On the Path to Material Re-Use: Navigating the complexity of material sustainability for architectural practice
| dc.contributor.author | Beznogova, Anna | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2016-09-20T14:58:23Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2016-09-20T14:58:23Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2016-09-20 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2016-09-13 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The aim of this thesis was to understand how to define sustainability holistically, and how architecture can contribute to holistic sustainability by way of its material form. I conducted a literature review of definitions for sustainable development, looking for a holistic definition that addressed common attitudinal barriers to its practice. It became apparent that it’s useful to study sustainability under a systems science framework that takes environmental, social, and psychological sustainability as interdependent variables. In accordance with this, I reviewed different approaches to material sustainability in architecture, the lifecycles of several common building materials, and the links between material industries, to establish a system-based understanding of how material sustainability can be practiced. In the latter part of my thesis I focus on material re-use as an underrepresented approach to material sustainability, and study the opportunities and barriers in practicing it, particularly in the context of Southern Ontario. I propose that a monitoring tool that draws on public data sources could relieve one barrier to using reclaimed materials by making it easier to find available sources. I find that material re-use can be an architect-driven way to practice material sustainability, it conveys a message about the problems of materialism in our society, and it provides challenging but fulfilling craft-based work. | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10012/10874 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.pending | false | |
| dc.publisher | University of Waterloo | en |
| dc.subject | sustainability | en |
| dc.subject | material sustainability | en |
| dc.subject | material reuse | en |
| dc.subject | upcycling | en |
| dc.subject | recycling | en |
| dc.subject | reuse | en |
| dc.subject | reclamation | en |
| dc.title | On the Path to Material Re-Use: Navigating the complexity of material sustainability for architectural practice | en |
| dc.type | Master Thesis | en |
| uws-etd.degree | Master of Architecture | en |
| uws-etd.degree.department | Architecture (School of) | en |
| uws-etd.degree.discipline | Architecture | en |
| uws-etd.degree.grantor | University of Waterloo | en |
| uws.contributor.advisor | Bordeleau, Anne | |
| uws.contributor.affiliation1 | Faculty of Engineering | en |
| uws.peerReviewStatus | Unreviewed | en |
| uws.published.city | Waterloo | en |
| uws.published.country | Canada | en |
| uws.published.province | Ontario | en |
| uws.scholarLevel | Graduate | en |
| uws.typeOfResource | Text | en |