Assessing environmental impact of digital fabrication and reuse of constructive systems

• DOI: 10.1016/j.istruc.2020.05.035
• Publication Date: 2020-06-16T12:04:34Z
• Authors: Kateryna Kuzmenko; Charlotte Roux; Adelaide Feraille; Olivier Baverel
• Keywords: Constructive

Abstract This paper presents a full life-cycle assessment study of a constructive system and addresses two following problematics: the impact of robotic fabrication and the performance of reuse solution for the end-of-life phase. As a case study a shell-nexorade hybrid constructive system is selected. The structure was designed computationally and fabricated robotically; a reuse scenario is developed for the end-of-life. The results point out an occurring of a significant impact transfer in system’s life-cycle caused by robotic construction technology. Concretely, the contribution of the last can represent over 40% of the overall environmental impact of the structure in climate change category and exceeds the impact related to construction materials production in categories of toxicity and eutrophication. Regarding the end-of-life phase, a method for reuse assessment was developed and a strategy for control of an environmental performance of reclaimed structures is formulated. The data for environmental evaluation of digitally fabricated systems is provided.