Training for sustainable (re)construction materials
Building Back Better by a constructive mobilization of human potential. Reconstruction has enormous potential for progress. It involves locals, not just experts from an industry that’s currently responding inadequately to climate targets, energy poverty, and reliance on conventional products and methods. RECON UA brings independent expertise for guidelines and material flows of crisis areas. Efficiency with construction and demolishing waste and agricultural by-products.
Cross-border/international
Germany
Netherlands
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: France
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Belgium
- Verden, DE
- Province of Brabant, NL (N69 bicycle bridge cement free concrete)
- Emmen, NL
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): SustCon Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: Martin Last name of representative: Damman Gender: Male Nationality: Netherlands Function: Partner Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Kerkplein 1 Town: Culemborg Postal code: 4101CC Country: Netherlands Direct Tel:+31 6 51440689 E-mail:martin@sustcon.org Website:http://www.sustcon.org
Paraphrasing
Every idiot can make concrete. The problem is they do. (A. M. Neville)
Most cement and aggregate suppliers want to keep it that way. (B. M. Piscaer)
Knowledge for construction has been dominated by material suppliers capable of influencing (prescriptive) regulations and education. Example: cement free concrete was developed in the Ukraine but never reached the EN 197 standard for cement. Yet it is re-introduced in Europe by initiators of this proposal. In Europe 28 countries have 27 different prescriptive standards for concrete, depending on the influence suppliers have in one particular country, so it is not based on conceptual performance-based technology.
Bio based material constructions have an uphill battle for large scale recognition as being modern mainstream potential. The training exercise and urgency for reconstruction, where regulations history is irrelevant, will surface better practices by the composition of planned guidelines.
Empowerment
Regeneration
Critical thinking
Performance-based
Independence
RECON UA works with the concept of strong sustainability of materials. This no longer assumes that economic, ecological and social aspects of sustainability are equal, but places ecology at the core because it has become particularly fragile and worthy of protection due to human interventions. Instead of considering the three pillars, ecology, economy and social affairs, as separate units of development, we consider the social community and the economic system embedded within an intact biosphere until we go beyond the limits of growth, the current state of construction economy.
We follow a participatory approach to do justice to the contingent, chaotic conditions in the attacked Ukraine and the goals of evaluating climate-positive building over the whole life cycle. In this context, we will develop guidelines with stakeholders in interaction with existing training courses of the partner organisations.
E. g. Portland cement is responsible for ± 8% of global emissions. Concrete is the most consumed construction material and acc. to Prof. Sakai the complete concrete economy causes > 7 billion tons of CO2. It is in many cases avoidable through early design decisions and independent education instead of cement industries sponsored training. Cement free concrete was developed in the Soviet period in the Ukraine (Prof. Pavel Krivenko)!
Use of Construction & Demolition Waste has been developed to a high standard setting level in the Netherlands and Belgium with recuperating non hydrated cement fines. The use of structural wood and agricultural by-products for insulation is a proven method to create resilient, efficient buildings that can become a carbon sink. The use of bio-based materials has great potential in the agricultural Ukraine.
At the workshop in Vienna 20-6, best practice approaches, some prepared in satellite workshops, are clarified, and packaged. Learning by teaching and learning by doing are most effective ways to implement changes and get priority.
Question of aesthetics is challenging in the interplay with sustainability and climate change. Aesthetics & quality of experience of today's buildings and places are much defined and shaped by Anthropocene, low maintenance ‘straight economy materiality, depending on history (wars), economics and transport needs. In principle, sustainable building can mimic this, but buildings become more resistant through more prudent, material-appropriate design and thus more aesthetic and livable long term through lower maintenance requirements and costs. Sustainable planning includes climate adaptation, so that new creative design possibilities arise with direct impact on health and experience of places. Temperature amplitude damping biomass, thermal mass, shade, shelter, water management, biodiversity, etc. Important to know that RECON UA has intention to dovetail with initiative of the Dutch Rijksbouwmeester-National architect focused on city replanning of Ukraine. MOBACO-A modular bio-based concept facilitates architects to play freely creatively with standardized columns, beams and connectors. These self-constructed (no cranes) standardized surfaces can be filled with materials from demolition waste, straw bales etc. and introduce a personal soul in someone’s housing, a spiritual aesthetics.
We encounter over and over at North German Centre for Sustainable Building, the tallest directly plastered straw building in Europe, that people say: It’s different here, the air quality is so good. It is simply more comfortable, due to balanced temperature, warmer surfaces in a biomass passive house, the supreme performance standard that is easily achievable with affordable straw bale construction. Another major point of a new aesthetic and sense of place: the construction is understandable to the user to the point it could be repaired, re-used, even composted in a distant future, into a black box. That’s why most straw buildings proudly display a truth window showing their inner core.
A teaching-learning situation that is as positive as possible has a didactic-methodological framework and is practice-oriented. This also refers to the external framework for action, the setting that originates from social pedagogy, the environment in which the further education takes place, and which shapes it. At the North German Centre for Sustainable Building (NZNB) e.g., this is a place where building as climate protection can already be experienced in all its aspects. The other potential training centers in Rippersville CH and Clairmont FR can exchange didactical experiences.
Starting with life cycle analysis, healthy materials, to the equally organized, diverse team and also vegan organic food. The effect of this should not be underestimated, as it can be lived or provoked as you wish "as if", which shows that it is already possible to live and work more fairly, more diversely and differently. This with the caution that main streamers have to be taken along for larger implementation. In this setting, which may differ from professional practice and everyday education, it is possible to get to know each other and find a language, common ground for sustainability and solutions in the group itself, which are often already present in the group. This lays the foundation for openness in the training to work on new solutions free from dominant market forces.
On one hand we face in Europe the challenge of too few skilled workers for the Herculean task of urgently refurbishing our buildings. E. g. in the concrete economy most mistakes influencing durability are made on the jobsite where fewer and fewer skilled people are available. While these mistakes may benefit suppliers, they will be a curse for the future.
In Ukraine, considerable restrictions on normality are to be expected in and after a war, so the potential of semi-skilled workers must be raised, just as in the EU. Here, we are resorting to concepts of strengthening critical thinking, and obvious knowledge transfer regarding building physics combined with the simplest possible, target-oriented techniques using locally available materials. In the process, existing knowledge and supportive local structures are identified and empowered through networks.
A small selection from the many cases.
- In 2009 B. Piscaer successfully wrote the content of an Eco-Innovation project SUSTCON EPV (Sustainable Concrete, Environmental Performance Verified), being applied now for verification of non-standardized performance-based concrete.
- In 2012 the tallest 5 story straw bale construction was realized in Verden (www.nznb.de)
- In 2016 the national Dutch architect launched a prize for constructing for refugees. MOBACO-A, inspired on a pre-Lego toy, was selected from 366 proposal to the last 12.
J. vd Palen/Archiview realized 16 non heated passive bio based social housing in Norg, NL
19-12-‘22 the SustCon task force founding meeting took place between Prof. Amziane, Prof. Stuerwald and B. Piscaer at the ETH Zürich, others online.
The day before the International Conference on Bio-Based Materials (www.icbbm2023.com) at the TU Wien our (RE)CONstruct EUkrAine (RECON UA) workshop will distill the experiences from former projects into practical guidelines. The ICBBN chairman Prof. S. Amziane*, founding member of the task force. Others
M. Burchert, http://www.nznb.de, https://weiterbildung.nznb.de
M. Damman, http://sustcon.org & https://bouwcirculair.nl
J. P. Gueneau de Mussy, www.materialmastery.com BE
D. Haidachuk, materials/concrete, UA
M. Halse Duloquin, FR, https://www.mariahalseduloquin.com FR
N. Lushnikova, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nataliya_Lushnikova, UA
J. vd Palen, Architect & www.mobaco-a.org
B. Piscaer, www.sustcon.org, www.mobaco-a.org shareholder,
I. Risseh, https://www.ivdproject.com. DE/UA
S. Stuerwald, professor at www.ost.ch
The additional expert team for demolition, recycling such as
J. D’Hooghe www.recyclingassistance.be & EDA https://www.europeandemolition.org
G. Cuperus, https://gemax-environment.com & https://www.brbs.nl/internationaal/fir
The construction materials economy suffers from too many silos and not enough mixers and mixing masters on all levels, as well as the justified image of being conservative due to “in-breeding”. This is while most technologies are available yet poorly implemented. Regulators without in-depth knowledge allow prescriptive standards instead of demanding performance. Designers are poorly informed due to dominant market forces. The RECON UA workshops address these cultural handicaps by the unique combination of disciplines and ages all mastering English plus some German, French and Ukrainian.
- Professional construction educators S. Amziane, S. Stuerwald, M. Burchert,
- Scientific Academic competence by N. Lushnikova and S. Amziane
- Architecture by J. vd Palen, also initiator of the “Building Value” guideline.
- Innovation implementation animators M. Halse Duloquin and JP. Gueneau de Mussy,
- IT expertise by I. Risseh, to be connected with www.concrete-quality.com.
- Business developer B. Piscaer using leadership and “Intrapeneurial” skills combined with practical experience to implement several innovations globally.
The taskforce will lead the final process with more different people from construction and civil society. The special link between bio-based construction with its climate-relieving effect and the actual problem area of construction, solid construction, and components in contact with the ground made of alternative concrete, should be emphasized. Fields that rarely mix at first; will keep the process interesting and work, to solve the issues facing construction. We are very grateful for the participation of our Ukrainian colleagues, which cannot be taken for granted in these times!
Carbon emissions and affordability are key drivers for change that must come from (re) education of designers (architects, building technologists, structural engineers, sustainability engineering etc.), the people on the job site and even the clients. The use of carbon capturing and storage by bio-based materials is on the rise but need practical training as well. Education that addresses Knowledge, Skills and Attitude, re-introducing passion by explaining many high-tech elements and the fun-factor by which learning becomes most efficient. The key objective of RECON UA is to collect sufficient educational materials for teaching the teachers for all levels and ages, not later than by September 2023 for the school year.
Changing the curriculum is known to be a long process, but with the sense of urgency in the Ukraine, demonstrated daily on TV, we stand a good chance to implement this needed change with a selective group of front running trainers faster than usual. The side effect is that the conservative construction economy will get valuable tools to be useful all over Europe since they will step over national “not invented here syndromes” practices.
Democratization or decolonialization of the construction economy can get closer into the hands of the user that has the ultimate responsibility for the safety of his f(extended) family.
The challenges in a war zone are not comparable to those in a stable country, but we are in a global situation where we must make our buildings fit for the climate target. We are faced with a small or, depending on the country, no residual budget for greenhouse gas emissions. A small number of skilled workers, energy scarcity, resource scarcity and, above all, a deadline of 2030 to meet the sustainable development goals. So it doesn't look too good for the way we build now. To make matters worse, the forces of inertia in construction are particularly high, with innovations facing powerful corporations that make a lot of money from energy-intensive and high-emission building materials and construction methods in which most of the workforce is trained.
This means not only that it is very bad, but also that there is great transformative potential lying dormant here. This can be harnessed, because alternatives are not that different in application, it is mostly classic craftsmanship. And there is doubt within the workforce regarding business as usual.
Mobile Micro Manufacturing, such as demonstrated by the KULeuven for slag valorization, can complete the already existing mobile C & D Waste recyclers.
There is great potential in setting up decentralized rather than centralized prefabrication factories with only minimal infrastructure. In the case of biomass this is particularly evident, Ukraine is rightly called the breadbasket of the world, there are about 50 million t of straw here annually. A quantity so large that prefabricated passive house modules could also be exported and create income.
Workshop in Vienna 20-6-2023 approach: Structured, Attitude, Momentum, Dissemination, guidelines output for educators using input from possible smaller Satellite Workshops and experiences from the task force members. Sept. 2023 sufficient material is available to launch the so-called MINDS (desk top design) and MODELS (scale 1:20) approach till June 2023. Sept. 2024 the MASTERPIECES concept for full-scale pilots is launched. It aims to replace the 42-year-old outdated limiting concrete canoe race by all sustainable construction materials demonstrations that include the important Fun-Factor, so called EDUTAINMENT.
Education by the N. German Centre for Sustainable Building (NZNB) is about strengthening critical awareness enabling building sustainably, on facts. Besides thinking of alternatives, also touching them. There are major deficiencies from the training of craftsmen to teachers to universities, offices and ministries. NZNB makes low threshold offers for a broad target group, from teachers and master craftsmen to students and private house builders. Obtaining experience not only with already ecologically oriented craftsmen and planners, but also with master classes, student groups and strongly mixed groups and the corresponding initial resistance due to prejudices. NZNB workshops are basically designed in a participatory, permanently fine-tuned and divided into individual modules, which are structured in didactically sensible sequences for 50/50 theory and practice. Life cycle analysis and the introduction to building as climate protection through playful learning with serious gaming and tours of building sites are integral so that people can break down their prejudices in the group. With the knowledge and the practical self-efficacy experience in interaction, hands-on with the alternative materials, there is awareness-raising with a real sense of new beginning after 2 days. This way, many multipliers could be supported throughout Germany, with ongoing, recur
Sustainable construction is a global inspiration, yet a local obligation to make use of the regional human and material resources in a responsible manner.
Involvement with GLOBE Consensus (www.rilem.net/globe) group for structural materials is another source of inspiration. If the European industry has taught China etc how NOT to make concrete, we can reverse this. As many are aware, the building sector is responsible for 40% CO2. For new very energy-efficient buildings, more than 50% of emissions are often caused by construction alone. If we were to continue building as we do now, building activity alone would consume the greenhouse gas budget for the Paris climate goal of limiting the climate crisis to below 2 degrees. In this context, Sustainable Development Goals are mandatory for RECON UA, all of them. A key objective is to identify the most efficient methods of quantifying environmental impact such as the Environmental Shadow Cost Indicator, expressed in Euro’s, that leads clients in their discussion making in rewarding contracts.
The goal is to achieve broad participation for local and global benefit, so as not to repeat past mistakes of hasty decision-making, which can be seen in rebuilt car-centric cities around the world. Participation is not only as mere information but as empowerment and support to create local solutions, regeneration, and beauty. The challenge is to be able to export know-how from the accumulated experience for the building turnaround within Europe and the world. Factories for structural and insulation materials have been damaged in Ukraine, but also in European industry there have been supply bottlenecks for raw materials. An opportunity to reduce construction of their dependency on fossil feedstocks and fuels by relying on local cultivation and use of byproducts such as straw, production of modular panels, reuse of construction and demolition waste and proven alternative processes. A question of education and political will.
Development plan.
The frame will be the MINDS (desktop designs), MODELS (scale 1:20), MASTERPIECES (full scale pilots) methodology
- February till 20-6 will be used to prepare the curriculum, topics for demonstration and teaching method with satellite workshops..
- 20-6 the draft curriculum/guidelines outlines will be established and available for teachers by September 2023.
- October 2023 till June 2024 will be used to work out the low cost “MINDS” (desktop) and MODELS (3-D printed?) proposals. The guideline
- July 2024 till June 2025 will be used for the construction of full-scale pilots for which by now the interest of the industry will have been raised, good for sponsoring..
The physical facilities of the NZNB in Verden, DE, the Fachhochschule OST in Rappersville CH and the Ecole Polytechnique Clairmont FRare basically set up for theoretical and practical teaching/training. They might have to be slightly expanded to handle other materials but will be inspired by the NZNB’s approach. Teachers from the Ukraine will be requested to be involved in hands-on demonstrations in these 3 facilities.
As designers we have architects, structural engineers but now the new competence of “sustainability engineering” is being developed.
Demolition companies are using more and more robots for work in tricky places.
