Browsing by Author "Hernandez Lopez Hector Enrique"

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    Examining building deconstruction: Introducing a holistic index to evaluate the ease of disassembly
    (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 2025) Hernandez Lopez Hector Enrique; Diaz L.; Rodriguez-Grau G.
    © 2025 Elsevier B.V.The construction industry faces significant environmental challenges, with 35 % of global construction and demolition waste ending up untreated in landfills and <9 % of materials reused worldwide. Industrialized and circular construction approaches hold promise for sustainability, especially by promoting building designs for easier disassembly and material recovery. However, assessing building deconstruction potential remains challenging, exacerbated by the interchangeable use of disassembly-related terms, leading to misunderstandings of deconstruction and its measurement. This study addresses these issues by proposing a Disassembly Ease Index (DEI) based on seventeen key variables identified through a comprehensive literature review. The DEI, tested in a case study, was found to be sensitive to factors such as connection types, required disassembly tools, and deconstruction methods, all of which significantly influence value retention options like reuse. The research not only clarifies deconstruction terminology and confirms the relationship between more industrialized, circular designs and greater disassembly efficiency but also offers a practical tool for assessing the deconstruction potential of buildings.