Historic Trends in Building Disassebly

Abstract

Disassembly, in the building industry, is normally achieved through demolition, a process that produces empty space, a pile of rubble, and little else. There are however some historic examples of buildings that have been designed for more careful disassembly such that materials and components can be reused or recycled. A survey of these examples reveals a number of common characteristics that suggest the possibility of creating guidelines for designing for disassembly. Such a list of performance guidelines could be used by architects and engineers to assist in designing buildings that take full advantage of the economic and environmental advantages of reusing and recycling materials. This often forgotten technology has remarkable potential in an era where concern over reuse and recycling is becoming increasingly important. This paper represents the current state of an ongoing research project into building disassembly technology, and presents an historic overview of disassembly technologies.