reduction of the environmental
impacts of dwellings will necessitate the reduction of their
embodied energy use.

300

250

200
Reference
Dwelling A
150
Dwelling B
Dwelling C
100

50

0
Acidification
Ozone layer

Fresh water
depletion

Golbal warming

Eutrophication
Photochemical

Humane toxicity

ecotoxicity
Terrestrial
ecotoxicity
Abiotic

depletion

aquatic
oxidation

Figure 7: Environmental effects of the Ecobuild dwellings after 75 years.

However, energy use is not an environmental effect, Establishment, Watford 1994, session materials,
but the cause of several environmental damages. paper 1.
The paper demonstrated that the primary energy [5] Peuportier, B.L.P. (2001), Life cycle
use renders reasonably abiotic depletion, global assessment applied to the comparative evaluation
warming and eutrophication. For the other of single famility houses in the French context,
environmental effects (ozone layer depletion, Energy and buildings 33 (2001) 443-450.
photochemical oxidation, acidification, humane
toxicity and ecotoxicity) the primary energy use is [6] Itard L., Klunder G., 2007, Comparing
not representative for the real environmental impact, environmental impacts of renovated housing stock
especially when there is a shift from gas demand to with new Construction, Building Research and
electricity demand. That is the reason why heat Information (2007), 35(3), 252–267.
pump boilers and balanced ventilation perform [7] SEV and SBR (2002), EcoQuantum
poorly. This cannot be solved without switching to woningbouw versie 2; handleiding, Rotterdam, in
sustainable electricity production. Insulation Dutch.
measures appear to be efficient for all [8] EcoQuantum, www.ivam.nl – in Dutch
environmental effects.
[9] Forsberg, A., Malmborg, F. von, (2004),
Tools for environmental assessment of the built
6 REFERENCES environment, Building and Environment 39 (2004),
[1] Treolar, G., Fay, R., Love, P.E.D and Iyer- 223-228.
Raniga, U. , 2000, Analysing the life-cycle energy of [10] Howard, N. (2005), Building Environmental
an Australian residential building and its Assessment methods: In practice, Proceedings
householders, Building Research & Information 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference,
(2000) 28 (3), 184-195. Tokyo, 27-29 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo), pp.
[2] Fay, R., Treloar, G., Iyer-Raniga, U., 2000, 2008-2015.
Life-cycle energy analysis of buildings: a case [11] SO 14040: Environmental Management –
study, Building Research & Information (2000) 28 Life Cycle Assessment– Principles and Framework.
(1), 31-41. [12] Strategisch voorraad beleid ,
[3] Myhre, L. and Haavaldsen, T. ,1994,, SenterNovem, 2005 hoofddocument en
Material flow analysis for evaluation of alternative bijlagenboek, Kompas programma,
strategies to improve the Norwegian housing Stock, http://www.senternovem.nl/kompas/ g-in Dutch
Proceedings 1st CIB International Conference Task [13] Referentiewoningen bestaande bouw,
Group 8 “Environmental Assessment of Buildings”, Novem, 2001, April 2001, Novem publicatie
Building Research Establishment, Watford, 1994, 1DUW001.01, www.senternovem.nl – in Dutch
session country, paper 2.
[14] EPA, B-versie 4.02, in Dutch
[4] Tucker, S.N., Treloar, G.J., 1994, Energy http://www.senternovem.nl/epadesk
embodied in construction and refurbishment of
[15] Levensduur van bouwproducten –
buildings, Proceedings 1st CIB International
praktijkwaarden; SBR; Rotterdam, 12/1998
Conference, Task Group 8 “Environmental
Assessment of Buildings”, Building Research [16] Ecobuildwoningen, Fase II: Gezondheids-
en milieuaspecten, J. van Ginkel, E. Hasselaar, L.

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Itard, intern rapport, OTB, www.otb.tudelft.nl. –in
Dutch
[17] Kohler N. and Lützkendorf T. (2002),
Integrated life-cycle analysis, Building Research &
Information (2002) 30(5), 338-348.
[18] Klunder, G. and van Nunen, H. (2003), The
Factor of Time in Life Cycle Assessment of Housing,
Open House International, 28(1), 20-27.
[19] Dobbelsteen, A. van den, Arets, M., and
van der Linden, K. (2003) The factor time in
sustainability: integration of the building lifespan in
environmental performance and decisions between
nd
demolition and re-use, in: Proc. of the 2 Int. Symp.
Integrated Lifetime Engineering of Buildings and
Civil Infrastructures, RIL & VTT, Helsinki, pp. 457-
462.

84
 Research Framework for an Experimental Study on Phase
Change Materials in Scaled Models of Dutch Dwellings

1 2 2
F. Muthing , A.G. Entrop , H.J.H. Brouwers

1
Sustainable Energy Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, Overijssel, The Netherlands,
[email protected]
2
Department of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Twente, Enschede, Overijssel, The Netherlands,
[email protected] , [email protected]

Abstract
In modern Dutch dwellings, about 10% of the annual use of primary energy is used for cooling, whereas about 50% of the
primary energy is used for heating. With the technology of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) energy savings can be made in
both areas. PCMs are materials with a high latent heat capacity which are, by melting and solidifying at a certain
temperature, capable of storing and releasing a certain amount of energy. Unlike sensible storage materials, PCMs absorb
and release heat at a nearly constant temperature. At hot days the PCMs can store (part of) the excessive heat to form a
(temporarily) buffer. The heat is released again when the temperature drops below the melting temperature of the PCM. As a
result, people inside a building incorporating PCMs can experience more comfort than in conventional buildings.

To measure the possible energy savings, an experimental research facility was set up. In this field set-up, modern Dutch
dwellings are simulated by using scaled models with and without PCM in the concrete floors. These models are provided with
sensors measuring the inside temperature and the incoming solar irradiation. As a reference, a weather station collects data
on the outside temperature, humidity, solar irradiation and wind speed. By comparing these data, the influence of the PCM’s
becomes apparent.

In this proposition paper, a research framework to analyse the influence of PCM will be presented. To provide models,
software packages will be assessed. The software package, which must be able to calculate the thermodynamic differential
equations dynamically, will visualize the incoming and outgoing energy flows. The results, regarding the effectiveness of
PCM, will also be implemented in the computation methodology of the Energy Performance Coefficient (EPC).

Keywords:
Phase Change Materials, Built Environment, Solar energy, Energy Savings, Experimental Research

85
 Figure 1 : Increase of annual electricity consumption in Dutch households, per
household [1]

appliances. Especially the amount of dryers,

1 INTRODUCTION dishwashers, small electronic devices and the usage of
Nomenclature computers increased during the last decade [1].
Another reason is the decrease of habitants per dwelling.
This will result in higher electricity consumption per
Total ground surface [m2] household, because a single person household uses
Total thermal transmission surface [m2] about one-third more electricity than a household with two
persons uses. Also, on average, a household with either
EPC Correction factor one of a double-income couple will use more electricity
Energy [J] (because they tend to have more timesaving appliances)
compared to households with persons who are often at
J Joule (MJ = MegaJoule)
home [1].
K Kelvin
A third reason is that many household appliances stay in
Thermal conductivity coefficient [W/(m·K)] stand-by mode more often these days. This seems to be
underestimated, because most people apparently think
Thickness of wall [m]
they do not use that much more electric energy. Also
m meters some electric devices consume electric energy even
Annual primary energy use of a house [MJ] when the power button is turned off.
A last reason is the increasing demand for cooling during
Heat density [W/m3] summer times to increase human well-being. A Phase
Heat flux [W/m2] Change Material (PCM) can contribute to human well-
being.
S Surface of integration
s seconds
PCMs form a relatively new and promising technology
Temperature [K] that may both decrease the electricity consumption during
Time variable [s] summer times (“space cooling”, see Figure 2) and the
energy needed for heating the building. These materials
Internal heat per volume [J/m3] are capable of storing heat temporarily and therefore
W Watts save on cooling demand.
Spatial variables for direction [m] This paper will present a research framework [3] to
analyse the influence of a PCM in a concrete floor in a
Subscript for inside Dutch climate. After this introduction, section 2 starts with
Subscript for outside a theoretical background of PCM. The physical principle,
the possibilities and the applications of PCM will be
explained here and an overview of different types of PCM
Because fossil fuels will probably not available forever, will be given.
the world nowadays deals with energy saving. With still
increasing demands, one is, as a result, becoming more In section 3 the problem definition and some research
interested in being energy efficient. Man can see this objectives will be formulated. It also gives an indication of
trend for example in the electronics branch, like with where PCMs can have a positive effect on the image of
computers, laptops and mobile phones. the building industry nowadays. The impact of this
research will be further clarified in sections 4 (societal and
Although better technologies, smarter designs and a scientific relevance).
growing awareness and interest in energy results in better
Section 5 shows the experimental set-up which will give
energy efficiency, an average Dutch household still uses
more and more electric energy, which can be seen in an answer on the research question. This set-up consists
of four test boxes, with different glazing insulation and
Figure 1.
absence or presence of PCM in the concrete floor. It
There are several reasons for this increase. The most explains how this set-up is built and where it is located.
important one is an increasing number of household

86
 Figure 2 : Primary energy use of U.S. households [2]

The research methodology will be explained in section 6. formed. The temperature will increase again if the
This section will give a stepwise route to answer the material is totally molten and does so until it reaches its
research question. Also some interesting software boiling point. Then the same process happens again:
1
packages will be discussed here. temperature during the phase change stays constant .
In section 7 a summary of the research so far will be given When the material is cooled down, the process will take
as well as some points of interest for further research. place in opposite direction.
Briefly some preliminary results will be given.
2 THeoretical background A PCM behave like this physical principle, but unlike
conventional (sensible) storage materials, PCMs absorb
and release heat at a nearly constant temperature. They
2.1 What is a PCM? store 5–14 times more heat per unit volume than sensible
When a solid material is getting heated, its temperature is storage materials such as water, masonry, or rock [4].
raising. If the amount of heat is large enough, the solid will Thus PCM is a material that is capable of storing latent
start melting. At that point, during the melting process, the heat and therefore might improve the total heat capacity
temperature will stay constant2 and the thermal energy is of the internal constructions. As a result, people inside a
absorbed by the material. building incorporating PCMs can experience more
comfort than in buildings without PCMs.

2.2 PCM: Classification, Properties & Applications

Several materials can be suitable as a PCM that is
capable of saving energy in the built environment. There
are both organic and inorganic substances as well as a
mixture of organic and/or inorganic substances with
different melting points; the eutectics. The organic PCMs
can be separated into paraffins and non-paraffins,
whereas the inorganic PCMs can be separated into salt
hydrates and metallics. Figure 4 gives an overview of the
different sorts of PCMs [5].
The organic PCMs have some physical advantages over
the inorganic and eutectics PCMs. They have a broad
temperature range and because of this, selection of the
right organic PCM is easier. Organic PCMs are highly
compatible with conventional materials of construction;
they are chemically stable, safe and non-reactive. The
Figure 3 : Latent heat, from B to C and from D to E of downside of organic PCMs is their higher costs.
water If investment is the criterion, one should opt for an
inorganic PCM, which is also easier available [5]. The
downsides of an inorganic PCM are that the change of
In Figure 3 this is trajectory B-C. By absorbing this so-
volume due to temperature differences is very high and
called latent heat, a temporarily buffer of energy is
that they suffer from decomposition and supercooling,
1 which can affect their phase change properties.
This is true if the solid material consists of only one type of
molecules.

87
 situations. In real world this is never the case, for
example because irradiation is never constant and
therefore the produced heat from the sun is not constant
over time. Another example is the influence of the wind
blowing over a surface. Both its speed and direction is
never constant, making calculations and predictions very
difficult.
Prediction of the 3D temperature profile in this room then
is based on the standard heat equation. Suppose a PCM
will be used as a passive system in this room. When it
Figure 4 : Classification of PCMs [5] comes to internal heat generation, due to melting or
solidifying of the PCM, the (extended) heat equation
becomes:
Most of the PCMs that were used in the built environment
for thermal storage in conjunction with both passive
storage and active solar storage for heating and cooling in (Eq. 2)
buildings, have melting temperatures between 20-32ºC
[6].

In which the added ‘ ’ represents the internal heat

There are two purposes for using PCMs in buildings. 3
density [W/m ] of PCM.
Natural heat (that is solar energy) can be used for heating
or night cold for cooling. Or manmade heat or low The energy balance for such a system can then be
temperature sources can be the reason for installing formulated as:
PCMs. In any case, storage of thermal energy is
necessary to match availability and demand with respect
to time and also with respect to heating and cooling (Eq. 3)
capacity. Basically three different ways to use PCMs for
heating and cooling of buildings are [6]:
1. PCMs in building walls; In this formula, the integral represents the time rate of
change of the total amount of accumulated energy. The
2. PCMs in other building components other than formula holds for passive PCM systems only, because a
walls; and passive PCM system can only exchange energy with its
3. PCMs in heat and cold storage units. surroundings through heat transfer.
3 Problem definition & research objective
The first two are passive systems, where the heat or cold The Dutch building industry is a rather conventional
stored is automatically released when indoor or outdoor industry. Although there are high demands and there is a
temperature rises or falls beyond the melting point. The trend of being innovative, the overall image of the Dutch
third one is active system, where the stored heat or cold is building industry is not very good [7]. A good example of
in containment thermally separated from the building by this image is the traditional concrete and brickwork style
insulation. Therefore, the heat or cold is used only on of Dutch dwellings. Basically, on the building and
demand and not automatically [6]. construction aspect of dwellings, there are not very much
changes in the last decades compared to Germany, in
which houses with different building shells are more
2.3 Heat Transfer & Energy Balance
common. The downside is that one have to find other
On a clear day, solar irradiation heats up the building techniques to reach the energy-efficiency goal. With the
shell. By means of conduction this heat is transferred niche of PCM the Dutch concrete and brickwork style can
through the walls and by means of mainly convection it be maintained, whereas the energy-efficiency of these
finally heats op the room inside. If steady state can be materials can be increased in a simple way.
assumed and the supplied heat is constant through a
constant cross-cut, the temperature of the room inside is
calculated with: The planned research is aimed to give insight in the
energy saving possibilities of PCMs in the Dutch building
sector as well as presenting a simulation model that
(Eq. 1) visualize the energy flows within such a dwelling. In this
way the planned research can be divided into a main
research question and a sub research target.
The main research question can be stated in the following
In this formula the sum interprets the different surface way:
layers with different thicknesses and different thermal
conductivities. But this only holds for steady state

88
 Table 1 : Building physical constitution of the test boxes in the experimental setup [10].
Test box A Test box B Test box C Test box D
Insulation material (thermal Cellular glass Cellular glass Light multilayered Light multilayered
resistance) 2
3.8 (m ·K)/W 3.8 (m2·K)/W 5.6 (m2·K)/W 5.6 (m2·K)/W
Phase Change Materials in Present Absent Present Absent
concrete floor (weight percentage) ± 5% 0% ± 5% 0%
Thermal resistance glazing High Low High Low
(thermal transmittance) 2
1.1 W/(m ·K) 0.5 W/(m2·K) 1.1 W/(m2·K) 0.5 W/(m2·K)

“What is the influence of using PCM in the Dutch built energy consumption from renewable energy sources.
environment and what is the influence of PCM on the Their target is 14% in 2020 [9]. This requires a major step
Energy Performance Coefficient (EPC) of a standardized of improvement regarding less energy consumption,
Dutch dwelling?” better energy efficiency and a big step forward into
sustainable energy sources. Actually, it seems quite
impossible to reach this target without saving on fossil
To answer the research question a research facility at the fuel consumption.
University of Twente is set up. This facility will give a
practical answer, based on measurements. This will be
further described in section 6. Starting from 2006 the Dutch Building Code requires
dwellings to be made with an EPC of 0.8 or less.
The sub target is aimed at modelling. Modelling is The EPC is introduced for new residential buildings
necessary for monitoring purposes and to visualize the starting from the end of 1995. The EPC is a result of an
energy flows within the model. To calculate a theoretical integral energetic assessment of a building and its
lowering of EPC, the simulation model can be used and installations made during the design phase. It is a index
the results can be compared with the found experimental that can give an indication of the energy efficiency of a
data. In a later stadium the temperature boundary new building. The EPC for new residential objects is
conditions can be coupled with climatologic data, to calculated as follows [10]:
predict energy savings at any place.

Because making a simulation model of real test objects

involves combining differential equations from heat (Eq. 4)
transfer and turbulent media, a software package that can
handle this should be found. The sub target can be
The EPC takes only energy used to heat and cool the
summarized in the following way:
building (and water) and energy consumed by lamps into
account. For heating up the building a reference climate
Visualize energy flows within the simulation model by model is used.
using a software package that is able to calculate with Energy consumed by household appliances is not taken
differential equations from heat and mass balances, using into account. Therefore the energy consumed in reality is
the finite element method. higher and the EPC cannot be used to ‘predict’ the
The results of the model are verified with the experimental energy bill.
data.
4 societal & scientific relevance Because of the international energy agreements, the
In March 2007 the European Union (E.U.) leaders agreed Dutch will further reduce the EPC level to 0.4 in 2015.
on the renewable energy target. All the 27 E.U. member- This means that 50% of the primary energy used for
states will each decide how they contribute to meeting a buildings energy should be saved. PCM can provide in
20% boost overall in renewable fuel use by 2020. Also the less energy consumption and can be a good way to lower
member-states will cut their carbon dioxide emissions by the EPC. Lowering the EPC means it is an attractive way
20% from 1990 levels by 2020 [8]. The EU plan involves: to reach the required EPC goal, provided that it is
• A 10% minimum target on the use of bio-fuels in economically feasible. Implementing PCM in the
transport by 2020; traditional Dutch building industry is a good way to reduce
on fuel consumption.
• A commitment to increase use of solar, wind and
5 experimental field set-up
hydroelectric power;
At the Campus of the University of Twente four models
• A possible ban on incandescent bulbs, with
are made, called test boxes, that differ in kind of
filaments, in offices, street lights and private
insulation and presence of a PCM in the concrete floor. In
homes by the end of the decade [8].
this experimental field set-up a mixture of paraffins in
powder form encapsulated in polymethyl methacrylate
The plan does not mention energy saving, which can microcapsules is used. It has a melting point of 23°C [11]
greatly reduce energy consumption and therefore make and the PCM is used as a filler in concrete. Therefore one
those targets less difficult to reach. For example, the will not see any differences compared to normal concrete.
Netherlands have 2.31% (2005 figure) of their primary In Figure 5 one can see an impression of these test

89
boxes and in table 1 one can see the different types of 3.81 (m2·K)/W, is used in two test boxes. The other two
insulation that are processed [12]. test boxes have a light form of insulation, having a
2
thermal resistance of 5.6 (m ·K)/W, when taking a cavity
of 20 mm into account.
The last difference between the test boxes is the
presence of PCM in the concrete floor. Two of them have
PCM present.

The test boxes are installed on the Campus terrain of the

University of Twente located in Enschede, The
Netherlands. They are placed outdoor on the roof of a
sea container (2.55 m height) to avoid disturbances and
to prevent unwanted shading. The test boxes are packed
with temperature sensors and two test boxes can
measure the solar irradiation. A separate weather station
Figure 5 : The four test boxes on top of a sea container,
collects weather data every five minutes, containing
after the third one a weather station is visible
outside temperature, solar irradiation, humidity, wind
speed and wind direction.
The size of the test boxes is scaled to about 1.35 m by 6 research methodology
1.10 m (l × w). The scaled dimensions result in a 115
Now with the research question in mind, how to find an
times smaller air volume and a floor surface that is thirty
answer on it? The research methodology will be
times smaller compared to a standardized Dutch dwelling.
separated into some major steps.
It is expected that the influence of this down scaling is
relatively small, because the mass of air and heat
capacity per kilogram are low compared to the mass and Because this is an experimental research, the first step is
heat capacity of the floor [12]. finalizing the research facility and getting insight of the
computation methodology of the EPC. At the point of
writing, saving weather data, for example, is still
As can be seen in figure 5 the test boxes all have at one
2 troublesome. This is a preparation step that still has to be
side a window consisting of 0.36 m glass. Nowadays it is
done. After finishing this step, it should be possible to
normal to use double glazing with an U-value of 1.1
generate and save weather data automatically.
W/(m2·K). This is used in two of the four test boxes. The
other two consists of triple glazing, having an U-value of The next step is finding a useful software package for the
0.5 W/(m2·K). modelling. There are three different candidates:
© © ©
COMSOL , ANSYS and TRNSYS . Key points will be
Another difference is the insulation and materials used in
pricing, model accuracy and hardware requirements. All
the sides of the test boxes. Because of practical
the three packages have their own advantages and
advantages cellular glass with a thermal resistance of
30 Average box A (°C)
29 Average box B (°C)
28 Average box C (°C)

27 Average box D (°C)

26
25
Temperature (°C)

24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
20 0
01 0

11 0

21 0

07 0

17 0

03 0

18 0

04 0

14 0

00 0

10 0

01 0

11 0

21 0

07 0
06 0

16 0

02 0

12 0

22 0

08 0
13 0

23 0

09 0

19 0

05 0

15 0
20 0

06 0

16 0

02 0

0
:0
:0

:0

:0

:0

:0
:0
:0
:0

:0

:0

:0

:0
:0
:0
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:0

:0

:0

:0
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:0

:0

:0

:0

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:0

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:0

:0
15

Tim e (hours)
Figure 6 : Temperatures of the four concrete floors from 8-27-2008 15:00 till 9-3-2008 09:45 [12]

90
disadvantages. At the point of writing the COMSOL© boundary conditions are changed in such a way that the
package seems to have an advantage, because it can calculated temperatures are quite close to the real
handle partial differential equations from both the energy temperatures, the found software package is able to
field as well as the aerodynamics field together. This will calculate the energy savings due to the presence of PCM.
enhance accuracy and speed up the calculations. An overview of this step can be seen in Figure 7.
Also, synchronously, weather data will be collected and
comparison between the different test boxes will take The last step is making an official document that
place. This will give a qualitative insight in the energy describes the lowering of the EPC by using PCM in Dutch
saving possibilities of the different test boxes. dwellings. Here information from step one will be used.
7 DISCUssion & further research
After finding the right software package, the third step is to This research proposal is focused to give a practical, but
find an answer on the question: “What information quantitative, answer on the energy saving possibility of
(variables, constants/properties and formulas) do I have PCM in concrete in a Dutch climate. The PCM in the
and what of this information is of importance?” So a clear experimental set-up is chosen in such a way that its
picture of all the relevant physical effects have to be saving potential is as high as possible for a Dutch
made. What phenomena are relevant to be modelled? situation. An important thing to realise is that PCMs store
What assumptions will be made? And what side effects heat only temporarily and the question arises for how long
can be neglected? Because of the complexity and it can store its heat. If the temperature is above the
importance of this step, a lot of attention will be paid on melting temperature of the PCM for such a long time that
the requirements and specific configuration. the PCM is able to melt completely, the net energy saving
due to the PCM itself is zero. In southern Europe for
The fourth step is the drawing of the test box. If the example, it is expected that the energy saving potential is
geometry of the test box is too complex for the found relatively lower, because of this effect. As a result a
software package, a 3D CAD software package will do the different PCM will be chosen there, with a higher melting
job. Nowadays all commercial CAD packages are able to point.
export shapes to other software. After importing this
shape into the found software package, boundary Some preliminary effects of PCMs can already be given,
conditions can be set. This will be done with the because the weather station and the twelve temperature
assumptions made in the third step. Now the program is sensors inside the test boxes have already been
ready to solve the heat problem and give data about collecting data. The sensors are equally distributed
energy, temperatures and pressures. among the four concrete floors.
Figure 6 shows the average temperatures of the floors
The fifth step is comparing the temperatures from the per test box from 8-27 15:00 till 9-3 9:45. As can be seen,
simulation model with the real experimental temperatures test box A and C, each containing PCM in the floors, have
from the test boxes and the weather station. Where are lower peak temperatures than test box B and D, which do
the differences? How can they be explained? And how not contain any PCMs [12].
can the boundary conditions be changed to give a fairer
(compared to the real world) solution.
There are only big differences when the maximum
temperature is raising above 23°C, so the PCM can
absorb the surrounding heat by melting, temporarily avoid
further increasing temperatures. The figure also suggests
that the presence of PCM is of more importance for
saving energy than the type of insulation. Whether this is
really true cannot be concluded from data of only seven
days.

Further research will show how much energy can be

saved practically and what kind of energy can be saved. It
is expected that most energy that can be saved is
electricity, because lower peak temperatures means
lower cooling demands.
8 acknowledgments
The authors wish to express their sincere thanks to the
European Commission (I-SSB Project, Proposal No.
026661-2) and to SenterNovem (EOS Lowex, No.
LT02003).
9 References
[1] Data from EnergieNed 2007. Picture from
http://www.milieucentraal.nl/pagina?onderwerp=Trends%
Figure 7 : Visualisation of step 5 20energiebesparing
[2] November 2008. D&R International, Ltd. 2008
In this step also an answer should be given on the Buildings Energy Data Book.
question: How much energy can be saved on a yearly http://buildingsdatabook.eere.energy.gov/
basis with PCM in concrete in the Netherlands? If the

91
[3] Verschuren, P.J.M., Doorewaard, H. 4th Edition, [8] BBC News. March 9, 2007.
2007, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Het ontwerpen van http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6433503.stm
een onderzoek. Published by Lemma. ISBN: 978-90- [9] Europe’s Energy Portal. http://www.energy.eu/
5931-496-2. 327pp. www.ontwerpenvaneenonderzoek.nl
[10] Nederlands Normalisatie Instituut (NNI, English:
[4] Sharma, A. et al. October 2007. Review on Netherlands Normalisation Institute), 2004, NEN 5128
thermal energy storage with phase change materials and Energieprestatie van woonfuncties en woongebouwen -
applications. Elsevier Ltd. Bepalingsmethode (in Dutch), (English: Energy
[5] Pasupathy, A. et al. May 2006. Phase change performance of residential functions and residential
material-based building architecture for thermal buildings - Determination method) ICS 91.120.10
management in residential and commercial [11] BASF. 2005. Technical information Micronal DS
establishments. Elsevier Ltd. 5008 X, TI/ED 270 e.
[6] Tyagi, V et al. August 2005. PCM thermal [12] Entrop, A.G. 2008. Experimental Research on
storage in buildings: A state of art. Elsevier Ltd. the use of Phase Change Materials to come to Passive
[7] Wamelink, J.W.F. et al. 2007. Innovation in the Solar Energy Concepts.
Dutch building industry. TU Delft, The Netherlands.

92
The Jerusalem Eco-Housing Project - Applying Integrated Design
Solutions
Gil Peled – Architect, MSc., Project initiator

ABSTRACT

The existing housing stock in Israel consists of some 2 million dwellings in multi-storey residential buildings. Nearly half of
them were constructed 50 years ago or more, and require extensive refurbishing to current standards and reduction in their
harmful emissions. The Jerusalem Eco-Housing Pilot Project, the first of its kind in Israel, consists of the renewal of a typical
apartment building focusing on sustainable and affordable improvements to the building's structure with occupants'
participation in the process. The purpose of the project is to demonstrate best practice including specifications and
procedures which can be widely implemented to improve the environmental performance of the existing building stock. For
this, an integrated design strategy has been developed, addressing energy efficiency, water conservation, use of materials,
waste reduction, transport, occupants’ wellbeing, health and safety, urban ecology, and disaster control. The following paper
describes the current status of the project and the applied integrated design solutions.

KEYWORDS sustainable, housing, integrated design, Jerusalem

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale

Some 70% of the existing housing stocks worldwide will exist in 30 years from now. During this time ecologies at all scales
will be pushed to the brink due to: substantial growth of world population, an increase in resources required to support it, a
substantial rise in urban pollution, a decrease in land available for new build increasing pressures and demands on opens
space. This situation, with its local variations and complexities, is a growing challenge worldwide, becoming more acute with
the growing political, economic and environmental uncertainties.

Israel’s population of over 7 million is living in an estimated 2 million dwellings situated mostly in urban areas. Nearly half of
these were constructed 50 years ago or more, and require extensive refurbishing to current building standards and reduction
in their harmful emissions. Despite nearly 50% of the country’s natural resources being used for construction operation and
refurbishment of buildings, so far, none of the public or privately initiated housing refurbishments have addressed sustainable
issues in systematic and comprehensive manner; moreover there are practically no incentives to improve this situation. To
date the housing stock is a major pollutant, in its daily use, refurbishment and decommissioning, and is also a major
contributor to the 7% annual increase in household electricity and water demands, hence the need for widely applicable
sustainable solutions.

93
1.2 Project description

Figs.1&2 The Pilot Building (photos Gil Peled)

The Jerusalem Eco-Housing Pilot Project, representative of at least 300,000 countrywide, is a typical multi-storey residential
building which has concluded its first life cycle of 50 years and is in need of renovation.
The project, the first of its kind in Israel, situated near the city centre and the historic Old City of Jerusalem, consists of retro-
fitting the building according to sustainable principles.
Starting at the basic building blocks, the building and the household, the project treats the building and its immediate
environment as a whole, with the overall aim to create specifications and procedures which can be applied widely by
replication, to significantly improve the environmental performance of the existing housing stock in Israel.
The projects objectives include:
Reducing the environmental footprints of the building and its occupants,
Regenerating an existing building applying sustainable and affordable measures,
Documenting implementation process and footprint reductions,
Determining feasibility and ROI for potential for replication,
Raising awareness among private and public stakeholders and the wider public.
Two parallel processes are ongoing: the physical renewal of an apartment building, focusing on the communal areas, and the
education and enhancement of the eco- awareness of its inhabitants, focusing on the households.

1.3 The existing building

1.3.1 The physical structure
Plot size (incl. garden) 577.00 m2 Total built up area 606.80 m2
2 room apartments (8) 50.00 m2 Total private areas 502.50 m2
1 room apartments (2) 26.00 m2 Total communal areas 611.35 m2

Construction method Concrete and limestone cavity walls, concrete floors

Indoor finish Plaster and paint, terrazzo tiling, wooden openings
Space heating system Mostly electrical radiators, some air-conditioning
Water heating system Mostly electricity powered. 50% solar panels
Health and safety risks Asbestos content, condensation on walls, etc.

Table 1: The pilot building’s specifications

1.3.2 The social structure

The 21 person multi-generational occupancy, comprises young families, pensioners, and singles in owner-occupied and
rented apartments. The project has created a dynamic social network with an understanding of the benefits everyone can
gain from this process. Occupants are involved in auditing and monitoring of their energy and water consumptions in their
households with each of them focusing on areas of special interest to them and sharing experiences between them. Informal
gatherings in the communal stairwell or garden are the common way of exchanges of information advice and support. The
project has also enhanced the participation of occupants in joint activities and decision-making regarding upkeep of the
building.

94
1.4 Key issues and targets

The key issues addressed include: energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, use of materials, alternative
transport, occupants’ wellbeing, health and safety, urban ecology, disaster control, eco-awareness.

The targets include: an initial 20-30% reduction in overall energy, water and waste emissions both in communal areas and
individual households, improving environment, health and wellbeing, eliminating health and safety hazards, improving
accessibility and improving building aesthetics. For example: we have achieved so far a 30% reduction in household waste,
about 3 tons annually. If such a reduction were to be achieved in the refurbished housing stock an annual reduction of
approximately one million tons would be possible (300.000 buildings x 3 tons). Significant reductions would also be possible
in carbon emissions, water consumption etc.

2.0 INTEGRATED DESIGN

2.1 Design Strategy
No existing strategy was known to us at the outset for a retrofit pilot project, however our intention was to treat the building as
a whole. A multi-disciplinary approach was adopted, integrating aspects of sustainable housing, environmental management,
Local Agenda 21, eco-footprinting and public participation.
An initial survey of the building structure and of the occupancy composition was carried out, mapping out the issues requiring
special emphasis.. Then a work plan for implementation of sustainable measures was set according to the identified issues
(see table below).

2.2 Local factors

The local factors, which determine the integrated design and implementation of measures in a residential building in Israel
include: climatic and seismic regions, dwelling sizes and densities, building structure and construction methods, dwelling
ownership and maintenance type, ethnic, social and economic backgrounds of occupants.
Based on these factors, individual integrated design strategies can be set out for each and every building. For example: a
residential building in Tel-Aviv may differ in construction method, earthquake resistance, maintenance, ownership and socio-
economic character from a similar size building in Jerusalem, hence different strategies will be required.

2.3 Methodology

Fig. 3 The issues addressed, represented graphically (Gil Peled)

A CAD model is being created to quantify the resources used in its construction and to monitor the transformations taking
place.
In addition a series of functional section drawings has been prepared which highlight the issues to be addressed such as
energy efficiency and water conservation.

Overlapping the section drawings has turned out to be a simple way to identify interconnected issues requiring integrated
design solutions, i.e. placing hot water pipes connected to solar panels in a way which reduces heat loss, improving the
stairwell design etc.
A matrix table has been created on which these issues have been regularly updated and project progress documented. It
includes columns for the required sustainable measures, options for their implementation, cost and benefits and estimated
payback times.
Occupants' audits have enabled calculation of individual’s energy and water consumptions as well as their ecological
footprints. The baseline figures enable evaluation of their reduction and comparison with national averages, and with
reduction levels achieved in similar projects worldwide.

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Fig. 4. An example of a functional section (Gil Peled)

2.4 Design Team

Ideally the design team of housing retrofit should have a continuous representation of all related disciplines and include
consultants similar to those engaged in a new building i.e. architect, quantity surveyor, structural engineer, energy advisor
and project manager.
The project manager, trained in Sustainable Housing Design, has coordinated the various issues with other consultants when
needed. The project also encourages participation of occupants in activities and decision-making.

2.5 Feasibility

Overall implementation of integrated design in the pilot project has been borne by the occupants themselves over a period of
five years We estimate that a total of some $2500 - $5000 will be required, equivalent to the value of less than 1 m2 of the
apartment property value. Bearing in mind the environmental and physical improvements to the building and to the quality of
life of its occupants this is money well invested, most of which will be returned. (payback time of 3-10 years). This
investment is affordable and also feasible for the entire building stock.

3.0 STATUS OF INTEGRATED IMPLEMENTATION *

Issue Method
Energy Efficiency Energy saving lighting in communal areas & appartments
Installing central underground gas storage tank (LPG)
Waterproofing and insulating roof (phase 1)
Water Restoring existing water cistern for irrigation
Conservation Installing pump and computer drip irrigation system.
Installing water saving devices in apartments
Waste Reduction Recycling unit for batteries, bottles, textiles, paper
Household organic waste unit for compost
Retaining garden trimmings for compost
Use of Materials Use of eco-friendly cleaning materials
Clearing building waste from garden
Reuse of building materials for new purposes
Alternative Creating a bicycle storage room in stairwell
Transport Mapping amenities within walking & cycling distance
Encouraging use of public transport
Occupants’ Creating recreation areas in shelter and garden
Wellbeing Adding indoor plants & improving thermal comfort
Planting herbs for occupants' consumption
Health and Improving stairwell ventilation and smoke escape
Safety Replacing hazardous gas containers with safe storage
Preparing a decommissioning plan for asbestos

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 Urban ecology Installing nesting boxes on trees and netted fences
Use of leaves as earth cover, mapping wild flora
Creating a fruit and vegetable kitchen garden
Disaster control Refurbishing bomb shelter to current standard
Providing fire control and fire fighting equipment
Review of building’s earthquake resistance
Eco-Awareness Enhancing occupants’ participation & decision making
Encouraging eco-friendly habits, audits and activities
Preparing a carbon emission reduction scheme
* The implementation in communal areas is the responsibility of the elected house committee and is subject to owner's
consent and cost quotes. The implementation in individual apartments is carried out by the owners according to their needs
and abilities.

Table 2: Current implementation status

4.0 EXAMPLES OF INTEGRATED DESIGN SOLUTIONS

4.1 The stairwell

The stairwell was open to winds at entrance level, with no entrance door, and was sealed off at the top. In winter it was cold
and windy, and in summer hot air was trapped at the top cracking the top fixed windows. No smoke escape was provided,
lighting was poor and disfunctional, and there was no sense of security. The integrated design solution included installing a
recessed door with an adjustable window above it. Broken windows were replaced with new adjustable DG windows and a
smoke escape was installed. In summer the door is in shade and the windows are open creating a natural cooling chimney
effect. In winter windows are closed and the stairwell is heated by adjoining apartments. Energy efficient lighting has been
installed providing better light. Under the stairs bicycle storage has been built and an area designated for recycle bins. The
stairwell is now filled with plants and has become a secure environment and a social focal point of the building.

Fig.5 The green stairwell (photo Gil Peled)

4.2 The shelter

Over the years the shelter had fallen into acute disrepair. It could no longer be used for its original purpose and was full of old
furniture and discarded items of previous occupants. It was a health and safety hazard. The integrated solution included
decluttering and totally refurbishing the shelter, bringing it up to more current protection standards. Energy efficient lighting
has been installed and water from the sink has been diverted to irrigate a part of the garden. The shelter has become a
pleasant communal room which is used for activities of the occupants and as the Pilot Project office which will also house a
small media centre.

Fig.6. The refurbished shelter (photo Gil Peled)

4.3 The roof

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The roof was in a poor state of maintenance, un-insulated and leaking. It was cluttered with old water barrels, pipes and
broken solar collectors and antennas etc. It was a hazardous no-man's land The integrated design solution included
removing the empty water barrels, waterproofing and partially insulating the roof. A plan has been set out for rearranging
solar panels creating more space for additional ones as well as enlarging the access opening to enable use of roof for
recreation.

Fig.7. The insulated roof (photo Gil Peled)

4.4 The garden

The garden surrounding the building was for many years a derelict area full of rubbish and building waste. Access was
virtually impossible and it was a source of pests. Around the building was a ring of hazardous gas containers. No one in the
building benefitted from it. The integrated design solution included mobilizing the occupants to take action and clean the
garden and encouraging those living on the ground floor to open their balconies to the garden and to plant flowers. A path
was laid around the building from old tiles found in a waste dump and a vegetable garden was created which is fertilized by
compost created by the occupants. Gas containers have been replaced by a secure underground central storage. Rainwater
is collected in winter and will be used to irrigate the garden in summer. The garden is now a pleasant and useful recreation
space.

Fig.8. The rehabilitated garden (photo Gil Peled)

4.5 The individual apartments

Since the beginning of the project some apartments have been refurbished to varying degrees by the occupants. Some
occurred while occupants have been resident, others before or after purchase by new occupiers. There has been monitoring
of changes made and also suggestions made regarding installation of services. Bathrooms and kitchens were the focus of
the refurbishments and some infrastructure has been put in place for future grey water recycling. A significant aspect was
increasing the numbers of rooms while keeping the existing footprint. This allowed increasing value of apartment and a more
efficient use of space in the given area. The refurbishment of apartments is process still in progress and pace is set by their
occupants.

Fig.9. Installing water-saving fixtures (photo Gil Peled)

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Fig.10 &11 Views of reclaimed garden and street elevation (photos Gil Peled)

5.0 FINDINGS

Throughout the progress of the project we have developed our holistic integrated design strategy and methodology. The
employment of integrated design has streamlined results. Using functional section drawings and a matrix table has enabled
the coordination of the sustainable refurbishment. The ongoing project has demonstrated the feasibility and affordability of
various sustainable measures for widespread application in the existing housing stock. Occupants have responded well to
this initiative, understanding that it benefits themselves as well as the environment. The project has generated significant
interest at local and central government level as well as in the media. Crucial factors for its success and replicability remain
availability of funds, incentives, working together of public and private stakeholders (PPP), and occupants‘ participation. The
pilot project, the first of its kind in Israel, has already achieved most of its objectives, it is still underway and we hope it will
inspire others in Israel and beyond

6.0 REFERENCES

Peled G., 2008, The Jerusalem Eco-Housing Project, Proceedings of The Oxford Conference on Re-Evaluation of Education
in Architecture, S. Roaf and A. Bairstow ed. Oxford.

Peled G. 2005, Sustainable and Healthy Management of Existing Housing, The Jerusalem Demonstration Project, 2005
World Sustainable Building Conference Proceedings SB05, Tokyo.

Prowler D. & Vierra S. Whole Building Design Guide, www.wbdg.org.

Roaf S., 2004, Closing the Loop, Benchmarks for Sustainable Buildings, RIBA Enterprises, London.

Statistic Abstract of Israel, 2005, Yearbook No. 55, Central Bureau for Statistics, Jerusalem.

Meir I., Messinas E., 1998, Retrofit of existing housing stock, a feasibility case study, Proceedings of the 15th PLEA
conference, Lisbon, James & James, London.

Kendall S., Teicher J., 2000, Residential Open Building, CIB and E&FN Spon, New York.

99
The influence of changes in the physical and technical design on
social
interactions in a cohousing community
J.T. Bouma1, A.I.M Voorbij2, W. A. Poelman3
1
Hanze University of applied research, Groningen, University Twente, [email protected]
2
Technical University Delft, A.I.M. [email protected]
3
University Twente, [email protected]

Abstract
Cohousing has gained renewed interest in the Netherlands, especially for populations of over 50 years of age and as an
alternative for professional and family care. This in combination with living independently. In a cohousing community people
have the possibility to share daily life activities in a specially developed facility. This paper presents the relation between
changes in technical and physical characteristics and social interaction in a cohousing community. Based on literature and
case studies gathered by students changes in social interaction through changes in the design of the cohousing community
and home technology have been observed. Based on the results it was concluded that the relation between changes in the
physical and technical context and social interaction occur in expected and unexpected ways. Changing interactions can be
related to the script or to the change itself.

Keywords:
Social interactions, cohousing community, home technology, physical design

socially more demanding than informal interactions and

1 INTRODUCTION are more often source for conflicts.
Furthermore the organization of the community drives on
Cohousing has gained renewed interest in the consensus. Consensus making is a difficult task,
Netherlands, especially for populations of over 50 years of especially when people have different values and goals.
age and as an alternative for professional and family care. Cohousing communities therefore try to attract a
Together with the intention to live independently as long homogeneous group of people that have similar values
as possible. In a cohousing community people have the and goals. This generally comes to people that choose to
possibility to share daily life activities in a specially be actively involved in the community and are socially
developed facility. These facilities comprise of multiple able. For this reason wannabe residents have to take part
dwellings (20-30) that are oriented around a common in a selection procedure to be allowed to join the
open area and a common building[1]. community. This essential procedure is complicated by
the fact that cohousing communities are mostly owned by
A cohousing community is generally designed according
housing associations which are unwilling to have
to the so called ‘social contact design principles’. If a
unrented apartments. This raises the change of
community is designed with these principles in mind the
unfortunate group settings.
social interactions within the community are thought to be
optimally supported. Several studies in cohousing Apart from values and goals the age of the residents in a
dwellings and buildings show that these aspects like cohousing community is an important factor. The older
proximity of the dwellings, the position towards other people get the more help they need and the less help
houses, buffer zones between private and general space, they can offer to others. In case the average age of the
surveillance within the community and shared pathways residents gets too high this has a negative effect on the
indeed affect social interactions in the community [2-7]. possible interacting activities of the group. Activities
sometimes have to be stopped due to the ageing of
But even though cohousing communities have been
residents.
designed according to these principles, it is not automatic
that dwellers will have an active social life in such a In a first conceptual model of interaction [8] the influence
community. The members of the community need to be of formal interaction, informal interaction, ageing, physical
actively involved in forming the basis for a healthy social and technical design and personal factors on social
interactive community. interactions have been configured (see figure 1). This
model visualises that differences in individual values,
goals (and behaviour), technical and physical design
Because in cohousing communities there is no condition influence social interactions in a cohousing community.
of management, people are all equally responsible for the
organisation for the community. This means that dwellers
have to manage their own community and therefore bring It is necessary to know which factors influence social
formal aspects such as dealing with rules and tasks into interactions, but this does not directly show how this
their daily lives. It is known that formal interactions are influence might lead to better wellbeing of individual
dwellers.

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Social interaction relates to social wellbeing. Social
wellbeing is depending on the network of personal As mentioned before, it has been concluded from
relationships and social exchanges that take place[9]. literature that the physical design of a cohousing
When this network is included in a shared social network community influences the social interaction in a
with forms of reciprocity and trustworthiness this can be cohousing community. New developments like the use of
seen as social capital [10, 11]. Social interactions are a atriums, technologies like domotics and ambient
structural aspect of social capital. A cognitive aspect of intelligence [15] have not been included. The last years
social capital is related to trust and reciprocity of the social there has been a shift from products that react on user
network. That places a certain doubt upon the idea that input to products that are context-aware, networked and
social interactions in it self are predictive variables for pro-active devices. The enabling technology is available

Figure 1: Factors influencing social interactions in a cohousing community for elderly

on an individual level [8]

social capital. and the focus is shifting towards user oriented

In most communities conflicts have been reported: challenges: personalization, adaptation and anticipation.
Figure
interpersonal conflicts and 1: Factors influencing
jealousies social interactionsThis
[12], not attending in a might
cohousing
lead community
to homes for elderly
with intelligent technology.
on an individual level
common activities and conflicts about the house Such ‘intelligent homes’ (future domotics) might influence
regulations [13] and the ongoing design process as a key social interactions in cohousing communities as well.
contributor to conflicts [6]. The more people with According to Friedewald et al [16] an intelligent home
interfering values and goals interact with each other, the should be analyzed from the perspective of supporting
more likely they have conflicts with each other. Aspects families and friends being together and interacting with
of trust and reciprocity may not be optimal in the case of each other. Basic functions like home automation;
conflicts within the community. communication and socialisation; rest, refreshment and
Furthermore the literature on social capital has pointed sport; working and living; support the families in achieving
out the importance of bonding and bridging contacts for their goals.
people within a community. Too much in-group contacts Not many technology providers have sound knowledge
(high participation within the group, low trust outside the about the social context of the technology they produce
group) might lead to miniaturization of the group [14]. This [17]. But if technology is aiming to support families (e.g.
means that social interactions within the group cannot communities in meeting their goals) it seems important to
provide all contacts for social wellbeing of the individual understand the relation between social interaction and
members. changes in the technical and physical design. If
Based on these insights observing social interactions technology would end up isolating people because they
within a community is just a part of social wellbeing. The were totally depending on the technology in their homes
quality of the contacts and the contacts outside the and not in need of any physical help of other people
community are important as well. anymore this would be a negative development. On the
other hand if it would be possible to influence social

101
wellbeing of dwellers in cohousing communities by during winter times). The atrium in community E (see
technical and physical characteristics a cohousing figure 3) has the possibility to some privacy due to the
community might become a more robust sustainable use of (big) plants and trees.
alternative which is suitable for different kinds of dwellers.
Changes in the physical environment can occur when a
community is started and the whole community has to
learn a new script, or in existing communities when some
aspects of the script have been changed. A script is a
framework defined by technical objects of action together
with the actors and the space they are supposed to act.
[18] When the script changes behaviour changes.
This paper presents the relation between changes in
technical and physical characteristics and social
interactions in a cohousing community.

1.1 Methods
The study was performed in two directions. Firstly Fig 2 and 3. The atriums in community C and in
information about social interaction and influencing factors community E
was derived from literature. Secondly several student
All communities are equipped with a safety system (see
projects were performed that concentrated on the social
figure 4). This system helps the regulation of people
and physical characteristics of five cohousing
entering the building. These systems strife for the
communities.
situation that nobody can enter the building without the
The students performed semi-structured interviews with permission of a specific dweller.
twelve residents of cohousing communities and collected
The introduction of a safety system in community C
photographs of the buildings and common areas of five
resulted in a special meeting with the local firefighters and
cohousing communities in the northern part of the
police on the subject of safety. As a result of this meeting
Netherlands. The residents were chair persons or other
safety was further addressed during a meeting with
members of the boarding group of the community. All
residents in which formal rules were set about allowing
dwellers in the communities of this study are originally
people to enter the building. Chairpersons were made
from the Netherlands. The education of dwellers varies
responsible for following the rules and confront dwellers
from primary school to university and the professional
who are less cautious. The number of visitors entering the
background from housewives, farmers to higher
building has decreased since the introduction of the
management. From the interviewed members of the
system.
cohousing communities ten out of twelve attended higher
education (bachelor and masters degree). Most
interviewed consider themselves active residents although
having small physical problems.
The communities differ in size and starting dates:
community A has 26 apartments and started 15 years
ago; community B has 24 apartments and started 12
years ago; community C has 49 apartments and started 5
years ago; community D has 21 apartments and started
22 years ago; community E has 65 apartments and
started 8 years ago. A characteristic of all cohousing
communities was the use of consensus in decision
making.
2 results
Fig 4. An example of a safety system in community C
The analysis of the physical context of the cohousing
In community A the introduction of the safety system has
communities reveals that in all cohousing communities the
led to a new informal network according to two dwellers.
design principles for social contact were adopted as all
They can hear the visitors through the intercom by picking
contain common facilities and shared pathways.
up the phone, so they exactly know who is allowed to
Furthermore it was established that two of the studied
enter the building and by whom. Because this feature is
communities are larger than mentioned in literature (49 en
added to the centrally located parking and the
65 apartments). These communities are multi-floored
surveillance in the community, privacy is highly at risk.
buildings with the use of a central atrium.
Some dwellers seem to find it very interesting to follow
The intended role of the atriums was to provide the the lives of their neighbors.
possibility to have interactions with other residents when
In community B the common room (see figure 5) has
the weather conditions are poor. However, the actual use
been improved by addition of some new facilities such as
of the atrium in community C does not confer with the
a fire place and a pool table. According tot the chair
intended function in the design, as people avoid social
person this has resulted in a significant increase in the
interactions in the atrium. They have tried to improve the
number of residents using the room.
use of the atrium with attributes (for fitness), decorations
and small plastic plants (see figure 2). The residents
mentioned two reasons for their dislike of the atrium. The
first reason was that all other residents can overlook the
atrium and people wish for more privacy in their social
interactions. The second reason was related to the bad
climate in the atrium (too hot in the summer and too cold

102
 Privacy was also related to the unexpected (dis)use of the
intercom in community A. Privacy is related to the
individual values and behaviour (see figure 1) but it
seems that this can be influenced by the physical design
factors. It needs to be studied whether it is true that easy
access to personal information is provided the threshold
for harming privacy is lowered. However the results in this
study seem to confer.
Community C is placed in the Northern part of the
Netherlands in a small village with no big criminal
records. It is the question whether the implemented safety
system is necessary for this community. The alteration in
entering the building might in the end result in unwanted
Fig 5.The common room in community B social side effects. In literature on social capital the
importance of bonding and bridging contacts for people
In one of the older communities (A) new tablecloths were within a community have been pointed out. Too much in-
needed because the old ones were outdated. It was group contacts (high participation within the group, low
arranged in informal consultation that one of the female trust outside the group) might lead to miniaturization of
community members would arrange this. So she bought the group. This may lead to unhealthy behaviour [20].
new cloths. But the community members disliked the new Based on this knowledge it might be suspected that
tablecloths very much. They decided during a formal community C could be at risk.
meeting to keep the old ones (see figure 6).
Another notified change in the physical context was the
In the oldest community (D) of this case study also some common room in community B. According to the chair
improvements were made on the interior of the common person this has led to more use of the room and therefore
rooms, but this seemed no big issue for the community. increasing social interactions. In the research of WillIams
[6] the importance of investing in common facilities for
social interactions has been regarded. Problems with
poor design of common facilities may reduce the extent to
which space is used.
Small changes on tablecloths in community A may be a
cause for conflicts within the community, while in
community D changes don’t seem to influence the
residents. It would be interesting to know the differences
between these groups on aspects as homogeneity, the
formal social factors or the cognitive aspects of social
capital within these groups.

From the literature and the case studies the following

Fig 6. The common room in community A with the old conclusion can be drawn:
tablecloths • Changes in the technical physical environment
3 Discussion and conclusions influence social interactions in a cohousing
community in expected and unexpected ways,
The conducted research is not representative for all though not all changes are effective. Considering
residents of the cohousing communities studied, because social contact design principles might be useful for
the respondents were all chair people or board members. improving social interactions.
Still the results are in line with previous research from
Brenton [12] who performed a study on cohousing for • Changing the environment may lead to direct
elderly in the Netherlands. changes, related to the script of use. But these
changes can also be indirect. These are more related
New physical and technical design aspects like home to the (dis) likes of the improvement and the formal
technology and the use of atriums have been observed in process itself.
the newer communities. When new technologies enter the
cohousing community this changes the script. Technical • It is useful to evaluate social interactions in the way
objects define a framework of action together with the they contribute to the social capital of dwellers.
actors and the space they are supposed to act. [18]. This In the next phase of this project the social interactions in
may lead to expected and unexpected changes in a cohousing community will be further investigated
behaviour [19]. In the case of the atriums community through action research; a description of interaction
gardens have been replaced by a central covered space. patterns with context information of the interaction will be
The (dis)use of the atrium in community C was made. These interaction patterns are deduced from the
unexpected but the solutions in community E might be 5W (who, what, where, when and why) and 1H (How)
interesting to study for this community. The atrium is a method [21]. The exact changes in interaction are a step
new design aspect which has not been considered in in a better understanding of the relation between
cohousing literature. According social contact design technology and social interaction. This may lead to
principles a buffer zone between private and communal insights which may influence newer developments.
space is an important aspect [6, 7]. A private garden
works as a buffer between the communal garden and the 4 Summary
private dwellings. In this case the plants in the atrium of
community E might work as some sort of buffer zone. This paper explained the relation between physical and
technical design in cohousing communities. Changing
technology in the near future might change interactions

103
between dwellers. More knowledge is needed on [11] Putnam R, D E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and
interaction patterns. Community in the Twenty-first Century, The 2006 Johan
Skytte Prize Lecture. Scandinavian Political Studies
2007;30:35.
5 acknowledgments
[12] Brenton M. We’re in charge: CoHousing
We would like to thank the dwellers of the cohousing Communities of older people in the Netherlands: lessons
communities for inviting us in their homes and their for Britain? Bristol: Policy Press, 1998.
support in conducting this research. We would also like to
thank the students who helped to conduct the research [13] Meltzer G. Sustainable Community, Learning
especially Mark Wierenga en Marnix Meijer from the from the Cohousing Model. Trafford: Victoria Canada,
‘Atelier Wonen, Welzijn en Zorg’ of the Hanze University 2005.
of Applied Research. [14] Almedom AM. Social capital and mental health:
6 References An interdisciplinary review of primary evidence. Social
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and the physical environment. In: Cohen S, Syme SL, Heinonen S. Perspectives of ambient intelligence in the
editors. Social support and health, 1985. p. 327-45. home environment. Telematics and Informatics
2005;22:221-38.
[3] Cooper Marcus CaS, W Housing as if People
Mattered: Site Design for Medium Density Family [17] Venkatesh A, Nicosia F. New Technologies for
Housing. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, the Home-Development of a Theoretical Model of
1986. Household Adoption and Use. In: Brucks M, McInnis D,
editors. ADVANCES IN CONSUMER RESEARCH, 1997.
[4] Gehl J. Life between Buildings: Using Public p. 522-58.
Space. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1987.
[18] Akrich M. The De-Scription of Technical Objects'
[5] McCammant KaD, C Cohousing: A in Bijker, W. & Law, J.(eds) Shaping Technology\ Building
Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves. CA: Ten Society. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1992.
Speed Press, 1994.
[19] Clitheroe HC, Stokols D, Zmuidzinas M.
[6] Williams J. Designing Neighbourhoods for Social CONCEPTUALIZING THE CONTEXT OF
Interaction: The Case of Cohousing. Journal of Urban ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR. Journal of
Design 2005;10:195-227. Environmental Psychology 1998;18:103-12.
[7] Abu-Gazzeh T. Housing layout, social interaction [20] Lindström M. Social capital, the miniaturisation
and the place of contact in Abu-nuseir, Jordan. Journal of of community and self-reported global and psychological
Environmental Psychology 1999;19:59. health. Social Science & Medicine 2004;59:595-607.
[8] Bouma JT, Voorbij AIM. Factors in social [21] Ha TS, Jung JH, Oh SY. Method to analyze user
interaction in cohousing communities. Include London, behavior in home environment. Personal and Ubiquitous
2009. Computing 2006;10:110-21.
[9] Jong Gierveld d, J (1998). A review of loneliness:
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consequences. Reviews in Clinical Gerontology 1998;8:7.
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 The Process of Designing with Reused Building Components

1 2
Mark Gorgolewski , Lawrence Morettin
1
Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada,
2
The Fountainhead Design Group, Toronto, Canada,

Abstract
Using reclaimed components has significant implications on the “process” of how to design a building as well as its
construction. Traditional relationships and design procedures may not be best suited to maximize material reuse and
appropriate construction contracts are needed to accommodate component dismantling and reuse. This paper considers the
practical implications of component reuse strategies on the process of designing and constructing buildings. How does the
design team have to adapt its working methods to maximize the potential for reusing components? What are the contractual
and liability issues? What are the implications for the client? The paper highlights the lessons learned from reusing salvaged
and reclaimed materials in Canadian construction projects. Using the experience from these projects the paper outlines the
differences in process that design teams need to embrace, and some key procedural points that need to be integrated into
architectural handbooks of practice.

Keywords:
Reuse, recycling, reclaimed materials, design process

reuse unless it is for principled rather than financial

1 INTRODUCTION reasons. Although materials costs can be lower through
The widespread adoption of the green building rating reuse, it must be recognized that these may be offset by
systems such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental higher labour costs and increased design time, and fees,
Design, or LEED, [1] has had a considerable impact on resulting from more research required by the design
the industry in North America and has increased interest team. In addition, there is likely to be greater uncertainty
in reuse and recycling in construction. In addition, over costs and program as delays can occur if key
difficulties with waste disposal and limitations on land components cannot be readily sourced or there are
filling have stimulated interest in the potential economic delays in the demolition process.
benefits of alternatives. Waste is becoming regarded as a Existing buildings are huge reservoirs of materials and
lost resource and a loss of potential profit. Processes that components which can potentially be mined to provide
add value to waste materials can lead to significant much needed resources. Reuse of many components
financial benefits. This has driven considerable interest from old buildings can significantly reduce the life cycle
and research into issues of deconstruction, design for environmental impact of new buildings. It can also create
deconstruction, and reuse of components and material new jobs and business opportunities. There is increasing
recycling. Publications such as “Old to New – Design recognition that use of recycled materials and reused
Guide for Salvaged Materials in New Construction”, components extracted from an old building can potential
published by the Greater Vancouver regional District [2], lead to a reduction in waste that needs to be disposed of,
and “Design for Deconstruction SEDA Guide for Scotland” a reduction in primary resources used and savings in
[3] illustrate the increased interest from local government greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [6].
in North America and Europe for the potential for building However, current, standard construction and demolition
material reuse to address waste minimization. In practices focus on the fastest, easiest and most
California, the Integrated Waste Management Board economical way to get the job done. When this is
published a Technical Manual for Material Choices in combined with a lack of clear information and guidance
Sustainable Construction [4] which outlines the for designers and owners about the implications of
opportunities for reuse in construction, and lists potential specifying reclaimed components and recycled materials,
components that can be successfully reused. In 2001 the it creates barriers to a more ecologically sound use of
IWMB also published a Deconstruction Training Manual resources.
[5] which aims to grow a viable industry and reduce the
amount of construction and demolition debris that makes At present, in Canada the perceived difficulties inherent in
its way into California’s waste stream. the incorporation of reclaimed materials into new
buildings often discourage clients and designers from
It is generally recognized that the use of recycled embracing reuse unless it is for principled rather than
materials and the reuse of components in buildings can financial reasons. Although materials costs can be lower
lead to lower environmental impacts. However, at present, through reuse, it must be recognized that these may be
in North America the perceived difficulties inherent in the offset by higher labour costs and increased design time,
incorporation of reclaimed materials into new buildings and fees, resulting from more research required by the
often discourage clients and designers from embracing design team. In addition, there is likely to be greater

105
uncertainty over costs and program as delays can occur if • Salvaged from other sites – components such as
key components cannot be readily sourced or there are bricks, timber or steel taken from a demolition
delays in the demolition process. Thus, using reclaimed site and used in another project (usually local),
components has significant implications on the “process” and requiring little reprocessing.
of how to design a building as well as its construction. • Reconditioned components – these are
Traditional relationships and design procedures may not components that are taken from a demolished
be best suited to maximize material reuse. These issues building and require some improvement to be
need to be understood by the design team and client so sold again for use in a new location. This may
that appropriate strategies are put into place. include radiators, doors, staircases, etc.
• Recycled content building products (RCBP’s) –
these are often readily available building
products that include significant amounts of
feedstock material that is taken from demolition
or other reuse sources. This may include some
gypsum boards, steel components, etc.
It is important to keep in mind that using each of these in
a building project requires different tasks and strategies at
different stages of the design. In addition, current market
conditions have an impact on the availability of all these
components. Recycled content building products have the
least impact on the design process as they are often
available directly from manufacturers “off the shelf”.
Components salvaged from other sites are often the most
difficult to integrate as they need to be identified and
sourced at the appropriate time in the design process
which may be difficult. On site reuse allows the design
Figure 1: The Mountain Equipment Coop has pioneered team to assess what is available and design the new
component reuse in many of its retail stores. This one building around the components that are already at the
located in Ottawa reused many parts of the previous site. Therefore, assessing the potential for different types
building on site, including the foundations. of reuse, and the sources that are available at the pre-
2 METHODOLOGY design stage of a project, are essential for future
scheduling, resource planning and cost estimating.
This paper considers the implications of materials reuse
strategies for the process of designing and procuring 4 LESSONS FROM COMPLETED PROJECTS
buildings. The intent is to understand the changes that a 4.1 Commitment
design team need to make to the design process to
In the absence of a legal compulsion to reuse and
facilitate greater reuse of components in construction and recycle, it is essential that the client or developer is
to indicate strategies and recommendations about how to
supportive of the principle of component reuse. Projects
maximize reuse potential. The focus is on how the quickly founder when the client has doubts about this
intention to use salvaged and reclaimed materials affects
strategy, as inevitably there will be times when the
the design process, and what designers need to know and standard product option looks tempting. Also, the client
how they need to adapt their standard processes to fulfill
may have to fund the purchase (and thereby securing) of
the potential for component reuse.
materials and components as they become available
This paper is based on work carried out to examine the throughout the project, which may occur earlier than in a
processes used for building component reuse in Canada. typical project. For this reason it may be helpful to appoint
The discussion below focuses on key aspects of the a contractor as part of the design team. This will have
design process and how they are affected by component implications on the form of contract used, so alternative
reuse, particularly those aspects that have been identified contractual arrangements need to be discussed with the
as potentially varying from standard design processes as client, particularly if high levels of salvaged material use
outlined in the Canadian Handbook of Practice for are planned.
Architects [7]. The work is based on a survey that was
Expectations for the design may require some tolerance
carried out of the Canadian construction industry. This
to the duration of the design and construction phases
survey focused on Canadian projects that included
since they will depend entirely on the supply of suitable
significant amounts of component reuse. Key participants
materials and goods.
in these projects were interviewed or filled out a
questionnaire, and this information was analyzed. In The survey of projects that reused components clearly
addition, a literature review was carried out of indicated that the decision to focus on RSMC needs to be
international practices for integrating reused components made early in the design process. Approximately 80% of
into buildings. A full report of this project is available respondents stated that the decision in their projects was
elsewhere [8] made at the Concept Design stage, with a few making the
decision right from the beginning during the Design Team
3 TYPES OF REUSE
Selection. It appears from evidence of completed projects
Reclaimed and salvaged materials and components that if a decision to use RSMC is left until the outline or
(RSMC’s) available for reuse can be generally detailed design stages it is far more likely to have a
categorized into 4 types: detrimental effect on costs during construction and
• On site reused component - which may be whole schedule while material was being procured. This is often
structures or individual components such as because the design of the building has progressed too far
bricks from an old building on a site into a new without consideration of what components may be
building. available.

106
4.2 Costs
Almost half of responses to the survey indicated no 4.4 Design process
impact on design fees, but others did indicate a significant A factor that clearly emerged from the survey was the
increase in workload for the design team which should be importance of integration in the way the design team
recompensed. It is to be noted that the projects which had functions as a key reason for utilizing a higher than
higher design fees also had a higher proportion of RSMC average amount of RSMC’s into their project as well as
and were considered to be pilot or ‘test’ projects. achieving building energy performance exceeding normal
There is a strong consensus that material cost (including standards. Design teams that employ the Integrated
refurbishment/reprocessing) are decreased by use of Design Process [9] provide a clear benefit, as this leads
RSMC – 95% of responses indicated either minimal or to early involvement and buy in from the whole design
significant savings most likely attributed to the lower costs team. Furthermore, it is important for the design team to
of used materials even when refurbishment of the be enthusiastic about the reuse/recycle route, and to
component was factored in. Conversely, there is a strong accept that this may require the team to adapt the normal
indication that construction labour costs increase, possibly working practices, and be prepared to take the initiative
due to additional dismantling and handling costs. when it comes to overcoming the unpredictable hurdles
Particular cost savings were noted when major that may present themselves. This is clearly linked to
components of an old building are reused on the same remuneration and design fees, but as noted above, if
site in a new structure as they are directly offsetting the decisions are made early enough the additional design
purchase of new materials. However, good documentation costs need not be substantial.
of the old components is useful to avoid unexpected Previous experience of design consultants with the use of
surprises. It was also noted that transportation costs and salvaged materials, or willingness to accept the concept
the consequent environmental impacts are reduced if and adapt their processes is important. Some firms hire a
components are reused close to their original location, specific person to source reused materials which may be
and this is usually the case as most reused components an opportunity for new specialist roles within design
are sourced locally. consultancies and for young and enthusiastic employees
Surprisingly, the survey did not identify issues and to learn and benefit from the process. Similarly, the
additional costs related to storage of reused materials. commitment of contractors and sub-contractors to
Since purchase may have to occur at a time when reuse/recycle is recommended as they can assist or be
materials are available rather than when they are needed responsible for the sourcing of suitable materials and
on site, there may be longer storage times, but these were components. This may require that contractors become
not highlighted as a problem, nor were there additional involved during the schematic design/design development
costs identified as linked to this. phases since material acquisition happens much earlier
4.3 Setting goals than for typical projects.
There is inevitably hesitance to set ambitious goals for Beyond having potential contractual implications,
reuse without previous experience of salvaged materials inexperienced or disinterested contractors may have a
use. The decision as to what level of use of salvaged negative influence on the project team in their use of
material should be determined based on some or all of the pressure tactics such as increasing the construction costs
following criteria: due to ‘unfamiliar practices’ or by not being able to
properly locate salvaged/recycled materials. This results
• Salvaged materials are most readily and cost in the undermining of the project’s intentions by reverting
effectively obtained in relatively small volumes back to new materials and components, albeit with more
due to the nature of their supply and the different familiar methods. Thus, the goals of the project need to
acquisition processes involved. More efficient be clearly explained to, and embraced by, potential
use can therefore be achieved in smaller contractors before or during the time of tender or contract
buildings. negotiation.
• The knowledge and experience of the design When reusing buildings and their parts in situ a structural
team about how and where to located and engineer is needed with expertise or past experience in
acquire salvage materials can improve the appraising the existing structure and, if necessary,
efficiency and cost effectiveness of the process. defining work to be undertaken to make the structure
So previous experience of the design team and reusable, and adapting the existing building for the
contractor with the use of salvage materials is incorporation of new uses and features (e.g. staircases,
significant. lifts, building services plant and distribution). Again
• The process of locating and acquiring salvaged however there is the potential issue of an engineer’s
materials can be longer and more unpredictable reluctance in using RSMC by disputing or dismissing the
than regular construction materials. Therefore, need to properly assess and approve the conditions of
flexibility in time available during both design potential materials and components. It may be necessary
and/or construction phases is helpful. that other building science expertise be sought to also
• Opportunities for up to 25% use of salvaged appraise the existing building services, envelope and
materials can easily be achieved provided that other features, and to define work to be undertaken to
the design uses readily demountable materials make them reusable, depending on the scope of the
such as steel or heavy timber construction since reuse.
these products represent the largest category of 4.5 Factors deciding what to reuse
salvaged materials. It is not uncommon to reach When selecting which reused components of a building or
50-75% salvaged material on small to medium recycled materials to use, one starting point that has been
sized projects of this nature although these used is to base decisions on embodied energy content. It
targets may increase the time and effort needed would be appropriate, therefore, to concentrate on
to achieve them. reusing and reclaiming goods and materials with high
embodied energy as savings will have the greatest

107
potential energy saving impact. This would suggest reuse are an increasing number of locally based materials
of metals, plastics, bricks and generally high value exchange schemes often web based that provide access
processed components. Another approach could be to a range of materials sometimes for free.
based on the quantity of material available and if used, Both reconditioned goods and recycled content building
could theoretically be the total amount diverted from products (RCBPs) can generally be sources in the same
landfills. For this environmentally beneficial scenario, way as regular materials and components, although
determining the quantity would then be based on the additional research may be necessary to identify
weight or volume of the materials used. In this instance, appropriate suppliers. RCBPs and reconditioned goods
the focus would be on larger components and concrete are generally easier to acquire due to their availability,
which represent the heaviest/bulkiest items to divert. and can be incorporated and procured in a similar way to
Unlike traditional projects where designing the structure, new material up to and during the schematic design
mechanical and electrical and other main systems take phase. For reconditioned goods, during schematic
precedence over final material selection and procurement, design, responsibility for component acquisition would still
when incorporating RSMC the task of sourcing materials need to be allocated as there may be additional tasks
is often the driver during the schematic design phase and associated with locating appropriate supplies. It needs to
one of the key influences on the layout, structure and be established who will source the particular
other systems used. components? Will the design team specify the
performance requirements and pass this function on to
the contractor with a general requirement that
reconditioned components should be used, or will the
design team locate the specific component? Most of the
survey respondents suggested that in existing projects
building components were generally defined by a
performance specification and that the contractor was
responsible to source the components. This would
therefore require that the specification, in addition to a
performance statement similar to goods made with new
materials, indicate either the amount of recycled content
required within the material or that the component be
reconditioned.

Figure 2: It is often most practical to reuse components or

whole structures on the same site. This directly offsets
costs and environmental impacts of primary materials.

4.6 Sourcing reused materials and components

Sourcing RSMCs required designers to foster new
relationships with organizations they may not traditionally
be in touch with. Some demolition contractors, and
salvage companies now have sales staff specifically
intended to identify and market construction components
they have identified as of value to the building industry.
These may range from whole buildings, such as
prefabricated industrial buildings that can be readily Figure 3: Open web steel joists can often be
dismantled, to individual components such as beams, dismantled for reuse, but the new structure needs to be
stair cases, doors, etc. They often know beforehand when designed around the available spans.
existing buildings are scheduled to be demolished, so
establishing contact with them can provide sources for If the intention is to reuse all or part of an existing building
appropriate materials. However, briefing demolition
in situ, the search for available existing buildings for reuse
contractors to ensure minimum damage to components
in their entirety will need to commence at the pre design
scheduled for reuse is sometimes necessary. The UK's
stage of the project. Once an existing structure is
National Green Specification [10], for example, calls for
identified, a full survey of the building to be reused is
demolition contractors to indicate what is to be reclaimed
needed and if possible, original drawings and
and produce a method statement indicating how the
specifications should be located to assist with identifying
goods will be extracted in good condition, palletized and
potential material re-use opportunities and dismantling
protected during transportation and storage.
efforts.
Designers may have to visit local used building materials 4.7 Construction process
yards, demolition contractors and salvaged materials
suppliers to establish general availability and quality of When reusing buildings and their parts in situ, preferably
materials, and to discuss the scope of their project and a deconstruction specialist should be hired if possible, or
provide a preliminary list of materials that they are looking a contractor with an interest in deconstruction, in order to
for. Larger, or more committed design firms are beginning dismantle the salvaged materials designated for re-use.
to develop an expertise in locating salvage components, Some projects in Canada have used not-for-profit / youth
and may have dedicated staff for this purpose. programs / government job skills training program as
sources for lowering the cost of dismantling and re-
Local municipal departments may know when demolitions
conditioning as well as providing economic opportunities
are likely to occur and can direct design teams to potential
for the less-fortunate.
sources of materials and components. Furthermore, there

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The design team needs to establish procedures for [2] Kernan, Paul, 2002, Old to New – Design guide
grading salvaged components to ensure they meet for salvaged materials in new construction, published by
functional requirements and regulatory standards. This the Greater Vancouver Regional District, Vancouver.
may require visual inspection, structural or other testing, [3] Morgan, C. & Stevenson, F. 2005 Design for
and possible refurbishment. Deconstruction - SEDA design guides for Scotland: No 1,
5 Conclusion published by the Scottish Executive and the Scottish
Certain key factors emerge from the pioneering projects Ecological Design Association,
that focus on reuse. These include: [4] IWMB, 2000, A Technical Manual for Material
• It is important to have commitment of the entire Choices in Sustainable Construction, Publication #431-
design team at the early stage of the process. 99-009, Integrated Waste Management Board, State of
California, Sacramento, CA
• Projects need clear goals with commitment of all
the design team and client. [5] IWMB, 2001, Deconstruction Training Manual -
Waste Management Reuse and Recycling at Mather
• The Integrated Design Process facilitates a great Field, Publication #433-01-027, Integrated Waste
likelihood of successfully using RSMCs Management Board, State of California, Sacramento, CA
• Sourcing RSMCs required designers to foster [6] Gorgolewski, M., Straka, V., Edmonds, J. &
new relationships with organizations they may Sergio, S. 2006 Facilitating greater reuse and recycling of
not traditionally be in touch with. structural steel in the construction and demolition
• Responsibility for identifying RSMCs needs to be process, Ryerson University report to Natural Resources
clearly established - who will source the Canada, Ottawa. See http://www.reuse-steel.org/contact/
particular components? [7] RAIC, 2003, Canadian Handbook Of Practice
• Procedures for grading salvaged components For Architects, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
need to be established and any regulatory issues and the ten Provincial Associations of Architects.
identified. [8] Morettin, L. & Gorgolewski, M. 2008,
• Cost savings are possible in material costs, but Incorporating Reclaimed and Salvaged Materials into
some of these are offset by additional labour Canadian construction projects, Ryerson University and
costs. Canadian Institute for Steel Construction.
• There can be additional design costs. This can [9] Larsson, N. 2003, The Integrated Design
be due to redesign to suit when sourcing reused Process – An Overview, International Initiative for the
components. Sustainable Built Environment.
• Projects with the highest savings usually focused [10] NGS, National Green Specification,
on reuse of the existing building already on site. www.greenspec.co.uk
Designers need to recognize that there are some
significant differences to the design process if reuse of
construction components is a goal of a project. Reused
components have different patterns of availability which
need to be accommodated. Also, the limited range of
components requires the design team to be more flexible
and to develop the building design around the available
reused components rather than the traditional process of
designing the main features of the building and then
identifying the components that will meet the required
specifications. This means that ideally the specific reused
components need to be identified at an early stage in the
design process, perhaps when traditionally a contractor
may not yet be involved.
The standard design stages as outlined in the Canadian
Handbook of Practice for Architects (and other similar
manuals in other countries) will need to be adapted with
new tasks included that focus on what needs to be
achieved and at which stages, to facilitate successful
component reuse. It is hoped that the next stage of this
work will develop a manual of tasks to help design teams
that wish to design with reused components.
6 acknowledgments
The paper is based on work funded by Natural Resources
Canada and the Canadian Institute for Steel Construction
and it looked at the potential for reuse of construction
components.
7 References
[1] USGBC, 2002, Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design green building rating system for
new constructions and major renovations (LEED NC)
version 2.1, US Green Building Council, USA. See
usgbc.org

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 Supply Driven Architecture (SDA)
W. A. Poelman,
Department of Design, Production and management, faculty of Engineering technology
University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands,

Abstract
Waste problems in building industry are subject for discussions in politics as well as in architecture and science.
Solutions are searched for in the field of sustainable materials and in reuse of buildings and/or building elements.
In this context “design for disassembly” [1] is an important issue. The disadvantage of restricting the reuse of
building components to buildings which are designed with this purpose in mind, is that a lot of opportunities of
reuse are not utilized. Although most of the building stock is not designed for disassembly, practice has proven
that for many objects disconnection and reuse of building components is interesting from a technical as well as
from an economic standpoint.

Keywords
reuse, building components, databases, sustainability, methodology

1. INTRODUCTION Manufacturing technology refers mainly to the way how

At this moment architects have extensive freedom to use interconnect the re-usable components in the new
materials and components and this freedom will degrease building, but also how to upgrade and transport them.
in the near future when they will have to take the supply
side of reusable materials into account. The design of Design technology is the key technology needed for
demountable building systems is therefore an issue, which successful SDA. The challenges of Supply Driven
has the attention of many researchers. New buildings, Architecture are hidden in the constraints connected to the
designed with demountability as a starting point are built specific properties of the available components. An
these days, but it will take many years till the architectural design will become a compromise between
environmental profit will pay back. And then it will concern the goals of the architect and the design space offered by
only a small part of the building stock. The larger part will the available components.
be constructed in traditional ways.
Technology can be applied to realize demountability, but
technology can also be applied for deconstruction of
traditional buildings in a way that parts are re-usable.
In this context we can distinguish three kinds of
technology: Crucial is the availability of information from the supply
• product technology side. Components should be extremely well presented and
documented.
• manufacturing technology, and
• design technology.
The objective of research activities in the context of
For Supply Drive Design we will need all three kinds of Supply Driven Architecture is to build a body of knowledge
technology. about the feasibility and consequences of SDA, as well as
finding out what methodological consequences it could
Product technology refers to the new building to design. imply for the profession of architecture.
Key question is how we can realize the necessary Questions to be answered are:
functions in the new building with re-usable components. 1. Could the supply side be able to offer enough
The challenge is to meet modern building standards options for the architect to be interesting? (What
regarding safety, energy use, comfort and esthetics. are the experiences with existing databases like
the Reststoffenbeurs [2])?

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 2. Could software help, in what way, to offer salvage, as well as copper piping and aluminum
opportunities from the database to find the baseboard heating units that could be removed and sold
optimal components for the architects for scrap.
assignment? • Low-rise multi-family buildings. These buildings offer
3. Could the database inspire the architect for new significant potential for the deconstruction of both interior
architecture or will SDA decrease the creativity? and exterior materials. In general, the low-rise multi-family
4. Is the quality control problem solvable, as it is in buildings in D.C. are made using brick and block
automotive where databases for re-usable construction with wooden roof assemblies. Many interior
components are widely accepted? elements (e.g., appliances, cabinets) can be salvaged
from the low-rise buildings. A detailed assessment of one
building in the Kentucky Courts housing complex identified
2. STATE OF THE ART wooden roof trusses with plywood sheathing, recently
There is a lot of experience with the re-use of materials updated kitchen cabinetry, stainless steel sinks, garbage
and components in architecture, but this experience is disposals, and metal framed windows. As with the high-
often related to local projects and to a one-to-one relation rise example, this building also contained copper tubing
between source building and target building. (Gorgolewski and aluminum heating units with potential scrap value. A
2008) [3]. Policy has been developed for encouraging the second detailed assessment, of a three-unit building in the
re-use of materials and components, by also these Frederick Douglass housing complex, found a significant
initiatives are quite local. amount of salvageable material including framing lumber,
brick double glazed windows, and over 1,000 square feet
Of course the success of Supply Driven Architecture is
of oak strip hardwood flooring, as well as a recently
dependant on the stock of buildings which is at the end of
replaced gas boiler and water heater. There are
their economical and/or cultural life time.
approximately 107 buildings of similar type in the
The Dutch company Bouwcarrousel B.V provides on her Frederick Douglass complex, 83 of which are also
website [4] many demolition projects in which materials reported to have exterior natural wood siding suitable for
are reclaimed. Generally spoken there is a lot of supply. salvage.
Examples can be found in the report “Building
• Rowhouses. Rowhouses offer multiple deconstruction
Deconstruction and Material Reuse in Washington, D.C.,
opportunities. Exterior construction offers salvageable
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, December, 1999)
brick, roofing and architectural details. Rowhouse interiors
[5].
can provide valuable wood materials. A detailed
assessment of a rowhouse in Northwest D.C. identified
It explains that the potential growth and sustainability of a framing lumber, hardwood flooring, oak stair cases,
building deconstruction and material reuse program in plywood sub-flooring and roof sheathing, and a recently
Washington, D.C. requires an adequate supply of replaced gas water heater and furnace. The exterior of this
buildings suitable for deconstruction. In order to begin to structure features Roman brick, stone lentils and slate
characterize the existing "stock" of potential roofing. It should be noted that adjoining rowhouses,
deconstruction sites, the National Association of Home particularly those that are not end units, may have a
Builders Research Center ("Research Center") completed structural interdependence that would need to be
an initial inventory and assessment of 236 condemned considered prior to deconstruction.
residential structures in the District of Columbia. The • Single-family dwellings. Wood-framed single-family
Research Center completed drive-by, visual inspections of dwellings offer significant potential for deconstruction,
86 of the 236 condemned properties identified by the since it may be possible to salvage nearly the entire
DCRA. The visual inspections noted: building type, structure. The same types of materials found in low-rise
general construction type, overall condition, property multi-family buildings can be expected to be found in
status (e.g., abandoned, effectively cordoned, under single-family homes (i.e., wooden framing, roofing
renovation, for sale), neighborhood context, and whether a materials, flooring, windows, cabinets, appliances, etc.).
detailed assessment would be appropriate. Based on the However, it should be noted that wood-framed single-
inspection of condemned properties, the Research Center family homes represent a relatively small percentage of
defined four categories of residential buildings, as the D.C. residential housing stock. This is one of the few
described below, each with attributes that suggest the examples of inventories made of housing stock ,
potential for cost-effective deconstruction. The Research especially with re-use of components and materials in
Center then chose four different types of structures for mind.
detailed assessments. These assessments provide an
Mark Gorgolewski (2008) carried out investigations
indication of the type and quantity of materials available
regarding utility buildings. In this cases components were
from residential buildings.
directly applied in a new building in the same area.
Although this approach is different from that of SDA we
• High-rise multi-family buildings. These large apartment still can learn from his findings.
buildings potentially contain many interior features that His conclusions were:
could be salvaged and reused (appliances, cabinets,
fixtures, etc.). These buildings are usually made of • such a project needs more time, because design
structural concrete and steel, so complete deconstruction can only be detailed after information about
is generally not a feasible option. However, the structural saved components are available
materials may be good candidates for recycling. A detailed • the design costs are significantly higher, because
assessment of one building in the Arthur Capper public of dealing with limitations
housing complex identified cabinets, stainless steel sinks, • design and construction process changes as a
garbage disposals and metal framed windows suitable for result of complexity

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 • developing a design around available Deconstruction is widely regarded as a relatively low-skill
components provides also opportunities and a activity. While this is true for the bulk of work conducted at
foothold a deconstruction site, the overall deconstruction process
• specialists might be necessary to asses special must be managed with skill and expertise. The most
materials and components. Budget should be important skills required for the successful implementation
planned of deconstruction projects are the ability to assess a
structure for its deconstruction potential, to plan the
• SDA requires a large amount of flexibility from optimal sequence of tasks, and to train and direct laborers
design team in proper deconstruction techniques to ensure that
• reuse in easier when application is about the salvaged materials retain their maximum value. Individuals
same as the original one currently active in related construction trades (i.e., with an
existing understanding of building and materials concepts)
• light weight open structures are vulnerable and
will likely make a fairly easy transition to the
therefore more difficult to re-use tha, wooden
deconstruction arena. The availability of the necessary
beams and hot rolled profiles
expertise should naturally increase in response to the
• bolted connections are preferred. Welded growth of a market for salvaged materials.
connections easily cause damage
Expertise might be built up is special types of building.
• contractors need special education for this kind of Haico van Nuenen (2000) [6] studied the potential of post
projects
war system buildings in the Netherlands and found out
• the client should be motivated for the project. that important environmental savings would be feasible.
Deconstruction of the concrete elements turns out to be
easy because of the poor quality of the applied cement.
In the report of the National Association of Home Builders
Research Center several factors are mentioned that could Assembly of these elements in a new building is realized
limit potential demand, such as: with newly designed interfaces, which are hidden behind a
second wall, having just an esthetic function. According to
• a lack of public and/or contractor awareness
Van Nuenen the environmental savings of re-use of
about the availability of salvaged materials
components are considerable. He expects savings at least
• a lack of an awareness of the significant price 35% for the first re-use and 60% for repeated re-use. For
difference between new materials and salvaged recycling on material level (granulates) are only 5%.
materials In the SenterNovem Report (No) Flat Future [7] it is
• the "hit or miss" problem of not being able to find concluded that of post war high rise apartment buildings
a salvaged material when needed, or enough of a about 50% of components could be re-used, but that also
particular salvaged material to complete the obsolete office furniture and furnishings from the area of
project Rotterdam could provide material solutions for producing
• a lack of awareness about the environmental ‘new’ apartment buildings. For the writers of the report,
benefits of using salvaged materials, and Bouwcarroussel and 2012 architects, re-use does not
perceptions that salvaged materials are inferior. have to take place in the same functions. E.g. systems
ceilings could be used for sound insulation purposes and
kitchen sinks as roof covering.
In addition, six demands can be distinguished for
successful Supply Driven Architecture.
Expertise regarding controlled demolishment
1. Expertise should be available regarding the
assessment of buildings with respect to reusable A Dutch company, specialized in controlled demolishment
elements. is Bouwcarroussel. Expertise was developed by this
company itself, but there are no specialized educational
2. Expertise should be available with respect to the programmes in the Netherlands.
controlled demolishment of buildings to save
valuable components. In Washington DC the district supports general job training
programs that often have construction-related
3. Facilities should be available to assess and components. For example, in 1999 the Job Training
certify the components related to specific Partnership Act, sponsored by the D.C. Department of
applications Employment Services, provided counseling, training
4. Facilities should be available to store referrals and monetary assistance to approximately 1,000
components waiting for an application. people; approximately 150 people received construction-
5. The stock of components should be made related apprenticeship training.
accessible for architects. These initiatives may set a trend in building education in
6. Incentives should be offered to architects who general. It is more and more recognized that controlled
apply reusable materials, with the environmental demolition is a profession with at least the complexity of
profits as an argument. building construction.
Modern technology is needed to assess constructions and
to separate components from each other without causing
In the next paragraph some information will be provided
damage to the components.
about experience from existing projects.
An important point is that architects should be involved in
deciding about saving components. Who could better
Expertise regarding assessment of buildings to be represent the needs of architects than architects.
demolished

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2012 architects introduced the word “harvesting” (oogsten) For the first aspect marketing information about the need
to indicate a new activity in which a circle of a certain of components has to be available before deciding storing
amount of kilometers is investigated for usable materials, the components.
keeping themselves open for inspiration. With respect to the second point we come to the main
issue of this paper, the input of the information in the
Assessment and certification of components design process. In this respect it is interesting to
investigate to what extent architects could be influenced to
Contaminants such as oil, fertilizer, lead and asbestos use re-used materials.
inside a building can affect the quality and value of
materials. There may also be additional liability issues At this moment, in the Netherlands there are more then
associated with deconstructing contaminated materials. ten warehouses for re-usable building components. This
Assessment of these issues is an expertise which is amount is expected to grow in the future.
crucial for the success of SDA.
The main problem however is the assessment of the Accessibility for architects
mechanical properties of the components and the standing Supply driven design is nothing new for architects. Since
of surety. For this problem modern technology could bring Vitruvius architects are dependant on the supply of
important solutions. materials. Building tradition started with using materials
First of all 3D laser scanning could produce 3D files, which from the direct environment applying wood, rock and loam.
could be the input for FEM (Finite Elements Method) The second step was upgrading those materials by
calculations of strength and rigidity. forming it to building components, or even baking clay to
Ultrasound and roentgen analysis could detect impurities bricks.
in the materials and lab-on-chip technology could take As far as possible, materials were collected from
care of chemical analysis. elsewhere, like marble from the mountains to Rome. The
For successful application of these technologies in SDA collection of building materials from elsewhere was
the equipment should become more mobile and user restricted to rich and mighty people.
friendly. Nowadays it is quite usual that a building is composed of
Procedures for assessing the specifications of materials collected all over the world. Aluminum comes
components should be certified in order to protect from South America, glass from China and wood from
architects applying reusable components against claims. Canada.
2012 Architects Due to this globalization of building materials and
components industry, architects are spoiled. The
availability of options is nearly unlimited and architects
Storage of components hardly have to cope with limitations of supply anymore.
According to Washington DC report one of the largest However this has resulted is considerable environmental
barriers to salvaging building materials is the lack of pollution.
convenient and affordable storage space. It reports, for An SDA approach would imply returning to the old
example, that project managers could not find any situation of limited supply, dependant of proximity.
affordable storage space in the district. Instead, they had However, times have changed. The limitations will,
to rent a truck to transport salvaged bricks and other items different than in the past, not be in the amount of material
to a farm 20 miles outside of D.C., where they were stored options, but much more in the physical condition of
until they could be used at the demonstration house. In components.
addition, some materials had to be stored outdoors, Is this a limitation or a challenge? Could the limited
causing damage that precluded their future reuse. A availability of components be a source of inspiration for
previous non-profit distributor of salvaged materials, architects rather than a constraint?
Movement and Acquisition of Gifts in Kind (MAGIK), also
could not afford the high cost of warehouse space in D.C. It is well known that some architects like to start from clear
This was one of the reasons that MAGIK eventually went constrains such as an existing building structure.
out of business. Designing a building with a database of re-usable
materials as a starting point could possibly be appreciated
The costs of storage of salvaged materials are related to by many architects.
three parameters:
An initiative by 2012 architects years ago came to early. At
• Price of storage space this moment it could be about time to start an internet
• Period of storage community again.
• Transport costs
The price of storage space is strongly dependent of the Incentives
distance from economic centers, as well as transport Many example of providing incentives to supply driven
costs. These parameters neutralize each other, so storage architecture initiatives can be found in the United States of
period is the most important parameter to be influenced. America. (Building Deconstruction and Material Reuse in
The question is how to influence the waiting time for a Washington, D.C., Urban and Economic Development
user. This waiting time is dependant of: Division U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
• the need for the specific kind of December 1999)
components For example, in the district of Columbia Enterprise Zones
• the possibility to find the component (EZ), tax benefits are available for initiatives in this field.

113
Even lotteries were organized to come with initiatives for there is a cost reduction, compared with virgin materials of
renovation projects based on reused building components. ca. 50%. There are no figures about environmental profit
One of the important arguments of the government is the available, but it is obvious that these profits are
positive influence on employment. Supply Driven considerable.
Architecture means investment using local labor rather
than in new materials and components which are often Table 1. Cost analysis (BUILDSMART 2002)
produced elsewhere.
The best incentive would be a system like CO2 rights on a
project level. Direct translation of CO2 earnings to building
costs would stimulate green building activities enormously. 4. SDA MOTIVATIONS
However, the whole approach of the Old to New Design
3. SDA BASED METHODOLOGY Guide has a smaller scope of SDA than meant in this
paper. The starting point of the guide is of a defensive
An interesting initiative with respect to SDA is the “Old to nature. The goals are restricted to environmental and
New” design guide by the Buildsmart organization in financial profits. However, the authors pass over one
Vancouver, Canada (2002) [8]. The book provides a lot of aspect of SDA being the potential architectural and
information to designers, which is specific for dealing with cultural gains. We still live in a society in which new is
salvaged materials, also about the availability of many better then old unless it refers to recognized cultural
material categories. values. However, several architects and artists who
The book is based on many case studies of projects in worked with salvaged materials have become world
which recycled materials and components played an famous.
important role.
We can distinguish four kinds of motivations in SDA.
The authors did not come to conclusions with respect to 1. Artistic motivations
the overall design methodology, but mainly focused on the
material acquisition process. 2. Environmental, idealistic motivations
3. Economic motivations
4. Architectural motivations.

For each category an example is presented.

Figure 1. Comparison of Material Acquisition Processes Figure 2: reused tiles by Hundertwasser [9]
(Buildsmart 2002)
One of the most famous SDA examples are provided by
We see that the materials acquisition process is much Friedrichsreich Hundertwasser who applied broken tiles,
more complicated applying salvaged material in but also old lampposts in his architecture, which is,
comparison with new materials. It is not just about generally spoken regarded rather as art then as
identifying sources, but also confirmation of availability architecture.
conform required quantities and quality is extremely
important. Furthermore, it is not just about installing the
materials. Storing and transporting of salvaged materials
induce specific problems. Especially refinishing and/or
even re-fabrication might be necessary. For a specific
building (Liu Centre, Vancouver) the design Guide (2002)
presents a cost analyses.
Although the additional costs of modification and
consultancy are incorporated, we see in this example that

114
 An interesting example of the social acceptability of
architecture with reused materials is the project
Christiania in Copenhagen, which was regarded as “an
important corrective to a consumer society run amok”.

Sometimes idealism has less to do with SDA then the

wish to create impressive buildings using components of
impressing buildings from the past. An example of this is
Kerckebosch in Zeist, which is now a hotel of the
Bilderberg group. French castles were the source.

Figure 3: Family Thrift Store, Missouri, USA [10]

Figure 5. Hotel Kerckebosch in Zeist [12]

environmental, idealistic motivations played a key role is

the Familly Thrift Store on Fitzerald Avenue in Gerald, But there are also pure economic motivations for SDA.
Missouri. It can be characterized as home made An example is the building of the Mountain Equipment
architecture and a “Ramshackle masterpiece (Michael R. Co-op in Ottawa Canada (Gorgolewski 2008). In this utility
Allen 2009). An important material source was a Roman building many materials from an existing building on-site
Catholic Church. as well as from other locations are applied. Of course,
many investments were necessary to meet the modern
standards which resulted in a building price of about the
same as new buildings. Without environmental incentives
it is not easy to earn money with reuse of materials due to
higher design and handling costs.

Figure 4. Glass House of window frames in Christiania, Figure 6. Mountain Equipment Co-op in Ottawa Canada
Denmark [11] (Gorgolewski 2008).

115
This example shows that SDA does not necessarily lead
to shackle architecture like the Family Thrift Store.
The Powers-Hanson House is an 850 s.f. strawbale home
built from natural and reclaimed materials in Teton Valley,
Idaho. The home features passive solar heating, earthen
floors, and natural plasters.

Figure 8. Villa Welpelo by 2012 architects [15]

Figure 6. Powers-Hanson House [13]

(www.naturaldwellings.com)

Inspiring is the work of an Austin (Texas, USA) based

builder “Reclaimed Space”, who not only has taken reused
materials as a starting point, but also move-ability.

Figure 7. Project in www.reclaimedspace.com [14]

One of the Dutch projects in this context is the Villa

Welpelo by 2012 architects. For the support construction
of this villa an obsolete paternoster was applied. The
cladding is made of obsolete cable-reels from a cable-
factory in the neighborhood. The wood was Platonized for
durability reasons.

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5. DISCUSSION

SDA is can be regarded as a new trend in architecture

which will become important in the decades to come.
However, the success is dependant of four conditions:
1. Financial incentives for reusing materials
2. A positive image of buildings created with reused
materials, as a result of high quality design
3. A well structured infrastructure for deconstruction
of buildings, communication about useful
components as well as storage and distribution.
4. Education of architects who are able to cope with
the specific problems of reusing building
components.

Research will be initiated at the University of Twente to

build up a body of knowledge on these issues.

6. REFERENCES

[1] Durmisevic, Elma (2006) “Tranformable Building

Structures”, thesis, Delft University, Delft
[2] http://www.reststoffenbeurs.nl
[3] Gorgolewski, Mark (2008) ‘Designing with reused
building components: some challenges, Building research
& Information, 36:2,175-188
[4] www.bouwcarrousel.nl
[5] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, December,
1999. report: “Building Deconstruction and Material Reuse
in Washington, D.C.”
[6] Nuenen, Haico van, “Hergebruikt bouwen met
naoorlogse systeembouw”, Renovatie en Onderhoud, june
2000, page 10 -11
[7] SenterNovem (2007), (No) Flat Future, Een nieuwe
toekomst voor naoorlogse flats.
[8] Buildsmart organization in Vancouver, Canada (2002)
“Old to New” design guide
[9] Hundertwasser, Friedrichsreich, (1928-2000)
http://hundertwasser.web-log.nl/
[10] Family Thrift store
http://ecoabsence.blogspot.com/2009/03/ramshackle-
masterpiece.html
[11] Glass House Christiania http://www.superuse.org
[12] Hotel Kerckebosch
http://www.kasteleninutrecht.nl/Kerckebosch.htm
[13] Powers-Hanson House, www.naturaldwellings.com
[14] House of Reclaimed Space
www.reclaimedspace.com
[15] Villa Welpelo, www.

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 Conservation of Resources by Designing a Meccano for
Temporary constructions
1 1 2 2 1 2
W. Debacker , A. Paduart , C. Henrotay , N. De Temmerman , W.P. De Wilde , H. Hendrickx
1
Department of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions, Faculty of Engineering,
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
2
Department of Architectural Engineering Sciences, Faculty of Engineering,
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

Abstract
Reusing building components is an effective way of conserving embodied resources, materials as well as
energy, in a life cycle perspective. However this requires innovative design, which anticipates an eventual
demolition and provides versatile and adaptable constructions. This paper shows how constructions and
their components can be designed with the necessary reuse qualities, by using a minimum number of
different components. To monitor the environmental load of such Meccano-like designs, an assessment
method that focuses on the conservation of embodied resources is detailed in this paper. The environmental
benefits are discussed through the design of temporary constructions.

Keywords:
reuse; building components, life cycle, environmental load assessment, Meccano

1 INTRODUCTION 2 TOWARDS AN INTEGRATIVE LIFE CYCLE MODEL

The human built environment surrounds us: we live and OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
work within it. A growing human production and the rise of In the built environment (excluding urbanism) three life
a non-agricultural economy in the last centuries, coupled cycles can be discerned: the cycle of the building, the
with the expanded use of fossil energy and dumping of cycle of its components and the cycle of the materials
tons of waste material, have dramatically increased the used to manufacture the components. Even though these
environmental impact of buildings and constructions on a three cycles become one during the use of the building,
local and global scale. this is not the case before construction and after
The increasing importance of environmental protection dismantling. For a total picture of the material and energy
and the awareness of impacts of products manufactured flow (and their side effects) it is thus important to take into
and consumed have intensified the interest in the account all cycles. Since in most Western buildings the
development of methods and tools to comprehend and energy consumption during service is undeniably the
reduce these impacts. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a biggest input, the ‘splitting up of cycles’ is often neglected
technique, still in stage of development, for assessing by most quantitative assessment tools [4]. This also
impacts associated with a product or service in a life cycle explains why lowering the operation energy has granted
perspective. Requirements regarding environmental the main focus of researchers and policy makers. Passive
impact may be expressed in terms of use of materials, energy, proper insulation, natural ventilation and low
use of energy, use of water, emission of substances – consuming lighting and heating are highly promoted
including hazardous and toxic emissions – use of land through Western and Northern Europe. Thanks to sound
and biodiversity. [1] technology and environmentally friendly design principles
the energy consumption of future buildings should drop.
Reijnders and van Roecke have made a rough division of
assessment tools in two distinctive classes: qualitative Studies on modern low energy dwellings have shown that
tools based on scores and criteria, and quantitative tools the energy needed for production can account for 40-60%
using a life cycle model with quantitative input and output of the total energy use [5]. This proofs that the
data on flows of matter and energy [2]. The latter class of consumption of energy and other resources before and
tools has only been available on the open market for the after use of the modern building is not negligible anymore
last 10-15 years and has therefore not been used as in the energy consumption assessment.
extensively as the former. With a growing understanding Since an important goal of the building sector is to
of cities and the built environment as systems produce constructions with a low environmental impact,
metabolising matter and energy, the use of quantitative not only their operating energy, but also the embodied
tools are expected to increase [3]. resources (EX) of their components, i.e. the amount of
resources (X) acquired for all processes from extraction
of raw materials up to the manufactory of building
material and/or prefabricated construction elements,

118
should be minimised. To achieve this goal it is important be followed [6, 7]. In two of them the building remains
to take into account a life cycle model, in which the three standing (paths VI and VII); in the other five cases the
levels – construction, components and material – are building is partially or totally disassembled or demolished.
integrated. After sorting, building components and/or materials are
2.1 Flows of resources taken out of the cycle (paths I and II) or a second life is
offered (paths III, IV and V). All seven possibilities are
After the use of a construction various management defined in the next paragraphs.
choices which affect the total energy input and material
flow are suggested. Typically seven different ‘paths’ can

Figure 1: integrative life cycle model of the built environment.

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Path I: Land filling. All or a part of the sorted 2.2 Transport
components are disposed of by burying it. No Although frequently underestimated, transport of
saving on the total energy input can be considered. matter and building components in the stages
Moreover energy has to be taken into account to before and after use of the construction can
transport the waste to the disposal site and to bury embrace an important input in the total energy of the
it. Most common side effects of inorganic cycle(s). In Figure 1 transport is illustrated as grey
components are erosion and pollution of air, water arrows shadowing the related processes. Transport
and soil. In contrast, the disposal of some energy is difficult to calculate since it depends of a
biodegradable construction elements or materials great number of parameters, such as the distance to
can nourish the site instead of damaging it. be carried out, the mode of transport (lorry, train,
McDonough and Braungart [8] promote natural ship) and the capacity and consumption of the
disintegration of waste through use of a design means of transport.
approach wherein biodegradable components and
recyclable components can easily be separated. In
3 4DIMENSIONAL DESIGN
the long run the assimilation of biodegradable
materials by nature could offer new organic Reuse of buildings, components and materials plays
materials for production. an important role to prevent and reduce demolition
Path II: Combustion. All or a part of the sorted waste and energy consumption during the
components are burned. Material is permanently production of building materials and elements.
taken out of the cycle(s) in the form of small However, reuse at superior levels is only possible
particles and GHG emissions. Thanks to the when it is taken into account during the (re-)design
exothermic process energy can be recovered in phase of the construction.
form of heating or electricity (ERECOV). 4Dimensional design (4D) refers to an attitude of the
Path III: Feedstock recycling. This type of designer, using his/her talent and horizontal
recycling refers to a process where the sorted knowledge to provide an artefact with a sustainable
components are reprocessed into raw materials or character, according to a life-cycle perspective. This
‘feedstock’ to make building material(s). E.g. a glass has to be done by integrating the fourth dimension,
bottle can be recycled into aggregate. Still a high i.e. time, in the first stages of conception. Time is
amount of energy is needed to reintroduce the not only related to the wear and tear of the artefact,
material into the cycle. The emission of greenhouse but also to changing and evolving circumstances
gases has to be considered. which will affect it. In this sense the artefact and its
Path IV: Material recycling. During this process components must have the potential to adapt to
separated components are directly reprocessed into unexpected changes. Consequently, a 4D designer
building material(s). E.g. a glass bottle can be considers an artefact as a materialised answer to a
recycled as glass. Still a high amount of energy is process of changing events. Even when (s)he can
needed to reintroduce the material into the cycle. not predict with great certainty how governing
The emission of greenhouse gases has to be circumstances will evolve, the artefact may not be a
considered. static result of a pre-programmed end state. [9, 10]
Path V: Reuse of components. Here, sorted 3.1 Hendrickx-Vanwalleghem design approach
elements are, after a maintenance procedure,
‘recycled’ into the same components for similar or Architects H. Hendrickx and H. Vanwalleghem have
other purposes. E.g. a glass bottle can be reused as developed a design approach to stimulate reuse in
a glass bottle after washing it. If maintenance the built environment. The Hendrickx-Vanwalleghem
procedures are too labour-intensive and/or too design approach (H-V design approach) includes a
costly, another path is recommended. 4D view on the built environment [11]. It encloses
Path VI: Renovation or restoration of the guidelines to design multiple construction systems,
building. Although the building can be partially all compatible to each other, by which a variety of
demolished or dismantled, part(s) of it remains. adaptable and reusable construction elements can
External and/or internal additions to the existing be composed. Each construction system is made of
building are performed through implementation of a minimum number of basic elements and a set of
new building elements. The reinstated artefact can combination rules. They allow the conversion of
fulfil the same or another function. Since most each artefact to a different configuration, by means
buildings are not designed to be easily restored, it is of adding, removing or transforming the basic
often a costly operation involving necessary elements it is made of. It offers a high potential of
expertise. recycling and direct reuse. The outcome can be
Path VII: Reuse of the building. The building stays compared with the Meccano building set, which, in
the same. Only minor maintenance is needed to this view, encloses all materials and techniques,
extend the use of it. The reinstated building can fulfil and is applicable to all scales. [7, 10]
the same or another function. Spaces which have a
versatile or flexible character facilitate functional 4 AIM OF THE STUDY
changes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the
The seven flows are illustrated in the model shown environmental benefits of the H-V design approach.
in Figure 1. It gives a life cycle representation of the This is done by calculating the environmental load
different levels of the built environment - excluding of a building kit for temporary constructions, such as
urbanism - and the complex relations between multi-use infrastructure for peace supporting
them. operations. The paper will focus on the potential

120
savings on embodied energy and natural resources to sorting site
of reusable components and constructions. EEoL: total energy input of end-of-life treatment of
the construction, its (sub) components
5 ASSESSMENT METHOD and/or building materials, over ESL
5.1 Calculation of flows
According to Fay and Treloar, an easy way to 5.2 Conservation of embodied resources
assess the environmental load of a system is to Besides EE and EUSE, the energy input after using
calculate the amount of energy and resources the construction or components has to be
needed during the systems life(s) or during a part of considered in an LCEA of buildings. When the
it [12]. This technique is popular in the building and consumed energy of different end-of-life options
construction industry (B/C) since buildings and needs to be compared, Equation (2) can be
constructions are often energy and material contracted in the expression given by Equation (3).
intensive. With Kyoto targets necessitating the In this expression, end-of-life options are compared
quantification of greenhouse gas emissions at the by looking at the conservation of the initial
national level, it seems more and more likely that life embodied energy (EE0) and the energy needed to
cycle energy analyses (LCEA) will increase in use reinvest materials, elements, or (parts of)
[12]. In this technique the focus lies on the inflow of constructions in a possible second life [6]. As basis
the environment (i.e. resources) and not on the for the calculation of energy flows, the triple life
outflow, thus excluding the impacts of emissions on cycle model (see Figure 1) is chosen.
soil, water and air.
Operational energy ΔEE = EE0 - E RE_INVEST - E DIS - E SORT - E TR, SORT (3)
The total energy input during use of a construction
With:
(EUSE) is usually defined in the following way:
∆EE conservation of embodied energy of a
ESL building material, element or construction
E USE = ∫ OE(t) dt (1)
0 EE0: initial embodied energy of a building
material, element or construction
With:
ERE_INVEST: total energy needed to re-invest materials,
OE : total operational energy (including thermal components or (part of) construction in a
and non-thermal) for a given time span second life cycle, in accordance with a
(e.g. one year) chosen end-of-life treatment
ESL : estimated service lifespan of studied EDIS: total energy input during disassembly of
construction construction
t: time, usually in years; for t = 0: OE is ESORT: total energy input during sorting of
considered nil elements and/or materials
In this definition of EUSE a varying performance of ETR,SORT: total transport energy of elements and/or
the construction (e.g. due to the degradation of materials to sorting site
thermal insulation) is taken into account.
Table 1 provides guidelines to express ERE_INVEST in
Life cycle energy an analytic way for each end-of-life option discussed
Life cycle energy of a construction (LCE) comprises in §2.1
energy consumed before, during and after the
construction is used. Taking a detailed life cycle
model of the built environment (see Figure 1) into
consideration, LCE of a construction can be
formulated in the following way:
(
LCE = EE + (E USE + E MT ) + E DIS + E SORT + E TR,SORT + E EoL )
(2)
With:
EE. : embodied energy of the construction over
ESL (including replacement of components)
EUSE: total energy input of the construction during
use
EMT: total energy input during the maintenance
of construction and components (excluding
replacement of components)
EDIS: total energy input during disassembly of
construction
ESORT: total energy input during sorting of (sub)
components, after disassembly or
demolition
ETR,SORT: total transport energy of (sub) components

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 Table 1: guide to calculate ERE_INVEST in accordance or construction is reinvested - is expressed through
with an end-of-life option (EoL) [6] Equation (6).
B
EoL Δ( ∑ ER t ) = with

EASSEMBLY
ETR,SITE
t =0 ∑ t −1
ER
EEXTR

ETR,1

ETR,2
option EADD.

E1

E2
t =1
*

B = ∑ ( ER t −1 − R RE _ INVEST − R DIS, t − R SORT , t − R TR , SORT , t )

t =0
(6)
ELAND + For the conservation of some natural resources,
I x x x x x x x
ETR, LAND
such as the amount of a particular mineral, the
ECOMB + components RDIS, RSORT and RTR,SORT in Equation
II x x x x x x x ETR, COMB - (6) can be left out.
ERECOV
In a similar way as in Table 1, guidelines can be set
III - x x x x x x - up for each resource under study. Since the choice
of representative resources is case dependent a
IV - - - x x x x -
general flowchart is omitted in this theoretical
EMT + framework.
V - - - - - x x
ETR,MT 5.3 Maximal conservation
Energy input is restricted to the It is assumed that each time the lifespan of (sub)
dismantled /demolished and additional components is reached, the same end-of-life
VI components. EMT
treatment is executed and the old (sub) component
See flow I to V is replaced by an identical new one. Furthermore,
VII - - - - - - - EMT (dis)assembly of the temporary constructions will
mainly be done manually or with limited mechanical
means, such as a small crane.
*With the following end-of life options: (I) land filling, (II) These realistic suppositions facilitate the
combustion, (III) feedstock recycling, (IV) material mathematical determination of conservation of
recycling, (V) reuse of elements, (VI) renovation or (accumulated) embodied resources, ∆(EX) and
restoration of construction and (VII) reuse of construction. ∆(ΣEXt), where X is either the amount of energy (E)
Equation (3) gives information of conservation of or natural resource (R). For this comparative
embodied energy in absolute quantities. In a assessment, Equation (4), (5) and (6) can
comparative assessment, however, it is interesting subsequently be reduced to the following
to view ∆EE relatively, as a percentage of the initial relationships:
embodied energy. In such circumstances Equation ΔEX 1 = (EX 0 - X RE_INVEST ) / EX 0 (7)
(3) changes into:
n
ΔEE = (EE 0 - E RE_INVEST - E DIS - E SORT - E TR, SORT )/ EE0 Δ( ∑ EX t ) = Δ( ∑ EX i ) = ΔEX 1 /( ΔEX1 + n ⋅ X RE _ INVEST ) (8)
t =1 i =1

With:
(4)
EX0 initial embodied resource
If the entire life span of a construction - or super
component - is taken into account, the conservation ∆EX1 conservation of embodied resource after
of embodied energy (∆EE) will change over time (t). one replacement
This can be expressed with the following formula: ∆(ΣEX) conservation of accumulated embodied
resource over ELS of the construction kit
A
Δ( ∑ EEt ) = with XRE_INVEST total amount of resource needed to re-
t =0 ∑ EEt −1 invest materials, elements or (part of)
t =1
construction in a second life cycle, in
A = ∑ ( EE t −1 − E RE _ INVEST − E DIS, t − ESORT , t − E TR , SORT , t ) accordance with a chosen end-of-life
t =0 treatment
(5) ΣXRE_INVEST total accumulated amount of resource
Until now only the conservation of embodied needed to re-invest materials, elements or
energy is discussed as a way of determining the (part of) construction in successive life
environmental load of a building solution. The cycles
amount of natural resources (R), such as minerals, n number of replacements over the entire life
fossil fuels, fresh water, and land, can be cycle of the construction
inventoried as well. R is a fictive quantity and has to It is assumed that at the end of the construction kit’s
be filled in as a mass (m), a volume (V), or a surface life cycle all elements are reinvested in the same
(S) according to the type of resource under study. (sub) components. This means that the highest
Complementary to Equation (5), the conservation of conservation rate for a particular embodied resource
natural resources over the entire life span of a is obtained through the end-of-life treatment with the
construction - assuming a building material, element best performance with only a single replacement,
i.e. at the end of the life cycle of the kit. In that case,

122
maximal conservation is limited to ∆EX1. The can be assembled, with similar or totally different
conservation of an embodied resource (X) after a applications - including an ISO 20ft container to
single replacement is used here as an transport and store all elements to the construction
environmental performance indicator of the site. Like in a Meccano box, only a limited number
component. The calculated ∆(ΣEX) of a component of different component types are selected. A basic
or construction is compared with this limit. Note that construction kit is composed of:
the expression given in Equation (8) is also - bearing frames and girders
dependent of ∆EX1. This means that the - enclosing and dividing panels, with or
environmental performance of the studied system, without openings
based on a type of resources, is determined by only - dry and reusable connection devices
three parameters, i.e. EX0, XRE_INVEST and n.
In this study three typical PSO configurations are
selected:
6 DESIGN CASE - sleeping accommodation (25m² floor area)
- offices (39m² floor area)
Due to the important dynamic requirements related
- canteen (253m² floor area)
to the use, transport and maintenance of mobile
temporary constructions, these types of applications
are the ideal objects to understand and transport
environmentally assess the H-V design approach. In
this paper the design of temporary multi-use
infrastructure for peace supporting operations
(PSO) is discussed.
6.1 Peace supporting operations
Preventing and/or resolving conflicts may require
international assistance. In the framework of PSO,
relief workers, coordinators, and relief infrastructure
assembly
must be operational and ready to transport in a
minimal amount of time (i.e. a few weeks). Since
conflicts or other types of hazards can occur at any
time, relief personnel has to manage quick
interventions with a large number of varying
parameters, such as the nature of the conflict or
disaster, the characteristics of the affected area
(e.g. climate and geography), the demography and
needs of the local population. Furthermore, beside
the unpredictability of disasters, relief organisations
have to face the unknown course of events after the
occurrence of the emergency. [10]
configurations
In more stable phases of relief, elaborated
constructions are needed to support logistic facilities
for the afflicted people and relief workers.
Temporary working halls, offices, sanitary and
eating/cooking facilities are only a few logistic
facilities required to support the daily routine.
Constructions made out of stiff components are
used to provide a relatively secure environment for
temporary applications of 6 months to several years.
During that time interval these temporary
constructions have to resist local climatic conditions
and provide the necessary accommodation for daily Figure 2: conceptual drawing of the designed multi-
functions. [7] use construction kit for peace supporting operations
International relief is insufficiently prepared for these
events, partly due to the inappropriate infrastructure 7 ENVIRONMENTAL LOAD ASSESSMENT OF
[10]. An important cause of this deficiency is found DESIGN CASE
in the lack of adaptability and versatility of existing Durability of components plays an important role in
prefabricated relief constructions. Most imported the conservation of resources. Each replacement is
constructions and components have a limited related to a loss of resources. A longer replacement
potential to be adapted to the local conditions and/or interval will consequently have a higher
to be reused in other relief phases. conservation index. Regular maintenance during
6.2 A Meccano use helps to lengthen the lifespan of components.
Considering the variation in life cycle requirements, Monthly cleaning procedures are taken into account
the design of PSO accommodation is orientated to in the inventory data.
several multi-use construction kits; composed of Considering a construction kit’s life cycle of 60
versatile and compatible (sub) components. With years, the figures in Table 2 and Table 3 prove that
these components, a varied set of configurations reusing components enhances the conservation of

123
resources for most employed components. Table 3: conservation of embodied mineral
Elements that are vulnerable to wear and tear are consumption of the construction for each application
identified during the design phase. By strategically per super component
reducing the amount of building material and ∆(ΣEmi) ∆(ΣEmi)
(re)processing of these elements, the decrease in Em0 ∆Em1
REUSE NO REUSE
environmental load is targeted. For example,
[kg/m² flr
corners of the bearing frames are stress intensive
area]
knots that are more susceptible to mechanical
impact than other skeleton elements. Consequently,
wear and tear of these extremities will occur more sleeping
rapidly than other parts. The loss of embodied acc.
resources, however, is negligible, since the corners skeleton 67 87.2% 86.3% 63.0%
are confined to small hollow elements, easily made
skin 22 90.3% 90.3% 60.9%
out of cold formed profiled that are welded together.
Compared to other parts of the bearing frame,
corner elements are thus low in embodied office
resources, accumulated over the life span of the skeleton 66 87.2% 86.3% 63.0%
construction kit. Internal finishes, such as hardboard
skin 20 90.3% 90.3% 60.9%
and linoleum faces are also susceptible to wear and
tear. Statistically, they have to be replaced more
often than other panel elements. However, due to canteen
small thicknesses of faces, the loss in accumulated skeleton 41 87.2% 86.5% 63.1%
embodied energy of panels is very small.
skin 17 90.3% 90.3% 60.9%
Table 2: conservation of embodied energy of the
construction for each application per super
Comparing the consumption of embodied energy of
component
skeleton and skin elements, a low ∆EE1 for the steel
∆(ΣEEi) ∆(ΣEEi) bearing structure of all configurations is discerned.
EE0 ∆EE1
REUSE NO REUSE Although (re)processing of steel has a high recovery
[MJ/m² rate of minerals, it is an energy intensive procedure.
flr area] Furthermore, the initial steel making procedure
already takes into account 25% steel scrap material,
which makes the energy consumption differences
sleeping between the initial steel element and the reinvested
acc. one even smaller. ∆EE1 of panel elements is higher,
skeleton 2337 9.3% 8.8% 2.5% since the combustion of timber panel elements
skin 530 38.5% 36.8% 9.6% comes along with a recovery of energy - calculated
on basis of the higher heating value of the
incinerated material. Maximal recovery rates of
office minerals of 90% for the panel elements are
skeleton 2299 9.3% 8.8% 2.5% discerned due to the high recyclability of the chosen
skin 488 38.5% 36.7% 9.6% industrial materials, i.e. steel as the external
cladding, stone wool as insulation layer and glass
for the windows.
canteen
skeleton 1428 9.3% 8.9% 2.5% 8 CONCLUSIONS
skin 417 39.3% 36.9% 9.9% Combining reuse of components with high durability
of basic elements clearly delivers the best
conservation of embodied resources for the
temporary constructions under study. These
dynamic features are provided by the detailed
design of a Meccano kit. The environmental
assessment delivers a proof-of-concept of the
environmental surplus value of the H-V design
approach. The approach is also applicable for other
types of constructions.

9 REFERENCES
[1] International Standardisation Organisation,
2004, Buildings and constructed assets –
Service life planning – Part6: Procedures for
considering environmental impacts (ISO
15686-6)
[2] Reijnders L., van Roekel A., 1999,
Comprehensiveness and adequacy of tools for

124
 the environmental improvement of buildings,
Journal of Cleaner Production, 7, 221-225.
[3] Oswald F., Baccini P., 2003, Netzstadt:
Designing the Urban, Birkenhäuser, Basel,
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[4] Forsberg A., von Malmborg F., Tools for
environmental assessment of the built
environment, Building and environment, 2004,
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[5] Thormark C., 2002, A low energy building in a
life cycle – its embodied energy, energy need
for operation and recycling potential, Building
and Environment, 37, 429-435.
[6] Debacker W., Henrotay C., Paduart A., De
Wilde W.P., Hendrickx, H., 2007, Lowering the
embodied energy of constructions through
th
reuse of building elements, in Proc. of the 5
Int. Conf. on Design and Manufacture for
Sustainable Development, Loughborough, UK,
paper 32 on CD
[7] Debacker W., 2009, Structural Design and
Environmental Load Assessment of Multi-Use
Construction Kits for Temporary Applications
based on 4Dimensional Design, PhD thesis,
VUBPress, Brussels, Belgium.
[8] McDonough W., Braungart M., 2002, Cradle to
Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things,
North Point Press, New York, USA.
[9] Debacker W., Henrotay C., Paduart A., Elsen
S., W.P. De Wilde, Hendrickx H., 2007, Four-
dimensional design: from strategies to cases -
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building elements, International Journal of
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integrated and more sustainable design
approach for the material support of shelter
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Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
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natural processes harmonising nature and
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material culture, in Proc. of the 1 Conf. on
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125
Eco Concrete Stones with TiO2 for Atmospheric Decontamination
1 1 1 1
M. M. Ballari , M. Hunger , G. Hüsken and H. J. H. Brouwers
1
Department of Construction Management & Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Technology,
University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

Abstract
In the present work the degradation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by concrete paving stones containing TiO2 is
studied. A kinetic model is proposed to describe the photocatalytic reaction of nitric oxide (NO) in a standard
flow laminar photoreactor irradiated with UV lamps. In addition the influence of several parameters that can
affect the performance of these stones under outdoor conditions are investigated, such as irradiance,
relative humidity and wind speed. The kinetic parameters present in the NO reaction rate are estimated
employing experimental data obtained in the photoreactor. The model predictions employing the determined
kinetic constants are in good agreement with the experimental results of NO concentration at the reactor
outlet.

Keywords:
Heterogeneous photocatalysis, Air purification, Concrete roads, Nitrogen oxides, Kinetic model

more or less manageable; however particulates, NOx and

1 INTRODUCTION smog are still problematic.
Heterogeneous photocatalysis represents an emerging To date, a number of researchers have investigated the
environmental control option for the efficient removal of dynamics of the photocatalysis of nitrogen oxides. While
chemical pollutants and it can be applied to water and air some of the NOx control methodology is to reduce NOx
purification. This process involves a nano-solid back to N2 [2], another approach is to oxidize NO to NO2
semiconductor catalyst, regularly titanium dioxide (TiO2), and HNO3 along the general direction of nitrogen fixation
which is activated with ultraviolet light of the appropriate [3-9]. The development of innovative materials that can
wavelength. For various reasons repetitively reported, be easily applied on structures, with both de-soiling and
titanium dioxide in the form of anatase has been the de-polluting properties, is a significant step towards
preferred choice due to its strong oxidizing power under improvements of air quality. The use of TiO2
UV irradiation, its chemical stability and the absence of photocatalyst in combination with cementitious and other
toxicity. These reactions are very attractive for treating construction materials has shown a favorable effect in the
pollution problems because: (1) in the vast majority of the removal of nitrogen oxides [10].
cases transform pollutants into innocuous products and In the present work the degradation of NOx compounds
(2) have very low selectivity, thus permitting the treatment employing concrete paving stones with TiO2 to be applied
of a wide range of contaminants. in road construction is studied. The experiments were
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) is the generic term for a group of carried out in a laminar flow photoreactor designed
highly reactive gases, most of them emitted in air in the according to the standard ISO 22197-1 (2007) [11] to
form of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). assess these kind of photocatalytic materials employing
Nitrogen oxides form when fuel is burned at high NO as the pollutant source. A kinetic model is proposed
temperatures, as is the case in combustion processes in to describe the photocatalytic oxidation of NOx and the
automobiles. NOx causes a wide variety of health and influence of several parameters that can affect the
environmental impacts, like the formation of tropospheric performance of these stones under outdoor conditions,
ozone and urban smog through photochemical reactions such as irradiance, relative humidity and wind speed. A
with hydrocarbons. Furthermore, NOx together with SOx reaction rate expression for the NO oxidation is
(sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide) is the major contributor postulated and the kinetic parameters are determined
to the “acid rain”, one of the most serious environmental employing the experimental data. Finally the model
problems across the world. Thus, NOx emission has been predictions with the estimated kinetic constants are
a focus of environmental regulations, especially in the compared with the experimental results obtaining a good
ozone non-attainment areas. agreement between them.
The European Union (EU) has taken important steps over
the past decade leading to a decrease in the emissions to 2 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
air and water of a number of pollutants. One of its The standard ISO 22197-1 (2007) [11] serves as a sound
directives (1999/30/EC) [1] establishes limit values for basis for measurements, its recommendations were
concentrations of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and largely followed for the practical conduction of the present
oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and lead in ambient study. The applied apparatus is composed of a planar
air. Some of the pollutant emissions have since become reactor cell housing the concrete stone sample, a suitable
UV-A light source, a chemiluminescent NOx analyzer, and

126
an appropriate gas supply (Figure 1). Table 1 shows the For the conduction of the experiments, two different types
main characteristics, dimensions and operating conditions of gas, filled in standard gas cylinders, are necessary. For
of the experimental setup that were employed to carry out the pollution of the sample surfaces, nitric oxide (NO) is
the photocatalytic NO degradation experiments. deployed. The used gas is composed of 50 ppm NO
which is stabilized in nitrogen (N2). As the concentration
of gas, finally applied to the sample, will be adjusted to
8
the NO inlet concentration (1.0 - 0.1 ppm), only small
9 quantities of this gas are required. As transport fluid
2
7 synthetic air, being composed of 20.5 vol.-% of oxygen
5
6 (O2) and 79.5 vol.-% of nitrogen (N2), is deployed.
10 Since the gas cylinders are under high pressure, the gas
4 needs to pass a pressure reducing valve before entering
the system. Here, pressure is first reduced to 0.3 bar.
1 3
Before the two gas flows are merged, the model
contaminant has to pass a high precision valve in order to
)
adjust the pollution concentration (CNO,in to the sample.
Figure 1: Schematic representation of the experimental The NO concentration can be monitored with the NOx
setup. 1. Synthetic air. 2. NO source. 3. Gas washing analyzer, connected to the outlet of the reactor box.
bottle. 4. Temperature and relative humidity sensor. 5. Furthermore, the synthetic air will be conveyed through a
Flow controller. 6. Gas photoreactor. 7. Paving stone gas-washing bottle, filled with demineralized water, in
sample. 8 Light source. 9. NOx analyzer. 10. Computer. order to keep the relative humidity of the supplied gas
constant. Using a split gas flow, with one line passing a
valve before the gas-washing bottle, one can realize the
Description Value desired humidity. Behind these two stages both gas
Reactor Length (L) 2 dm flows, polluted and transport fluid, are mixed. With the
help of a flow controller a volume flow of 3.0 or 5.0 l/min
Width (B) 1 dm is adjusted.
Height (H) 0.02-0.04 dm The gas, mixed and humidified this way, enters the
reactor and is conveyed along the illuminated sample
Volume (Vr) 0.04-0.08 dm3 surface. At the opposite site of the reactor the gas leaves
Photocatalytic Stone Length (L) 2 dm the chamber and is transported to a flue or outside with
the help of an exhaust air duct. The NO analyzer sources
Width (B) 1 dm the reacted test gas from this exhaust line. An adequate
dimensioning of the hose line and, possibly, the
UV Lamps Input Power 25 W installation of non-return valves prevents from suction of
Emission 300-400 nm leak air from outside via the hose line to the analyzer.
Wavelength For the gas analysis a chemiluminescent NOx analyzer
(Ambient NOx Monitor Horiba. APNA – 370) was
Flow Rate (Q) 3-5 l min-1 deployed. The analyzer is measuring the NOx and NO
Relative Humidity 10-80 % concentration in steps of 5 sec while the corresponding
(RH) NO2 concentration is computed by the difference of the
previous two. During the measurement the analyzer is
NO Inlet 0.1-1 ppm constantly sampling gas with a rate of 0.8 l/min. The
Concentration (CNO,in) detection limit of the deployed analyzer is at about 0.5 x
-3
10 ppm.
Irradiance Flux (E) 0.3-13 W m-2

Table 1: Experimental setup main characteristics and

operating conditions.

The core of the experimental setup is a gas reactor

allowing a planar sample of the size 100 x 200 mm2 to be
embedded (Figure 2). Furthermore, the reactor is made
from materials which are non-adsorbing to the applied gas
and can withstand UV light of high radiation intensity. On
top the reactor is tightly closed with a glass pane made
from borosilicate, allowing the UV-radiation to pass
through with almost no resistance. Within the reactor the
Figure 2: Schematic diagram of the gas photoreactor.
planar surface of the specimen is fixed parallel to the
covering glass, leaving an alterable slit height H for the
gas to pass through. The applied light source is For the development of a reaction model and the herewith
composed of three fluorescent tubes Philips Compact S of related experiments one sample, a paving stone, was
each 25 W, emitting a high-concentrated UV-A radiation in used. This way differences in measurement results due to
the range of 300 to 400 nm with maximum intensity at varying surface roughness or unequal distribution of
about 345 nm. All fluorescent tubes can be adjusted in catalyst can be neglected. In preparation of each
irradiance. With the help of a calibrated UV-A radiometer measurement the sample surface is cleaned in order to
(RM – 12 Dr. Groebel UV-Elektronik GmbH) the irradiance remove fouling, contamination and potential reaction
was adjusted at the sample surface. products due to a previous NOx degradation. The
cleaning process is always executed following a specified

127
scheme using demineralized water. Subsequently, the 3 THEORETICAL MODEL
sample is dried in a drying oven for 24 hours. For the The kinetic expression proposed for the NO degradation
measurement, the sample with the reactive surface reaction rate is the corresponding to the Langmuir-
upwards is placed in the reaction chamber. With the help Hinshelwood model [9, 12], which is widely employed for
of an elastic sealing compound all gaps and joints around the photocatalytic degradation of other contaminants [13-
the sample are caulked that way that the fed air could only 15]. However the reaction rate should be expressed as a
pass the reactor along the reactive sample surface. In superficial rate for a gas-solid heterogeneous system [16,
2
doing so, a metal sheet of the dimension 87 x 192 mm 17]. In addition, water competes with NO for free active
was deployed as a template for the sealing. The active sites at the catalyst surface and therefore it can be
sample surface was kept exactly identical for all considered as an additional reactant [15]. Following this
measurements this way. model applied to a heterogeneous reaction, the
After assembling the sample the reactor is closed and the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model for NO
gas supply is started. The UV-A source is switched on as disappearance rate per unit area of active surface reads:
well in order to start the radiation stabilization, but the
reactor stays covered to prevent first degradation. With kK NOC NO
rNO = − (1)
the help of the controls the flow rate and the relative 1 + K NOC NO + K wCw
humidity are adjusted. The supplied NO concentration is -2
adjusted to the desired inlet concentration, which is Where rNO is the superficial reaction rate (mole dm
checked by the analyzer. When these conditions appear min-1) of NO. C NO and CW the corresponding molar
to be stable the data acquisition is started. Now, for the
concentration (mole dm-3) of NO and water. k is the
first 5 minutes the system remained unchanged in order to
flush the reactor chamber and to finally eliminate an reaction rate constant (mole dm-2 min-1). K NO and KW
increase of UV-A radiation. During this time the measured are the adsorption equilibrium constant (dm3 mole-1) for
NO outlet concentration of the reactor was first decreasing NO and for water respectively.
and then approaching again the original inlet Regarding the UV light effect, it is supposed that the
concentration. This phenomenon describes the saturation irradiance only has an influence on the reaction rate
of surface with NO as well as the non contaminated air constant ( k ). Therefore a mathematical expression of the
removal from the reactor and was found to be a function
reaction constant k in function of the radiative flux E is
of flow velocity, inlet concentration and surface character
of the sample. After this period of time, the cover sheet proposed:
was removed to allow the UV-radiation passing through
the glass. This was very quickly responded by by the
(
k = k' − 1 + 1 + αE ) (2)
analyzer. The degradation for the uncovered reactor With k' (mole dm-2 min-1) and α (dm2 W-1) being factors
lasted for 30 minutes, then the reactor was covered again
to be fitted from the experiments. This expression takes
and the data acquisition was continued for further 5
account of the linear and the square root dependency of
minutes. Within the last minutes of measurement the NO
the reaction rate with the light intensity that have
and NOx concentrations should ideally return to the
announced in several publications [16] for high and low
original scale. As the reactor can be bridged, i.e. the
irradiance respectively. When UV-radiation is absent, i.e.
pollutant can be directly transferred to the analyzer
E = 0 , the reaction rate becomes zero. For small E , Eq.
without passing the reaction camber, the NO inlet
concentration at the end of a measurement was always (2) tends k' αE / 2 , and for large E it tends to k ' αE .
compared with the original concentration at the beginning
The NO balance equations for a plug flow reactor reads:
of the measurement. In this way measurement errors due
to creeping NO concentrations during the measurement dC NO
are prevented. An example of a representative experiment vair = av rNO (3)
dx
result is shown in Figure 3, where the different steps
mentioned above can be observed. -1
where vair is the air velocity (dm min ) in the reactor and
av is the active surface area per unit reactor volume
(dm-1). The reactor inlet condition is:
Bridge closed
1.0 Lights on C NO (x = 0) = C NO ,in (4)
Concentration [ppm]

0.8 4 KINETIC PARAMETERS ESTIMATION

To solve the NO mass balance with the complete kinetic
0.6 expression, a numerical method needs to be applied.
Lights off
Therefore a forward discretization of the differential
NOx
0.4 equation (Eq. (3)) was performed applying the Euler
NO method. Then the non linear optimization of all kinetic
NO2 parameters present in the reaction rate can be achieved
0.2 employing the “solver” tool of Excel and using the
experimental results of the NO outlet concentration under
0.0 different operating conditions of the photoreactor (varying
0 10 20 30 40 the flow rate, reactor slit height, NO inlet concentration,
t [min] relative humidity and irradiance). The result of this
estimation is shown in Table 2.
Figure 3: Representative experimental result. H = 3 mm.
Q = 3 l min-1. CNO,in = 1.0 ppm. RH= 50%. E = 10 W m-2.

128
 The effect of the flow rate is possible to analyze
comparing Figures. 4(a) and (b). When the flow rate is
Parameter Units Value increased the resident time in the reactor decreases.
k'
-2
mole dm min
-1
7.24 x 10-10 Therefore, for low flow rates a larger conversion of the
pollutant is observed.
α dm2 W-1 1.40 x 106 Regarding the irradiance and relative humidity effect,
Figures 5(a) and (b) show the obtained results varying
K NO dm3 mole-1 2.50 x1010
these two parameters, respectively. When the irradiance
is increased a higher conversion of the systems is
Kw dm3 mole-1 7.67 x 105
achieved. However when the relative humidity is enlarged
water competes with NO for the same active site and the
Table 2: Non linear parameters optimization (based on 36 NO consumption declines.
experimental results). -8
5.0x10

5 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS VERSUS MODEL

PREDICTION 4.0x10
-8

It is possible to analyze the effect of different operating

CNO,out [mole dm ]
-3
variables on the system by resorting the estimated kinetic 3.0x10
-8

parameters from the complete model. This analysis can

include a comparison between simulated values obtained Experimental
-8
with the model and experimental measurements. 2.0x10 Model
Figure 4 shows the model predictions and the
experimental data corresponding to the NO outlet 1.0x10
-8

concentration in function of the NO inlet concentration to

the reactor for two different flow rates. When the inlet a
0.0
concentration of NO increases, NO outlet concentration 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0
rise as well. However, as expected, decreasing the initial -2
concentration of the pollutant the final conversion of the E [W m ]
reacting system increases. 5.0x10
-8

-8 -8
4.0x10 4.0x10
Experimental
CNO,out [mole dm ]

-8
-3

3.5x10
Model -8
-8 3.0x10
3.0x10
CNO,out [mole dm ]
-3

-8
2.5x10 -8
2.0x10
-8
Experimental
2.0x10 Model
-8
-8
1.5x10 1.0x10

-8
1.0x10 b
0.0
-9
5.0x10 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0
a RH [%]
0.0
0.0 -8
1.0x10
-8
2.0x10 3.0x10
-8
4.0x10
-8
5.0x10
-8
Figure 5: Model prediction vs. experimental data. a) NO
CNO,in [mole dm ]
-3
outlet concentration in function of the radiative flux. b) NO
-8
outlet concentration in function of the relative humidity.
4.0x10 CNO,in = 1 ppm. Q = 3 l min-1. H = 3 mm.
-8 Experimental
3.5x10
Model
-8
3.0x10
6 CONCLUSION
CNO,out [mole dm ]
-3

-8
2.5x10 In the present work, a kinetic study of the photocatalytic
2.0x10
-8 degradation of nitrogen oxides was conducted. A
heterogeneous kinetic expression for the NO degradation
1.5x10
-8
was proposed. Several experiments were carried out
-8
according to a suitable ISO standard for photocatalytic
1.0x10 materials assessment employing only NO as a
5.0x10
-9 contaminant. Different operating conditions were selected
b to perform the experiments (NO inlet concentration,
0.0 reactor height, flow rate, irradiance flux and relative
0.0 1.0x10
-8
2.0x10
-8
3.0x10
-8
4.0x10
-8
5.0x10
-8
humidity). Employing these experimental data and the
CNO,in [mole dm ]
-3
reaction rate expression, the kinetic parameters were
estimated for a numerical solution of the governing
Figure 4: Model prediction vs. experimental data. NO equations in the reactor, based on Langmuir-Hinshelwood
outlet concentration in function of the NO inlet kinetics. In all cases, a very good correlation between the
concentration. H = 2 - 4 mm. RH = 50 %. E = 10 W m-2. a) experimental data and the computer simulation with the
-1 -1
Q = 3 l min . b) Q = 5 l min . estimated kinetic parameters was obtained.

129
7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS [12] Wang, H., Wu, Z., Zhao, W., Guan, B., 2007,
The authors wish to express their thanks to the following Photocatalytic Oxidation of Nitrogen Oxides Using
sponsors of the research group: Bouwdienst TiO2 Loading on Woven Glass Fabric,
Rijkswaterstaat, Rokramix, Betoncentrale Twenthe, Chemosphere, 66: 185-190.
Graniet-Import Benelux, Kijlstra Beton, Struyk Verwo [13] Dong, Y., Bai, Z., Liu, R., Zhu, T., 2007,
Groep, Hülskens, Insulinde, Dusseldorp Groep, Eerland Decomposition of Indoor Ammonia with TiO2-
Recycling, ENCI, Provincie Overijssel, Rijkswaterstaat Loaded Cotton Woven Fabrics Prepared by
Directie Zeeland, A&G maasvlakte, BTE, Alvon Different Textile Finishing Methods, Atm. Env.,
Bouwsystemen, and V. d. Bosch Beton (chronological 41/15: 3182-3192.
order of joining). [14] Ollis, D.F., 1993, Photoreactors for Purification and
Decontamination of Air. In: Ollis, D.F., Al-Ekabi, H.
(eds), Photocatalytic Purification and Treatment of
8 REFERENCES Water and Air, Elsevier Science: 481-494.
[1] EU - The Council of the European Union, Council [15] Zhao, J., Yang, X.D., 2003, Photocatalytic Oxidation
Directive 1999/30/EC - Relating to Limit Values for for Indoor Air Purification: A Literature Review,
Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide and Oxides of Building and Environment, 38/5: 645-654.
Nitrogen, Particulate Matter and Lead in Ambient Air, [16] Imoberdorf, G.E., Irazoqui, H.A., Cassano, A.E.,
1999. Alfano, O.M., 2005, Photocatalytic Degradation of
[2] Zhang, J., Hu, Y., Matsuoka, M., Yamashita, H., Tetrachloroethylene in Gas Phase on TiO2 Films: A
Minagawa, M., Hidaka, H., Anpo, M., 2001, Kinetic Study, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 44: 6075-6085.
Relationship between the Local Structures of [17] Levenspiel, O., 1999, Chemical Reaction
Titanium Oxide Photocatalysts and Their Reactivities Engineering, Willey, New York.
in the Decomposition of NO, J. Phys. Chem B, 105:
8395-8398.
[3] Ibusuki, T., Takeuchi, K., 1994, Removal of Low
Concentration Nitrogen Oxides through
Photoassisted Heterogeneous Catalysis, J. of Mol.
Cat., 88: 93-102.
[4] Hashimoto, K., Wasada, K., Osaki, M., Shono, E.,
Adachi, K., Toukai, N., Kominami, H., Kera, Y.,
2001, Photocatalytic Oxidation of Nitrogen Oxide
over Titania–Zeolite Composite Catalyst to Remove
Nitrogen Oxides in the Atmosphere. Appl. Catal. B:
Environ., 30: 429-436.
[5] Dalton, J.S., Janes, P.A., Jones, N.G., Nicholson,
J.A., Hallam, K.R., Allen, G.C. 2002. Photocatalytic
Oxidation of NOx Gases Using TiO2: A Surface
Spectroscopic Approach. Environ. Poll., 120: 415-
422.
[6] Ichiura, H., Kitaoka, T., Tanaka, H., 2003,
Photocatalytic Oxidation Of NOx Using Composite
Sheets Containing TiO2 and a Metal Compound,
Chemosphere, 51: 855-860.
[7] Lin, Y.M., Tseng, Y.H., Huang, J.H., Chao, C.C.,
Chen, C.C., Wang, I., 2006, Photocatalytic Activity
for Degradation of Nitrogen Oxides over Visible Light
Responsive Titania-Based Photocatalysts, Environ.
Sci. Technol., 40: 1616-1621.
[8] Shelimov, B.N., Tolkachev, N.N., Tkachenko, O.P.,
Baeva, G.N., Klementiev, K.V., Stakheev, A.Y.,
Kazansky, V.B, 2008, Enhancement Effect of TiO2
Dispersion over Alumina on the Photocatalytic
Removal of NOx Admixtures from O2–N2 Flow, J.
Photochem. Photobiol. A: Chem., 195: 81-88.
[9] Devahasdin, S., Fan, C., Li, J.K., Chen, D.H., 2003,
TiO2 Photocatalytic Oxidation of Nitric Oxide:
Transient Behavior and Reaction Kinetics, J.
Photochem. and Photobiol. A: Chem., 156: 161-170.
[10] Fujishima, A., Hashimoto, K., Watanabe, T., 1999,
TiO2 Photocatalysis Fundaments and Applications,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.
[11] ISO 22197-1, 2007, Fine Ceramics (Advanced
Ceramics, Advanced Technical Ceramics) ÷ Test
Method for Air Purification Performance of
Semiconducting Photocatalytic Materials ÷ Part 1:
Removal of Nitric Oxide, First edition.

130
 Construction Process Assessment or “Black Box Opener”
1 2
L. Abarca, F.M. Scheublin , A.J.D. Lambert
1
Structural Design and Construction Technology, Department of Architecture, Building and Planning,
2
Technological Innovation Sciences, Department Technology Management
Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands

Abstract
The construction industry and related ones are considered the world’s largest industrial employer and natural
resources consumer. 50% of all materials extracted from the earth are transformed into construction materials
and products. When these materials enter the waste stream, they account for some up to 57% of all waste
generated prior to recycling, recovery or final disposal.
In spite of these alarming conditions, very little detailed knowledge currently exists about the origins, distributions
and degrees of significance of construction wastes, although construction managers must by necessity always
attempt to minimize waste (and thereby optimise the use or resources), construction materials and waste do not
uniformly receive appropriate consideration in the construction industry. Those wastes and losses arise very often
from inadequate design practices and management or poor housekeeping.
The main goal of the study is to gain insights into the traditional and industrialised construction processes in order
to analyse the performance of the production system and its relation with the environment. This paper presents
some tools that have been prepared, in order to analyse amounts of waste, causes for its production, different
factors and their significance degrees that influence the production of waste.

Keywords:
Construction industry, material management, prevention, waste, material flows

Waste in the construction industry has been the

1 INTRODUCTION subject of a number of research projects in different
The construction industry and related ones are countries and the literature review indicated that:
considered the world’s largest industrial employer 1. The availability of data on material waste in
and natural resources consumer. 50% of all the building industry was relatively scarce.
materials extracted from the earth are transformed 2. Construction materials, labour and waste
into construction materials and products [1, 2]. production do not uniformly receive
Construction projects are intricate, time consuming appropriate consideration and very little
undertakings. The total development of a project detailed knowledge currently exists about
normally consists of several phases, participation of the origins and distributions of construction
many stakeholders and dozens of operations. wastes.
Besides, it requires human resources that should be 3. The number of empirical studies in different
skilled and materials and equipments available countries is small and mostly from
when needed. To some degree each construction developed countries, very few studies were
project is unique, each structure is tailored to suit its found from developing countries.
environment, arranged to perform its own particular
function, and designed to reflect personal tastes and 4. Most of the studies investigated a fairly
preferences. The contractor sets up the “factory” on limited number of materials in a few
site and to a large extend and custom builds each construction sites.
structure. Consequently, construction projects are 5. Comparing the results of those studies is
typified by their complexity and diversity and by the difficult, due to the different construction
no standardized nature of their production. The use technologies involved, and also because
of factory made modular units may diminish this distinct measurement procedures were
individuality somewhat, but it is unlikely that field adopted in each of them.
construction will ever be able to adapt completely to 6. Many of the studies have focussed on
the standardized methods and product uniformity of design of sustainable buildings and the end
assembly line production [3]. of pipe solution for waste management,
The construction process converts materials and mainly recycling of waste.
energy into products and residual products and 7. Only scarcely information was found
when these materials enter the waste stream, they related to the issue of material
account for some 50% of all waste generated prior management by contractors .
to recycling, recovery or final disposal [4].
Based on the literature findings, a research was
planned with the objective to investigate the
construction sector in a developing country, Costa

131
Rica, focusing on construction materials (mainly Figure 1. Simple linear technosystem. (Based on
concrete, steel and wood) and processes. The Lambert) [5]
research tries to look into production processes in
order to determine waste quantities and to explain
the major factors that influence the production of A way to analyse the flows and stocks in this so
solid waste by means of analysing the situation of called technosystem is by using Material Flow
material management during the procurement of Analysis (MFA), which is a systematic procedure
buildings. that connects the sources, the pathways and the
intermediate and final sinks of materials [6]. A MFA
A first study took place and aimed to provide a delivers a complete and consistent set of
baseline understanding related to construction information about all flows and stocks of a particular
waste in Costa Rica, its quantities, composition, material within a system. Through balancing inputs
causes, as well as, motivators and barriers for and outputs, the flows of wastes and environmental
achieving a more sustainable activity. Very limited loadings become visible, and their sources can be
information was found and the existing one has identified [7]. But measuring just flows is insufficient
discrepancies. The survey helped to find the causes to understand the processes that take place in a
of waste generation, which are related to design production system. Therefore, the description of the
factors and management of materials, according to flows is important as well as the comprehension of
the respondents. the processes behind those flows.
A second study is planned with the objective to In order to describe the internal transformations of
analyse the construction process in the Costa Rican materials and energy to assess the efficiency (and
context and identify the quantities of waste sustainability) of the technosystem a survey and
produced while the procurement of buildings, the explanatory multi-method case studies have been
variables that influence the production of waste and developed with the purpose to apply the tools in a
score those attributes. real life context. The assessed projects will be in
This paper is about the tools that have been Costa Rica, and they will have the peculiarity of
prepared to approach the study. Therefore, its projects built with traditional and industrialized (up to
objective is to discuss the appropriateness of the some pre-fab extend) systems. The projects will be
tools for the analysis of the construction processes selected for residential middle size constructions,
or tools to “open the black box”. located in the Great Metropolitan Area.
2. Process assessment or “black box” opener 2.1 Tools development
The construction process is a system that contains a The tools developed are based on an extensive
set of objects with mutual relationships, which are literature research in which various authors pointed
the physical flows and their transformation This out that design factors and management are the
system can be considered as a “black box” that main sources of miuse of resources and production
when opened, it contains subsystems that are part of waste. Five research propositions are developed
of the original system. in order to analyse the sub-processes, as well as, a
Figure 1 represents the production process under quantitative method to analyse the amount of waste
study, in which semi-finished materials and products produced during the procurement of buildings.
are transformed into products (edifices). Every 2.1.1 Cause 1: design factors
production process needs ancillaries such as The literature review demonstrates that the lack of
energy carriers and materials. This production quality in construction activities and the waste
process not only creates products, but also generated on site can be attributed to: the
unintended residuals, such as byproducts and imperfections on the design and specifications [8],
waste. to structural design being poor in terms of
standardization and detailing, change of orders,
ECOSYSTEM detailing mistakes, the need to cut blocks or other
materials due to the lack of modular coordination in
materials & products

TECHNOSYSTEM design, poor integration of building subsystems

during the design stage, poor detailing of design,
Semi-finished

lack of optimisation during design in the use of

resources, imprecise specification of components,
and lack of site layout planning [9, 10, 11, 12, 13,
14, 15, 16, 17, 18].
Ancillary
Ancillar Residual Research Proposition 1: The use of design
materials products
CONSUMPTIO
PRODUCTION N
measures and concepts can reduce construction
extraction or
PROCESS discharge waste. (Modular coordination and standardisation,
Process
PROCESS minimizing the use of temporary works, avoiding late
energy Residual design modifications, providing more detailed
energy
design, introduction of improved design, dimensions
to match with the material size standards).
Product

The aim of this sub-study is to examine the aspects

presented in the research proposition 1, which
according to some authors influence and motivate
the design of the projects and the importance given

132
by the designers of projects to environmental about management practices to managers at the
issues. head office, on site, manufacturers and suppliers.
The information will be collected using a Research Proposition 3. Various sources have a
questionnaire, which will be applied to architects, different yet significant effect on construction site
designers, civil engineers or professionals in charge waste generation
of the design of the buildings on the companies The aim of this sub-study is to determine main
where the case studies will take place. sources of construction waste and to ascertain the
2.1.2 Management factors levels of importance of those waste sources.
One of the first studies found in literature related to The information will be collected by means of a
materials wastage dates from 1976 in which survey applied to senior workers from construction
Skoyles started to analyse the misuse of materials companies’ engineers, academics and practitioners
by the construction sector. His conclusion was that at construction sites. They will be asked to rate pre-
materials and labour spent on handling them to the determined attributes according to their potential
fixing position, account for nearly half the cost of contribution to the generation of waste on site, from
traditionally constructed building and the waste the experience of their companies. The respondents
occurring in practice is, on average, about double will be invited to add new attributes if necessary.
the losses generally assumed or allowed for in 2.1.3 Material flow analysis
estimating. Since then, the importance of materials
management and control has been established. Materials pass through a number of handling
Wyatt (1978) suggested that wastage of materials processes from their use to their final disposal.
arise from inadequate monitoring or administration, These processes can induce various factors
or poor housekeeping [20]. He mentioned the affecting materials management effectiveness, thus
importance of monitoring the flow of materials and the proper flow of these processes is important.
the data associated with them, such as their Shen et al [26] developed a descriptive model for
quantities and inventory levels, they asserted that analysing the flow of materials in the construction
the main problem is the lack of up to date relevant sites, which provides with a systematic way for
information. describing the generation of waste during the
Material management and labour productivity has building processes. Ming Lu et al [28] indicated that
also been studied and it has been estimated the the model fails to show the matching, queuing, and
work-hour losses resulting from ineffective practices. transit of various resources and the intricate
The authors argued that formal material interdependencies between different processes.
management programmes have the potential to Instead they used the free flow-mapping model as a
yield significant construction cost savings due to the basis to develop a process mapping technique that
fact that material resources constitute a large could represent the intricate logical and
portion of a project’s total costs [13, 20, 21, 22]. technological constraints and complex
Some authors have explained the benefits of the interdependent relationships between components
application of materials management and control of a typical handling system in construction.
systems in order to: increase productivity and avoid In the case study of Costa Rica, the free flow
delays due to the availability of the right materials mapping technique is chosen for observing and
prior to work commencement and the ability to plan drawing the movements of the materials (wood,
the work activities according to the availability of steel and concrete). Attention will be paid to
materials [23, 24]. matching, queuing and transit of the various
Gavilan and Bernold [18] emphasized that waste materials trying to reduce the gap between the
reduction is the best and generally most economical simple mapping of the materials and the failures
way to improve the use of materials. They stated by Min Lu et al.
concluded that more detailed planning of materials Material Mismanagement
and process requirements and better material Mismanagement of materials on site emerges as
handling are needed in order to reduce construction one of the main causes of waste. Substantial losses
waste. Bossink and Brouwers [9] came to the same are caused by inadequate transportation, unloading
conclusion in which they analysed different causes and stacking of materials, unsuitable packaging,
for the production of waste and the most significant poor ground conditions, equipment mal functioning
ones are related to management, being the most and due to craftsmen’s errors. Field data indicated
important material handling and operational issues. that most material wastes came from one of 2
Research Proposition 2. Materials’ control and sources: leftover from cutting stock materials to fit
management do not have enough attention at the and nonreusable of materials that are not part of the
company level. building (nonconsumables) [13, 15, 18, 25, 26].
The aim of this sub-study is to analyse the material Research Proposition 4: Material management
management system present at the company level has a positive influence in the reduction of
with the participation of professionals from the head construction waste.
office, personnel on site, manufacturers and Research Proposition 5. Waste is produced due to
suppliers. a combination of events rather than an incident
A checklist has been prepared that will be used as a occurring in one operation.
guide to check on site material management The aim of this sub-study is to examine the flow
practices, as well as a guiding tool to ask questions processes of construction materials (wood, steel
and concrete) on site by using a free-flow mapping

133
presentation technique and a checklist. The well as existing inventories for those materials. At
information in mapping includes 5 elements: the end of the period (date B) a similar data
material supply, waste source, waste facilitator, collection is undertaken.
waste processing and waste destination. The Between dates A and B, data is directly collected,
observations with the checklist and discussions doing the site observations during the working
(with site management staff or building workers) on hours. The amount of materials delivered or
the practices will be oriented to the following topics withdrawn from the site before date A is obtained by
and other ones arising during the study: material supply records.
coordination and information, waste handling and
sorting actions, reduction, reuse and recycling of According to the authors the data collection and
waste practices, pollution and safety. processing procedures developed for the study was
fairly successful as research methods, but they are
2.1.4 Quantitative analysis of waste production too expensive to be directly adopted by construction
Waste in the construction industry is important not companies.
only from the perspective of efficiency, but also In the case of the Costa Rican study, this procedure
concern has been growing in recent years about the will be adapted with the support of students from the
adverse effect of the waste of building materials on Civil Engineering departments of two universities. A
the environment protocol has been developed in order to do the
Various researchers have investigated quantities of analysis
construction waste materials. Skoyles [26] and 3. Conclusions
Picchi [27] used the bill of quantities but it has the
limitation that some of the materials are considered Disposal sites in different parts of the world show
as waste while they might have been used in other that up to 57% of the composition of the waste
projects. arriving to the site is material from construction
activities.
Gavilan and Bernold [18] presented different
approaches to analyse the generation of waste as In the literature review, the most important topics
well as its limitations. Approach 1 is “Cradle to related to the generation of construction waste are
grave” in which observations of construction associated to design factors and material
materials are traced. This would be the most management systems.
accurate way of making the observations but it is The minimisation of waste should start at the
unmanageable. beginning of the process which means at the design
In the approach 2 the end product (construction stage, taking into account: modular coordination and
waste) would be inspected and the sources of waste standardisation, minimizing the use of temporary
can be determined by careful scrutiny, questioning works, avoiding late design modifications, providing
of the work crews, and deduction. It has the more detailed design, introduction of improved
limitation that the piles are difficult to assess. design, dimensions to match with the material size
standards, among others.
Approach 3 is a modification of approach 1. Instead
of tracing the path of every material through the In relation to material management, many
process, a selected number of bricks, or lumber companies do not know the amounts and causes for
pieces, could be marked and traced from the start to the generation of waste, they are unaware of the
the end. This would place proper emphasis on the amounts of waste produced and its causes, and by
flow of the material through the construction process understanding them effective minimisation plans
as well as providing a sample of manageable size. can be established.
The limitation with this approach is that the causes Material management practices can help to reduce
of construction waste are not necessarily uniformly the amount of waste produced while building but it is
distributed throughout a stack of materials. necessary to understand the complexity and the
Approach 4 focuses on workers and not on relations between materials as inputs, processes in
materials. A worker would be observed for a given which they take and waste as outputs. Therefore,
period of time and the amount of waste s/he this study might give ideas on the degrees of
produces and the reason could be carefully tracked. significance of each factor that influences the
This was an adaptation of the method time production of waste. The analysis of those
measurement technique used in evaluating worker significance degrees would allow focusing on some
and crew efficiency. of the causes that affect the system.
The advantage of this approach is that it is simple As already mentioned the objective of the
and that the causes of the waste will be very easy to presentation of this paper is to discuss with
identify but it has the limitation is that direct researchers, working in the field of construction
observation is not always possible though this is the materials stewardship, the propositions and the
single most effective way to ascertain the causes of tools that have been prepared in order to analyse
construction waste. the different subsystems present in the process of
building an edifice. Besides, another objective is to
Formoso et al. [13] proposed an approach in which talk about the different possibilities to quantify the
the sites can be directly observed during a period of amounts of waste produced during the procurement
the processes (4-5 months). At the beginning of the of buildings, its opportunities and limitations.
period (date A), initial data collection is carried out
by the research team. This involves measuring all There are no conclusions yet, but as mentioned by
construction work in which the 3 materials to be Formoso et al. (2002), measuring waste is an
analysed (concrete, steel and wood) participated as effective way to assess the performance of

134
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construction waste generation in a newly starting E., 2004, Management of construction waste in
industrialised setting using Costa Rica as a case public housing project in Hong Kong, Journal
study. Construction Management and Economics, 22:675-
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135
 Constitutive modelling of viscoelastic behaviour of
CNT/Polymer composites
1* 2
K. Yazdchi , M. Salehi
1
Multi scale Mechanics (MSM), Faculty of Engineering Technology,
University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
[email protected]
2
Mechanical engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
The nanocomposites exhibit high electrical conductivity, significant third order non-linear optical behaviour and
electroluminescence, while having substantially improved mechanical strength relative to the neat polymer. Since
the experimental techniques are so expensive, the development of analytical models those are capable of
predicting the time-dependent viscoelastic behaviour of such nanocomposites is essential. In this paper, the
constitutive relation and linear viscoelastic behaviour of NTRPC are studied using methods of micromechanics
and nanomechanics. First, the effects of volume fraction, aspect ratio and orientation of carbon nanotubes
(CNTs), on the overall elastic properties of NTRPC are obtained through a variety of micromechanical techniques.
Secondly, by incorporating the Dynamic Correspondence Principle (DCP), the elastic solution is extended to solve
the related linear viscoelastic problem.

Keywords:
Carbon nanotubes, Nanocomposites, Viscoelasticity, Mechanical properties

Principle (DCP), the elastic solution is extended to

1 Introduction solve the related linear viscoelastic problem.
Polymer composites reinforced by carbon
nanotubes (CNTs) have been extensively
researched for their high strength and stiffness 2 Geometric structure of SWCNTs
properties [1]. The high strength and elastic
modulus, fibrous shape and large aspect ratios of Carbon nanotubes are the fourth allotrope of
these nanotubes (NTs) make them a very promising condensed carbon. Two varieties of these tubes
candidate as the ideal reinforcing fibers for have been distinguished, the single walled carbon
advanced composites with high strength and low nanotubes (SWCNTs) and the multi-walled carbon
density [2]. The nanocomposites exhibit high nanotube (MWCNTs). The SWCNTs are generated
electrical conductivity, significant third order non- by rolling up a Graphene sheet into a seamless
linear optical behavior and electroluminescence, cylinder with a constant radius. The atomic structure
while having substantially improved mechanical of nanotubes depends on tube chirality, which is
strength relative to the neat polymer. However, very C
defined by the Chiral vector h and the Chiral
angle θ as shown in Fig 1. The Chiral vector and
limited attention has been paid to the viscoelastic
behavior of nanotubes reinforced polymer
composites (NTRPC). Since the experimental Chiral angle can be defined in terms of the lattice
techniques are so expensive, there is a need to translation indices (n, m) and the basic vectors
develop analytical models that are capable of a1 and a 2 of the hexagonal lattice as follows:
predicting the time-dependent viscoelastic behavior
of such nanocomposites.
In this paper, the constitutive relation and linear C h = na1 + ma 2
viscoelastic behavior of NTRPC are studied using (1)
methods of micromechanics. First, the effects of
volume fraction, shape, aspect ratio and orientation
of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), on the overall elastic ⎡ ⎤
3m
θ = sin −1 ⎢
( )
properties of NTRPC are obtained. Secondly, by ⎥
incorporating the Dynamic Correspondence ⎢⎣ 2 m 2 + mn + n 2 ⎥⎦
(2)

136
 The stress-strain relation for linear viscoelastic
Using this (n, m) naming scheme, the three types of material is defined as [10]
orientation of the carbon atoms around the t t
σ (t ) = ∫ L(t − τ ) ε (τ )dτ , ε (t ) = ∫ M (t − τ )σ (τ )dτ
. .
nanotube circumference are specified as Armchair,
Zigzag, or Chiral. The chirality of nanotubes has 0 0
significant impact on its transport properties, (3)
particularly the electronic properties [3].
where the dot denotes the differentiation with
C respect to time (t), and L(t) and M(t) are the stress
relaxation stiffness and creep compliance tensors,
respectively.
By applying the Laplace-Carson transformation as:

Zigzag
Armchair ∞
f (s ) = s ∫ e − sτ f (τ )dτ
^

a1 a2 0
O (4)

to Eq. (3) gives

Fig. 1 Schematic of the hexagonal lattice of
Graphene sheet
σ (s ) = L(s )ε (s ), ε (s ) = M (s )σ (s )
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
3 MICROMECHANICAL ANALYSIS
The first research on viscoelastic behaviour of (5)
composites is return to the works of Hashin [4] and
Schapery [5]. After that, many researches oriented
toward the investigation of the effects of fibre where the hat indicates the transformed function in
orientation [6] and intermediate phase [7] on the the Carson domain, and s is the transform variable.
mechanical properties of composites. In the In fact, according to the Correspondence Principle
following we are going to derive the constitute in viscoelasticity (e.g., [11–13]), if a Laplace
relation for viscoelastic behaviour of transformable, analytical solution exists for a
nanocomposites reinforced with CNTs. To achieve problem in linear elasticity, the solution for the
this goal we have considered the following corresponding problem in linear viscoelasticity in the
assumptions: Carson (transformed) domain can be directly
obtained from the former by replacing stiffness and
• The CNTs are straight and the effects of compliance tensors with its viscoelastic counterpart
waviness are ignored
L(s ) or M (s ) , respectively. In particular, for a
^ ^
• We consider two cases:
(a) Random dispersion of NTs which transversely isotropic composite containing
leads to isotropic behaviour and unidirectionally aligned, identical CNTs the Eq. (5) is
(b) Uniform dispersion of NTs which leads written as:
to transverse isotropic behaviour of
nanocomposites
⎧^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
• The interphase region
⎪ σ 11 = L 11 ε 11 + L 12 ε 22 + L 12 ε 33 ,
(between NT and neat
⎪^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

⎪σ 22 = L12 ε 11 + L 22 ε 22 + L 23 ε 33 ,
polymer) is modelled as the
elastic and transverse
isotropic material which the ⎪^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

mechanical properties are ⎪⎪σ 33 = L12 ε 11 + L 23 ε 22 + L 22 ε 33 ,

determined through the ⎨^ ^ ^
Equivalent Continuum ⎪σ 12 = 2 L 44 ε 12 ,
Modelling (ECM) technique ⎪^
⎪σ 23 = 2 L 66 ε 23 = ⎛⎜ L 22 − L 23 ⎞⎟ ε 23 ,
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
[8].
• The overall behaviour of ⎪ ⎝ ⎠
nanocomposites is modelled ⎪^ ^ ^
as linear viscoelastic ⎪⎩σ 31 = 2 L 44 ε 31 ,
• The mechanical properties of (6)
NTs and polymer are
independent of temperature
• The micromechanical model
L
Where ij are the components of the stiffness
is based on the Mori -Tanaka tensor. Therefore the normal and transverse
approach [9] Young’s modulus, shear modulus and in plane and
out of plane Poisson’s ration can be determined as:

137
 1.4
1.2
CNT volume
⎧ 1

1/G (1/GPa)
fraction = 1%
⎪ ⎛^ ⎞
2
0.8 CNT volume
⎪^ 2 ⎜ L 12 ⎟
fraction = 5%
⎪ E 11 = L^ 11 − ⎝ ⎠ , 0.6
⎪ ^ ^
0.4 CNT volume
⎪ L 22 + L 23 fraction = 10%
⎪ 0.2
⎞ ^ ⎡⎛ ^ ⎞ ⎤
2 2
⎪ ⎛^ ⎞ ⎛^ ^ ^ ^
⎜ L12 ⎟ ⎜ L 23 − L 22 ⎟ + L 23 ⎢⎜ L12 ⎟ − L11 L 23 ⎥ 0
⎪⎪ ^ ^ ⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠ ⎣⎢⎝ ⎠ ⎦⎥ ,
⎨ E 22 = L 22 +
0 5 10
2
⎪ ^ ^
⎛ ^
⎞
L11 L 22 − ⎜ L12 ⎟ t (hour)
⎪ ⎝ ⎠
⎪ Fig. 3 variation of shear creep compliance with time
⎪ ⎡^ ^ ⎛^ ⎞ ⎤
2

⎪^ ⎛ ^
⎞ ⎢ L L − ⎜ L ⎟ ⎥ for different values of volume fraction
⎜ 12 ⎟
L 11 23
⎝
12
⎠ ⎦⎥
⎪G 12 = L^ 44 , υ^ 12 = ⎝ ⎠ , υ^ = ⎣⎢ ,
⎪ ^ ^ 23
^ ^
⎛ ^
⎞
2
⎪ L 22 + L 23 L11 L 22 − ⎜ L 12 ⎟
⎪⎩ ⎝ ⎠ b. Transverse isotropic behaviour
(7)
In the case of uniformly distributed NTs, the overall
behaviour of composite will be transversely isotropic
For isotropic composites containing randomly with five independent material constants.
oriented NTs, the above five independent constants In Fig. 4 the effect of aspect ratio on the axial creep
are reduced to only two independent constants. compliance M11 and axial shear creep compliance
4 NuMERICAL RESULTS M44 is shown. As it is seen with increasing the
In this section the effects of aspect ratio and volume aspect ratio, the creep compliance of composite is
fraction for isotropic and transversely isotropic reduced. Of course the effect of aspect ratio on M11
composite are investigated. is clearly higher than M44.
a. Isotropic behaviour In Fig. 5 the effect of aspect ratio on the transverse
creep compliance (M22) and the plane strain bulk
In the case of randomly oriented NTs, the overall modulus (k23) is shown. With increasing the aspect
behaviour of composite will be isotropic. ratio, the transverse creep compliance is decreased.
In Fig. 2 the effect of aspect ratio (ratio of the length However aspect ration has almost no effect on the
to diameter of NTs) on the axial creep compliance plane strain bulk modulus
(inverse of Young’s modulus) is shown. As it is seen
with increasing the aspect ratio, the creep
compliance of composite is reduced. 1.4
In Fig. 3 the effect of volume fraction on the shear M11, Aspect ratio = 5
Creep Compliance (1/GPa)

1.2
creep compliance (the inverse of shear modulus) is 1 M11, Aspect ratio = 50
shown. By increasing the volume fraction, the shear
0.8
creep compliance is decreased. By comparing the M11, Aspect ratio = 500

Fig. 2 and 3, we can see that the effect of aspect 0.6

M44, Aspect ratio = 5
ratio is higher than volume fraction. 0.4
M44, Aspect ratio = 50
It should be mentioned that with passing the time 0.2

the shear and axial creep compliance are increased. 0 M44, Aspect ratio = 500
0 2 4 6 8 10
t (hour)

1.1 Fig. 4 variation of axial and shear creep

1 compliance with time for different values of aspect
ratio
0.9
1/E (1/GPa)

0.8
0.7 0.55
Creep Compliance (1/GPa)

Aspect ratio = 5 M22, Aspect ratio = 5

0.5
0.6 Aspect ratio = 50 0.45
M22, Aspect ratio = 50
0.5 0.4
Aspect ratio = 500
0.35
0.4 0.3 M22, Aspect ratio = 500

0 5 10 0.25
0.2 k23, Aspect ratio = 5
t (hour) 0.15
0.1 k23, Aspect ratio = 50
0 2 4 6 8 10
Fig. 2 variation of axial creep compliance with time k23, Aspect ratio = 500
t (hour)
for different values of aspect ratio

Fig. 5 variation of transverse creep compliance and

the plane strain bulk modulus with time for different
values of aspect ratio

138
 (a) The effect of aspect ratio on M44 and
In Fig. 6 and 7 the effect of volume fraction on the k23 is insignificant but has a great
axial creep compliance (M11), the axial shear creep effect on M11.
compliance (M44), transverse creep compliance (b) By increasing the aspect ratio, the
(M22) and the plane strain bulk modulus (k23) are axial stiffness of the composite is
shown. With increasing the volume fraction, M11 improved
and M44 are decreased; however k23 and M22 are (c) By increasing of the volume fraction
almost constant. These trends are in good M11 is decreased however other
agreement with previous results [14, 15]. mechanical properties are almost
Furthermore, with 0% and 100% volume fraction of constant.
NTs we get the mechanical properties of neat
polymer and NTs respectively. Investigation the effects of agglomeration and
waviness of NTs and the variation of temperature on
the viscoelastic properties on nanocomposites, can
be studied in future.
Creep Compliance (1/GPa)

0.07
8 References
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140
 The direct incorporation of micro-encapsulated Phase
Change Materials in the concrete mixing process – A
feasibility study
1 1 2 1 2
M. Hunger , A.G. Entrop , I. Mandilaras , H.J.H. Brouwers , M. Founti
1
Department of Construction Management and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Technology,
University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
2
Laboratory of Heterogeneous Mixtures and Combustion Systems, School of Mechanical
Engineering,
National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

Abstract
The present study refers to a set of tests using different amounts of micro-
encapsulated PCM directly mixed into self-compacting concrete. This SCC is
investigated regarding its fresh and hardened properties. It will be shown that
increasing PCM amounts lead to lower thermal conductivity and increased heat
capacity, which both significantly improve the thermal performance of concrete
structures. On the other hand, a significant loss in strength and a micro-structural
analysis both indicate that a large part of the capsules cannot withstand the mixing
process, which is a result of insufficient mechanical and chemical resilience of the
encapsulating material.

Keywords:
PCM, self-compacting concrete, latent heat capacity, hydration heat

disperse the paraffin in the fresh concrete mix and

1 INTRODUCTION to melt it without any interaction between the PCM
Phase Change Materials have the ability to absorb and the concrete constituents.
and to release thermal energy at a specific This research aims to contribute to existing
temperature when their state changes. The heat knowledge on the use of micro-encapsulated PCM
capacity and high density of concrete combined with in self-compacting concrete (SCC) by conducting
the use of the latent heat storage of PCM can experiments regarding its behavior during mixing,
provide new energy saving concepts, for example in hydration and after hardening. The properties of
combination with solar energy. In fresh concrete three recipes containing 1% PCM, 3% PCM and 5%
mixes PCM could be added to prevent high PCM (by mass of concrete) were compared with
hydration temperature peaks, which can result in one reference mix. These additions correspond to
higher compressive strength and better durability. 2.5 – 12.4% of volume in the mix. The properties of
The use of PCM in building materials and fresh SCC were evaluated using the J-ring test and
components has been researched for multiple years V-funnel test. During hydration the influence of PCM
and different materials and components have been on the heat development was firstly modeled and
regarded to incorporate them (e.g. [1] and [2]). secondly monitored in situ. Finally, the hardened
concrete was subjected to compressive strength
Because the direct use of a micro-encapsulated
tests and tests to measure its thermal properties.
mixture of paraffins in fresh concrete has not
Furthermore, densities were measured and visual
received much attention yet, a mixture of paraffins
observations were reported. Moreover, the micro-
will be used in this research. It concerns a
structure has been analyzed by using SEM.
commercially available product for the building
industry with a melting point of 23 °C named
Micronal DS 5008 X. According to the product 2 CHOICE OF COMPONENTS – MIX DESIGN
descriptions, it is described as a mixture of paraffin A practical aim of this research is to prevent high
waxes in powder form, encapsulated in polymethyl hydration temperature peaks during the first day of
methacrylate microcapsules. The technique of hydration. Therefore, a deliberately high cement
3
micro-encapsulation is used here in order to dosage of 450 kg/m was selected. In order to
surround the liquid/solid paraffin phase with a hard increase the hydration heat development even more
shell. This way the liquid paraffin (< 23 °C) is a mixture of cement with high fineness (micro-
transformed into a powder and prevented from cement) as well as a R type cement with higher
entering the surrounding matrix. Due to the clinker content was selected.
encapsulation, it should be theoretically possible to

141
In order to account for the varying PCM amounts in the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)
the mixes, a non reactive material with comparable experiment, deploying a Differential Thermal
particle size distribution is necessary to substitute Analyzer (DTA) Perkin Elmer DSC7. For the given
the respective PCM volume. This way it is assured temperature range from -20 °C – 50 °C a cyclic
that all mixes are comparable from the heating/cooling/heating scan was conducted at a
granulometric point of view. Accordingly, all heat-ing/cooling rate of 10 °C/min with 2 min
respective variations compared to the (PCM-free) isothermal holds at both minimum and maximum
reference mix can be assigned to the influence of temperatures. Based on this, during solidification
the PCM. For this test a dolomitic marble powder is (cooling) an enthalpy δHexoth of 102.8 J/g in a
selected, which in former research was successfully temperature range of 22.1 – 9.3 °C was measured.
applied in SCC production [3]. PCM and marble For the melting (heating) the enthalpy δHendoth
powder were substituted on volumetric base and are amounts to 99.7 J/g in a temperature range of 18.8
of similar particle size distribution. The 5% mix is an – 35.4 °C. The authors are aware of, that higher
exception since the PCM volume in this case is values of heating or cooling rate lead to broader
higher than the available marble volume. Therefore, melting ranges and vice versa [5]. Figure 17
a slightly higher fines content is present in this mix. provides the heating and cooling scans. The
Moreover, the concrete is designed with common selected heating/cooling rate is responsible for the
aggregates such as fine sand 0-1, 0-4 sand, an observed super-cooling effect shown in Figure 17.
intermediate gravel fraction 2-8 and a gravel fraction This behavior is normally not to be expected when a
4-16. All sand and gravel fractions are river lower heating/cooling rate of 0.1 – 0.5 °C/min is
aggregates and therefore show smooth and round applied. Nevertheless, the heating/cooling rate does
shape. Finally, a third generation superplasticizer of not influence the total melting/freezing enthalpy.
the polycarboxylate ether (PCE) type was used to 3.2 Concrete mixing
adapt the workability and to adjust the mixes to The mixing of the self-compacting PCM mixes took
about the same slump-flow class. place in four steps. At first all solids except for the
The above described materials have been used to PCM are mixed for 30 seconds in order to
design self-compacting mixes with increasing homogenize the dry components. Thereafter, about
amounts of PCM. Besides one reference mix 90% of the total water dosage is added and mixing
without PCM three more mixes were designed is continued for further two minutes. In this range of
containing 1%, 3% and 5% of PCM materials based time the superplasticizer is added directly after the
on their total mass. The applied design method is water in order to assure sufficient mixing time for the
similar to the SCC mix design of [3]. The method plasticizer to be homogeneously dispersed and
basically focuses on the optimization of the solid activated. At this latest possible moment the micro-
granular skeleton. Figure 16 presents the entire encapsulated PCM is added to the mixing process
particle size distribution of the reference mix in order to expose it as short as possible to the
including the target grading and all individual mixing process. After the PCM addition, part of the
materials, based on the design method elaborated remaining SP and water is dosed to, again, obtain
in [4]. The micro-encapsulated PCM material is the desired self-compacting characteristics. This is
considered as a particle and therefore part of the for the time being controlled by visual inspection. A
optimization. subsequent slump-flow and V-funnel test decides if
an additional water or SP dosage is necessary to
obtain equal workability in terms of relative viscosity
and yield stress. All four mixes succeeded in
Cumulative Finer [Vol.-%]

achieving similar workability with only one additional

dosage step. Table 2 refers to the final water and
SP dosages used for the respective mixes.

Figure 16: Plot of the total grading of the PCM

reference mix, showing target grading compared to
the achieved grading as well as all individual
constituents. The PCM capsules are not constituent
of the reference mix.
Figure 17: Plot of specific heat as a function of
3 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
temperature for the heating and cooling cycles of
3.1 Differential scanning calorimetry the applied PCM.
For this test series a micro-encapsulated PCM was
obtained which is a paraffin wax encased in Reference 1% mix 3% mix 5% mix
polymethyl methacrylate microcapsules. A small mix
sample of these microcapsules has been used for

142
 Mass Mass Mass Mass predetermined heating time. The method is not
(kg) (kg) (kg) (kg) applicable when a phase change occurs in the
Ultrafin 12 149.9 149.9 149.9 149.9 material, as might be the case with the PCM
containing mixes. To overcome the problem, the
CEM I
299.7 299.7 299.7 299.7 samples have been heated to 30 °C and the
32.5 R
Marble measurements have been performed at this
170.2 98.0 0.0 0.0 temperature, which is well above the melting range
powder
of the PCM.
PCM 0.0 23.3 70.0 113.7
3.5 Specific heat capacity/thermal efficiency
Sand 0-1 139.6 139.6 139.6 139.6 measurements
Sand 0-4 655.3 655.3 655.3 655.3 Unlike thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity
Gravel 2-8 387.1 387.1 387.1 387.1 (cp) increases rapidly in the temperature range of
phase change. This makes transient methods
Gravel 4-16 319.6 319.6 319.6 319.6 inappropriate for cp measurements. The Differential
SP - PCE Scanning Calorimetry method requires a
3.1 3.1 2.4 2.9
Glenium 51 representative sample of the material in the order of
Water 203.2 207.4 211.5 248.4 a few milligrams which is not possible with concrete
samples consisting of particles up to 16 mm
Table 2: Mix composition. diameter. For the needs of inexpensive and reliable
measurements an experimental setup (Figure 19)
has been developed which allows measurements of
heat capacity, thermal mass and thermal efficiency
of building materials. The device applies variable
thermal loads at the two sides of a flat-surface
material sample, while measuring its thermal
response. An extensive presentation of the concept
and the corresponding operational principle can be
found in [8].

Figure 18: Depiction of the semi-adiabatic

environment for four standard sized molds.
3.3 Semi-adiabatic curing
To measure the influence of PCM content on the
peak temperature during hydration, an experimental
setup has been constructed. A layer of cellular
glass, 160 mm thick with a heat resistance of 3.81
m2K/W, forms a semi-adiabatic environment for four Figure 19: Sample holder of the thermal mass
standard cubic molds with an edge length of 150 measuring device (sample between two thermo-
mm according to EN 12390-1. The box-shaped regulated plates).
3
environment measures 1520 × 600 × 500 mm
(l×w×h). The four molds were individually separated 4 RESULTS
by three fixed septa of 50 mm cellular glass (see 4.1 Effects on the properties of fresh concrete
Figure 18). Around and within the molds
thermocouples (type T) were placed to measures In order not to expose the PCM microcapsules to
the temperature during the early stage of hydration. additional wear during pouring and compaction, a
Data acquisition took place by using National self-compacting mix was designed. These mixes
Instruments USB-6215 and PICOs TC-08 in start flowing at much lower yield stresses compared
combination with a personal computer to store the to plain concrete. Therefore, the concrete placing
data. The basis of this setup is comparable to involves only a limited amount of shear stress for
setups used before [6], [7]. the microcapsules. Another reason for the choice of
SCC is the faster heat development of SCC
compared to standard plain concrete which is
3.4 Thermal conductivity measurements among others reported by [9].
A “CT-METRE” was used for the conductivity The results on the fresh SCC properties are
measurements. The device uses the transient hot extensively discussed in [10]. Here, it can be
wire method conforming to ISO 8894-1:1987, DIN summarized that all four mixtures resulted in good
51046 and ASTM D2326. The operating principle is and partly excellent self-compacting properties. The
based on the association of a heating device with a increasing PCM dosage did not seem to influence
temperature sensor (both connected inside the any of these measures in a verifiable range. Only
same probe) intended to measure the temperature the visual inspection during the V-funnel and in
increase undergone by the sensor during a particular the slump-flow experiments resulted in

143
some uncommon observations. Here a white liquid of the comparable availability of internal or chemical
was accumulated on top of the mixture in areas of energy in all four mixes, more time is needed to
slow flow or on resting concrete areas. This come to the ambient temperature when the amount
observation became especially obvious at the flow of PCMs is higher. The 3% and 5% PCM mixes
area behind the rods of the J-ring as well as along show a small bow around 25 °C, being -according to
the circumferential line of the spreading concrete the DSC experiment - the onset for the endothermic
during slump-flow tests (cp. Figure 20). This cycle.
behavior was only observed for the three mixes Surprisingly, the 3% mix had a larger temperature
containing PCM and also became more prominent rise than the 1% mix. In this case it could be that 1)
with increasing PCM content. the adiabatic surrounding did not suffice, that 2)
more PCM particles were destroyed during mixing in
the 3% mix than in the 1% mix, or that 3) the
thermocouples were not able to register the
temperature correctly. In future experiments these
three aspects will be taken in consideration.
Regarding option number two, the analysis of the
porosity using SEM showed that many PCM
capsules were in fact destroyed. Nevertheless, the
temperature registration showed that to a large
extent, especially in the 5% mix, the peak
temperature could be lowered. This could imply that,
Figure 20: SCC after J-ring test with obvious flow despite the partial destruction of the PCM capsules,
marks behind the rods and around the spreading a large part of the wax is still present in the concrete
concrete. and could be potentially functioning.

4.3 Effects on mechanical properties

4.2 Effects on the hydration temperature peak
In order to evaluate the effect of PCMs on the
The setup offers space to store four molds in an mechanical properties of concrete, compressive
environment of 20 ±2 °C. After casting the strength measurements were executed. Therefore,
temperature development of the four kernels was five standard cubes per mixture with an edge length
monitored for about 80 hours, taking measurements of 150 mm according to EN 12390-1 (2000) have
every minute. These results are shown in Figure 21. been tested at the 28th day after production. The
The reference mix shows a peak temperature of 41 test procedure for compressive strength is
°C. This temperature is significantly lower than the conforming to EN 12390-3 (2001).
results of [6] have shown for other Portland cement
mixtures during hydration. The observed cooling
refers to a leakage of heat. Otherwise, under totally
adiabatic conditions, a temperature rise of about 76
°C to an absolute temperature of 98 °C would be
expected, considering complete hydration of the
cement. For very massive constructions, where
adiabatic conditions can be assumed for the core
volume, such a temperature rise would imply the
boiling of the free water and cause fundamental
durability problems.

Figure 22: Compressive strength of the PCM mixes

2
after 28 days [N/mm ] including the coefficient of
variation (cv).
Temperature [°C]

Since a new mix design, as described above, has

been applied to this concrete, elevated strength
compared to standard composition with equal
cement content was expected. Therefore, a
modification of Féret’s equation was applied to get
an indication for the possible compressive strength
at 28 days [11]. This modification includes the
contribution of other cementitious materials and
reads as:
Figure 21: Temperature development of 4 self- KgR
compacting mixes in the kernel of the molds in a fc = (1)
semi-adiabatic environment during the first 3.5 days ⎛ W+A ⎞
⎜1 + 3.1 ⎟
after production. ⎜
⎝ C (1 + K1 + K 2 ) + BFS ⎟⎠
Figure 21 shows that an increasing amount of
PCMs results in a lower peak temperature. Because

144
 where Kg is an aggregate coefficient (typical values
are 5.4 for crushed aggregates and 4.8 for rounded
aggregate), Rc is the standard cement strength (cp.
Table 3), W is the total effective water content, A is
the volume of entrapped air and C is the weight of
3
cement (in kg/m ). The other variables, K1, K2 and
BFS, refer to pozzolanic and latent hydraulic effects.
Since none of these materials were used, these
latter variables are zero. Including the relevant data
in Eq. (3), the expected strength of the reference
mix can be calculated to 46.2 N/mm2. In fact a
2
compressive strength of 74.1 N/mm was
determined. The significantly higher strength could (a) (b)
for a large extent be attributed to the improved Figure 23: SEM micrographs of (a) an open pore
packing of the new mix design. covered with solidified wax, and (b) a higher
magnified (5.5k) part of the matrix with deformed
and broken capsules, partly pure leaked wax is
Cement type Heat release after Standard visible.
1 day strength
Q1day [J/g] Rc [N/mm2] 4.5 Effects on the thermal properties of
CEM I 32.5 R 139.3 57,3 hardened concrete
Ultrafin 12 250.0 70.0 The study of the effects of PCM on the thermal
properties of concrete includes measurements of
Table 3: Thermodynamic and strength properties of thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity.
the deployed materials. Thermal conductivity
Results of the compressive strength measurement In order to evaluate the effect of PCM on the
are presented in Figure 22. From the given data it thermal conductivity of concrete three mixes
can be clearly observed that increasing PCM containing 1% PCM, 3% PCM and 5% PCM per
dosages lead to significantly lower compressive weight, and a reference material were measured.
strengths. From Figure 22 it can furthermore be According to the standards, two samples of 100 ×
concluded that the compressive strength of this 3
100 × 50 mm of every mixture were prepared for
specific mixture decreases by 13% for each the measurements. Thermal conductivity
additional percentage of PCM. This linear relation measurements are presented in Figure 24. It is
holds for the range of PCM contents considered. clearly indicated that the addition of PCM particles
into the mass of the concrete results in a reduction
4.4 Microstructural analysis of thermal conductivity. This can be explained by
the enhanced air content and by the lower thermal
An analysis by means of scanning electron conductivity of paraffin.
microscopy shows a porous microstructure and
many, spherical voids which presumably contained
PCM capsules before. As a mixture of paraffin
probably also slightly varies in its melting
temperature, softer paraffin melts earlier than the
harder paraffin components. This causes a slight
segregation during the melting process. Due to the
immiscibility of the leaked paraffin with other
concrete ingredients, solidification appears in the
cavity of the matrix and at pore walls. An example is
given with the SEM micrograph in Figure 23 (a).
Here flaked structures of solidified wax cover the
inner walls of the pore. Close to the pore walls it
forms a type of cell wall which appears to be smooth Figure 24: Thermal conductivity of the PCM mixes.
from the outside (cp. left boundary). The
surrounding structure is densely occupied with PCM Specific heat capacity/thermal mass
capsules of the predominant size of about 6 μm (cp. For the specific heat capacity measurements four
Figure 23 right). These capsules appear to a large samples of the four different mixes were prepared at
extent deformed and broken. These observations the appropriate dimensions, 200 × 200 × 30 mm3 (l
are very similar to those by Gschwander et al. [12], × w × h). The samples were introduced in the
who found broken micro-capsules of the same type sample holder of the thermal analysis device at a
after pumping PCM slurries. temperature of 19 °C and were heated up to 28 °C.
The temperature of the device during the heating
process was maintained constant at 32 °C. The
temperature of the samples and the heat flux from
the device to the samples were recorded.
Temperature and heat flux measurements allow the

145
calculation of the heat capacity and thermal mass of 4.6 Effect of PCM quantity on thermal
the samples (Figure 25 and 11) as: performance
Aq& Evaluation of thermal performance of building
cp = (2) materials used for building envelopes is generally
⎛ dT ⎞ performed by measuring the decrement factor and
m⎜ ⎟
⎝ dt ⎠ time lag. In the case of building materials containing
PCM, the above two measures may not be
M th = m c p (3) representative since they do not take into account
the large amount of heat contributions/subtractions
where cp is the heat capacity of the sample, Mth the in the temperature range that the phase change
thermal mass, A the heat exchange area of the occurs [13]. An appropriate method of evaluating
sample, q the heat flux per square meter, m the the effect of PCM on thermal efficiency of structural
mass of the sample, T the temperature of the elements is the comparison of the heat flux at the
sample and t the time. indoor surface of a wall with different amounts of
4000
PCM [14].
In the current work the above described thermal
Specific heat capacity [J/kgK]

3500
0% PCM
3000
1% PCM
analysis device is used to simulate indoor and
2500
3% PCM outdoor temperatures and the corresponding
5% PCM
temperature profiles are imposed at the two sides of
2000
the sample. The outdoor temperature is assumed to
1500 have a sinusoidal variation from 18.5 °C – 28.5 °C
1000
for 48 hours (for instance resembling temperature
variations in a South European country), while the
500
indoor temperature is set stable at a level of 23.5
0 °C. Temperatures and heat fluxes on both surfaces
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
of the same samples as the ones used for the
Temperature [°C]
specific heat capacity measurements are recorded.
Figure 25: Specific heat capacity of the PCM mixes 900

versus temperature. 800

0% PCM
700
Figure 25 and 11 present the measured specific 1% PCM
3% PCM
heat capacity and thermal mass for the four 600
5% PCM
samples versus temperature. In both Figures, the 500

effect of increasing the percentage of PCM in the 400

mixture is apparent in the melting temperature 300
range of the PCM (23 °C – 26 °C). Comparison of 200
Figure 25 and 13 indicates that, as expected,
100
increasing the amount of PCM in the mixture
0
increases significantly its specific heat capacity (up 0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48
to 3.5 times for the 5% PCM content). However, Time [h]
there seems to be an upper limit to the increase of
the thermal mass. The 5% PCM mixture has slightly Figure 27: Energy required for maintaining indoor
more thermal mass than the 3% mixture inside the temperature stable at 23.5 °C.
melting range of the PCM but less outside of this
region. This can be the consequence of decreasing Integration of the measured heat flux on the inner
concrete density with increasing PCM content. As a side of the sample provides a measure of the total
result, a percentage more than ca. 5% (or 4%) of heat losses towards the indoor environment (Figure
PCM in the mixture does not increase the thermal 27). The heat flux measurements of demonstrate an
mass of the material. up to 11% variation in the measured maximum and
minimum peak values for the sample with 5% PCM
content.

5 CONCLUSION
The mix design method presented in [3] for SCC
containing marble powder was successfully adopted
and applied to the three mixes containing micro-
encapsulated PCM. Based on the J-ring and V-
tunnel test, all four mixtures featured good self-
compacting properties. Using the developed recipes
the increasing PCM dosage did not seem to
influence the properties of the fresh concrete.
The modeling and experiments involving hydration
showed that the temperature peak of hydration
Figure 26: Thermal mass of PCM mixes vs. could be reduced up to 28.1% by increasing the
temperature. PCM content to 5%. However, the heating rate
cannot be changed by the PCM, only the absolute

146
temperature peak is lowered by the amount of Enci, Provincie Overijssel, Rijkswaterstaat, A&G
energy temporarily stored in the PCM. The emission Maasvlakte, BTE, Alvon Bouwsystemen, V.d. Bosch
of heat from the sample will therefore continue for a Beton (chronological order of joining). Furthermore,
longer time when the PCM content is higher. their gratitude goes to BASF and Foamglas for
Regarding the thermal properties of hardened self- providing materials.
compacting concrete with PCM, the experiments
showed a reduction of thermal conductivity with 7 REFERENCES
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148
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