Reclamation potential in the built environment: A digitised assessment of two contemporary façade systems

Initial material selection and connections between components significantly impact the feasibility of reuse in the built environment. Yet, the link between material selection and construction methods with the ability to reutilise recovered elements is rarely quantitatively assessed. In this study, a novel digitised assessment method to evaluate the environmental reclamation potential of building elements is applied to two contemporary façade systems. The systems are evaluated over a 75-year reference study period in terms of life-cycle embodied carbon and reclamation potential, with consideration for service life deterioration of components. The reclamation potential is evaluated in three recovery scenarios: system reuse; component reuse; and recycling and/or energy recovery. The reclamation potential through system reuse is shown to rapidly decrease in the first few years of the façade system lifetime due to the influence of service life dependencies and the incorporation of irreversible connection types. The findings of the applied assessment provide key insights into design decisions that lead to reduced life-cycle embodied carbon and enhanced reclamation potential over time. The applicability of the assessment to other construction products and future capabilities of the reclamation potential assessment method are discussed.