Publications related to Upcycling Space Structures (Preface to special issue)

Related publications (27)

Renewable energy integration and waste heat valorization in aluminum remelting for co-producing kerosene and methanol

François Maréchal, Daniel Alexander Florez Orrego, Meire Ellen Gorete Ribeiro Domingos

The aluminium sector relies on natural gas for the conversion of recycled scrap into new feedstock, which results in substantial atmospheric emissions. Hydric resources are also impacted, as they serve as heat sinks for the waste heat generated during the ...

Associazione Italiana Di Ingegneria Chimica2024

Reuse of cut concrete slabs in new buildings for circular ultra-low-carbon floor designs

Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Numa Joy Bertola, Célia Marine Küpfer

The study explores an original idea that responds to the urgent need to reduce the detrimental environmental impacts of load-bearing floor construction in new buildings by reusing saw-cut reinforced concrete (RC) pieces salvaged from soon-to-be demolished ...

2024

Tandem catalysis enables chlorine-containing waste as chlorination reagents

Paul Joseph Dyson, Xinbang Wu, Mingyang Liu

Chlorinated compounds are ubiquitous. However, accumulation of chlorine-containing waste has a negative impact on human health and the environment due to the inapplicability of common disposal methods, such as landfill and incineration. Here we report a su ...

Nature Portfolio2024

FLO:RE – A new floor system made of reused reinforced concrete and steel elements

Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Numa Joy Bertola, Maléna Bastien Masse, Célia Marine Küpfer

Carefully extracting reinforced concrete (RC) elements from soon-to-be demolished structures and reusing them as load-bearing components is an emerging circular low-carbon alternative to building new structures. As floor construction typically accounts for ...

IABSE2024

Towards edible robots and robotic food

Dario Floreano, Jun Shintake, Bokeon Kwak, Markéta Pankhurst

Edible robots and robotic food — edible systems that perceive, process and act upon stimulation — could open a new range of opportunities in health care, environmental management and the promotion of healthier eating habits. For example, they could enable ...

2024

Rising from rubble - Leveraging existing construction tools for upcycling concrete waste into slender walls

Katrin Beyer, Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Stefana Parascho, Maxence Grangeot, Qianqing Wang

In this paper, we present a new method for upcycling concrete rubble waste into slender walls through the lightweight digital augmentation of mainstream construction machines. By using such method, the environmental impact of concrete construction and demo ...

Springer2024

RE:SLAB — a load bearing system for open-ended component reuse in building structures

Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Jan Friedrich Georg Brütting, Dario Redaelli, Alex-Manuel Muresan, Edisson Xavier Estrella Arcos

The construction industry plays a major role in the high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, resource consumption, and waste generation observed nowadays. Key to the circular economy, structural component reuse arises as a promising solution to divert cons ...

2024

Reuse of concrete elements in architecture: characterisations and design methods for sustainable structures

Célia Marine Küpfer

Because of established demolition routines and low construction-material production costs that neglect negative externalities, discarded concrete today is crushed and landfilled or downcycled as infill material or recycled aggregates, wasting its embodied ...

EPFL2024

Degradable and Printed Microstrip Line for Chipless Temperature and Humidity Sensing

Danick Briand, Jaemin Kim, James Alec Pierce Bourely

Research on chipless and passive architectures for environmental sensing is generating high interest because they do not require any semiconductor components or batteries to operate, thus resulting in an eco-friendlier footprint. This study demonstrates a ...

2024

Teaching Not To

Charlotte Malterre-Barthes

Two design studios were successively taught in two schools of architecture: one at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) and the other at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, based on "A Global Morato ...

Taylor & Francis Inc2024

Dataset for '3D printing of customizable transient bioelectronics and sensors'

Danick Briand, Nicolas Francis Fumeaux

This data set contains the data collected during the FNS project Green Piezo (Grant no. 179064) in association with the recent publication entitled “3D printing of customizable transient bioelectronics and sensors”. This work aims to study and demonstrate ...

Zenodo2024

A global framework for data-informed bridge examination

Eugen Brühwiler, Numa Joy Bertola, Philippe Schiltz

Examining the performance of an existing bridge requires information on several aspects, such as design choices, material properties, and ongoing degradation processes. It often happens that some critical information is not available. The traditional appro ...

2024

Learning from rural-urban stations: Strategies for rail-based development in a low-density Flemish landscape

Flore Jeanne Marie Andrea Guichot

This paper examines the potential of transit-oriented development (TOD) in low-density landscapes. We explore rail-based investments in rural-urban areas through context-specific research-by-design methods, using the railway line between Antwerp and Ghent ...

ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD2024

Methods to assess the carbon footprint of structures involving UHPFRC elements

Eugen Brühwiler, Numa Joy Bertola, Antonina Hochuli

The development of Ultra-High Performance Fibre-Reinforced Cementitious Composite (UHPFRC) has enabled the design of lightweight constructions. Although the greenhouse gas emissions of UHPFRC per volume are higher than that of conventional concr ...

Kassel University Press2024

Spatial Modeling for Building Design Evaluation: from Visual Landscape Quality Assessment to Devaluation Risk Estimation

Adam Robert Swietek

Zoning reform is a crucial tool for cities to adapt to contemporary challenges. However, its implementation remains challenging. Property owners, with a vested interest in the value of their neighborhoods, are sensitive to local developments and the potent ...

EPFL2024

Eco-Conscious Approach to Wireless Gas Monitoring With a Hybrid Printed Passive Sensor Tag

Sandro Carrara, Johanna Zikulnig

Addressing the environmental impact of electronic waste in biomedical sensing, an eco-conscious approach to the realization of a Chitosan-based Acetone sensor tag for wireless gas monitoring is presented. The fabrication involves inkjet printing of silver ...

Ieee-Inst Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc2024

A FEM modelling workflow to simulate THM effects in the rock around nuclear waste packages

Matthias Timothee Stanislas Wojnarowicz

High-level waste, stemming from nuclear electricity generation poses significant environmental and safety concerns. Currently, high-level wastes are stored in interim facilities needing constant monitoring and waiting for a definitive solution. Deep geolog ...

EPFL2024

New Polymers from Biomass-Derived Hydroxycinnamic Acid Derivatives

Ghezae Tekleab

Polymers play a central role in shaping our world across various fields, but their heavy reliance on petrochemicals poses climate change, environmental and health risks. To address and alleviate these issues, transitioning to sustainable polymers, sourced ...

EPFL2024

Short-term behavior of glass fiber-polymer composite bending-active elastica beam under service load application

Thomas Keller, Landolf-Giosef-Anastasios Rhode-Barbarigos, Tara Habibi

Bending-active elastica beam is a structural configuration that is based on the elastic deformation of an initially straight beam. This deformation occurs when horizontal displacements are applied to a sliding support, causing the beam to bend into an arch ...

2024

Embodied Carbon Premium for Cantilevers

David Michael Volpe Ruggiero, Paola Costanza Miglietta

This study addresses the critical need for sustainable architectural designs within the context of climate change and the significant role the built environment plays in greenhouse gas emissions. The focus of this paper is on understanding the influence of ...

2024