A growing scarcity of resources and a desire to move away from today’s throwaway mentality are forcing the building sector to give more thought to the increased use of reusable or recyclable materials. 

But as the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) points out, there is often a sizeable gap between technology that works in the lab and the market – a gap it hopes to close with its project NEST (Next Evolution in Sustainable Building Technologies). The modular research and innovation building is located on the campus of Empa and the Aquatic Research Institute (Eawag) in Dübendorf in the canton of Zurich.

The newest module – Urban Mining & Recycling – puts sustainable thinking into practice. 

“The materials that we utilize will not just be used and then disposed of,” said Dirk E. Hebel, who developed the concept together with Werner Sobek and Felix Heisel. “Instead they will be extracted from their cycle and later returned to it.”

As an example of their approach, the structure and large parts of the facade are made of untreated wood, and the edging of the facade is made of repurposed copper sheets that previously covered the roof of a hotel in Austria. 

“All joinings can be easily reversed because, for instance, the materials are not glued together but rather tucked, folded, or screwed,” explained Heisel.

Two students will soon move into the three-room flat and regularly discuss their everyday experiences with the researchers involved. 

“By implementing and demonstrating the systematic cycle concept in a real-world building project, we of course hope that we can trigger a change in thinking in the construction world,” said Enrico Marchesi, Innovation Manager at NEST. 

“In future, buildings should not only offer residential and work spaces, but also simultaneously serve as material repositories for the next generation.”