Discovery Centre Case Study

A circular built environment is possible

The current linear approach to buildings and construction has a significant impact on the environment. It consumes ~40% of raw material globally¹ and accounts for 39% of global CO emissions; 11% from building materials and product manufacturing². Additionally, demolition causes disturbance of dust, mould, drywall dust, and other air quality contaminants and is the largest waste stream contributor (by weight)³. Designing for reuse and circulating building materials back into resource loops can translate into huge opportunities for communities including improving air quality, extending the lifespan of landfills, creating jobs and cost savings by reusing and selling material at the end-of-life. At the end of the Nexii Discovery Centre’s use in its Squamish location, the building was deconstructed into its component panels to be reassembled on a new site.Light House Sustainability Society (Light House) developed a "deconstruction" case study that compares the disassembly of a Squamish-based Nexii commercial building following 2-years of use, with the demolition of a wood frame and steel stud building baseline. Because its deconstruction was considered during design using DfD strategies, the disassembly was simple and on schedule, taking 6 days in total. The blueprint for installation became the plan for disassembly when reversed.The case study extends beyond typical Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) boundaries to look at reuse, recycling and recovery components and highlights lessons learned along the way. It was developed in partnership with Light House Sustainability Society (Light House), with support from PICS and input from the District of Squamish.

Find out more at: nexii.com/circular-economy.

¹_{Scaling the Circular Built Environment. World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Circle Economy} ²_{UN Environment Global Status Report 2019; EIA International Energy Outlook 2019}​ ³_{Making the Business Case for Advancing a Low-carbon, Circular Built Environment. World Circular Economy Forum. October 2021}