IN-PERSON Barcelona. Section A

Abstract

The manufacture of building components use up natural resources and contribute to global warming. In order to lower its carbon footprint, the building industry needs to challenge the norms and established practices it has relied upon for centuries. Re-use of material can contribute to a lower environmental building cost compared to using newly made equivalents. Today, built environment industries rely on grantees and data such as uniformity of style, availability of BIM models and performance measurements from manufacturers, made possible by the uniformity of their production lines. This abundance of information is seldom available for re-used components. In our project, we develop processes enabling re-use markets to provide data matching that which is offered by manufacturers of new products. Currently, we focus on the use of laser scanning to create detailed, 3D-modelled building component catalogues, enabling the incorporation of re-used components in contemporary BIM workflows. Unlike new products, re-used components often are unique, a consequence of them having been made in different eras and having witnessed varying levels of use, repair, and mode of dismantling. By defining workflows for how building components can be scanned and uploaded to online databases, individual objects can be catalogued and be made visible for the incorporation in architects’ building models.