By Krish Kapoor Re-construct Closing the loop towards Zero Waste by Lila Sarin
Thesis Statement:
By understanding and analysing the problem of Construction & Demolition waste in India through a design lens, thereby developing a circular ecosystem through material and assembly innovation.
Today in the age of development, construction is a primary focus as it plays a major role in the socio-economic progress of the country. Residential, Retail and commercial projects are mushrooming rapidly from demands of infrastructure projects due to the increase in standard of living, change in consumption habit as well as an increase in the overall population. This rapidity of construction in turn creates investment opportunities across various related sectors. However on the downside, with this pace of construction, demolition and refurbishment, India faces a major problem of construction and demolition waste (C&D Waste). There is great disparity in the proportion of waste created to the systems available for management of this waste.
Currently in India construction waste constitutes 30% of total solid waste i.e 15 million tonnes per year, while less than 20% of total construction waste
is recycled. Industries have predominantly incorporated a linear economy of products and services, wherein a raw material is extracted, transformed into
a product and then discarded after use.
With a systemic change into the way we look at the lifecycle of a product or service, there could be major progress In the way waste is treated today. This Capstone aims to understand this problem from a design perspective and to be more sensitive about the afterlife of a space. This is to ensure that a circular economy is initiated and there the materials and components used within
the space can ultimately be valorised while simultaneously retained to their highest utility.
This approach would give rise to several opportunities as land could be better organised through reduction of waste, There would be a fall in the overall cost of construction, It would also control the depletion of natural resources and finally provide a more holistic living environment.
