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PRECAST CONCRETE ELEMENTS120 CPI %u2013 Concrete Plant International %u2013 6 | 2025 www.cpi-worldwide.comThe construction industry is one of the largest consumers of energy and raw materials globally. Within the EU, it contributes to nearly 40% of emissions and accounts for almost a third of all waste generated. Only around 40% of construction waste undergoes recycling or reuse during building demolition. Typically, recycled construction materials find application in secondary construction rather than in new building projects. Embracing a circular approach within the building sector holds significant promise for delivering environmental, social, and economic advantages. For this, circular construction necessitates a reevaluation of building design practices, focusing on reducing embedded carbon, utilizing recycled or bio-based materials, designing for material and component reusability, and prolonging building lifespans through better maintenance. How can circular construction be defined? Circular construction entails the creation, utilization, and repurposing of buildings, construction elements, products, materials, spaces, and infrastructure, all while minimizing the depletion of natural resources, environmental pollution, and negative impacts on ecosystems. Specifically, regarding buildings, a circular structure maximizes resource utilization and minimizes waste across its entire lifespan. If a new construction is built, it should be designed for longevity, adaptability, and disassembly. New buildings should be built efficiently and with recycled, renewable, and non-polluting materials. The more circular a building and its functions are, the greater its (construction) value. By designing a building not only with sustainable construction materials and adaptive products but also with adaptability in terms of function and use, its construction value is preserved for as long as possible.A key condition for circularity %u2013 and therefore for the extended lifespan of products %u2013 is the disassembly ability of the product. A promising and relatively new method for quantifying circularity is the Building Circularity Index (BCI). The BCI score assesses the disassembly ability of a building. In BCI calculations, the environmental performance (environmental costs) of a product is closely linked to its disassembly ability index. The higher the environmental impact of a product, the greater the influence of its disassembly ability on the overall BCI score. For example, a concrete wall has a high environmental impact and is often difficult to dismantle, resulting in a low BCI score. However, if the concrete wall were easily to disassemble, the BCI score would be significantly higher.The disassembly ability of a product is determined by four key factors:1. Type of connection2. Accessibility3. Encapsulation4. Interpenetration with other productsAdditionally, the combination of products plays a crucial role. For example, a prefabricated concrete floor with a reinforced topping layer: while the prefabricated floor itself is easily to disassemble, the integration of reinforcement makes disassembly nearly impossible!Deconstructing a building should ideally be postponed as long as possible. The building should be designed in such a way that it can easily accommodate changing functions and applications.Only when the building is no longer able to undergo these adaptations should its components be easily dismantled to be reused in another application or building. This approach significantly extends the lifespan of materials and reduces environmental impact.This article focuses on the reassembly of load-bearing structures.Reuse of old/current precast concrete structuresEU ReCreate is a project funded by the EU under Horizon 2020. It consists of 11 Work Packages (WPs) that take a comprehensive approach to research and practice in circular construction of precast concrete. The EU ReCreate project explores the possibilities of reusing precast concrete elements from buildings that were not originally designed for reuse. Since these buildings were not constructed with disassembly in mind, sawing is often the most commonly used dismantling method.Design for the reassembly of precast concrete structuresShort overview of the state of affairs in The Netherlandsn Ronald Klein-Holte, Consolis VBI, The Netherlands