Every building outlives its first use. Offices become homes, warehouses become studios, and a structure designed for one tenant ends up serving five. The question is whether the next change means a renovation or a demolition.
Designing for disassembly means choosing bolted connections, documented materials and services that can be reached without breaking anything. It costs very little at the design stage and saves a great deal later.
Three principles we design to
Connections that can be undone: bolted steel and mechanical fixings instead of welds and adhesives wherever the structure allows.
Materials that are recorded: every product, batch and supplier logged in the as-built model.
Services that can be reached: risers, ducts and cable routes kept accessible from corridors and ceilings, not buried in walls.
What it costs
On our design–build projects, the premium for designing this way has been under one percent of the construction cost. Most of it is engineering time early on, not more expensive materials. The payback comes at the first major refit, when a floor can be reconfigured in weeks instead of months.
We do not know what our buildings will be used for in fifty years. We can make sure the people who find out are able to change them.
Column steel before the pour: every connection on the frame is logged in the as-built model.
Where we start
On every design–build project we now log every structural connection and material in the as-built model the client receives at handover. It is the same model we use to build, so it costs the client nothing extra and stays accurate to what was actually installed.
For clients who want to go further, we offer a disassembly plan: a short document that describes how the building can be taken apart, floor by floor, and what can be reused.
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