Best practice guidelines and recommendations for reuse-optimised deconstruction

The ReCreate project researches deconstruction and reuse of precast concrete elements, not originally designed for disassembly. Real-life deconstructions of precast concrete buildings in four countries (Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany), performed by ReCreate’s industrial partners as well as collaborators to harvest elements for reuse, were a key tool to gain experience and insights into deconstruction techniques and processes. The current report delivers an overview of what deconstruction entails. It gives best practice guidelines on the planning and implementation of deconstruction, as well as recommendations for improving the process.

While ReCreate’s country-specific deconstruction pilots themselves are described in a dedicated report (Vullings et al. 2024), they are also briefly summarised in the beginning of this report. The focus of the current report is, nevertheless, on turning the learnings from deconstruction pilots into generalisable guidelines that can be capitalised beyond the ReCreate project and the parties involved.

Deconstruction entails four main phases: pre-planning, structural deconstruction planning, deconstruction work planning, and finally, implementing the deconstruction. This report instructs on the different types of plans involved in each stage as well as their authors and contents.

Pre-planning involves pre-deconstruction auditing, i.e. inventorying reusable elements and gathering relevant information into an ‘inventory’ Building Information Model (BIM). The pre-deconstruction audit has been covered by another ReCreate deliverable (Vullings et al. 2022), which was delivered before ReCreate’s deconstruction pilots were fully complete. Therefore, the current deliverable briefly recaps the essentials of a BIM-based pre-deconstruction audit, and supplements and consolidates the findings of the previous report.

Authored by a qualified structural engineer, a structural deconstruction plan sets the foundations for a safe and efficient deconstruction process. it defines the deconstruction sequence based on structural stability; determines the need for temporary support and bracing measures; establishes cutting spots for connectors; gives a labelling scheme for logistics; instructs on correct lifting and transport of elements as well as how to monitor the quality of elements on-site; and can help to define requirements for stripping.

A deconstruction work plan, devised by experts of the deconstruction company, translates the structural deconstruction plan into work processes: both the overall deconstruction process as well as element type specific processes. It covers aspects like workforce, equipment, work safety, site planning and scheduling.

Finally, learnings acquired by implementing ReCreate’s deconstruction pilots are elaborated on. Findings are reported on deconstructing different types of elements; avoidable mistakes that were made which may influence the reusability (or at least the effort and cost of reuse) of the salvaged elements; the types of damage that is not easily preventable but an inherent part of deconstruction; and the influence of weather conditions on the deconstruction work. Additionally, special types of deconstruction projects are briefly discussed, such as partial deconstruction in the context of building remodelling, as well as combining deconstruction with conventional demolition.

While smaller, sub-process specific insights are scattered through the report, the main learnings of the key topics are distilled into checklists, given at the end of this report. The experience of the ReCreate deconstruction pilots shows that prerequisites for more widespread deconstruction already exist in that appropriately skilled workforce and suitable tools and equipment are widely available. The main technical and processual challenge in deconstruction is reconfiguring the existing know-how into safe and efficient deconstruction processes. This development can be further supported by small adjustments to existing tools that can help make the equipment even better suitable for deconstruction purposes. Nevertheless, it should be noted that a full evaluation of the success of ReCreate’s deconstruction pilots can only be made once the salvaged elements have been reused in new buildings.