Circular building with steel

1. Building with donor steel (directly circular)
   
   Steel that has been used in an existing building can be re-used for the construction of something new.
   This does require a modified working method. Normally, a client goes to an architect who designs a building according to the client's wishes.
   When using so-called donor steel, it must first be clear what kind of material is available (lengths, dimensions, steel strength, applied preservation, etc.). The new building can be designed based on this inventory. Also called material-driven design.
   
   
2. Re-mountable construction (circular for the future)
   
   In the engineering phase, we can take into account the fact that the construction may be assembled and disassembled several times during the period of use. The connections are then bolted instead of welded. This does not have to be a limitation in meeting the client's wishes. It is possible that bolts and nuts remain visible, but that can provide a nice insight into the designparticulars of the building.
   
   See for example Temporary Court Amsterdam. We were the first to produce and assemble this building as a truly circular building and thus gained our first experience with remountable construction. In order to realize the renovation of the court, a very high-quality temporary building was erected that has now actually been demolished and reused.

It sounds so easy, but it still happens very rarely. There are several reasons why.

• There is still little donor steel on the shelf, so it is a challenge to find donor steel that can be used when the desire to start building arises.
• The steel must be inventoried, but also examined and approved to determine the quality and application.
• The society is unfamiliar with the re-use of steel beams.
  Fortunately, the NTA 8713 was published by the NEN in June 2023. The NTA (Dutch Technical Agreement) is a kind of manual for safe practice of the re-use of structural steel in line with theBuilding Decree and NEN-EN 1993 (Eurocode 3: Design and calculation of steel structures).

• Maybe a building doesn’t need to be demolished but can be transformed instead. We have completed various projects where buildings were modified in such a way that they received a new function. For example, from an office building to an apartment complex, like at Ricardo Residences.
  
  Also office buildings where extensions, additional floors, elevator shafts, new wall layouts, etc. were realized. For example, we worked on Centre Court, where an additional floor was built, and on B30, where this beautiful national monument was completely renovated with internal steel structures, extensions, and an additional floor.

• Choose steel. At the moment, more than 80% of beam steel is made from scrap. Read more here about the advantages of building with steel.
  
  
• Choose a more sustainable steel company.
  • We have monitored the energy consumption of our largest machines and implemented saving measures.
    We also use LED lighting in our office and production areas.
  • A steel company that produces with renewable energy. For example, we have 748 solar panels on our roof and, partly thanks to our energy-saving measures, we even generate more energy than we use.
  • A steel company that focuses on reducing transportation. Our production process is set up and optimized for full truckloads. In this way, we can minimize the number of transports.
  • A steel company that reduces waste. All materials are optimized in our ERP system to get the best possible yield from the steel we order. This allows us to minimize leftover material.
• A steel company that produces with less energy.

• Choose CO₂-compensated steel.
  For example, we can order X-Carb from Arcelor Mittal. This is available for the following profiles: IPE 180-750, HEA/B/M 100-1100 and HD beams.
• Limit or omit coating. In certain cases, this is definitely possible. The short-term environmental benefit is limited (as depending on the application and climate class, the lifespan may be reduced), but it makes future reuse significantly easier, more environmentally friendly, and cheaper if the coating no longer needs to be removed. You can read more about this topic, here. 
  
  
• Hot-dip galvanizing through a Cradle2Cradle certified process such as Zinculair or duroZINQ.