Waste or resources?
Arquitectura en Corto invites you to the screening of Gypsum Concrete, taking place on Wednesday, September 24, at 7:00 PM at Espacio Arquia in Madrid (C/ Tutor, 16). Directed by Simon Pénochet, the short film documents the research conducted by the French architecture firm Ciguë to transform demolition waste from a construction site on the outskirts of Paris into material for a new building being constructed on the same plot. The project proposes manufacturing concrete for floor slabs using recycled aggregates and gypsum as a binder—a material recyclable through urban mining processes that is available in large quantities throughout the Paris region. The film explains how testing validates the material for this application and concludes that using gypsum instead of cement reduces CO2 emissions by up to four times. In Spain, several projects have already been completed where materials found in situ were repurposed as resources for new construction. Following the screening, Héctor Fernández Elorza (hfe arquitectos) and Josep Ricart (HARQUITECTES) will discuss the topic and present examples of their small- and large-scale interventions—ranging from single-family homes to urban public spaces—where material reuse has been a core project strategy.
Synopsis
The architecture firm Ciguë decides to reuse material sourced from the demolition of a building. They recover, separate, sort, crush, and mix the waste, using gypsum as a binder. The resulting samples undergo various laboratory tests to certify their performance and validate their use in construction. A comparative life-cycle analysis determines that the carbon footprint of the resulting concrete is four times lower than that of conventional cement-based concrete. Beyond a specific solution for a single project, the initiative serves as a general reflection on the architect's responsibility to redefine their relationship with materials, investigate the use of available resources, and limit the construction industry's impact in terms of carbon footprint and resource consumption.
