Urban mining - Steel beams

Syllabus

It was a bright cold day in April, and the sky was a dusty orange. The young Architect exited the

building into the crowded street after his morning dose of soma. Surrounded by dull grey of concrete

and the reflective glass structures rising up around him he headed to the office.

It was 2055 and the world was in crisis, raw materials for construction had become scarce but

populations and economies screamed out for new buildings and infrastructure to fuel them.

Scarcity of resources forced the necessity of repurposing existing buildings into new ones, and the

government to codify the principles of the circular economy into law.

Introduction

In 2050 the resources of construction material are going to be limited; the rise of the sea-level is going to swallow coastal cities and the growth of the population is going to increase the food demand. In this scenario, the city of Alexandria is going to lose not only half of its urban region but also an important part of its food production fields.

Urban Mining-Steel Beams is a project that explores the reuse of steel structures from the building of the sunken areas of the city to create new spaces of opportunity within the city of Alexandria.

Situation by 2050

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is one of the heaviest and most voluminous waste streams generated in the EU – It accounts for approximately 25% – 30% of all waste generated in the EU and consists of numerous materials, including concrete, bricks, gypsum, wood, glass, metals, plastic, solvents, asbestos and excavated soil, many of which can be recycled.
Approximately 110 million people live in places that are below the high tide line – Rising seas could affect three times more people by 2050 than previously thought, according to new research, threatening to all but erase some of the world’s great coastal cities.
The current world population of 7.6 billion is expected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050 – With roughly 83 million people being added to the world’s population every year, the upward trend in population size is expected to continue, even assuming that fertility levels will continue to decline.

Global flow of steel

The Cannibal’s Cookbook: Mining Myths of Cyclopean Constructions

The historical (2000-16) price range between new steel sections and scrap sections (grade OA scrap) reveals an average price difference of £313 per tonne over this timeframe. This differential represents the profit opportunity for reuse before the additional deconstruction costs (testing and certification, storage and refabrication costs) are taken into account.

Price differential between new steel sections and scrap grade OA (2000-16)2

Case study

Alexandria, is surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea and backs up to a lake, making it uniquely susceptible to the rise in sea levels caused by global warming and the melting of the polar ice caps.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/29/climate/coastal-cities-underwater.html

Vertical Farming. Sustainability Strength

Hydroponics – Uses liquid, sand, gravel, and other materials to supplement a soil environment for growing plants.

Aquaponics – Replaces soil with water that comes from a fish tank.

Aeroponics – The process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium.

Proposal

An interstitial space

Selection of Construction Element

Construction Element

Case study

BIM Data

Selection of Construction Element

Rust detection > COLOR

Structural Integrity > MISSING POINT CLOUD INFORMATION

Structural Integrity > DEVIATION

Design Strategy

Density / Total slot area

Beam Length

Limited data set

Design proposal

Steel Beams is a project of IaaC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia developed at Masters of Robotics and Advanced Construction in 2019-2020 by Students: Anna Batallé, Irem Cebecci, Roberto Vargas & Luis Jayme, Faculty: Stuart Maggs, Alexandre Dubor, Pol Cirujeda & Alejandro Nespereira, Faculty Assistant: Soroush Garivani.

Program