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  4. A concrete answer for circular construction: three prototypes reusing saw-cut elements
 
research article

A concrete answer for circular construction: three prototypes reusing saw-cut elements

Bastien Masse, Maléna  
•
Küpfer, Célia Marine  
•
Fivet, Corentin  
2024
The Structural Engineer

Existing concrete buildings should be retained for as long as possible to reduce the environmental burden of demolition and new construction. However, when urban pressure makes demolition unavoidable, salvaging and reusing concrete elements elsewhere in new structures, rather than reducing them to rubble, efficiently prolongs the use of existing resources at their highest structural value. Concrete reuse is not a new approach: pioneer cases have demonstrated its potential, but broader adoption has still not been seen across the wider industry. Three prototypes recently built by Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne researchers and students in Switzerland demonstrate the feasibility and potential of reusing elements saw-cut from cast in situ concrete structures. The prototypes deal with different scales of elements, from small blocks to large slab elements and 3D assemblies. Lifecycle assessments confirm that reusing concrete elements drastically reduces the upfront global warming potential of new construction, providing a new lower-bound benchmark for sustainable, circular construction.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.56330/ZMSY4716
Author(s)
Bastien Masse, Maléna  
Küpfer, Célia Marine  
Fivet, Corentin  
Date Issued

2024

Published in
The Structural Engineer
Volume

102

Issue

4

Start page

32

End page

37

Subjects

concrete

•

climate change

•

demolition

•

construction management

•

technical

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
SXL  
Available on Infoscience
April 4, 2024
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/207018
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