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  4. Environmental and economic analysis of new construction techniques reusing existing concrete elements: two case studies
 
conference paper

Environmental and economic analysis of new construction techniques reusing existing concrete elements: two case studies

Küpfer, Célia Marine  
•
Bastien Masse, Maléna  
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Devènes, Julie Rachel  
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2022
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
Sustainable Built Environment (SBE) D-A-C-H Conference

As the most widely used construction material worldwide, concrete is the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions, material depletion, and waste generation by the construction industry. Typically, concrete waste is crushed and, at best, reclaimed into recycled aggregate or used as gravel. This process is energy-intensive and results in a reduction in material properties. In contrast, the direct reuse of concrete elements from obsolete structures offers great potential for significantly reducing the environmental impact of new constructions. To be reused, concrete elements are carefully sawn out of soon-to-be-demolished buildings. Elements are then used without other major transformations for another service cycle in a new assembly. This paper analyses two recent projects in Switzerland that showcase innovative applications of concrete reuse: a post-tensioned segmented arch footbridge and a parking pavement. Both projects reuse blocks extracted from cast-in-place concrete buildings undergoing transformation or demolition. In this paper, environmental and economic analyses provide a comprehensive understanding of the alleviations and costs involved. Results are compared to those of alternatives with conventional construction methods. The two projects reusing concrete globally showcase a drastically lower environmental impacts for comparable or higher construction costs, hence calling for future developments of such new circular construction strategies.

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