Reusing large concrete rubble for load-bearing structures with minimal environmental impact

Innovative approach

Reusing large concrete rubble into prefabricated structural walls is a novel construction process offering a way to reduce the environmental footprint of concrete up to 80%. Instead of crushing demolition concrete rubble into recycled concrete aggregate, this PhD research aims to directly reuse the large rubble pieces from demolition as masonry elements of prefabricated load-bearing walls. It implies sourcing the “waste” from recycling centres, scanning them in 2D using smartphone photos, and then assembling them on the tilting table of prefabrication facilities. This ap- proach is implemented at full scale for a two-story demonstrator and a public pavilion, both designed and built by the author, which also feature reused concrete slabs sawn from a building prior to its demolition.

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Maxence Grangeot, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

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