Reuse s to xl, A network of hubs for research and resale of second hand architectural components and materials, as an active strategy for sustainability and circular economy

Distinct from recycling, reuse maintains the shape, energy, know-how, technology and cultural part embedded in a component to use it beyond an initial use into a new project without strongly altering it. The "hub" for research and resale of reusable construction components is a building that participates in a more sustainable construction industry and circular economy. The “hub for reuse” program responds to specific normative, economic and cultural difficulties of reuse, as well as the challenge of synchronizing deconstruction and construction sites. These new places of sharing, where salvaged construction components are certified and resold, form an active network for innovation and implementation of the practice of reuse. In Ecublens, the "hub" for French-speaking Switzerland is a low-tech building that takes advantage of the existing topography and infrastructure. Designed to be built with reused components, it is organized in two Ls: one allows the arrival of goods by train and the other by road. Inside, heated volumes host part of the didactic, research and repair activities. In a virtuous logic, the center will be able to expand step by step with its own stock, in parallel to the development of the reuse sector. In addition to completing an ecological junction, the project aims to enhance soft mobility, consume a minimum amount of materials and propose a positive energy strategy. The choice of materials, developed in a series of constructive details, is based on second-hand components regularly destined for recycling and typical of the rejects of the regional deconstruction.