77. A Material Stock Inventory of Residential Buildings in Metropolitan Melbourne: Circular Economy Applications (IMM-12-FGRE-034-A)

Increased urbanisation and the over-shoot of the world's raw materials are two of the Global Mega-trends which need to be urgently addressed. Already one of the biggest contributors to raw material consumption, the construction industry is experiencing increased urbanisation, resulting in an increased need for residential buildings and thus further raw material consumption. But what if we could simply reuse the materials we already have? Can we source the materials for future housing entirely from buildings which are to be demolished? We look to answer these questions by quantifying the materials and components available within Metropolitan Melbourne Area's (MMA) residential buildings.

This study investigated the key building materials (i.e., steel, concrete, timber, mortar, brick etc) in the existing residential building stock in the MMA using the bottom-up approach. First, major building typologies were identified which represent building stock of MMA. Secondly, a typical Bill of Quantities for each typology was defined. Lastly, a model was generated to show the geographical location, quantity and quality of materials across MMA.

This spatially distributed material inventory is the first step to creating a circular economy within the residential sector, allowing easy access to material locations and quantities for future building projects.

Tess Exinger

Jaya Negi

Tamara Howard