CIRIA will use the money from the DTI and Biffaward via the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme to build a vicarage in Birmingham and a play structure at an Essex school.
The aim of the project is to find out what materials are suitable for re-use and to encourage members of the construction industry to consider using more recovered building materials. In the UK around 30 million tonnes of demolition waste are produced each year and currently very little is salvaged.
Christopher Harris, associate at CIRIA, said: “This is an extremely exciting project and will ensure the building industry reconsiders waste as a resource. It also intends to be groundbreaking in design terms, showing that buildings made of re-used items can be of as much architectural merit as any other. In the future most buildings should contain a higher percentage of secondary materials if the lessons of this project are well learnt.”
The research and development stage of the project is expected to create reference materials for the construction industry, including project reports, case studies, good practice guides and workshops.
Martin Bettington, chairman of Biffaward, said: “This project provides an excellent way of demonstrating how much building materials that do go to waste can be reused. The materials produced from the development of the project will also provide a valuable resource for the construction industry. Biffaward is pleased to be able to help make this project become a reality.”
Working on the project with CIRIA will be consultant engineers Buro Happold, salvage specialists Salvo and architects Cottrell & Vermeulen.
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