
Addressing the overlooked role of decomposers in human-created production systems, this study explores the sustainable use of waste wood in urban development. By integrating several technologies and multidisciplinary approaches, the authors of this paper developed a Sustainable Building Design and Construction (SBDC) framework to reclaim, design, and fabricate waste wood. The findings highlight the potential of waste wood as a renewable resource, contributing to SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities.
The SBDC framework involves changing the lifecycle of waste wood through a viable reclamation, design, and fabrication process. This process aims to decrease the amount of waste wood sent to landfills and enhance the recycling rate. The framework includes a thorough material reclamation system, which records and summarizes intricate geometric details and material properties, and a structure generation and assessment system, which creates structural systems before actual construction.
The study engaged five wood manufacturing sawmills in near London, UK. The researchers discovered that a significant amount of irregular wood was improperly disposed of due to a lack of data recording and classified storage. To address this, the researchers designed a digital recording method that allows for a more comprehensive data capture process for irregular reclaimed wood.
The study's results showed that the SBDC framework could be used to design and construct furniture and architectural components using reclaimed wood. The researchers demonstrated this by constructing a real column and a pavilion, named the Primitive Hut, using reclaimed off-cut wood.
In conclusion, the authors report a repeatable design and construction process for reused wood under the SBDC framework. This system provides a basis for the application of these reclaimed materials in sustainable buildings from design to assembly. The potential impact of this research is significant as it offers a solution to the problem of waste wood and contributes to the goal of sustainable development. Future research could focus on improving the accuracy and time cost of the construction techniques and developing autonomous construction technologies.
This text on an editorially selected paper was initially drafted using artificial intelligence, and then fact-checked and improved by an editor to meet Springer Nature publication standards.
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npj Materials Sustainability
This is an open access, transdisciplinary journal presenting high-quality research that advances the scientific understanding and engineering design of materials with respect to the sustainability of their production, use and re-use.
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