Towards Urban Mining—Estimating the Potential Environmental Benefits by Applying an Alternative Construction Practice. A Case Study from Switzerland

摘要: Modern cities emerged as the main accumulator for primary and waste materials. Recovery of both types from buildings after demolition/disassembly creates a secondary material stream that could relieve pressure resources. Urban mining represents this circular approach, its application depends on redefining current construction practice. Through life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology assuming resources step zero urban mining, study estimates impacts benefits conventional versus practice applied to various with different parameters country-level environmental potential savings be achieved through switch in practice—using increase residential building stock Switzerland between 2012 2016 case key values experimental unit “Urban Mining Recycling”, designed by Werner Sobek Dirk E. Hebel Felix Heisel installed inside NEST (Next Evolution Sustainable Building Technologies) research Empa campus Switzerland. The results exhibit lower total (at least 16% each examined impact category) at level resulting (i.e., 68–117 kt CO2-Eq) country over five years, which can further reduced/increased respectively using existing or recycled components, instead virgin