Reusing concrete panels from buildings for building: Potential in Finnish 1970s mass housing

Damages to reused building components can decrease the quality of the elements and affect their reusability.

“Damages to the reused building components can decrease the quality of the elements and affect their reusability (da Rocha and Sattler, 2009; Durão et al., 2014; Huuhka and Hakanen, 2015; Tatiya et al., 2017).”

Permanent joints, composite joints, and hard-to-access connections can negatively affect deconstruction and make recovery of building components challenging.

“which can negatively affect deconstruction and make the recovery of the building components challenging (Huuhka et al., 2015).”

Additional health and safety precautions necessary for deconstruction, component recovery, and reuse are technical barriers to reuse.

“Additional health and safety precautions necessary for deconstruction, component recovery, and reuse are some other technical barriers to reuse (Chileshe et al., 2015, 2016a; Huuhka and Hakanen, 2015; Rameezdeen et al., 2016; Sansom and Avery, 2014; Tingley et al., 2017; Yeung et al., 2015).”

Damages to reused components can result from corrosion, post-production modifications, water, weather, fire, refurbishment, living organisms, fatigue, frost, degradation, type of joints, and storage/transportation.

“Damages can also happen as the result of corrosion (Chini and Acquaye, 2001; Huuhka et al., 2015; Yeung et al., 2015), post-production modifications (holes for ductwork, etc.) (Chini and Acquaye, 2001; Yeung et al., 2015), presence of water (Yeung et al., 2015; Tatiya et al., 2017), exposure to weather conditions (Huuhka and Hakanen, 2015), fire (Yeung et al., 2015; Tatiya et al., 2017), refurbis”

Lack of demand or uncertainty about the need for reused components causes scepticism about revenue from reused components resale.

“In contrast, lack of demand (Chileshe et al., 2016b; Huuhka and Hakanen, 2015; Rogers, 2011; Shaurette, 2006; Tingley et al., 2017) or uncertainty about the need for the reused components (Rose and Stegemann, 2018) causes scepticism about the revenue from the reused components resale (Chileshe et al., 2016a; Dunant et al., 2018; Rose and Stegemann, 2018; Yeung et al., 2015).”

Other design challenges include designing with long spans, difference in loading requirements, and mismatch between old spans and new features.

“Other design challenges while reusing recovered building components are designing with long spans (because such elements might not be readily available) (Brütting et al., 2019; Gorgolewski et al., 2008; Huuhka and Hakanen, 2015), difference in the loading requirements of the old and the new buildings (Gorgolewski et al., 2008), and the mismatch between the old spans and the new features (Huuhka”

Unknown remaining capacity happens when information about characteristics, details, certificates and drawings of reused components are not available.

“The latter happens when the information about the characteristics, details, certificates and drawings of the reused components are not available (Gorgolewski, 2008; Gorgolewski et al., 2008; Huuhka and Hakanen, 2015; Rose and Stegemann, 2018; Tingley et al., 2017; Yeung et al., 2015).”

Overdesign is because of lower strength of reused components or unknown remaining capacity of reused components.

“This is either because of the lower strength of the reused components or that the remaining capacity of the reused components is unknown (Huuhka and Hakanen, 2015; Yeung et al., 2015).”

Negative perception of stakeholders about reused building components can act as a barrier to reuse.

“The negative perception of the stakeholders about the reused building components can act as a barrier to reuse (Chileshe et al., 2015, 2016a; Huuhka and Hakanen, 2015, Klang et al., 2003, MacKinnon, 2000, Rameezdeen et al., 2016 (among others)).”

If the client does not support reuse, there is a much smaller chance that designers or contractors will risk the project by introducing reused components.

“However, if the client does not support reuse (Huuhka and Hakanen, 2015; Rameezdeen et al., 2016; Rose and Stegemann, 2018; Tingley et al., 2017), there is a much smaller chance that the designers or contractors will risk the project by introducing such components.”

Existing regulations do not support deconstruction and reuse.

“One of the challenges ahead of reuse is that the existing regulations do not support deconstruction and reuse (Chileshe et al., 2015, 2016b; Gorgolewski, 2008, Hglmeier et al., 2013; Huuhka and Hakanen, 2015; Huuhka et al., 2015; Rameezdeen et al., 2016 (among others)).”

Stakeholders are unaware of the full benefits of deconstruction and reuse.

“One reason for such reluctance is because the stakeholders are unaware of the full benefits of deconstruction and reuse (Chileshe et al., 2015, 2016b; Gorgolewski, 2008; Huuhka and Hakanen, 2015; Rameezdeen et al., 2016).”

There are concerns regarding adverse effects of reuse due to increased GHG emissions related to deconstruction activities and transportation of recovered elements.

“Although component reuse is identified as a sustainable end-of-life treatment of the superstructure of a building (Brütting et al., 2019; Klang et al., 2003; Tingley et al., 2017; Yeung et al., 2017), there are concerns regarding the adverse effects of this practise due to the increased GHG emissions related to deconstruction activities and the transportation of recovered elements (Brambilla et al”

Ideas for reusing concrete panels from the walls of pre-fabricated buildings have been proposed, but potentials and issues are not yet well understood.

“Ideas for reusing concrete panels from the walls of pre-fabricated buildings have been proposed [87], but potentials and issues are not yet well understood.”