Who are we?
The Irish construction industry accounts for 6% of the employed population but generates 48% of all waste produced in Ireland. Demolition Take Down is a research and engagement initiative aimed at revolutionising Ireland’s demolition practices.
We seek to uncover the underlying motivations and current challenges behind demolition practices in Ireland. Through explorative research and cross-disciplinary conversations, we aim to shift attitudes and behaviours within the construction industry.
Together, let’s spark an industry wide discussion and pave the way for more sustainable, responsible approaches to demolition in Ireland.
Key Findings
Soil Stores Carbon. The less we disturb the better..
Soil and stone makes up 85% of construction and demolition waste in Ireland. This in turn leads to the digging up of virgin soil and stone for construction sites across the country. These are finite resources. How can we design out this 7.7 million tonnes of soil and stone waste? Do we really need to excavate a basement for a car park? Should we continue to build on the edges of towns that require new roads and infrastructure?
Currently, matching supply and receiver sites is almost impossible. Could local depots be provided where materials are stored, tested and approved for reuse in a regulated way?
How much does the building weigh? What is greater, embodied carbon or operational carbon?
Roughly speaking it takes 65 years for a new building to recover the energy lost in demolishing the existing building it replaced. Should embodied carbon be incorporated into the building regulations?
Money speaks, the current VAT treatment of demolition work is in contradiction to other government legislation. We can’t on one hand incentivise activities like demolition and then on the other hand try to prevent it via climate action legislation.
Material & labour costs may go up and down, but taking down a building is forever. It is final.
Currently economic cost is valued at the expense of social, environmental, material and cultural values. Many new materials used in Irish construction are taken out of the ground from other countries and they can never be returned. If our existing buildings were understood to be resources, with their material worth added to their market value, would this discourage the demolition of buildings?
The culture needs to change to one where adaptive reuse is valued over and above demolition and replacement buildings.
We are not saying no to all demolition. A robust process is needed where there is a moment of pause to genuinely reflect on whether or not demolition is required.
Can demolition be justified on the basis that the building is no longer fit for purpose, or is highly energy inefficient? Is this justification enough, or should it be calculated as proof?
If you keep taking pieces of neighbourhood away incrementally, you may end up with a nowhere place. People grieve for what is gone, you might walk through town and a building is demolished, you might not be able to pinpoint what used to be there but you feel a sense of loss.
Good enough.
It is often difficult to upgrade 60s, 70s and 80s buildings to 2024 standards. The aim should be to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings as far as is reasonably practicable. Could retrofit become more viable with the introduction of a national policy to relax the building regulations for these older buildings?
Change requires resourcing.
Skills, knowledge and risk are a big barrier to changing business as usual. A shift towards retrofit over demolition will require a skill set that isn’t typical for every project. Upskilling the labour force to work confidently with existing structures or reused materials will be required.
Are there opportunities for the new roles of demolition auditor, waste resource manager, circular economist as well as insurance providers focused on retrofits? It is up to the industry to collaborate and be open to new methods of practice.
