The Building Legacy project has presented the results of a year of industrial research aimed at making the reuse of construction materials through industry 4.0 technologies. During a virtual day, members of the Consortium presented the advances of the project and demonstrated the developed prototype: a digital platform for characterization, traceability and prescription of reused materials.

The project, funded by the Innovative Business Grouping Program (AEI) of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, has been led by the BCD Foundation with the participation of La Salle-URL, Comsa, Unpèdit, Intelligent Chemistry-Intermic and Cluster MAV. It aims to facilitate the adoption of reuse practices in the construction sector, an area that generates about 40 % of total waste in the European Union.

The session was inaugurated by Sònia Monclús, BCD Manager Cluster, who contextualized the environmental challenge and the need for digital tools that help to meet the goals of the circular economy. Pau Campos (unpublished) then exposed the emerging regulatory framework and the need to adapt to new European directives that promote the use of reused materials.

Pol Miret (Urru) and Jordi Ibáñez (Saóprat) shared practical cases of dismantling and reuse of architectural elements, emphasizing the importance of collaborations with social entities and the creation of catalogs for the value of these materials.

The second part of the day was focused on the presentation of the technological prototype developed by Inemic, by Albert Mestre and Markel Cormenzana (Holon). The platform allows:

In addition, the final round table emphasized future functionalities such as the integration of logistics and certification services, as well as the need to include reuse in architectural training.

Building Legacy represents a step forward in making a large -scale reuse in the building. The project has shown that it is possible to integrate advanced technologies and new business models to give the materials a second life and reduce the ecological footprint of the sector.