Lecture by Prof. C.Fivet at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Prof. Corentin Fivet from the Structural Xploration Lab (EPFL) gives a lecture entitled ‘Structural Design for Delayed Obsolescence’ this Friday October 4, 2019 at the school of Architectural Engineering, VUB, Belgium. Click here for more information.

Despite recent efforts, the environmental footprint of the construction industry remains an urgent con-cern and new means must be found to lessen energy demands, carbon emissions, and waste gen-eration. Simultaneously, urban densification and everchanging functional requirements too often lead to the premature demolition of load-bearing systems. Designers’ efforts to remediate those issues traditionally consist in minimizing material quantities and using low-impact materials. A third strategy is currently being (re-)introduced: the reuse of structural components over multiple service lives and in other systems, in order to delay their obsolescence and ultimate down-cycling. Still in its infancy, this circular economy strategy disrupts the design practice in many ways. Research activities at the Structural Xploration Lab, EPFL, are addressing this shift of paradigms. Focusing on load-bearing systems, the lab explores answers to the following questions: How to synthesize a new structural system from given component stocks? How versatile can a building skeleton be? How to measure the environmental impacts of reuse strategies? How to best reclaim high-tech material such as sport equipment, for new structural applications? What can we learn from past precedents of component reuse in architecture? After stressing the need for the development of a circular economy in the construction industry, this talk will review recent research answers developed at the Structural Xploration Lab