Designing [for] the future: Managing architectural parts through the principles of circular economy

The environmental impact of the construction and demolition industry is enormous, therefore the management of architectural “waste” and the existing building volume became of crucial importance for the design of sustainable buildings and cities. Considering the principles of circular economy, two possible approaches emerge. The first concerns the existing architectural stock and its future use, not as a whole but as upcycled separate modules. The second is oriented towards the incorporation of future management of architectural parts in the design of new constructions, also known as design for disassembly (DfD). The research highlights the capabilities of each material and the potential ways of reusing it. In the case of design for disassembly, the connectivity of construction elements is of equal importance to the materiality of the projects. Moreover, the observations include the logistics of reuse in a new construction, the incorporation of a former architectural part, whose function sometimes differs from its role in the original building. In the existing residential fabric, upcycling emerges as a practice of creative reuse of building elements. Nonetheless, each case should be individually evaluated. Though these processes have not been yet used at a great extent, this theoretical framework is a reminder that the creation of a new building is not a permanent condition, but an aggregation of materials that temporarily serve a given purpose.

Design for Disassembly (DfD) in construction industry: a literature mapping and analysis of the existing designs

A systematic search of scientific literature on the topic of Design for Disassembly (DfD) in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry was performed with a special focus on study cases. The results were augmented by electronic magazine search due to the non-representative amount of data found in the scientific database. Results show the domination of wood and steel solutions among architects and engineers designing for disassembly. Frame structural system is preferable. DfD structures are mainly located in Europe but observed in the whole world and growing exponentially since 90'. The database with 117 built DfD study cases is made available online and will be further developed.

Design for Disassembly and the rehabilitation of public housing stock. A case study

This contribution presents the meta-design research scenario of the sustainable building redevelopment of the INA Casa “Sbarre Inferiori” district in Reggio Calabria based on a twofold reflection. On the one hand, the transformative potential, both technological and formal, of the public housing stock created under the INA Casa Plan. On the other, the extension of the life cycle of the buildings and the improvement of the spatial quality of the housing according to a circular, low-tech and ecological approach. The result is an abacus of technological additions in bio-xlam conceived according to the principles of Design for Disassembly, which allows the reuse of the modules in new spatial and functional configurations, and the remanufacturing and recycling of the elements at the end of their life.

Maintainability Approach: Hydraulic Pump with External Gears Explored with Design for Disassembly and Augmented Reality

The work carried out has the purpose of improving and optimizing various industrial technical operations, such as preventive maintenance, taken here as an example of application, using the Design for Disassembly (DfD) technique. Therefore, through four metaheuristic methods that have been chosen among the most widespread in the field (described below) to make a comparison between them, the optimal disassembly sequence is sought, if it exists, in terms of time and then costs in order to extract a target component without damaging the other mechanical parts of the assembly. The hypothesis that has been tested throughout this case study is “a responsible application of DfD, not only from the design process of a product but also during the disassembly procedure, can bring substantial benefits to the company”. Interaction with a hypothetical operator in charge of the work to be performed is implemented with the use of augmented reality. In fact, through an application programmed for an Android device (in this case, a mobile phone, hence a handheld device), the operator can be instructed step-by-step on the disassembly sequence in dynamics as an animation. Finally, two virtual buttons were added in augmented reality with which the operator can start and pause/resume the animation at any time to facilitate the understanding of the different steps established by the sequence.