Analyzing the economic feasibility of deconstructing a design-for-disassembly building
Tommi Partanen, Ulrika Uotila, Tuomo Joensuu, Arto SaariPurpose
Although many demolished buildings contain concrete elements in good condition, these are rarely reused due to the perceived high costs of deconstruction. Design for Disassembly (DfD) has been proposed as a design approach to enable the cost-effective reuse of building components. This article investigates the impact of DfD practices on the end-of-life operational costs of a prefabricated building with a concrete inner frame and wooden envelope and compares them with current built-as-usual (BAU) design practices.
Design/methodology/approach
A computational analysis was conducted to compare the costs of deconstruction with the traditional crushing demolition. Moreover, the resale value ratio relative to the initial cost required to make disassembly economically feasible was examined.
Findings
The results demonstrate that current building design practices do not support the efficient and economically feasible reuse of building components. Under both the BAU and DfD design practices, the costs incurred by deconstruction were significantly higher than those of demolition by crushing. Even with the ideal DfD solution, a 50% resale value ratio for reusable concrete components was insufficient to fully offset the additional costs associated with deconstruction. The results indicate that improvements in disassembly practices, a significant increase in crushing costs, or changes in the market environment would be required to make DfD economically feasible.
Originality/value
This study provides a novel assessment of a concrete building using a detailed cost framework that captures key cost components and the economic implications of DfD. It offers new insights into the cost competitiveness of deconstruction compared with demolition and the valuation of reusable components.