Key Points
Add that to the energy and emissions required to make, transport, and assemble materials for a brand-new building, and its easy to see how making use of what has already been built is the more environmentally sustainable option...
Most architecture and engineering firms now have access to software such as OneClick LCA or EC3 that can simulate scenarios for reusing existing materials and structures in a new project..
This is approaching common practice, says Christopher Pyke, a senior vice president at the US Green Building Council and an urban planning professor at Georgetown university..
One concept embraced by some European architects views buildings themselves asmaterial banksstructures that store and save materials for future use..
Some buildings are being designed to be easier to demolish in the future so the materials can be easily accessed for new projects...
