Design for Deconstruction

Apologies to those who also follow the BDAQ Blog. I feel that this post applies to both groups.

Design for Deconstruction

The web site http://www.lifecyclebuilding.org/ advises that the factors influencing deconstruction are:

•The local cost of landfill tipping fees

•The local cost of labour and equipment

•The ease of disassembly which affects labour cost

•The value of the materials recovered

•Having adequate time available for deconstruction

Source: http://www.lifecyclebuilding.org/files/DFD.pdf

The buildings we are designing right now are expected to have a life span of around 50 years. Think of that in terms of the factors influencing the practice of deconstruction.

The rate at which we have been using up landfill sites over the last 50 years means that the sites themselves will become a rare commodity within the next 50 years. "The local cost of landfill tipping fees" in 2061 will make the practice of putting a wrecking ball through your building at the end of its life and carting it away to landfill a very expensive exercise.

We are also now using up building materials faster that the planet can reproduce them. This means that the materials we are using now will be quite rare in 2061. Rare material is of high value.

So by the end of the expected life of the buildings you are designing right now two of the five factors influencing the practice of deconstruction will be in play. The rest is up to you.

The cost of labour and materials and the available time is out of our hands so that only leaves "the ease of disassembly".

Your role as a building designer is to consider the materials you use, think about the connections and fixings you use and make it as easy as possible for the principle of reduce, re-use, re-cycle to be applied at the end of your building's life.

To find out more just "google" "design for deconstruction". You may be surprised at how many results you get.

Russell Brandon

Responsible use of materials

“The business community does not have enough respect for designers. They are currently at the bottom of the management food chain. Marketing tells them what to do. That doesn't make any sense.

Designers hold a key to the future, but designers need to understand their role differently and learn to have more self-esteem, ambition and responsibility.”

Dr. Michael Braungart

There are a myriad of resources available to help designers better understand how to be innovative in seeking to design buildings which reduce their own impact on the environment. I was recently alerted to this blog; www.core77.com/blog/articles

and checked out this article where Dr Braungart discusses “Material Shortages and Designing a New Material World”.

Dr. Michael Braungart is a chemist and co-founder of Cradle to Cradle® Design and MBDC McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry in Charlottesville, Virginia. His research in materials sciences has pioneered a new paradigm that focuses on redesigning eco-effective products and systems to support a positive ecological footprint in the next industrial revolution.

According to Dr Braungart, “designers must learn to expand their interests and responsibility beyond just aesthetics. I see it slowly happening. For example, in Japan, the designer truly understands the link between total quality and total beauty. It's not beautiful if it is connected to child labour. It's not beautiful if it poisons the oceans. It's not beautiful if it perpetuates conflicts over precious resources. It's not about only the right materials. There is also a social component. Clearly, there is an opportunity for designers to become pivotal players in the industrial transformation, adding immense strategic value.”

While he is not talking specifically about building designers, I think there certainly is a lesson for us all here.

You can check out the entire article and more at the blog address above. There are some great insights into materials and how we, as designers, can accept our social and environmental responsibilities by considering the source, use and disposal of materials.

Russell Brandon