Re-usable net-zero carbon structures

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ISCF
ISCF
ISCF
ISCF
ISCF

£981,485

June 30, 2020

Dec. 31, 2021

Around the world, construction designers have been exploring ways to deliver highly efficient "net zero" buildings with a reduced energy demand. A key motivation for this is because around 40% of man-made global carbon emissions come from the construction and operation of buildings. Although significant advances in reducing building's operational energy have been made, the energy use within the construction process remains high.

One of the biggest opportunities for concrete and steel energy-efficiency lies in the volume and energy-intensive production of a building's structure. Because despite advances in manufactured approaches to construction, the vast majority of buildings are still delivered through a traditional approach to steel-framed construction.

We propose a prefabricated offsite alternative: a reusable, net-zero carbon structure made from recycled steel and cement-free concrete. Targeting commercial offices and infrastructure applications, the components will be manufactured offsite and delivered to the project site as sub-assemblies and installed as a single operation.

Compared with conventional construction this will reduce:

* Weight of the structural frame by 10%
* Structural steel content by 15-20%
* Deliveries to site by 40%
* Labour resources for steel frame erection and following trades by 60%
* Reduced embodied energy (and therefore carbon reduction of 80%)
* Cement content in floors by 100%

Through the application of digital engineering and sensor technology, the project will interrogate design and construction elements to optimise the design-life of the product, and create an end-of-life deconstruction strategy for the building, making it reusable. Key aims include ease of manufacture, ease of assembly on site, reduction in complexity, improved safety, logistics and long-term performance.

We will deliver a full factory trial of a two-storey, 9mx12m demountable mock-up assembly. The output will be energy efficient, reusable and scalable.

The solution supports both the cement and steel industry to be more energy efficient and competitive:

* The full-scale mock-up and performance testing of a clinker-free concrete in a structural module will demonstrate the material's capabilities in structural applications and offer a route to market - increasing trust and catalysing the uptake of low-energy (and carbon) concrete products
* The development of a reusable product and an 80% offsite construction methodology will significantly increase the ease of reuse and rework of steel, helping future-proof the steel industry.

We viewed this competition as an opportunity for the construction, concrete and steel industries to work collaboratively to develop an impactful low-energy solution suited to widespread adoption, accelerating all three industries simultaneously.