Swiss researchers transform abandoned ski lift steel trusses into sustainable building columns, reducing carbon emissions by up to 197% compared to traditional concrete alternatives! 🌱♻️
As climate change forces ski resorts to close ⛷️❌, Swiss engineers are hitting the slopes - not for skiing, but for salvaging! A groundbreaking study by researchers at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences has found an ingenious way to repurpose abandoned ski lift structures into building components.
Here's the cool part: instead of melting down the steel (which would waste energy), they're keeping the trusses intact and filling them with Cleancrete©, an eco-friendly concrete alternative. 🔧🏗️ This creates super-strong building columns that can support multi-story structures while significantly reducing environmental impact.
The numbers speak for themselves! 📊 These repurposed columns produce:
The researchers even compared different collection methods:
🚁 Helicopter retrieval
🏗️ Crane collection (the greener option!)
Each salvaged column saves about 1.46 tons of steel from going to waste and prevents 1,365 kg of CO2 emissions. Talk about a win-win! 🎯🌍
The best part? This isn't just a one-off solution. The team is developing a database to help contractors locate and reuse these structures efficiently, paving the way for a more circular construction industry. 🔄📱
Source: Kiesel, A.; Brandi, G.; Schlatter, J.; Gerber, A.; Langenberg, S. Structural Reuse of Decommissioned Ski Lift Steel Trusses for Load-Bearing Applications. Architecture 2024, 4, 835-853. https://doi.org/10.3390/architecture4040044
From: Zurich University of Applied Sciences; Oberli Ingenieurbüro AG; Institute for Technology in Architecture (ITA).