Sustainability in industrialised architecture: closing the materials cycle

The condition of sustainability, from a physical point of view, can be defined as the closure of the material cycle. This is reached in determined systems, in the absence of residual flows, and in which resources are constantly recycled. Such systems can encounter serious obstacles in the productive model that characterises the majority of contemporary industry. The productive model, born during the Industrial Revolution, can be summarised by the following lineal sequence: extract ion>manufacture>use>residue. In contrast, this research(1) focuses on a productive model from the ecological industry, based on the example of the biosphere as a recycling machine. Requiring the elimination of the concept of residues, the system can be summarised by the following continuous cycle: recycling-manufacturing-use-recycling. The hypothesis posed is as follows: using technology presently available, represented by the lightweight modular construction that is commercialised by renting (making it possible to return the modules to the factory once their useful life is over, therefore recuperating resources), a management system capable to close the material cycle at least to 90% can be developed. (conventional building construction currently manages a recycling value of 10% of used resources).