concrete.matters

concrete.matters – primary structure laboratory investigated the possibilities of scaling up the reuse of deconstructed primary concrete elements in building transformation and new developments, while reflecting on existing research references, practitioners, and projects.

Concrete, unlike any other modern building material, had made it possible to build cheaper, higher, and faster than ever before. From the hidden hero of increasingly daring primary structures to a visible element of architectural design, it was omnipresent in the built environment. At the same time, it was emblematic of the environmental challenges facing the building industry: despite the awareness of how carbon- and extraction-intensive the material was, large-scale reuse of concrete remained a challenge.

Baukreisel's work addressed the systemic constraints of concrete reuse through both theoretical analysis and the construction of 1:1 mock-ups that demonstrated various approaches and possibilities for reuse. By reviewing and comparing these prototypes, the group sought to establish an Optimal Reuse Case (ORC). A solution that, based on environmental, economic, and social criteria, might have proved more viable than current industry practices.

This fellowship was embedded into the long-term initiative reuse.matters, in which Baukreisel was developing methodologies to ensure materials recovered during deconstruction remained within the construction cycle.

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Baukreisel is an interdisciplinary group of architects, political and social scientists, economists, and lawyers, who – after years of informal activism – founded Baukreisel e.V. as a non-profit organization in Berlin in 2022. The organization is dedicated to maximizing the re-use of building materials through research, teaching, and creative activism – confronting and challenging the material and immaterial damage of current building practices. It advocates for a fundamental reorientation of the building industry by re-evaluating and critically questioning existing processes. Baukreisel focuses on research into sustainable and circular construction, environmental protection, especially climate protection, and the development of a critical awareness of the social significance of building culture.