Pilot Green Transformable Buildings (GTB Lab) © Durmisevic
Special Interest Group Reversible Building Design
Reversible Building Design is design of buildings which can be easily deconstructed, or where parts can be removed and added easily without damaging the building or the products, components or materials. Several tools to support reversible building design were developed within the BAMB Project.
Contact
For any later information exchange please contact the individual BAMB partners or Caroline Henrotay – Project Manager and Technical Coordinator, Bruxelles Environnement – Leefmilieu Brussel, e-mail: chenrotay@leefmilieu.brussels
Interview with Elma Durmisevic, University of Twente
Brussels, January 24, 2017
Reversible building design tools, what is that? How will they work?
A: There is a big gap, at the moment, in understanding all ins and outs of circular economy within built environment. Understanding this new system and its parameters would help us find more effective ways to improve existing built environment and develop new ones based on principles of circularity of materials through their multiple applications. Reversible Building design tools aim at bridging this gap by developing models that will assess reuse and transformation potential of buildings and its components with associated value options. The development of reversible design protocols will steer design of new buildings, systems and components towards reconfigurable solutions that offer a number of second value options.
How does the Reversible building design tools developed in BAMB relate to other already existing tools and initiatives
A: Most of the existing tools that are dealing with reuse of building products have a form of a materials check list. On the other hand algorithms defining transformation of the building have multiple variables which are beyond dimension of spatial adaptation.
Reversible building design tools have an integral character taking multiple views on the same issue on each level of building assembly. Reversibility of building depends on the way materials are put together to perform certain functional unity. Therefore Reversibility of building configuration within BAMB is measured by the level of spatial/functional, technical and physical dependencies within particular building/product. Depending from the view we are looking at reversible structure, whether with the focus on reuse or focus on transformation, impact factors and criteria measuring these dependences will differ.
How will the Stakeholders be involved in the development?
A: There are two main way to involve stakeholders into development of the tools. The first one would be thought participation in different workshops that WP3 is organising in order to cover and get understanding of broad range of issues that have relation to the reversibility of the buildings and products. Starting from processes as reversed logistics and remanufacturing to linking the processes and design solution with financial models and understanding what roll will BIM play in this new world. Second way of involvement would be through providing us with a cases projects that can be used for testing the tools during further development stages.