CASE STUDIES
The team has extensive experience of circular economy projects for the built environment, including
pre-redevelopment, pre-demolition and pre-refurbishment audits in support of sustainability standards such as BREEAM and wider circular economy objectives.
West One Shopping Centre
Client: CPC Project Services LLP and British Land
Date: March/April 2022
Details: CPC Project Services and British Land engaged Reusefully to carry out a pre-refurbishment audit of West One Shopping Centre. The aim of the audit was to provide an understanding of the types and amounts of products and materials arising during refurbishment, and provide key parameters for products and elements to identify opportunities for reuse.
The team also provided data to help with populating
the Resource Management Plan and in support of the
BREEAM assessment and the Greater London Authority Circular Economy Statement, and advised on targets for reuse and recycling for products and materials arising during the refurbishment.
West One is located in central London and is bounded by Oxford Street to the north. The existing building comprises the shopping centre at basement, ground and first floor levels, the associated offices of 75 Davies Street above, and various below ground spaces demised to and operated by London Underground, including Bond Street station ticket hall.
The audit was undertaken in early March 2022 by the Reusefully team. A visual survey of the building, combined with analysis of the plans provided, was used to calculate the Key Demolition Products (KDP). The audit has investigated the key materials which are likely to rise from the proposed refurbishment scheme to aid with the decision making for the proposed development during RIBA Stage 2.
The estimated Key Demolition Products (KDP) by weight were identified and parameters have been
provided for key products to assist with reuse in this development and others. This data was also
presented to the development team in a PowerPoint presentation in April 2022.
Euston Tower
Client: GXN
Date: January/February 2022 and August 2022
Details: Euston Tower is located on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It was built in 1970 and has been mainly used for offices. It has a storey height of 36 floors; the overall height of the building is 124
metres.
Architects GXN commissioned Reusefully to provide a pre-refurbishment audit in support of BREEAM and GLA circular economy objectives. The aim was to provide an understanding of the types and amounts of products and materials arising during refurbishment, and provide key parameters for products and elements to identify opportunities for reuse.
Recommendations were provided to maximise reuse and details were provided of the embodied carbon of the materials resulting from demolition.
Presentations were provided to the client and development team to maximise the impact and value of the audit, and improve and share learning for future projects.
151 Shaftesbury Avenue
Client: Avison Young and RLAM
Date: July/August 2022
Details: Avison Young engaged Reusefully to carry out a pre-refurbishment audit of the office building at 151 Shaftesbury Avenue, London. Whilst the scheme is not preferable to the GLA, the asset owner, Royal London Asset Management, wanted the audit to follow the
principles in line with the GLA’s circular economy
statement recommendations as these are well
established and will support their circular economy aspirations. The audit also met the requirements of BREEAM.
151 Shaftesbury Avenue is an 8-storey building mainly comprised of office accommodation, with
part of the ground floor as a retail unit. The lower ground floor contains an office unit with no
daylight, car park and plant. The basement level comprises of plant areas only and there is a
residential part of the building is in the north east corner. The pre-refurbishment audit was
undertaken in July 2022. A visual survey of the building, combined with analysis of the plans
provided, was used to calculate the Key Demolition Products (KDP). The audit has investigated the key materials which are likely to rise from the proposed refurbishment scheme and the other materials present on the floors to aid with the decision making for the proposed development.
Designing for Deconstruction
Client: BRE Trust
Details: Whilst at BRE, the team developed an outline methodology to assess the deconstruction potential of new build residential. Application of this methodology could lead to the reduction of CO2 emissions through the benefits of reusing and recycling materials and components from buildings at the end of their life, by addressing ‘circular economy principles’ in the built environment.
The methodology involves a combination of using checklists and a scoring approach relating to a number of criteria, making use of information from design drawings and project specifications. Consequently, an overall deconstruction potential score is obtained for a residential building. The methodology has been applied to a number of residential case studies including two modular constructions and a more traditional brick and block; and an office building and a ski-slope construction. The case studies describe the methodology, the deconstruction potential and recommendations for achieving an improved deconstruction capability. This collection of case studies aim to raise awareness amongst architects, designers and contractors
of the potential of deconstruction to create more sustainable buildings and some of the actions that can lead to better deconstruction outcomes.