circrete

What's the impact of structural concrete reuse?

DTU student of Architectural Engineering M.Sc. Julie Hetland Bülow compared the traditional cradle-to-grave lifecycle with a cradle-to-cradle reuse scenario, highlighting how structural reuse can help decarbonize the construction sector.

Link to report

circrete started as a student research project and we are dedicated to share knowledge about structural concrete reuse to foster circular construction practices in Denmark and beyond. There are many research groups in Europe working on the same topic and we highly appreciate their work.

We believe that an open source approach will allow for a faster circular transformation and thus benefit all of us from both a societal and ecological perspective. You can find an (incomplete) list of research projects below.

Research on structural concrete reuse in Europe

Europe-wide

Re:Create project

Developing deconstruction techniques for precast concrete elements as well as business models for structural concrete reuse.

Denmark

StructuralReuse

Combination of documentation methods and (non-)destructive testing to support the development of a new standard for reuse assessment.

(P)RECAST

A holistic approach to enable the technical feasibility of reusing precast concrete elements.

Rambøll x KINGO x DTU Structural Lab: Precast wall

Shear wall made of reclaimed, rectangular concrete piece in confining frame.

CRH Concrete: Precast wall

Wall made of reclaimed, irregular concrete pieces in confining frame.

Germany

Aufbau Abbau

Development of a cradle-to-cradle process for cast-in-place concrete elements.

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Interaction methods for the modular reuse of existing structures.

Technische Universität München

Investigation of the suitability of the component typology for reuse and work on methods for selective deconstruction and reuse assessment.

Switzerland

EPFL Structural Exploration Lab

Extensive research on structural concrete reuse covering societal, technical and environmental aspects.

Please reach out to us if we are missing a project!

structural reuse guide

our research project 2023.

What is

structural concrete reuse?

Structural concrete reuse involves salvaging and reprocessing load-bearing concrete elements from demolished or decommissioned buildings for use in new construction. The practice helps reduce waste, conserve natural resources, and lower the environmental impact of construction by minimizing the need for virgin materials and reducing landfill waste.