International Industrial Ecology Day 2021

Research on building material stocks has boomed in recent years, and gaps are starting to be identified. This project tackles two of these gaps. Firstly, the majority of studies focus primarily on material quantities; component-level information is missing, but is key to informing circular economy (CE) initiatives (e.g. number of windows instead of quantity of glass). Secondly, the non-residential building stock has seldom been analysed because of its large array of building uses, and inaccessible data. This study aims to quantify, for the first time, component types within the UK’s non-residential building stock, thus enabling estimation of CE potential and a more accurate embodied carbon assessment. To do so, several data sources and tools will be integrated. (1) Building typologies will be primarily categorised by structural type (structural materials and building envelope are the focus of the study). A large case study set is being supplied by industry partners, allowing for the assessment of building types in terms of material and component intensity. (2) Embodied carbon (stages A1-A3 of the product stages) and CE potential of each building typologies will be investigated with a simplified version of Regenerate (a tool developed by our institution, which assesses the CE potential of building projects). (3) MARVel (Multi-spectral Advanced Research Vehicle), which collects LiDAR mapping of the surrounding environment, visual imaging within the visible spectrum, and thermal and hyperspectral imaging. Facade material intensity estimates from MARVel will be compared to the material/component intensities from the building typology approach for an area of Sheffield.
Results will also be analysed in terms of geographical distribution, use type and age to identify potentially relevant patterns. An expected outcome of the project is a quick, early stage, design assessment tool allowing different stakeholders to consider CE opportunities (e.g., design for deconstruction, adaptability, embodied carbon). Data collection is still underway, so the emphasis of the presentation will be on the methodological framework.