Assessing the reuse potential of building components is essential for enabling circular strategies in construction. Yet, current methods are often fragmented, manual, and complex to apply across varied project contexts. This paper presents an integrated framework that combines two complementary tools: DARE (Deconstruction and Reuse Evaluation) and DISCS (Digital Inventory of Structural Component Systems). Together, they support standardized, data-informed reuse assessments at both project and territorial scales.
DARE is a semi-automated method structured around four progressive assessment phases—rough, adjusted, refined, and bespoke. It enables early-stage reuse planning based on minimal input (e.g., footprint, number of storeys, construction year), and refines outputs as more data becomes available. It accounts for dismantling complexity, transformation effort, resale value, and environmental impact. Validated through case studies in Switzerland and the U.S., DARE has proven effective in predicting process durations, identifying profitable salvage opportunities, and highlighting where reuse becomes less viable without supportive conditions.
DISCS complements DARE by providing detailed, typology-specific data derived from a curated database of over 100 BIM-modeled Swiss buildings. Each model includes 125 parameters describing structural components and materials, organized through a “building DNA” classification system. DISCS enables the extraction of material intensity factors, trends in component dimensions (e.g., slab thickness), and variations across building types and eras. These insights are used to inform DARE’s early assumptions, improving accuracy without requiring site visits. Additionally, data from completed DARE assessments can feed back into DISCS to refine stock-level forecasting.
By integrating predictive modeling with a granular structural database, this framework bridges the gap between individual project decisions and broader material resource planning. It provides architects, planners, and policymakers with a reproducible method for evaluating reuse opportunities, reducing demolition waste, and embedding circularity into construction workflows at scale.