Search

The reuse of wooden elements is a sustainable operation, which makes the best use of the material’s grey energy. Currently, structural timber from selective demolition is mainly used for non-structural functions, with a lowering of its performance, due to the lack of standard and specific regulation. In fact, the visual grading used to define the structural characteristics of wood does not evaluate information deriving from the previous life cycles of the component. In the paper, taking samples of rectangular timber elements from selective demolitions made in the Valencian Community, the structural values that are assigned by visual strength grading legislation were compared with the real resistance values identified by experimental analysis to verify their compliance. The verification showed that the visual grading is not able to optimize the performance of the timber element in its reuse. Therefore, the purpose of the research, illustrated in the paper, is to find a reuse process for structural wooden elements to enhance residual performances. The identified process introduces additional steps compared in the current visual grading, that include a consideration of the effective modalities of reuse evaluated according to the worst defects and information arising from previous life cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the complex relationship between humans and machines in the context of architecture and construction. It references the works of Alan Turing and Isaac Asimov, who explored the concept of thinking machines and the need for boundaries in their capabilities. The article highlights the advancements in technology, such as robotics, drones, and digital modeling, that have been integrated into the construction industry to improve efficiency and safety. It emphasizes the importance of human critical analysis in utilizing digital tools effectively and proposes new laws for digitalization that prioritize sustainability, efficiency, productivity, safety, and error prevention. The article also explores the application of digital tools in urban planning, historical preservation, microclimate monitoring, and sustainability assessment. It concludes by discussing the need for a balanced approach that combines human critical analysis with digital tools to achieve optimal results in the design, construction, and management of the built environment. [Extracted from the article]

The old age and the poor state of repair of the Italian building heritage and the change in the needs and lifestyle of modern society require re-qualitative interventions of building rehabilitation. These operations are environmentally sustainable, favouring the protection of the soil, allowing the grey energy of the materials that make up the building to be depreciated over a greater number of years and which will have sufficient residual performance, also thanks to integration with other components. In order to safeguard the intrinsic sustainability of the rehabilitation of the building, it is necessary to act in the intervention taking into account its sustainability, considering the life cycle of both the building as a whole together with its specific redevelopment project. Sustainability in the management phase is conditioned by energy efficiency; in the construction and demolition phases, however, it is conditioned both by the construction techniques and the connection methods between the different elements of the construction system, and above all by the choice of its components and materials that make it up. The paper presents as an international best practice a dry construction system made with recycled elements derived from scaffolding and a wet construction system consisting of components in lime and hemp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]