Search

This paper is part of the design strategies of reassembly and reuse of buildings according to the transition to circular economy. Specifically, the paper addresses the issue of architectural envelopes made of drywall and their executive design according to a Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) approach, based on a case study of a temporary wooden housing unit for which there are several scenarios of use and end of life once the first cycle of use of the components of the envelope has come to an end. In particular, the paper, based on the collection of environmental profiles of products through Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), wants to define a balance between the environmental impacts incorporated in the used materials and the benefits related to the adoption of dry construction techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is derived from a feasibility study for a single-story elevation at the Kent School of Architecture and Planning (KSAP) in the United Kingdom. This project embraced two fundamental principles of the circular economy: flexibility of interior spaces and Design for Disassembly (DfD). The goals were to reduce the risk of demolition and preserve the value of the building material to empower its later use. These principles formed the solution for the structural frame. For this paper, the engineering phase was carried out to improve the structural connections designed according to DfD principles and following generative design methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]