Architect Daniel Marshall has developed a new façade technology for re-utilizing architectural glass into a low-carbon assembly named the “Shingle Façade”. He received a USD 75,000 Research in Practice Grant (RPG) from the Holcim Foundation to further develop an artificial-intelligence-based tool to optimize, re-use, and bring new life to demolition rubble. The research project was overseen by Professor Sheila Kennedy of the MIT Department of Architecture, with findings on the topic of circularity published in the Journal of Physics: Conference Series.

The Holcim Awards jury for North America was very impressed by the pragmatism of the design method proposed in this research project that is able, in parallel, to promise a very compelling architecture. The idea of bringing new life to demolition rubble was found very relevant in terms of economic and environmental sustainability. The jury also appreciated the elegant and precise exemplifying design solutions that are featured along with the computational tool, which shows a clear sensitivity for architectural quality.

Countless old concrete buildings will be torn down in the coming years. There is still no standard method for properly disposing of the resulting debris, only for downcycling the concrete. The project by Daniel Marshall, MIT Cambridge, shows how dismantled elements such as floor slabs can be used in the construction of new buildings. “It shows how we could make ‘reuse rather than destroy’ the default plan for the building industry,” says Marilyne Andersen, Professor of Sustainable Construction Technologies, EPFL Lausanne, Switzerland, and member of the Holcim Awards 2020 Jury for North America.

Since the patent of the Bulldozer in 1932, buildings have been demolished without regard for the value of their material. There was public outcry in 1955 when demolition companies smashed up granite bathrooms in the Hotel Majestic West 72nd Street; the contractor argued “To recut the rosewood, mahogany and black walnut used in the interiors of the old glow room would have cost more than to use new materials." This project changes the economics of recycling buildings through automation. Conveyors of rubble are robotically scanned to form an indexed library. Machine learning algorithms trained to solve specific jigsaw puzzle problems are able to position each part into optimal configurations. Missing gaps can be custom fabricated, or robotic concrete printers extrude into targeted areas.