Design for deconstruction: an appraisal

This thesis contains an assessment and discussion of the sustainability of design for deconstruction. As a basis for the work, existing literature was reviewed and the gaps in existing knowledge highlighted. Environmental assessment methods were identified as a way to incentivise design for deconstruction. An analysis of LEED demonstrated minimal achievement of reuse credits, likely due to limited availability of reused materials. The supply chain can be developed in the future through the design for deconstruction of all new buildings. Quantifying the environmental benefits of design for deconstruction was underlined as a key strategy to encourage designers to consider the incorporation of design for deconstruction. A methodology was developed to account for designed-in future reuse at the initial design stage. This is based on a PAS2050 methodology (2008) which shares the environmental impact of an element over the number of predicted lives. In the course of this work it has been assumed that the typical building has a fifty year life span, a conservative estimate. Studies in this thesis limit analysis to a hundred year period, giving a possible two lives for the majority of elements. The methodology was used as a basis for the calculation of savings that occur by designing for deconstruction. Initial feasibility studies estimated that a 49% saving in embodied carbon is accomplished by designing for deconstruction. Having demonstrated the potential scope of savings, a tool, Sakura, was developed to enable designers to investigate the savings in embodied energy and carbon for their own schemes. Sakura was used to assess the savings that could be achieved for a range of case studies. Steel and timber frame structures demonstrated the greatest potential savings from design for deconstruction. School projects exhibited the highest savings when the building types were compared.