RESOURCE MATTER MATERIAL. REUSE AS A TECHNICAL OPTION FOR SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

The proposed contribution, in response to the EU objectives on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy, offers an overview of the most up-to-date international experiences on the reuse of materials in architecture. The research focuses on the peculiarities of the practices and context conditions of the closedloop use of materials in the building sector in Italy. Aim of the present study, in particular, is to examine the praticability of the reuse strategy at the national level, in continuity with the practices constantly carried out in our Country from antiquity to the industrial revolution, and to verify the current applicability of superuse and upcycling practices beyond an occasional logic, as reliable and replicable technical options, to be implemented at the supply chain level. By analysing and comparing an articulated set of case studies, the work aims at promoting the dissemination of international research, design and construction best practices of superuse and upcycling in architecture. The reference framework for reuse practices is thus delineated, highlighting the innovations from the theoretical, methodological and disciplinary points of view.