Evaluating the Potential Impact of Building Design Strategies on Material Recovery during Deconstruction

Construction accounts for 11% of embodied carbon and generates around half of the solid waste in our economy. Recovering materials from deconstructed buildings at the end of their life cycles can reduce embodied carbon and waste over the long term. A methodology to evaluate the impact of common circular design and construction strategies on the future recovery potential from buildings is proposed in this paper. Four main strategies were identified and modeled using an example of a newly constructed modular building in Ontario to validate the evaluation methodology. Quantitative estimates are made of the impact of the strategies on future component recovery using a decision-support optimization tool. The tool helps select optimal end-of-life options for each building component, thereby resulting in maximum recovery rates and projected value from materials resale. Application of the methodology indicates that, among the diverse strategy outcomes observed, monomaterial construction has the highest end-of-life recovery potential and the lowest environmental impact. Further, the results show variability in end-of-life process costs among strategies for achieving equivalent recovery rates. Coupling such estimates with conventional construction cost and embodied energy estimates may become an important consideration during the initial design and construction phases. Construction stakeholders can leverage similar assessments to effectively understand the impact of applying alternative strategies to any building design. This methodology has the potential for broader application to emerging circular building design and construction strategies.