Dominik Lukkes
Architectural Engineering
Amstel III – The Reuse City: Implementing urban mining as a tool to transform vacant office buildings, reusing 100% of the existing building components
Our excessive need for new building materials is causing our natural material stock to be depleted at an alarming rate. What happens when our most common building materials can no longer be acquired?
This thesis addresses this issue by showing the potential of reusing buildings and their components. An existing office building, located in the Amsterdam Amstel III area, is transformed into an apartment building, reusing almost all building components the building currently comprises. Additionally, the process of urban mining is implemented to harvest additional components from surrounding buildings that are up for demolition. The reuse of concrete structural elements, glass panels and other elements results in a hybrid design of new, existing and reused elements.
It is clearly important that we map out and link construction waste streams with future developments. This allows us to create an alternative palette of resources from which new architecture can be synthesized.
More information
- Master thesis 'Amstel III - The Reuse City'