University study to place demolition first

The first serious effort to place demolition and recycling at the heart of the initial design phase of a structure is commencing at the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK. The University has obtained an £800,000 (US$1.3 million) grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Innovate UK. This funding will be used to develop a sophisticated computer program, using predictive analytics and big data, to forecast which materials can be reused or recycled once the building is set for demolition.

The principal investigator on the project will be Professor Lukumon Oyedele, who will work with colleagures Dr Ismail Adelopo, Dr Vikas Kumar, Dr Ximing Ruan and Dr Bolanle Karimu. Named DRIM (Deconstruction and Recovery Information Modelling), the project will commence in April 2016 in collaboration with academics from Coventry University and industry partners Waste Plan Solutions Ltd and Sustainable Direction Ltd, and run for two years

Professor Oyedele is quoted as saying: “With our tool, from the design stage of the building we want to look at the deconstruction plan. We want to look ahead to 20 or 30 or 50 years' time at the end of the building's life. It's about looking at the deconstruction plan now rather than when the building is being demolished, We want to develop this tool with the aim of having an impact on policy change so new buildings that need to be constructed in the future must submit a deconstruction plan as part of the planning permission requirements.“