Project description
The construction sector is a major contributor to environmental burden. In Switzerland, building and mobility infrastructure accounts for 28% of greenhouse gas emissions (Matasci et al., 2019). Given the finite lifespan of such infrastructure, at any given moment, a portion of it is being decommissioned upon reaching end-of-life, while new infrastructure is being built either to replace it or to meet growing demand (Herren and Hellweg, 2019).
Selecting materials and construction processes carries significant responsibility, as these decisions determine the infrastructure’s ecological footprint across its entire lifecycle. This environmental burden can be mitigated through a range of measures, including the implementation of circular economy strategies, the adoption of alternative energy sources, and/or the integration of carbon sinks.
In line with this logic, this project aims to investigate the use of glass products and their associated framing systems used in buildings, flat glass and glass wool with a view to supporting sustainable resource management and carbon neutrality by 2050 in Switzerland (Federal Act on Climate Protection Targets, Innovation and Enhanced Energy Security, 2025). By examining current practices, the project will identify existing approaches to manufacturing, material selection, patterns of use, and end-of-life management. This analysis will guide future optimization of circular and climate-aligned design and material recovery strategies and is part of a collaborative project with the Canton of Zurich.
Objectives
- Analysis of current production and end-of-life practices for glass in the construction sector.
- Identification of circular economy strategies capable of linking end-of-life processes with the production of new glass products.
- Identification of potential optimizations in production and end-of-life recovery methods.
- Development of alternative variants to the approaches currently employed in the field.
- Multi-criteria analysis with a focus on evaluating the circularity and environmental impacts of the different scenarios.
Method
The comparison of the proposed variants will be conducted using an appropriate functional unit and a bottom-up LCA approach. Life-cycle environmental indicators – including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, cumulative energy demand and its non-renewable fraction, and ecological scarcity points (UBP) – will be assessed using the BAFU 2025 database.
Contact
Prof. Rebecca Hartwell (EPFL) [email protected] ; Dr. Didier Vuarnoz (Empa)
Federal Act on Climate Protection Targets, Innovation and Enhanced Energy Security, 2025
Applications welcome
We welcome applications from Master’s students on topics related to design for disassembly, sustainable material technologies for construction, and digital assessment methods for sustainability.
If you would like to join us, please have a look at the current work being done at MATR, and send us a CV and brief motivation letter, indicating the specific topics you would be interested in, your research questions, and methods you would like to implement.
All applications and questions should be sent to [email protected].
