Japanese Efforts to Promote Steel Reuse in Building Construction.

This paper describes the state of the art of structural steel reuse in Japan. A significant part of the material is taken from a document titled the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) Recommendations for Sustainable Steel Building Construction (Draft) available only in the Japanese language. The motivations for and potential benefits of steel reuse are examined. The affinity between seismic design requirements and steel reuse is highlighted through a concept known as "damage-control" design. Some technologies for disassembly are introduced. The historical development and changes in Japanese structural steel are summarized, followed by a discussion on reusability of historical steel reclaimed from existing buildings. Reuse projects whose details are known to the authors are listed. The heart of the paper is a design procedure that specifies the structural engineer's role and involvement in planning, material procurement, and executing a steel reuse project. The discussion is concluded by six directions that should be pursued to make steel reuse a widely accepted reality in Japan. Among those directions are research needs to establish a procedure to quantify the remaining structural performance of reclaimed steel considering possible exposure to earthquakes, establish connections that allow for easy disassembly, and introduce modularized structural systems. High seismicity and the general practice to adopt full moment frames pose unique challenges for steel reuse in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]