The IDE and University of Wolverhampton present: Modern Building Materials Seminar; How Can We Recycle Them in 20 Years? And IDE Regional Meeting

EnTRESS and Construction Futures Research Centre (CFRC) ran a joint event with the Institute of Demolition Engineers (IDE) around the topic of deconstruction and the reuse of modern building materials. The event aimed to bring together key stakeholders in the built environment to discuss ideas and solutions to issues in deconstruction. The event was a big success and had a great turn out with delegates attending from various sectors including demolition, architecture and construction. This allowed for interesting discussions and debates over what could be done to improve the way we deconstruct buildings and what we do with the materials.

After an introduction from Professor Mohammed Arif, Head of the School of Architecture and the Built Environment, and Dr Paul Hampton, EnTRESS Project Director and Associate Head of School, a number of speakers were invited to present on a variety of topics. Professor Peter Hopkinson, Director of Exeter Centre for Circular Economy spoke about his research into reclaiming and reusing structural building components. James Hobbs from ICE Publishing discussed ideas for a new book on demolition management followed by Chris Holcroft from Glass Technology Services and FISSAC who spoke about recycling glass. Justin Furness, Technical Director for Council for Aluminium in Building talked about aluminium closed loop recycling in the UK construction sector. Then to finish off the first part of the event, Richard Dolman from AR Demolition spoke about designing for deconstruction and the importance of cradle to cradle design and thinking.

The round table discussion session raised some significant points about deconstruction and modern building materials. The importance of multi discipline engagement was acknowledged as being vital in helping to engage with circular economy principals. In addition to this, legislation and education were also seen as important in enabling people to design, construct and demolish with recycling and reuse of materials in mind. 

Feedback from the event was positive with attendees enjoying the opportunity to discuss and debate issues with professionals from different sectors of the built environment. The event highlighted the increased interest in circular economy principles and the reuse of building materials, as well as the importance of collaboration between different companies, industries and government to enable recycling and reuse.

This was the final event for the EnTRESS project this year and the team were happy to end the year with such a successful event. EnTRESS supports Black Country SMEs, across a variety of sectors, on the adoption of environmental technologies and resource efficiency processes.

Find out more by contacting the EnTRESS team at EnTRESS@wlv.ac.uk