ARCHITECTURAL DIMENSION OF SUSTAINABILITY: RE-ESTABLISHING THE CONCEPT OF RECYCLING

The subject of this study refers to the topic of recycling of the existing building stock in the context of sustainable architectural design. However, such specific research subject should be firstly explained in more general context. Namely, current trends in city development, such as rapid urbanization, the spread of poverty in urban areas and, for the first time in history, the fact that most people live in cities, do not lead to sustainable communities (Perić, 2013). Such trends have led to the ecological crisis reflected in the climate change, pollution and decrease of non-renewable resources. Construction industry is responsible for the consumption of about 50 per cent of the natural virgin materials, more than 40 per cent of the produced energy, and around 80 per cent of prime agricultural land (Edwards, 2005). The waste associated with the construction and demolition processes constitutes one of the biggest waste streams produced in Europe (Cepinha et al., 2007). By overexploiting resources, a society may compromise its ability to meet the essential needs of its people in the future (Jochem, 2004). The environmental sustainability, as one of the components of a sustainable development, was recognized as especially important for this study, considering the impact the building sector has on the environment. Sustainable architectural design laid down the principles for the design of sustainable buildings. However, it is not enough to develop principles for a sustainable design only for the new projects. The existing buildings must also be taken into account given that structural issues are usually not the reason why buildings come to their end-of life, but rather the shift of the building’s original purpose, making the existing building unsuitable for new roles and functions (Lee et al., 2011). Edwards (2005) highlights that existing buildings are central to any strategy for carbon-emission reduction. They are durable goods which can reach 100 years or more of useful life. Building renewal can extend the use of the existing buildings with diverse benefits, such as the exploitation of the existing urban infrastructure (with no need for new site development) and the lesser generation of residues in relation to a totally new construction (Cepinha et al., 2007). The process of adapting existing buildings for other purposes has a number of benefits, such as saving new materials from being used, and cutting the associated environmental impacts of producing and transporting those materials (Lee et al., 2011). Edwards (2005) explains that in a sustainable city, brownfield sites are exploited and existing buildings recycled. As only a small percentage of the total building stock is made up of new works, it is essential that, through repurposing, we consider what can be done with what we already have if we are to significantly benefit the sustainability agenda in the future.