Abstract
Buildings today no longer last as long as their ancient predecessors – it is no longer uncommon to witness functional buildings that were constructed just 20 – 30 years ago being demolished to make way for a newer and taller building. Despite being a profession trained to design buildings that last, this cycle of construction and demolition is now mostly met with indifference and nonchalance. This accelerated reconstruction cycle is an unsustainable process -- even with the recycling of debris, the demolition of buildings often still results in significant energy losses and disruption to the city.This project proposes design for disassembly as an alternative to the common practice of demolishing buildings. Through conceiving buildings as material banks and designing building components to be dismantled and reused, the continual usage of materials over different building life cycles is encouraged, creating a closed and circular material cycle. By breaking down a building into smaller blocks and attaching tangible value to the everyday surfaces we come into contact with, this project hopes to preserve the longevity of a building in parts and inject circularity and liquidity into the static built environment.