Circular Strategies in Lightweight Steel-Framed (LSF) Buildings and the Research Project Tyre4BuildIns

Abstract

According to the UN sustainable development goals, energy and waste management are two of the major concerns of humankind, these being related with the search for a more sustainable built environment. Innovative materials (e.g., recycled rubber-aerogel composite thermal insulation) and advanced construction systems, such as Lightweight Steel Framing (LSF), may contribute to a more sustainable built environment, due to their inherent advantages in comparison to traditional ones. Recently, the European Commission adopted the newly updated European Circular Economy Action Plan (ECEAP), which will be implemented not only to waste materials, such as End-of-Life Tyres (ELT), but also to the construction industry and the built environment. In the first part of the paper, the LSF construction system is described, including its suitability for circular strategies, such as modular construction. In the second part, the Tyre4BuildIns research project is described, which was conceived to develop a new eco-friendly and cost-effective thermal insulation material, made from a mixture of recycled tyre rubber (waste) and an advanced high-performance insulation material (aerogel). It was concluded that, compared to traditional construction, the LSF modular construction system can contribute significantly to a more sustainable built environment, being more suitable for the implementation of circular strategies. Furthermore, the Tyre4BuildIns project allowed the development of an eco-friendly high performance thermal insulation composite material based on recycled tyre rubber and aerogel, contributing to enhance the thermal performance of LSF building elements.