Dario Biscaro is an architecture graduate currently based in London, UK.
Dario completed a BSc in Architecture at the Mendrisio Accademy of Architecture in Switzerland, in 2019. Previously he has worked at Studio Anne Holtrop in Bahrain, Fondamenta in Milan, with Architect Maria Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo in Sicily, and with Architect Roi Carrera in Locarno, Switzerland.
Spolia Tectonic
The 21st century has ushered in an increasing awareness that the capacity of the globe is reaching its limits, that has stimulated a growing interest in the redefinition of the way we think about materials. As a way to counteract the excessive dependency of the construction industry on extractive practices, to reduce its carbon emissions, and the enormous amounth of waste it every year produces, the project investigates how reuse could help shift the focus on what has already been produced and prevent the exploitation of further resources.
Through the adoption of the concept of “Spolia”, the ancient practice of the reuse of materials previously employed in other construction, the project aims to open up new possible implications for a cultural and architectonical expression based on the reuse of historical material, while still meeting the new challenges set by global environmental change. Looking at cities as material stores for the future, the one of London in particular, the project seek to investigate how, the Anthropocene, could be mine and re-worked to contribute to close the loop on some material extraction and manufacturing.
Ultimately, the project aims to design the infrastructure necessary for the reuse of existing construction materials to take, place working on two different ends:
The first step towards the implementation of reuse as a standard practice in the construction industry is the creation of a digital map that could display and be constantly updated with the main pieces of information, the location, and physical characteristics of the buildings approved for demolition. Such interactive document would allow the individuation and purchase of construction materials prior to the demolition of the building stock they are part of. Once purchased, such components could then be disassembled and reclaimed with the necessary care, to be finally collected in a nearby facility where they could be prepared and adapted for reuse. Located within a favourable position in relation to the main road and rail transport arteries, such as King’s Cross in the case of London, this facility would function as a logistic centre and workshop operating the remaining necessary steps towards reuse and from which the components, once ready, could either be shipped to the new respective owners and building sites or to a larger storage facility located just outside the city.
Once reaching the facility, each component undergoes a process of structural testing, adaptation, and general evaluation of its properties that culminates with its 3d scanning and the creation of its unique material passport and BIM model. Displaying information such as the ones concerning its physical dimensions, structural capabilities, and environmental attributes, a material passport allows the translation of a physical component into a digital asset to make it then be able to, by a vast and dislocated numbers of interested customers, be accessed and consulted. In an analogue way few selected components would be kept on-site, and displayed in designated areas where they could be visible and made accessible to visitors and customers. The creation of both a physical and digital catalogue would then be able to render a clear idea of the material available for purchase and reuse in London, at any given time.
In parallel to the process of cataloguing and preparation of the components, the development of a technical culture and understanding of how to work with such a multitude of diverse elements needs to take place. The placement of a Construction Skills Centre within the facility and headquarters of the company would therefore provide the opportunity and space where the experimentation, research, and development of new construction strategies and techniques based on reuse could take place. Here, on top of a stiff and resistant slab, 1:1 mock-ups could be constructed and tests conducted in the search of the best techniques through which, existing and diverse components, could be joined and bonded together in non-destructive and easy-to disassemble ways. Once developed and diffused, such technical knowledge would empower designers and construction companies with a whole set of expertise, to make them actually be able to implement reuse through the design and construction of their buildings.
By means of the non-destructive construction techniques employed during construction, each component could then be able to completely retain its economic value as well as the possibility to be once again, in the future, be reclaimed and resold. The reuse of existing construction materials could also be, from an economic point of view further promoted, through the applications of a token trading scheme based on the carbon emission that, when reused, each component would prevent from being produced. On top of that, by the effect of decarbonisation plans that most cities around the world are adopting, new construction is becoming generally uneconomical or, in most cases, not allowed in the first place. Legislation such as the S106 agreement or the Policy SI 7 of the London Plan, are also asking designers and contractors to provide clear statements and strategies on how they intend to minimise waste and implement circular economies through their projects, as a condition for them to be granted with construction permission. Reuse, in this sense, could easily be identified as a solution to both satisfy the requirements of minimisation of waste and reduction of emissions, while still being able to create economic opportunities to keep construction a profitable activity.
