ETH and Innosuisse promote sustainable construction

According to a statement from the ETH, the Swiss construction industry currently accounts for 70 percent of domestic material consumption, 80 percent of waste and 24 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. To counteract this trend, Innosuisse, the Swiss innovation promotion agency, has launched two projects on the circular economy in the construction sector, which are being led by ETH Zurich.

Building materials such as wood, clay and recycled concrete are used in the Think Earth project. One example of the construction method is the Manal Pavilion, which was opened on the Horw campus of Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The project was realized by Oxara, an ETH spin-off.

The Swircular project presents a digital ecosystem for circular construction. Digital building inventories and product passports for building materials will be used to create a basis for circular construction processes. Registered components can be reused in the event of demolition.

"Our vision is a network of interest groups, digital tools and reliable data that makes it possible to track materials along their life cycle and exchange relevant information," project manager Arabelle de Saussure is quoted as saying in the press release.

A large number of institutions are involved in the projects, including the Swiss Federal Laboratoriesfor Materials Science and Technology(Empa), the Zurich University of Applied Sciences(ZHAW) and the universities of applied sciences in Bern and eastern Switzerland. ce/ww