November 26, 2007

Canadian Standards Association undertakes consultations on building deconstruction process

PETER KENTER

STAFF WRITER

Work on a national standard for the deconstruction of buildings is still at the broad consultation stage, a necessary first step for establishing effective guidelines, says the Canadian Standards Association (CSA).

The goal of the document is to address the disassembly of structures in a sustainable manner, reduce landfill waste and improve reuse and recycling of resources.

“The process is still very much in the phase of defining the scope of the recommendations,” said Michael Mortimer, program manager of built environment standards with CSA.

“They’re deciding how much they’re going to cover — not only the detail, but the overall approach.”

It’s anticipated that final recommendations on feasibility and content will be established by a CSA task force this fall, including a summary of needs established through consultation with players in the demolition industry. The committee includes designers, constructors, owner-operators, industry associations, consumers, and academics.

The approach of the final document hasn’t been carved in stone.

“A performance-based standard is always desired, but you need to establish the parameters to test and measure — it must be based on good science. The final CSA document may include guidance on processes and methods of deconstruction,” Mortimer said.

Some of the impetus for developing a standard is coming from the federal government, as part of its approach to climate change policy, says Vince Catalli, vice-chair of the technical committee and business development manager with HOK architecture and engineering design in Ottawa. “If I’m able to recover valuable material though deconstruction, I can save a lot of energy devoted to extraction and processing of new materials and that has a positive impact on climate change,” he said.

“Speaking as a member of the design and construction community, one of the important goals of a document such as this is to codify the information so that everyone is talking about the same thing. It’s important to instill a benchmark so that there’s a certain expectation of quality in the process, while at the same time helping others who are less familiar with the process, especially on the client side, to move forward with tendering a deconstruction versus a demolition.

“In all fairness to the demolition industry, 80 per cent of them are already being smart about it. They have to be, because their competitiveness relies on being effective waste managers. This may help to codify the process a bit more.”

Part of the committee’s efforts will include extensive consultation with demolition industry stakeholders.

“Feedback from key stakeholders in the demolition industry will be essential, as it will ensure that the CSA guideline will be relevant, and include the most up-to-date practices being used,” Mortimer said. “The fact that the first phase is taking a while to develop is a good sign. Given this is a very new standard, you’d want to see a lot of effort invested in consultation at the front end. It’s essential there be as broad as possible a consultation with the stakeholders affected because that will result in a better pay-off down the road.”

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