72 | Kit-of-Parts
Circular Façade Systems and Construction Design for Remanufacturing Window Systems Graduation Thesis by Tania Cecilia Cortés Vargas
Introduction The European construction industry is responsible for 35% of generated waste, and even more, a façade system is usually 25-30% of the embodied energy of a building. A circular economy is a response to the “take-make-dispose”, resource-intensive linear economic model. It implies the reduction of waste to a minimum, and a variety of (re)life options for materials and products to maintain their value and embodied energy. In a circular economy, the components of a façade are designed according to different (re)life options, and therefore, there is an alternative to demolition by entering closed loops, as seen in Figure 1. In addition, remanufacturing has been widely recognized as “an important component of a resourceefficient manufacturing industry” (ERN, 2016). However, for a product to be remanufacturable, certain principles need to be taken into account during the early design phases. Most of the current products are unable to support remanufacturing. A demand for a design strategy for façade systems taking into account product life extension strategies, especially remanufacturing, of the components can contribute to sustainable, product life extension scenarios. This thesis was focused on a circular redesign of the RT 82 HI + window system from Kawneer Nederland.
Figure 1. The “Take-Make-Dispose” model vs a Circular Economy model that is restorative by design.
36
