Reference : CIRCULAR ARCHITECTURE: MODELS AND STRATEGIES TO REUSE AND RECYCLE BUILDINGS
Dissertations and theses : Doctoral thesis
Engineering, computing & technology : Architecture
Sustainable Development
http://hdl.handle.net/10993/52782
CIRCULAR ARCHITECTURE: MODELS AND STRATEGIES TO REUSE AND RECYCLE BUILDINGS
English
Ferreira Silva, Marielle mailto [University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE) > >]
3-Oct-2022
University of Luxembourg, ​Esch-sur-Alzette, ​​Luxembourg
DOCTEUR DE L’UNIVERSITÉ DU LUXEMBOURG EN ARCHITECTURE
325
HERTWECK, Dr Florian
MIESSEN, Dr Markus
SCHOLZEN, Dr Frank
WALDMANN, Dr Danièle
KONSTANTINOU, Dr Thaleia
[en] Circular architecture ; Sustainable buildings ; Ecological architecture
[en] How we design, construct and live in our houses as well as go to work can mitigate
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and global climate change. Furthermore, the complex
world we live in is in an ongoing transformation process. The housing shortage
problem is increasing as the world population and cities are increasingly growing.
Thereby, we must think of all the other issues that come along with population growth,
such as increased demand for built space, mobility, expansion of cities into green
areas, use of resources, and materials scarcity. Various projects from history have
used alternatives to solve the problem of social housing, such as increasing density in
cities through housing complexes, fast and low-cost constructions with prefabricated
methods and materials, and modularisation systems. However, the current architecture
is not designed to meet users’ future needs and reduce the environmental impact. A
proposal to change this situation would be to go back to the beginning of architecture’s
conception and to design it differently. In addition, nowadays, there is an increasing
focus on moving towards sustainable and circular living spaces based on shared,
adaptable and modular built environments to improve residents’ quality of life. For this
reason, the main objective of this thesis is to study the potential of architecture that
can reconfigure spatially and temporally, and produce alternative generic models to
reuse and recycle architectural elements and spaces for functional flexibility through
time. To approach the discussion, a documentary research methodology was applied
to study the modular, prefabricated and ecological architectural typologies to address
recyclability in buildings. The Atlas with case studies and architectural design strategies
emerged from the analyses of projects from Durant to the 21st century. Furthermore, this
thesis is a part of the research project Eco-Construction for Sustainable Development
(ECON4SD), which is co-funded by the EU in partnership with the University of
Luxembourg, and it presents three new generic building typologies. They are named
according to their strong characteristics: Prototype 1 - Slab typology, a building
designed as a concrete shelf structure in which timber housing units can be plugged
in and out; Prototype 2 - Tower typology, a tower building with a flexible floor plan
combining working and residential facilities with adjacent multi-purpose facilities; and
Prototype 3 - Block typology, a structure characterised by the entire disassembly. The
three new typologies combine modularity, prefabrication, flexibility and disassembly
strategies to address the increasing demand for multi-use, reusable and resourceefficient
housing units. The prototypes continually adapt to the occupants’ needs as the
infrastructure incorporates repetition, exposed structure, central core, terrace, open
floors, unfinished spaces, prefabrication, combined activities, and have reduced and
different housing unit sizes, in which parts can be disassembled. They also densify
the region that they are being implemented in. Moreover, the new circular typologies
can offer more generous public and shared space for the occupants within the same
building size as an ordinary building. The alternative design allows the reconversion of
existing buildings or the reconstruction of the same buildings in other places reducing
waste and increases its useful lifespan. Once the building is adapted and reused as
much as possible, and the life cycle comes to an end, it can be disassembled, and the
materials can be sorted for reusable or recyclable resources. The results demonstrate
that circular architecture is feasible, realistic, adapts through time, increases material
use, avoids unnecessary demolition, reduces construction waste and CO2 emissions
and extends the useful life of the buildings.
Eco-Construction for Sustainable Development (ECON4SD)
Researchers ; Professionals ; Students ; General public
http://hdl.handle.net/10993/52782

File(s) associated to this reference

Fulltext file(s):

FileCommentaryVersionSizeAccess
Open access
PhD_Thesis_MarielleFERREIRASILVA_eletronicversion.pdfAuthor postprint89.21 MBView/Open

Bookmark and Share SFX Query

All documents in ORBilu are protected by a user license.