Resurrecting the Ruins

<p><b>Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste contributes to over 50% of New Zealand’s overall waste. Materials such as timber, plasterboard, and concrete make up 81% of the C&D waste that goes into landfills each year. Alongside this, more than 235 heritage-listed buildings have been demolished in Christchurch since the 2011 earthquakes. This research portfolio aims to find a solution to decrease C&D waste produced by demolishing heritage buildings.</b></p> <p>With the recent announcement of The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament’s demolition, this will be another building added to the list of lost heritage in Christchurch. This research portfolio aims to bridge the relationship between heritage and waste through the recycling and reuse of the demolished materials, exploring the idea that history and heritage are preserved through building material reuse.</p> <p>This research portfolio mainly focuses on reducing construction and demolition waste in New Zealand, using the design of a new Catholic Cathedral as a vessel. This thesis will challenge how the construction and design industry deals with the demolition of heritage buildings and their contribution to New Zealand’s waste. It aims to explore the idea of building material reuse not only to reduce waste but also to retain the history and heritage of the demolished building within the materials.</p>

Resurrecting the Ruins

<p><b>Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste contributes to over 50% of New Zealand’s overall waste. Materials such as timber, plasterboard, and concrete make up 81% of the C&D waste that goes into landfills each year. Alongside this, more than 235 heritage-listed buildings have been demolished in Christchurch since the 2011 earthquakes. This research portfolio aims to find a solution to decrease C&D waste produced by demolishing heritage buildings.</b></p> <p>With the recent announcement of The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament’s demolition, this will be another building added to the list of lost heritage in Christchurch. This research portfolio aims to bridge the relationship between heritage and waste through the recycling and reuse of the demolished materials, exploring the idea that history and heritage are preserved through building material reuse.</p> <p>This research portfolio mainly focuses on reducing construction and demolition waste in New Zealand, using the design of a new Catholic Cathedral as a vessel. This thesis will challenge how the construction and design industry deals with the demolition of heritage buildings and their contribution to New Zealand’s waste. It aims to explore the idea of building material reuse not only to reduce waste but also to retain the history and heritage of the demolished building within the materials.</p>

Recycling as an Inspiration for Architecture

The article approaches the inspiration of recycling at different levels of understanding. The introduction describes the meanings of the word recycling as it is perceived in relation to architecture. The first chapter approaches recycling through its most common understanding as material reuse, describing how the recycling of materials can inspire architecture. The second chapter takes up recycling in the sense of conversion, pointing out the particular importance of addressing this issue. The chapter mentions four theories dealing with approaches to conversion, which are specified through examples, and points to architectural recycling motivated by idea and by religion. The third chapter discusses architecture is inspired by recycling or reusing architectural elements that become the bearer of the idea of behind a new architectural concept. The fourth chapter reflects on understanding the recycling of architecture as taking on the formal image of historical architectural styles, thus reflected in the historical styles of the 19th century and postmodernism of the 20th century. The fifth chapter “Recycling the idea” seeks recycling at the level of the idea, by incorporating old ideas into modern concepts, referring to the Ideal City of Chaux and to Ricardo Bofill, the motif of the medieval mázhaus and Socrates’ house. In the sixth chapter, entitled “Recycling as a concept”, we read about inspiring architecture that takes on recycling at many levels of meaning, becoming important for objectifying the ideological essence of the work. The conclusion of the paper briefly summarizes the results of the work and its essence, summarizing a subjective evaluation of the issue.

The potential environmental benefits of reusable and recyclable materials stocks in Toronto's single-detached housing

This study examines the stocks of building materials in Toronto’s in-use and annual obsolete single detached housing, to provide potential environmental benefit parameters for city scale material reuse and recycling. The material volumes of five archetypes, developed to represent typical Toronto housing, were measured and extrapolated to the city scale. Applying established criteria for reusability and recyclability, city scale reusable and recyclable stocks were determined for three environmental indicators: material volume headed to landfill, carbon dioxide emissions, and primary energy consumption. It was determined that 61-66% of the material volume in Toronto’s in-use and annual obsolete housing could be reclaimed for reuse/recycling, and was mostly composed of masonry, concrete, and framing lumber from houses built from 1930-1960. Additionally, annual obsolete reusable materials represented an embodied carbon of 2,287-4,116 tonnes and energy of 52,883-95,189 GJ. By addressing common barriers to widespread uptake of reuse/recycling, Toronto could reap these determined potential environmental benefits.

The potential environmental benefits of reusable and recyclable materials stocks in Toronto's single-detached housing

This study examines the stocks of building materials in Toronto’s in-use and annual obsolete single detached housing, to provide potential environmental benefit parameters for city scale material reuse and recycling. The material volumes of five archetypes, developed to represent typical Toronto housing, were measured and extrapolated to the city scale. Applying established criteria for reusability and recyclability, city scale reusable and recyclable stocks were determined for three environmental indicators: material volume headed to landfill, carbon dioxide emissions, and primary energy consumption. It was determined that 61-66% of the material volume in Toronto’s in-use and annual obsolete housing could be reclaimed for reuse/recycling, and was mostly composed of masonry, concrete, and framing lumber from houses built from 1930-1960. Additionally, annual obsolete reusable materials represented an embodied carbon of 2,287-4,116 tonnes and energy of 52,883-95,189 GJ. By addressing common barriers to widespread uptake of reuse/recycling, Toronto could reap these determined potential environmental benefits.

Re: Purpose I reframing the purpose of construction waste

This thesis is an investigation into the extended use of waste in an architectural context. As resources are becoming depleted, new systems and techniques need to be developed to use what we have more effectively. By studying the material flows of urban construction, new purposes for construction waste can be revealed. This thesis challenges the current perceptions of waste to that of a nutrient. In order to showcase and frame waste as nutrient, the project proposal is for urban interventions built from waste to be placed throughout public spaces on Ryerson’s Campus. These interventions will inform the public on material reuse and at the same time increase the quality of public space. Typically when waste is used in architecture, the material sources are unique, this thesis questions that notion by investigating materials that are ubiquitous. This thesis strives to answer if and how architecture can add value to waste materials

Re: Purpose I reframing the purpose of construction waste

This thesis is an investigation into the extended use of waste in an architectural context. As resources are becoming depleted, new systems and techniques need to be developed to use what we have more effectively. By studying the material flows of urban construction, new purposes for construction waste can be revealed. This thesis challenges the current perceptions of waste to that of a nutrient. In order to showcase and frame waste as nutrient, the project proposal is for urban interventions built from waste to be placed throughout public spaces on Ryerson’s Campus. These interventions will inform the public on material reuse and at the same time increase the quality of public space. Typically when waste is used in architecture, the material sources are unique, this thesis questions that notion by investigating materials that are ubiquitous. This thesis strives to answer if and how architecture can add value to waste materials

Geometrical deviation of end-of-life parts as a consequence of reshaping by single point incremental forming

Putting in place circular economy strategies is an urgent challenge to face. In this scenario, manufacturing processes play a relevant role as efficient material reuse enabler. Scientists have to make an effort either to find new process or to rethink old process to reprocess end-of-life (EoL) component to recover both material and functions. In this paper, single point incremental forming (SPIF) process is used for reshaping sheet metal EoL components. The entire process chain was replicated including both deep drawing process (to imitate the end-of-life component) as well as SPIF operations (to obtain the reshaped components). The geometrical deviation as a consequence of SPIF operations was studied; two different SPIF directions (named inwards and outwards) were analyzed. A wide experimental campaign along with statistical analyses was developed to analyze effects of some geometrical parameters on the observed geometrical deviation. The results are promising as limited distortions were observed and sound components were obtained in all the analyzed process configurations. Despite that, some research is still needed to better standardize the reshaping process and bring it closer to an industrial applicability.

Remediation with Semicoke-Preparation, Characterization, and Adsorption Application

Development of low-cost contaminant sorbents from industrial waste is now an essential aspect of the circular economy since their disposal continues to threaten ecological integrity. Semicoke (SC), a by-product generated in large quantities and described as solid waste from gasification of low-rank coal (LRC), is gaining popularity in line with its reuse capacity in the energy industry but is less explored as a contaminant adsorbent despite its physical and elemental carbon properties. This paper summarizes recent information on SC, sources and production, adsorption mechanism of polluting contaminants, and summarizes regeneration methods capable of yielding sustainability for the material reuse.