Steel curtain walls for reuse

Steel curtain walls for reuse

Leising, R.M.

Klein, T. (mentor)
Geldermans, B. (mentor)
Azcárate-Aguerre, J. (mentor)

Architecture and The Built Environment

Architectural Engineering + Technology

2017-01-23

The main purpose of this study is to make the circular economy principles applicable for the company Klöckner Metales ODS Nederland (ODS NL). This manifests in an extensive literature study on the CE and an analysis of the company, followed by design suggestions for improvements of their current Jansen VISS steel curtail wall system. The second part of this thesis focusses on the development of an assessment method to evaluate the circularity of facades and to compare the selected design to existing curtain wall systems. The design phase has resulted in the development of a hybrid system, which is based on an exchangeable modular panel system that enhances the adaptation and transformation capacity of buildings. In the developed method, two key variables were used for assessment; the reuse potential, expressed in a Material Circularity Indicator and the transformation capacity, expressed in three possible future transformation scenarios for the office building Port City III. The evaluation showed that the hybrid system has indeed the most potential for the development of circular buildings. Moreover, this study showed that in order to contribute to a future sustainable steel (curtain wall) market, ODS NL has to change their role in the overall process, whereby their focus should lay more on the user phase and the end-of-life phase. For a complete transition they should change their business strategy, which is still focussed on a sell more sell faster model, to a more service based approach whereby the end-of-life phase is integrated. Therefore, ODS NL has to find ways to capture additional value from their products, for example by offering extra maintenance services, after-sales treatments, buy back guarantees or the creation of a cost-efficient reverse logistics.

Circular Economy
Steel curtain walls
Facade Design
Built Environment
Business strategies

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:c0d3e7cb-6b2d-4c1c-bc37-c16d9b4fe97c

2019-01-23

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2017 Leising, R.M.