Arup-backed NuBau Labs investigates manufacturing with recovered building components

The recovery and reuse of structural building components is attracting increasing research attention, but turning salvaged materials into reliable inputs for industrialised construction presents considerable manufacturing and engineering challenges.

A new European initiative, NuBau Labs, is examining whether these challenges can be addressed through a coordinated system of material recovery, testing, certification and remanufacturing.

Led by engineering consultancy Arup and Queen’s University Belfast, the €4 million Horizon Europe-funded programme will establish a pilot manufacturing hub in East London to investigate the reuse of structural concrete and steel recovered from existing buildings.

Announced in October 2026, the project brings together researchers, engineers and manufacturers to examine how recovered materials might be processed into structural components suitable for new construction.

The distinction between reuse and recycling is central to the programme. Conventional demolition practices frequently involve crushing concrete for aggregate or processing steel as scrap. NuBau Labs is investigating opportunities to retain more of the original structural and material value through selective recovery and remanufacturing.

It also raises a related question for industrialised construction: how much easier could recovering and reusing structural components become if their material properties, dimensions and connections were digitally documented from the outset?

Building Information Modelling (BIM) provides one possible foundation. While BIM is already used to coordinate design, manufacturing and assembly, maintaining reliable digital records throughout a building’s life could help future manufacturers identify which structural components and prefabricated elements are suitable for recovery and reuse.

The manufacturing challenge
For structural components recovered from existing buildings, the principal difficulties extend well beyond dismantling and transportation.

Unlike newly manufactured products, reclaimed concrete and steel elements may have different dimensions, material properties, connections and service histories. Information about their original manufacture, structural performance or subsequent modifications may also be incomplete.

These variables complicate the development of standardised manufacturing processes, particularly where recovered components are intended for load-bearing applications.

At the London pilot facility, recovered materials will be assessed, tested and remanufactured, with the research examining how certification and quality assurance might be integrated into the production process.

One technology scheduled for demonstration is Arup’s ReVault flooring system, which incorporates reclaimed concrete into new floor assemblies. Arup reports that the system can reduce embodied carbon by 70 per cent compared with conventional floor systems, although the performance and economics of the wider NuBau Labs manufacturing approach have yet to be established.

The consortium includes Banagher Precast Concrete, The Stonemasonry Company, universities and other industry participants, bringing experience in structural engineering, materials processing and component manufacturing.

The programme also incorporates research into digital traceability, advanced materials science, adaptive design and robotic assembly.

These activities are scheduled to continue until August 2029, providing an opportunity to examine not only the technical feasibility of component reuse but also the requirements for establishing repeatable production processes.

For manufacturers, reliable information about recovered materials will be essential. Digital records could assist in establishing component provenance, identifying original specifications and determining whether elements warrant further testing or remanufacturing. However, such records cannot replace physical inspection, structural verification or certification.

Designing for manufacture, assembly and eventual recovery
Beyond the immediate research programme, the issues being examined by NuBau Labs have implications for buildings designed and manufactured using prefabricated structural systems.

Precast floor units, façade panels, steel assemblies and other prefabricated components are generally manufactured to defined specifications. Their potential for recovery, however, depends on factors including structural connections, installation methods, condition and the availability of reliable technical documentation.

A prefabricated component designed for efficient factory production and rapid assembly is not necessarily designed for subsequent removal or reuse.

This distinction reinforces the importance of considering eventual disassembly during initial design, rather than attempting to resolve recovery requirements decades later.

For manufacturers already using BIM to coordinate design, fabrication and installation, extending digital records to include component provenance, material specifications, structural connections and maintenance histories could provide a useful basis for assessing future reuse.

However, creating a detailed model at the outset is only part of the requirement. Information must remain accessible, accurate and sufficiently comprehensive throughout a building’s operational life.

Changes to structural elements, alterations to connections and replacement of components would need to be recorded if the data were to remain useful for subsequent engineering assessments.

Digital material passports and component-level identification systems are being investigated internationally as possible mechanisms for maintaining this information.

For offsite manufacturers, these developments introduce an additional consideration into design for manufacture and assembly: whether components can also be identified, separated and potentially reused after their initial service life.

The implications extend beyond individual structural elements. Prefabricated assemblies incorporating multiple products, connections and finishes may present further difficulties when separating reusable components from materials that cannot be economically recovered.

What could this mean for Australian offsite construction?
For Australia’s offsite construction sector, NuBau Labs offers an early indication of how the recovery and reuse of structural components and prefabricated elements could become part of future manufacturing practices.

Australia already has established precast concrete, structural steel and prefabrication capabilities. The question raised by the European programme is whether these manufacturing systems could eventually accommodate recovered components alongside newly manufactured products.

It also reinforces the case for integrating BIM from the earliest stages of design and manufacturing. Accurate digital records of structural components, prefabricated assemblies, material specifications and connection details could make future recovery and reuse more practical, provided the information is maintained throughout the building’s life.

There are considerable barriers, including certification, liability, processing costs and the availability of suitable recovered materials. NuBau Labs has yet to demonstrate whether its proposed approach can operate commercially at scale.

Nevertheless, the project offers Australia’s industrialised construction sector a useful perspective on a longer-term consideration: whether buildings should be designed and documented not only for efficient manufacture and assembly, but also for the eventual recovery, adaptation and reuse of their structural components and prefabricated elements.

Find NuBau Labs HERE