Saggi Essays Ensayos

Decarbonizzazione dei manufatti edilizi: metodologie per la valutazione della Whole Life Carbon e focus sulla fase di fine vita

Decarbonising buildings: Whole Life Carbon assessment methods and end-of-life stage focusing

Jacopo Andreotti _jacopo.andreotti@uniroma3.it

Ph.D. Student

Università degli Studi Roma Tre

Dipartimento di Architettura

Roberto Giordano _roberto.giordano@polito.it

Professore Associato

Politecnico di Torino

Dipartimento di Architettura e Design

Summary

In recent decades, the dependence of human activities on fossil fuels and linear economic models (produce, use, and throw away) have caused the emission of vast quantities of GreenHouse Gas (GHG) into the atmosphere, causing the rise of the earth’s temperature. In response to climate change, world governments have signed several pacts to reduce GHG emissions and limit temperature rise to 2050 below 1.5°C. In this context, the European Union has shown to be sensitive to environmental issues and a promoter of a network of plans to tackle global warming. Among the main areas of intervention, the construction sector is predominant in pursuing decarbonisation by 2050.

Being able to manage and control the emissions in the life cycle of a building becomes a pivotal element in reaching decarbonisation’s objectives. It is, therefore, necessary to develop methods and tools for measuring all stages of the life cycle of buildings, from construction to final disposal. The paper deals with some results of the research project “Tool for Decarbonisation”, promoted by the Green Building Council Italy in collaboration with the Department of Architecture and Design of the Politecnico di Torino. The research aims to develop an accounting methodology for the Embodied Carbon in all the stages of a building’s life cycle.

The research outcomes contribute to assessing the building’s Whole Life Carbon. Finally, the paper focuses on the final stages of the building’s life cycle, highlighting the complexity of accounting Embodied Carbon in the End-of-Life stages and the different influence on reducing emissions caused by Construction and Demolition waste.

Circular Economy, Decarbonise, Embodied Carbon, End-of-Life, Whole Life Carbon

Re-manufacturing and re-use practices for extending the value of short-life building components

Nazly Atta _nazly.atta@polimi.it

Assistant Professor

Politecnico di Milano

Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction

Engineering

Anna Dalla Valle _anna.dalla@polimi.it

Assistant Professor

Politecnico di Milano

Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering

Serena Giorgi _serena.giorgi@polimi.it

Research fellow

Politecnico di Milano

Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering

Salvatore Viscuso _salvatore.viscuso@polimi.it

Assistant Professor

Politecnico di Milano

Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering

Summary

Tertiary buildings are characterized by quick cycles of renewal and reconfiguration of interior spaces, determining fast functional obsolescence and frequent reshaping activities. Hence, the majority of tertiary sector waste consists of products characterized by high residual value.

Aiming at making the most of the potential unexploited useful life of building elements – according to a circular economy perspective – the present paper introduces re-manufacturing, recondition, re-use and repurpose as winning strategies for reducing tertiary sector waste and extending the lifecycle of products. In this perspective, the contribution shows the key results of two experimentations conducted within the project “Re-NetTA (Re-manufacturing Networks for Tertiary Architectures). New organizational models and tools for re-manufacturing and re-using short life components coming from tertiary buildings renewal”.

The experimentations focus on the development and testing of new circular organizational models for extending the lifecycle of short-term products, through the active involvement of key stakeholders of the sector. Afterward, an overview of the main challenges and opportunities for the application of virtuous circular processes within building sector is outlined, together with the definition of “enabling” conditions for the spreading of circular practices in the construction sector, referring to product design, information traceability and value-chain.

Il vetro piano in edilizia: dati e considerazioni in merito a produzione e riciclo

Flat glass in the construction industry: production and recycling data and considerations

Maria Antonia Barucco _barucco@iuav.it

Professore Associato

Università Iuav di Venezia

Dipartimento di Culture del progetto

Summary

Flat glass production is a massive industry. Much of the glass is used in the construction industry, but not only that, other sectors such as automotive, energy and glass for technological devices spur innovation. The data on recycled glass are comforting, but the end-of-life and flat glass recycling chain can improve and innovate in view of new targets related to the upcycling of secondary raw materials.

To do this, policies, tools and working methods are needed which, based on transparency and communication, can open new horizons for development, work and research.

The paper proposes an interpretation of the glass industry based on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s considerations of the circular economy, it is proposed to characterise the recycling of flat glass (especially that used in the construction sector) in such a way as to enhance research, innovation and the development of recycling-oriented supply chains.

Vivienda circular:

Circular housing: minimizing environmental impacts and construction waste

Fabiola Colmenero Fonseca _fabiola.colmenero@aulagrupo.es

Postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Arquitecta The American University of Europe

Training Department

Juan Francisco Palomino Bernal _juan.pb@cdguzman.tecnm.mx

Mtro. Arquitecto

Tecnológico Nacional de México/Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Guzmán

Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra

Ramiro Rodríguez Pérez _ramiro.rp@cdguzman.tecnm.mx

Mtro. Arquitecto

Tecnológico Nacional de México/Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Guzmán

Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra

Summary

The analysis of the life cycle of a house allows us to know the amount of waste generated and the consumption of resources necessary for its construction, which makes them transform the environment in which they are available. That is why the objective of this article is to analyze the consumption of resources, waste, and the impacts generated by housing on the environment from the control of resources, CO2 emissions, and traceability of trash, to contribute to the transformation of housing construction towards circularity, to apply strategies from design to construction and then its maintenance for the minimization of environmental impact. For this, a methodology was designed that starts by studying raw material, recycling, and their life cycle, from manufacturing, distribution, use, repair, maintenance, and finally, waste. This allowed us to find parameters to quantify environmental impact through the toolkit. A comparison of the same house built with conventional materials and then with natural materials was made, verifying the circularity of the same; later, it was confirmed with the ISO 14040 standard: the Life Cycle Assessment, which focuses on an inventory of the relevant inputs and outputs of the system, evaluating the possible environmental impacts associated with those inputs and outputs, and interprets the results of the inventory and impact phases about the objectives of the study. Finally, the data were quantitatively contrasted with the support of the Energy Building Modeling (BIM) program and the Toolkit tool.

The results show that twice the consumption of resources is required if it is done with conventional material; however, in terms of costs, it is more economical, which also means a more significant impact on the environment of its manufacturing process.

Lost in transition. The burden of material resources for renewable energy sources

Massimiliano Condotta _condotta@iuav.it Associate professor

Università Iuav di Venezia

Dipartimento di Culture del Progetto

Chiara Scanagatta _cscanagatta@iuav.it Research fellow

Università Iuav di Venezia

Dipartimento di Culture del Progetto

Elisa Zatta _ezatta@iuav.it Research fellow

Università Iuav di Venezia

Dipartimento di Culture del Progetto

Summary

Although wind and photovoltaic (PV) systems will inevitably be the cornerstone of the European ecological transition, being the more advanced and widespread technologies, some issues about the related material supply chain and End of Life management must be addressed. Considering the future pervasive presence of these renewable energy sources, questions on how sustainability patterns can merge energy and material resources preservation arise.

The contribution depicts the current obstacles emerging in the wind and PV systems material demand and waste management, highlights the related main criticalities, and outlines an overview of current studies and research that aim at overcoming such known issues.

At first, it will identify the materials required in both the supply chain and production of renewables systems, with a focus on critical raw ones and rare earth elements. It will later examine the current waste management patterns, to highlight the technical, economic, and environmental obstacles which reveal how the sustainable management of wind and PV systems should be significantly improved.

Three main areas of interest for future implementation will then be identified, and suggestions for sustainable improvements through both existing and missing lines of research are discussed. These latter addresses design strategies, material efficiency, and policy.

Renewables,

La gestione dei rifiuti edili in Europa: stato dell’arte e prospettive future

Construction waste management in Europe: state of the art and prospects

Marco Giampaoletti _marco.giampaoletti@uniroma1.it Ricercatore universitario

Sapienza Università di Roma

Dipartimento Pianificazione Design Tecnologia dell’Architettura

Fabrizio Amadei _fabrizio.amadei@uniroma1.it

Ph.D. Student

Sapienza Università di Roma

Dipartimento Pianificazione Design Tecnologia dell’Architettura

Summary

The construction sector accounts for more than one-third of all waste generated in Europe related to demolition, construction, and reconstruction activities (phases that include urban planning and development work). In terms of volume produced, construction and demolition (C&D) waste is among the largest sources of waste in Europe. Although much of it is recyclable or reusable, reuse and recycling rates vary widely among member countries within the European Union. Moreover, the building sector itself is strategic to the energy-environmental performance of buildings and infrastructure throughout their life cycle. Given the long lifespan of buildings, it is essential to encourage better design with the aim of reducing their environmental impact while improving their durability and the recyclability of their components.

Therefore, waste management becomes a key element of circular construction, as it allows for the recovery, recycling, and reuse of those waste materials from the construction process due to C&D phases, putting them back into the product supply chain, thus avoiding the extraction of new resources. This paper aims to define the state of the art of this sector in Europe, outlining its current regulatory apparatus and its application in an experimental case study.

Dalla cultura del riciclo alle buone pratiche From the recycling culture to the best practices

Enza Santoro _enza.santoro@unina.it

Ph.D. Student

Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile e Ambientale

Gigliola Ausiello _ausiello@unina.it

Professore Ordinario

Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile e Ambientale

Summary

The building sector needs to pay attention to the environment because it is one of the most energy-intensive sectors; it consumes large amounts of natural raw materials and produces a large amount of waste that goes to landfill. The main materials used in construction have a mining cycle that will be exhausted in a not too long. The extraction of materials, such as sand, gravel and stones require a lot of energy consumption, and also changes the environment. There are many solutions to protect the environment, including the use of recycled materials. Urban landfills can be a waste of raw materials that are already used in other sectors and would be suitable for new purposes. This practice, born in ancient times and developed especially in Roman times, is difficult to spread today compared to the achievements with traditional materials. The aim of the paper is to show, through the analysis of pilot projects, what objectives can be achieved through the use of reused or recycled materials. This objective is to raise awareness among citizens, professionals, policymakers and construction companies to extend recovery, reuse and recycling to the construction.

Examples from real buildings and data collected from research make it possible to demonstrate that recycled materials can be a real alternative to raw materials. Increasing attention to this issue could incite the promulgation of new standards for these products in order to spread their use.