Reuse – Between Slogans and Facts

Current construction practices are far from sustainable. Given the threats posed by climate change, the sector is required more than any other to reduce energy and material consumption quickly and massively, as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Against this backdrop, extending the service life and reusing existing structures or components is more important than ever to achieve sustainability goals. Surprisingly, there are still many reservations about reusing existing systems and stakeholders involved often lack knowledge on how to make rational decisions concerning their reliability. Based on the key differences between design and assessment, the paper briefly discusses the approaches available for this purpose and their treatment in codes. Some barriers to wider implementation of the more sophisticated of these approaches in practice are identified. They are illustrated using a case study of a design contest for the replacement of an existing bridge.