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Md. Nawrose Fatemi
Lecturer,
Department of Architecture
University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh
Email: [email protected]
Dear Authors
We, therefore, invite you to present the paper at the Seminar during 2-4 February 2012. Please
ensure your participation in the Seminar at an early date. The programme of the Technical
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1
Resolving Geometries in Complex Curtain Walls: Shanghai Natural History Museum Cell Wall as a Case Study
Abstract
A phenomenal increase in the level of urbanization and urban growth is observed in Dhaka city for the last
few decades. 30% of the urban population of the country is concentrated in this metropolitan area. To meet
the demands of shelter for this heavy influx of people, a rising need for housing facilities have come forward
and accordingly it has been accelerated in the construction industry in and around Dhaka. The existing built
environment here and the process of adding to it have numerous environmental and social impacts in a number
of ways, including waste production. Construction and Demolition (C&D) Wastes contribute a significant part
to the waste stream destined for the city’s landfills. Through waste minimization and waste recycle, architects
can ensure the reduction of waste, by understanding its root causes and re-engineering current processes
and practices to ease its generation and thus contribute towards a sustainable building design. This study
aims to identify the influencing factors of waste management and strategies to improve waste management
performance for building and construction projects.
Keywords: Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste, Sustainable Building Design, On-Site Management,
Architect’s Responsibility
1. Introduction
The amount of Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste is significant in most of the countries which has
challenged the performance of the construction industry and its sustainable goals (Kulatunga et al, 2005).
Tremendous amounts of C&D waste have been generated directly or incidentally from the construction of new
developments and demolition of old or renovated structures as unwanted materials. Most of these wastes are
dumped into landfills, increasing the burden on landfill loading and contribute a significant part to the waste
stream destined for the city’s landfills. Evidence shows that, approximately 40% of waste generated globally
originates from construction and demolition of buildings (Holm, 1998) and this has taken a major portion of
the solid waste discarded in landfills around the world. For instance, in the USA it is approximately 29% and in
Australia 30% of landfills by mass (Bossink & Brouwers, 1996). For this, C&D waste management has become
one of the major environmental problems in both economically developed and developing countries (Hung,
2010). And an efficient waste management process on a construction site is a vital component of sustainable
building design. As a member of construction industry, architects can perform important roles by integrating
waste management in different phases of design; at ‘demolition stage’ and from ‘pre-design and design’ stage
to ‘construction’ stage. The objective of this study is to evaluate the influencing factors of waste management
along with a few strategies for architects to improve waste management performance in their building and
construction projects.
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For instance, in Dhanmondi (a planned residential area in Dhaka), the single storied buildings has been
reduced from 72.8% to 7.9% since 1964 to 2007. With the development of real estate sector period in-between,
these buildings are replaced by six storied buildings which are now governing in number of 43.9% (Hashem,
2001). Moreover, it can be easily assumed that the number of multi-storied buildings will increase more as floor
area ratio (FAR) permits buildings with 8-12 stories (According to Building Construction Rules, 2008-2011). As
a result, the existing built environment in Dhaka and the process of adding to it have numerous environmental
and social impacts in a number of ways, including construction and demolition waste production. In Dhaka,
the construction and demolition waste varies from sand, Lime, Cement, Bricks, Ceramic Tiles, Timber, Rubble,
Steel, Cement Blocks, Paint and PVC pipes.
Designing out waste at the earliest stages of the construction process offers the greatest opportunities for
waste minimization. The best management approach to waste is to manage the process so that there is no
waste to manage (Keys et al 2000). Crittenden (1995) defines waste minimization as any technique, process
or activity which either avoids, eliminates or reduces waste at its source, usually within the confines of the
production unit, or allows the reuse and recycling of the waste for benign purposes.
544
ResolvingtoGeometries
Strategies in Complex
Reduce Construction Curtain Walls:
and Demolition (C&D)Shanghai Natural History
Waste for Sustainable Museum
Building Design Cell Wall Role
in Dhaka: as aofCase Study
Architects
For this study, to understand the waste management process and to determine the role of architects in Dhaka,
the following methods are applied:
4. Construction Waste
It has been estimated that 33% of on-site waste is due to architects’ failure to implement waste reduction
measures during design stages (Innes, 2004). According to Kulatunga et al (2005), construction waste can
originate at any phase of the construction process, and its roots may lie in design decisions, method of
construction or even with attitudes of people. Love (1996) also added that many wasteful activities can take
place during both design and construction processes, consuming both time and effort without adding value to
the client.
It is important to know the waste sources for applying correct waste minimization methods. Skoyles (1987)
makes a distinction between direct and indirect material waste and Gavilan & Bernold (1994) grouped the
causes of direct and indirect wastes into six categories, including design, procurement, material handling,
operation, residual and others. According to Osmani et al (2008), Construction waste is effectively generated
throughout the project from inception to completion with the pre-construction stage accounting for a
considerable amount, as shown in Table 1.
Design : Design changes, Design and detailing complexity, Design and construction detail errors,
Unclear specification, Poor coordination and communication (late information, last minute
client requirements, slow drawing revision and distribution)
Procurement : Ordering errors (i.e., ordering items not in compliance with specification), Supplier errors,
Over allowances (i.e., difficulties to order small quantities),
Transportation : Damage during transportation, Difficulties for delivery vehicles accessing construction sites,
Insufficient protection during unloading, Inefficient methods of unloading (e.g. bricks, sand,
glass)
On-site management & Lack of on-site waste management plans, Improper planning for required quantities, Delays
planning in passing information on types and sizes of materials and components to be used, Lack of
: on-site material control, Lack of supervision (i.e., throwing away excess material)
Material storage & : Improper storing methods, Inappropriate site storage, Materials stored far away from point
handling of application, Materials supplied in loose form (e.g. bricks, sand, glass)
Site operation : Unused material and products, Equipment malfunction, Poor craftsmanship, Use of wrong
materials resulting in their disposal (e.g. inferior quality marbles, tiles), Time pressure (e.g.
formwork)
Residual : Waste from application processes (i.e., over-preparation of mortar), Off-Cuts from cutting
materials to length, Packaging
Other : Weather, Vandalism, Theft (e.g. tiles, cement bags, MS rods)
545
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Architects have significant role to play in reducing the waste generated from construction projects. Architects
should be concerned on four major areas of the design process including design issues and construction
techniques, building materials specification and education.
- In design stage, they should think for a whole life approach and consider flexibility in the design to
accommodate future expansion or alterations
- In pre-construction stages, they should consider such building form and shape that reduce the
use of excess building materials. Sizing of buildings and spaces should be such that can eliminate
unnecessary elements.
- In construction stages, waste can be reduced in a number of ways by specifying the use of material
and techniques, standard size supplies and prefabricated components into the design.
- They should avoid those designs that require more material than necessity or over-specification as it
generates waste.
- They should encourage and educate the client and other stakeholders for appreciating waste
minimization benefits and the strategies to be employed in the project to achieve set targets.
5. Demolition Waste
Demolition is the systematic total or partial removal of structural systems, other subsystems and materials
from a building. Three typical approaches are found in building demolition: manual wrecking, mechanical
wrecking and explosive charge demolition (Dolan et al, 1999). In Bangladesh, manual wrecking is mostly
used method while mechanical wrecking is hardly used and explosive charge demolition is not used at all. The
advantage of manual wrecking method is that it may result in waste with the highest recover and reclamation
potential. It is a very labor-intensive since most of the demolition involves cutting and ripping with hand and
tools. Traditional tools and equipments are used in this method for chipping old plasters and breaking of parts
of concrete. Tools like hammer, chisel etc are frequently used for this purpose.
A sequence of works is observed while demolitions proceed in a site. Figure 2 shows the sequence of activities.
Department of Architecture, BUET
It can be mentioned that removal of plaster and masonry works is handled sincerely to separate each piece of
brick in its original shape. A group of labors break the structure and other group (loaders) carries the materials
outside of the building and dumps it in a pre-defined location. It is then carried to the site where it can be used
by using men driven two wheeler curt (locally called thela gari), men driven tricycle carriage (called van gari),
trucks etc (Saifullah et al, 2009). A list of construction wastes and its source of generation with further use in
Bangladesh is shown in Table 1.
546
ResolvingtoGeometries
Strategies in Complex
Reduce Construction Curtain Walls:
and Demolition (C&D)Shanghai Natural History
Waste for Sustainable Museum
Building Design Cell Wall Role
in Dhaka: as aofCase Study
Architects
Table 2: Probable use of building demolition waste (Saifullah et al, 2009, modified by author)
Plaster & floor finish : Building surface Mostly in land filling, very few reuse
Concrete piece : Slabs, beams, columns, RCC walls Mostly in land filling, very few reuse
Full brick : Masonry works, partition walls Reuse in masonry and as brick chips
Half brick : Masonry works, partition walls Mostly as brick chips, very few in land filling
Although manual wrecking is cost and time intensive, the expense of this method may be offset by the money
gained from sale of the reclaimed materials. In manual wrecking methods (applied for most of the cases
in Dhaka), the maximum cost goes for labor payment. On the other hand, resale value of the old structure
depends on some factors such as age, size, material, & location of structure.
Generally labors are paid on daily basis at the rate of 225-250 BDT/day. In some cases works are done by
selecting on unit rate basis. There are a few shops at Nayabazar, Poribaag, Gabtoli, Badda and Natunbazar
area in Dhaka, from which both buying and selling of old reinforcing bars, sanitary pipes and fittings, door and
window panels, floor finish, bricks, debris etc. are widely held. The selling price of demolition waste is shown
in table 4:
Items Rates
Full Brick : 40-50% of new bricks
Half brick : 20% of new bricks
Rubbish : 300-700 BDT/ truck
Reinforcement : 50-60% of original cost
Recently, as a research project (shown in figure 4), a two storied building with 4 dwelling units has been
derived from recycled demolished concrete blocks (made of demolished concrete from a pulled down 22
storied building in the city, Dhaka Rangs Bhaban, shown in figure 3) By Housing and Building research Institute
(HBRI). It is not only useful for recycling of construction waste but also cost effective; it saves 50-80 BDT/sft
according to HBRI (Ahsan et al 2011).
Mainly, the wall material of the project is made of concrete bricks. At first, demolished concrete blocks from
the pulled down building was transported to the site at HBRI premises. The blocks were then crushed by the
motor operated crushing machine to yield a mixture of coarse and fine aggregates, shown in figure 3. Cement
and water was mixed with the later and cast into blocks to create concrete bricks.
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Figure 3: Demolition of the building and crushing of demolished concrete blocks by the crushing machine
Figure 4: The 9.5’’x9.5’’ concrete brick module and the project derived from recycled demolished concrete blocks
As the traditional masons are adapted to work in brick modules, a 9.5’’x9.5’’square block was derived to allow
easy workability, shown in figure 4. Through this research, it is proved that the use of recycled demolished
material reduces landfill and need for pristine materials, which produces saving and useful recycling of
demolition waste.
Table 5 provides an analysis of the relative advantages of recycled construction over similar conventional
concrete construction buildings:
Table 5: Comparative analysis of recycled and conventional concrete construction (HBRI and Ahsan
et al 2011)
548
ResolvingtoGeometries
Strategies in Complex
Reduce Construction Curtain Walls:
and Demolition (C&D)Shanghai Natural History
Waste for Sustainable Museum
Building Design Cell Wall Role
in Dhaka: as aofCase Study
Architects
Architects have significant role to play in reducing the waste generated from demolition. Architects should be
concerned on the following areas:
- They should develop a demolition plan early to facilitate maximum reclamation, reuse and recycling
of materials from the site. They should instruct the contractor and the trained laborers on waste
separation and sorting activities to reuse and recycle of materials.
- They should review the existing structure to determine which furnishings and equipment are in good
condition and could be reused to meet the planned program or could be salvaged for another project.
Thus, they should use salvaged or recovered materials in same or in other applications where ever
the use of these materials are appropriate.
- They should encourage and educate the client and other stakeholders to choose a selective
demolition technique instead of complete demolition or removal of structure whenever possible.
As it can increase the possibilities of using reusability and recyclability of building materials in the
designed project.
6. Conclusion
The generation of material waste will become a tremendous problem in the construction industry of Dhaka
as the extensive building and infrastructure development as well as redevelopment is frequent here and it is predicted
to increase more. Hence, attention has been paid on developing and implementing better waste management
plans. And architects have significant role to play in reducing the waste generation and implementing better
waste management plans for sustainable construction and building design. Architects should be conscious
about the reduction of waste at source and root causes of construction waste. They have to influence reusability
and recyclability of building materials through the choice of the structural system and the choice of materials.
They should also redesign current construction processes to lessen waste generation and contribute towards
a sustainable building design.
549
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References
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Sylhet, Bangladesh, pp.113-120
Bossink, B A G & Brouwers, H J H (1996), Construction Waste: Quantification & Source Evaluation, Construction
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Crittenden, B & Kolaczkowski, S (1995), Waste Minimization: A Practical Guide, Institute of Chemical
Engineers, UK, 81 p
Dolan, P J, Lampo, R G & Dearborn, J C (1999), Concepts for Reuse and Recycling of Construction and
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Army Corps of Engineers
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org/stat/data/syb2009/2-Urbanization.asp, accessed in 8 September 2011
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