Tiếng Việt
The “take, make, dispose” model has long defined our industry, filling landfills, depleting natural resources, and driving up our carbon footprint to unsustainable levels. But a new generation of professionals is challenging this paradigm, proving that rubble isn’t the end of the road—it’s the beginning of a new economy.
This isn’t just about a project; it’s about an inspiring idea that has captured global attention. It’s not a towering skyscraper or a complex piece of infrastructure that’s making waves, but the powerful simplicity of transforming construction waste into a valuable resource.
The project in question, “Hacking the Future of Waste,” comes from a team of students at ETH Zurich. Their solution earned them the top prize at the “Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure,” and it’s as bold as it is logical: they used a Digital Twin to orchestrate a circular economy for demolition materials.
This isn’t just a concept; it’s a a tangible business model and a technological roadmap that could fundamentally redefine how we manage the lifecycle of building materials. It’s a prime example of how BIM and Digital Twins are transcending their traditional roles to become essential tools for sustainability and governance (ESG).
A Hidden Treasure Under the Rubble
We’ve talked before about sustainability and managing existing resources and we know that construction generates billions of tons of waste every year. A large portion of this, particularly concrete, brick, and asphalt rubble, is technically recyclable. Concrete, for example, can be crushed to create recycled aggregates for new concrete or road bases. Yet, in practice, a staggering 80% of this material ends up in landfills.
Why? The answer is a mix of logistical and informational issues. Demolition sites are chaotic. It’s incredibly difficult to accurately segregate materials, efficiently assess their quality and quantity, and—most importantly—connect that “supply” of recycled material with the “demand” from new construction projects that could use it. The industry has lacked a centralized tool to manage this inventory, logistics, and quality of rubble, making it easier and often cheaper to simply send everything to a landfill.
This is where the ETH Zurich students’ idea comes in. They propose that information is the key. If you can digitize the chaos of a demolition site, you can unlock the economic and environmental value of the materials.
A Digital Twin for the Circular Economy
At its core, the project is about creating a Digital Twin of the demolition site. Instead of simply demolishing a structure, the process becomes a methodical deconstruction. Using reality modeling tools like Bentley’s ContextCapture, the team creates a high-precision digital replica of the site in its current state. This replica isn’t just a static 3D model; it’s a mesh that captures every physical detail, from the texture of the walls to the position of every pile of rubble.
The Digital Twin transforms into a dynamic inventory of building materials. They are no longer just rubble; they become quantifiable assets with attributes and value, accessible to all interested parties.
Tomorrow’s Marketplace
The platform, in this case iTwin, also acts as a materials marketplace, allowing the “supply” of rubble from a demolition site to be connected with the “demand” from a new construction project in real time. For example, an architect designing a new building can consult the Digital Twin and find “500 tons of high-quality concrete aggregates available 10 km away” instead of sourcing new, raw material from a quarry.
This project from ETH Zurich represents the intersection of mature technologies—reality modeling, Digital Twins, and collaboration platforms—to solve a tangible problem. It proves that technology can make construction not just more efficient, but also more ethical and sustainable.
Beyond the Contest
What started as a student idea for a competition is, in fact, a blueprint for the future of the industry. It forces us to rethink the very nature of the construction process. In the same way that BIM transformed project documentation into an intelligent model, this Digital Twin transforms the demolition process from a destructive act into a material sourcing process.
This project is a powerful reminder that true innovation often comes from challenging the most basic assumptions. The future of construction isn’t about continuing to build in the same way; it’s about reimagining the entire lifecycle of our buildings and the materials that make them up. The vision of a digitalized “rubble economy” is a testament to the potential of technology to create a massive, positive impact.
Source: BIMCommunity
