Page 11 - European Energy Innovation - summer 2019 publication

Summer 2019 European Energy Innovation 11
economic activities and expertise are being created, such
as reversible conception, drawing up material inventories,
dismantling materials and preparing them for reuse, and
manufacturing new products with recovered materials.
The building as a materials bank
Rather than demolishing them too quickly, the sector
could see buildings as materials banks, according to
the RPCE. Maintenance and repair, re-use, overhaul
and transformation are then carried out for as long as
possible. Thanks to inventories and materials passports,
any material could be located at any moment within the
Brussels territory. Materials would be easy to dismantle
and move, as each design would be adaptable and
reversible.
The Horizon 2020 Buildings As Material Banks (BAMB)
project promoted this new vision in the construction
sector (see earlier articles in this magazine). It started in Brussels’ professional reference centre for construction,
2015, ended in February of this year and was coordinated
by Brussels Environment. Six pilot projects tested
reversible building design and circular building assessment
tools that were developed during BAMB. This generated
insights for new business models. Brussels carried out
two of these pilots: the Circular Retrofit Lab (CRL) and
Build Reversible In Conception (BRIC). More information on
the BAMB project and tools: www.bamb2020.eu.
BRIC, CRL, Modüll 2.0
The Build Reversible in Conception (BRIC) building was
designed as a materials bank. It will have three functions
in three years’ time. The first version was a 70m2 office.
The rebuilding of BRIC into a 130m2 trading space finishes
in June of this year. In 2020, BRIC will be transformed one
last time.
BRIC is built, deconstructed and reconstructed by
students of the efp training center in Brussels. The
concept is adaptable and reversible; materials are easy
to assemble and disassemble. And it already proved to
be sustainable: in the dismantling of BRIC 1, only 3.5m3
Karbon’
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of waste was generated. Moreover, if each version of
this building were to last 20 years, the greenhouse gas
emissions would be halved.
Circular Retrofit Lab was installed in eight old student
modules on the campus of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
The VUB Architectural Engineering research group
renovated the modules, which would normally have
been demolished. Together with industrial partners, they
developed and tested new renovation solutions based
on existing products, as was the case for the partitions
and façades. The reversible construction involved a higher
initial investment, but will in the long term be cost-
efficient, thanks to the longer life cycle of the building and
its transformations.
A third inspiring example of circular practices, apart from
the BAMB project, is Modüll 2.0. In this challenge, set by
students of various schools developed an autonomous
and modular construction. Various circular objectives were
tested in it, such as resource and energy use and choice
of materials, as well as long-term ideas for optimising
deconstruction and assembly.
Tools for professionals
To support construction professionals in their circular
efforts, the Region offers several tools. The online Brussels’
Sustainable Building Guide, for instance, provides tips
for dismantling, reuse and recycling of construction
materials (www.guidebatimentdurable.brussels), as well
as information on Life Cycle Analysis and on materials
choice.
Another online application, the Tool to Optimise the Total
Environmental impact of Materials or TOTEM, allows to
see the impact of construction and renovation projects
on the environment and to choose the right materials
and techniques to reduce that impact. To date, more than
1,400 people have used the tool and 240 architects have
been trained to do so (www.totem-building.be). l
Photo: ©Bernard Boccara