International Industrial Ecology Day 2021
Mapping interests and barriers to foster reuse of materials and elements in the built environment: A first exploration of the potential for a digital twin approach
Reuse of materials within the planning, design, construction and demolition processes in the built environment is one of the key challenges faced by the construction sector today and necessary to fulfil the circular economy strategies that are widely put into force on all political levels.
At the same time, the development of digital twins is providing promising opportunities to scale up knowledge about the stocks of materials in buildings and providing a platform for collaboration and analysis of potential reuse of materials. However, the lack of a structured inventory of the materials in the existing building stock is still impeding digital models to fully realize their potential.
The aim of this research is to understand stakeholder needs and requirements to implement reuse in the building sector and to what extent can the digital twin approach provide useful knowledge. The starting point to address the topic is to understand the interest of stakeholders in reusing the stock and the challenges faced to allow for solutions to be put in place. Having a good understanding of these aspects an investigation of the potential of the digital twin can be made.
Through a combination of literature review about reuse in the built environment, interviews and surveys with key stakeholders in the Swedish construction value-chain, barriers for reuse of elements and components in the have been identified. Additionally, an understanding of the interest in participating in reuse schemes was also investigated. Twenty documents spanning from journal articles and technical documents were used together with 18 interviews and 72 surveys across the construction sector value-chain, including, producers, consultants, city authorities, real estate owners, construction and demolition companies and private consumers.
A significant amount of the interviewed stakeholders in Sweden (80%) is willing to use reused products from buildings. Several different types of products, such as doors and windows, bathroom and kitchen equipment are mentioned. However, the concept is facing many challenges still, and several barriers are identified. The types of barriers found were categorised in the following groups: Technical, Knowledge, Market, Laws, Logistics, Operations, Business models, Design and Culture & norms.
The next step in this research is to analyze how the identified barriers can be overcome with the development of inventory data about the stock in buildings and which possibilities can a digital twin approach provide.
At the same time, the development of digital twins is providing promising opportunities to scale up knowledge about the stocks of materials in buildings and providing a platform for collaboration and analysis of potential reuse of materials. However, the lack of a structured inventory of the materials in the existing building stock is still impeding digital models to fully realize their potential.
The aim of this research is to understand stakeholder needs and requirements to implement reuse in the building sector and to what extent can the digital twin approach provide useful knowledge. The starting point to address the topic is to understand the interest of stakeholders in reusing the stock and the challenges faced to allow for solutions to be put in place. Having a good understanding of these aspects an investigation of the potential of the digital twin can be made.
Through a combination of literature review about reuse in the built environment, interviews and surveys with key stakeholders in the Swedish construction value-chain, barriers for reuse of elements and components in the have been identified. Additionally, an understanding of the interest in participating in reuse schemes was also investigated. Twenty documents spanning from journal articles and technical documents were used together with 18 interviews and 72 surveys across the construction sector value-chain, including, producers, consultants, city authorities, real estate owners, construction and demolition companies and private consumers.
A significant amount of the interviewed stakeholders in Sweden (80%) is willing to use reused products from buildings. Several different types of products, such as doors and windows, bathroom and kitchen equipment are mentioned. However, the concept is facing many challenges still, and several barriers are identified. The types of barriers found were categorised in the following groups: Technical, Knowledge, Market, Laws, Logistics, Operations, Business models, Design and Culture & norms.
The next step in this research is to analyze how the identified barriers can be overcome with the development of inventory data about the stock in buildings and which possibilities can a digital twin approach provide.
Author(s)
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Leonardo Rosado | Chalmers University of Technology |
| Alexander Hollberg | Chalmers University of Technology |
| Holger Wallbaum | Chalmers University of Technology |