Återhus 3.0 - Building from buildings

Purpose and goal:

Sweden needs several prominent demonstrators or verified projects working with reuse that can put reuse on the agenda for demolition and new construction projects. There is a lack of both systematized knowledge and incentives for the construction industry to apply the reuse of elements in daily practice. Återhus demonstrators and methodology will facilitate the implementation of the reuse of load-bearing structural parts (precast, in-situ cast concrete and other materials) to prove that the circular economy is the most sustainable way for the construction industry.

Expected results and effects: 1) Increased reuse of load-bearing structural parts that today are to be demolished.

2) Reduced climate impact from the construction sector in line with the Boverket´s limit values (25% reduction by 2030) by reuse of the most climate-intensive materials (kgCO2eq/m2).

3) The competitiveness of the construction and real estate industry with reuse is strengthened by scaling up reuse and faster permit processes (kgCO2eq/SEK). 4) Reduce volumes of demolition waste by 10% (tons of waste per year). 5) Increased ability of the industry to attract competence and to build innovation capacity.

Approach and implementation:

Återhus 3.0 will work within 7 work packages. Work packages 2, 3, 4 and 6 will further develop tools that will enable reuse in practice with a focus on: AP2 - business models and digitization, AP3 - Technical quality assurance, AP4 - design with and for reuse, AP6 - proposals for changes in the regulations and standards. Those will be validated within AP5 which will implement reuse in 6 different demonstration projects.

AP7 will disseminate developed knowledge with the wider industry and AP1 will lead the entire project and facilitate collaboration in the consortium.