4 minute read
Material Origin
In 2014 nearly 86.000 abandoned buildings were registered across Denmark, with the main part located in the countryside, especially in poor communities, such as at the island of Lolland in Denmark. Also, Frederikshavn and especially Læsø, closer to the site of this project, has many old abandoned buildings (dr.dk, 2017).
To reflect the potential of reusing materials from abandoned buildings a study made in 2018 by Lendager Group and Kuben Management showed that between 14.052 and 68.219 m2 of bricks and 422 - 2.047 m3 wooden trusses are available in abandoned houses in Lolland only. Though, conditions of available materials must be considered before they are actually reused (Østerby et. Al., 2019). Bricks and wooden elements are often reused for the same purpose as they served originally, whereas other materials such as doorframes and walls often contain paintings with toxic chemicals such as PCB and lead which makes those materials less useable (Miljøstyrelsen, unknown). Upcycling materials can also be a way of building more sustainable, meaning materials come from another purpose of use but are redesigned to serve a new purpose. Lendager UP are mainly upcycling used windows, concrete and wood (Østerby et Al., 2019).
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The location of the former production facilities of the Aalborg Akvavit could be an example of buildings no longer serving their intentioned purpose of use. These are redeveloped into a culture and arts quarter of Aalborg. As the buildings are partly renovated and partly replaced by new built, these existing building materials could act as a potential library of materials. Also, the number of abandoned buildings is high in the North-western part of Jutland, especially in Thisted, Lemvig, Morsø, and Vesthimmerland (Landdistrikterne.dk, unknown).
Demolition ready houses per municipality
Local materials in Aalborg
Figure 65 Demolition ready houses per municipality Building site
0-1.000
1.000-2.000 2.000-3.000
3.000-5.000
5.000-100.000
MATERIAL ORIGIN
Abandoned houses
Solution
Materials in the building sector are traditionally considered waste after they have been used for a design once as reflected in the traditional value chain of the building sector, as a linear process (Østerby et Al., 2019). Latest numbers available shows that 6.223.107,542 tons of building materials was wasted in 2017 in Denmark (Ads.mst.dk, unknown). The number is excluding earth and toxins. Due to the occurring climate changes, already elaborated in previous sections, material waste must be considered towards a design ideal where materials are considered both for their inherent aesthetic qualities from former use, as well as for their potential for reuse, towards a new value chain in the building industry, preferably circular (Østerby et Al., 2019). Thus, this analysis questions where these materials potentially come from and serve as a minimaterial catalogue of materials within Denmark, as no such material library yet exists.
Several companies reusing building materials exists (bolius.dk, 2019). In the following a few will be highlighted.
Material Origin Map
Figure 66 Material map The wooden balloon frame construction will consist of upcycled wood from some of the many abandoned buildings that can be found in the Northern Jutland.
Locally at Egholm clay will be taken from the soil to be used as inner sheathing of the walls.
Insulation will consist of salt treated seaweed from Læsø, where seaweed is traditionally used for roofing.
Oakum (værk) consists of flax coated with wood tar and will be used to insulate around windows and doors, delivered from a local company in Højbjerg near Århus.
Broken pallets from local supermarkets in Aalborg will make up the facade sheathing. In order to avoid toxic pallets, we are using pallets stamped EUR, EPAL or DS, that are certification stamps of the pallet being produced non-toxically.
Metal screws will be picked among recycled building materials from Genbyg.dk in Kastrup near Copenhagen.
The foundation will in this case be provided by Fremtidens Fundament, which makes lightweight steel screws that serve as point foundation. The company is based in Denmark and has a store in Værløse. Furthermore, the company has a strategy that involves buying back the used steel screws and thereby elevating the lifetime of the material.
The Hunton wind barrier is primarily produced in Sweden by a company that uses wood that otherwise would have gone to waste. The company has stores throughout Denmark which is where the product is sold.
In order to get a somewhat diffusion closed construction, a paper-based vapour retarder has been used. The company CBI Danmark A/S produces paper-based materials and with stores all around the country, this will be the primary delivery point.
The OSB board used in the wall is available in most stores in Denmark and the product is also produced in Denmark. Like the Hunton boards, these OBS boards consist of leftover wood elements.
