Silvie Frei

Research

As early as the first century BC, the Roman architect, engineer and theorist Vitruvius emphasized in his work „De architectura“ (Ten Books on Architecture) how important it is to consider the consequences of architectural interventions in existing structures.

However, the awareness of preserving a building instead of replacing it with a new one has been lost in today‘s society, which is accustomed to the convenience of disposability and availability. Demolition of existing structures has become standardized practice, considered less risky and quicker for everyone involved, from the architect to the client.

Assuming an average annual demolition rate of 4000 buildings, which the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment estimates is equivalent to more than 10 buildings per day, around 500 kilograms of construction waste is generated every second.

Trajectory

I was interested in the afterlife of dismantled building materials and elements, shown in the trajectory drawing.

As a starting point, I chose a building in Basel that I was able to visit with the dismantling team from Bauteilbörse Basel. The building is a former senior home in Riehen that is currently to be converted into regular apartments - which essentially requires the building structure to be stripped back to its core framework.

The internal changes are driven not only by functional and structural considerations and market standards, but of course also by the need to comply with Swiss standards and regulations The ongoing transformation of the former senior home served me as a case study to explore speculatively the current waste management and disposal practices.

The majority of dismantled construction materials and elements are currently transported to landfills as mixed waste and simply disposed of there. One of the challenges of current disposal practices and ultimately the reason for the demand for other options is that landfills in Switzerland are reaching or have already reached their capacity limits due to the high level of dismantling and construction activity.

An alternative option for the disposal of construction waste is the recycling of certain building materials and elements in specialized facilities. These recycling processes are becoming increasingly important. However, recycling leads to downcycling, as the resulting output generally has a lower value than the input product.

In Riehen, the architects are acting in an exemplary manner by proposing another option for disposal, namely the direct reuse of the dismantled building materials at the site of dismantling. The challenge here is the limited storage space on site, which makes on-site reuse logistically difficult. Although the existing value of the materials and elements is preserved as much as possible when they are reused directly at the site of dismantling, this is currently generally the least common afterlife choice.

Building materials and elements that are suitable for reuse but cannot be integrated into the new program on site are transported to reuse facilities such as the Bauteilbörse, where they are repaired, stored and marketed. There is currently no significant supply or demand for reused components in Switzerland. Bauteilbörse is already planning to professionalize itself with the aim of expanding the radius of the component exchange in order to build on the success of foreign companies such as Rotor in Brussels.

Interventions

The research about the afterlives of building materials and elements provides arguments for reframing current standards in construction methods, waste management, and the very essence of dwelling.

The proposed interventions articulate a new kind of comfort and value - economically, socially, energetically, spatially and materially. In proposing an alternative dwelling concept, I define dwelling not as an act of retreating into individual energy-intensive apartments, each of which must meet specific requirements defined by Swiss standards, but as the possibility of residing in different spaces within a building.

Following the logic of the original structures of the former senior home, consisting of single rooms with individual balconies, corridors and many communal spaces within and around the building, I propose to transform it into a multi-generational home that creates spaces for both individuality and a sense of community, making care and maintenance a part of daily life, for example with the already existing common pool and the newly added Flickwerkstatt for the repair of materials and elements of all kinds.

-- 1 I Reusing a Building while reframing the Standard of Dwelling

As a first intervention I propose eight Cluster

apartments of three types. Within the Cluster apartments the energy and / or area-intensive functions such as cooking and bathing are shared. Within the cluster apartments, energy and/or space-intensive functions such as cooking and bathing are shared. This approach promotes a sense of community that goes beyond homogeneity and one-dimensionality.

Inspired by concepts such as the kitchenless city and the Waldhaus Dolder, the proposed dwelling concept envisages a hotel-like building that offers dwellers communal spaces such as an externally operated restaurant, a communal living area, a shared terrace, a multipurpose room, two guest rooms, a soundproof room, a library and a home office niche.

Some changes are made in the original building structure to enhance the quality of the existing spaces, for example in the corridors, that are proposed to fulfill more purpose than the obvious function of access and create flows and connecting views.

-- 2 I Testing out Circular Constructions with reuse and reusable Materials

The second intervention is an extension of the eastern part of the building complex with a new building on the existing structure, which currently only has one floor to the North.

Inspired by Kopfbau 118 in Winterthur by Zirkular, the extension is built with a lightweight timber frame construction, insulated with compressed straw and the facade is a reused Trapezblech. This circular construction allows for easy assembly and disassembly with minimal effort and contributes to a more sustainable building practice.

The extension not only creates added social and economic value by creating additional dwelling space, but also serves as a testing ground for the reintegration of dismantled building materials from the construction site itself and from reuse facilities, thereby promoting the reuse of materials.