ReLink —Platform for Building Materials Reuse DX—

Video

Description

ReLink is a product that supports designers and planners who are taking on the challenge of reusing building materials for construction projects by centralizing the dealer information necessary to expand building material reuse projects. ReLink promotes resource recycling through reuse by enabling searches by map and category of materials needed, and by connecting available materials information with architectural design.

Story

We at ReLink are working to connect demolition components with designers with the aim of realising a society where building demolition components are reused and continue to be used with care. Buildings are made by combining many materials. When the decision is made to demolish this building, those components are generally scrapped in order to return them to raw materials, but whether they are still usable or not is not taken into account. Reusing what is still usable and returning it to the market is another important option for creating a more thorough recycling society, as there is no need for disassembly or new production to return it to raw materials.
In fact, there are about 60 reuse dealers in Japan that collect and resell such building demolition components. However, many building designers do not know much about this information. We have therefore created a web tool that makes it easy to search for such components, and we are working to expand the reuse of these components in a way that is possible even without advanced technical skills. The web tool makes it easy to find dealers by map or by the category of the component you want. In this way, we are expanding the option of reuse to pass on time and memories across generations and spaces, creating a better balance in the resource cycle between humans and nature.

Link

• https://re-nkign.jp/about_relink/

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Judge’s Comments

Renaud Haerlingen

Architect, former Principal at Rotor and Co-founder of Rotor Deconstruction

Opalis Award

I wish to christen this award under the Opalis umbrella in recognition of the resonating undertaking of pointing these remarkable companies on the map of Japan. Opalis.eu, an anagram of Spolia - the roman practice of repurposing architectural stones - is an online directory of reclaimed materials resellers recognized as a milestone for supporting circular schemes in the construction sector.

The possibility of reuse in architecture implies, on one hand, a proper handling of the end-of-life of a construction, backed by adequate assessments, and on the other hand the integration of materials that are not new into a design and a building process. However small, marginal, or focused on antiques, the professional companies trading reused materials are faced with the full spectrum of economic viability and are dealing with the challenge of moving, storing and preparing construction materials. For these reasons, they are the experts to count on at a time to regrow these meaningful practices

Sachiko Hirosue

Osaka Namari-Suzu Seirensho Co., Ltd. President and CEO

Collective Building

Connecting demolition pieces and surplus supplies to designers provides a direct path for materials to find a new life in the circular economy. The team aims to make a sharing community, the next step being, convincing individual stakeholders to join their vision. Very exciting project, would love to see this happen. The project would benefit from support on the business development and marketing or rather, community development.