Reconstruct

A Territorial Construction System for a Circular Low-Carbon Built Environment

CONTEXT

Construction industry uses over 30% of the world’s natural resources, generates 25% of the total solid waste and 40% of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions. More than a third of these emissions arise from embodied carbon in construction materials, particularly cement and steel, which make up to over 80% of the total. Given the limited potential of these materials for recycling, efforts are now directed towards substituting them with low-carbon alternatives and/or integrating them into reusable construction components.

CHALLENGE

• Traditional OPC with recycled material (up to 25%) is commercially available, but the achieved CO2 reduction is limited.
• Maximizing the reusability of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) remains a key challenge due to its heavy weight and the lack of recycled content in current construction practices.
• Limited Adoption of Design Paradigms and construction methods that would extend building lifetime, support reusability & repairability, and ultimately minimize the generation of CDW in the first place.

PROPOSAL

RECONSTRUCT aims to address the previous challenges through a threefold approach:

• Develop low-carbon alternatives to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) suitable for both renovations and new buildings and maximize the utilization of Construction & Demolition Waste (CDW) along with other waste materials.
• Manufacture construction components that use recycled materials and are designed for modularity and dismantling, enabling their reusability or easy disassemblement and recycling​.
• Embed deconstruction in building design and construct circular low-carbon buildings that produce near-zero CDW throughout their lifecycle.

ITeC’s ROLE

• Project Coordination
• Product & Material Passports Development​
• LCA & LCC Assessment​
• Impact Assessment Plan & Continuous Monitoring

RESULTS

​2 pilot buildings