Building sustainably: Is it worth it?

Against the backdrop of growing environmental awareness and the urgency of sustainable construction, the use of recycled building materials is becoming increasingly important in the construction industry.  As part of a practical project in the summer semester 2024, full-time and part-time students on the bachelor's degree program in Facility Management & Real Estate Management analyzed the availability and usability of recycled building materials in the province of Tyrol in order to provide clients and construction companies with valuable insights into the potential ecological and economic benefits. The project asked which building materials are currently recycled in Tyrol, which can be used to build a detached house and whether the use of recycled building materials is justified in terms of cost.

ONLY CERTAIN RECYCLED BUILDING MATERIALS CURRENTLY CHEAPER

The results of the study show that the availability of recycled building materials in Tyrol is satisfactory, which is mainly due to the large number of recycling plants in the districts of the province, which process a wide range of building materials. However, the results also show that the cost of building a house increases by around twelve to 16 percent if the recycled building materials currently available on the market are used. From a technical point of view, many of the recycled building materials on offer are on a par with conventional building materials and have been tested and certified by various quality seals, which further promotes their usability in the construction industry.

PROMOTING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY THROUGH RECYCLED BUILDING MATERIALS

The results from the practical project serve as the basis for the digital simulation of the circular economy in the construction industry as part of the Digital Innovation Hub West (DIH West) project. As a DIH West project partner, the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in western Austria in their digital transformation by facilitating their access to the expertise and infrastructure of universities and research institutions. University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol focuses in particular on the topics of circular economy, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and digital twins to optimize the construction process of buildings. The project is being led by Prof. (FH) Dr. Miroslav Despotovic from the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol.