The built environment is a major contributor to greenhouse gases: 40% of CO2 emissions are attributed to it. Half of this impact is linked to construction materials, worldwide. Half of this impact is attributed to the building materials, their production, their use, their destruction. In Switzerland, two thirds of waste comes from construction sites. Facing the climate emergency, the reduction of the CO2 impact of the construction industry is becoming a major challenge. The reuse of materials is an effective way to reduce this impact and the production of waste. The objective of the course is to learn about the process of reuse and the issues and constraints related to it. The fact that building materials are not chosen solely according to the architectural will of the designer, but rather according to the temporary and random availability of buildings being demolished/deconstructed, profoundly changes the project process. New knowledge and new constraints must be taken into account for the design of a built structure.
The course wants to provide a holistic view of the practice so that students will be able to navigate when they wish to apply reuse. The following topics will be covered:
– Develop a critical approach of the design of a project with reuse elements.
– Locating and identifying buildings for demolition.
– Analyzing a building for deconstruction and assessing the quality of building components.
– Dismantling, transporting, storing and reconditioning building elements.
– Know the different actors of reuse.
– Design from reused elements and manage the unknown and the unexpected in a project process.
– Design by integrating dismantling.
– Build with reused elements.
In the theoretical part of the course, the challenges of reuse as well as concrete examples are presented by the teachers and invited experts. Through practical exercises in groups, at the PopUp workshop and on dismantling sites or supplying sites, the course aims to give a concrete experience.
– Work clothes and safety shoes are mandatory.
– It is mandatory to follow the safety instructions given by teachers and the atelier PopUp technical team.