The thesis explores how plastic residues from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE) recycling, which are typically being sent to energy recovery by incineration or destined
for landfills, can be transformed into injectionmolded building components. By focusing
on reinforcement spacers which are located at the internal shearing layer of concrete
introduces a viable application scenario for low-grade, contaminated polymers within the
built environment. The research employs a dual-track methodology: a bottom-up material experimentation track and a top-down product development track with their respective
evaluation parameters that sustain a feedback loop within both tracks throughout the thesis.
The material experimentation track reproduces the key mechanical recycling steps at lab scale
to develop a processable polymer recipe and a heating/cooling cycle for injection molding.
The lab-scale mechanical recycling steps including density separation, colour sorting,
FT-IR and DSC analyses which are replicated to achieve an injection moldable polymer recipe
of carbon black Polypropylene/Polyethylene (PP/PE), Polypropylene, and Polystyrene.
Meanwhile, the product development track iterates material source-specific designs,
which are graded by the parameters in a design optimization tool. The custom multi-criteria
evaluation model guides the selection of the optimal design for the contaminated waste
input. The application scenario confirms the thesis’ structural compatibility and production
feasibility. The thesis proves the processability of rejected plastic fractions into non-exposed
recycled heroes of construction through complex and multi-iterative techniques.

Reducing waste production is key to achieving a circular economy. The European metal industry consumes over 1.2 billion TJ of energy every year. This number could be reduced by reusing material that is currently being wasted.

The current problem is that the recycling industry focuses on creating clean secondary raw materials from waste. This means that large quantities of material are rejected because they are too contaminated to meet these high standards, or because it is not economically viable to recycle them. This thesis focuses on the value of metal waste materials and their potential in architectural applications. By lowering recycling standards and taking a multidisciplinary approach, an integrated process can be developed that can handle a wider range of materials.

Using a powder metallurgical approach, aluminium composite foils are researched for their potential in architectural applications. The material is granulated, compressed and heated to study its behaviour. The best results were obtained using the highest pressure and a heating temperature of 750°C.

These experiments demonstrate that these materials still have considerable value and quality. The material’s aesthetic quality is particularly high, making it an excellent material for visual applications. The material’s mechanical properties are also interesting for more technical architectural applications.

This presentation delves into the comprehensive redevelopment of ‘De Centrale,’ a heritage building in Amsterdam-New West. The project aims to balance the preservation of historical value with sustainable redevelopment strategies. The research phase employed a case study analysis, literature review, and material comparison, focusing on minimizing embodied and operational energy while maintaining the building’s heritage.

Heritage buildings face challenges such as vacancy and demolition amidst urban development. This project addresses the question of sustainable redevelopment by examining energy implications. Embodied energy pertains to the total energy required to produce a product, while operational energy concerns the energy needed to operate a building throughout its lifetime. The project’s methodology centered on these two energy types and the building's heritage value.

The site analysis revealed a lack of green structures and significant influence from nearby high-rise developments. The building's context and heritage elements, such as concrete façade elements and a prominent chimney, guided the design approach. Despite the building's outdated function, its unique architectural features and recent use as a boxing school provide significant heritage value.

The final design transforms the building into a community center with multifunctional spaces, including sports facilities, a lounge area, a restaurant, and flexible workspaces. The design preserves the building's heritage while introducing modern elements for sustainability and community engagement. Detailed considerations for water treatment, structural integrity, and climatic design further support the building's sustainable redevelopment, ensuring a harmonious blend of historical preservation and modern functionality.

The construction sector is responsible as one of the largest emitters of carbon and nitrogen, and as a user of water. In addition, it is a linear construction process that creates new materials from non-renewable resources. Furthermore, the built environment in the Netherlands is becoming overcrowded and there are insufficient regulations for the preservation of historical buildings. The aim of this research is to apply bio-based materials in the conservation of historical buildings for a circular and sustainable renovation. For this purpose, the following main question has been formulated: “How can bio-based materials enhance sustainability and circularity in architectural renovation while prioritizing the conservation & preservation of architectural heritage?”. Foundation of the research are the 10 R’s of circularity, BREAAM and LEED. In addition, software was used to select materials and properties based on sustainability parameters. Combined with a heritage assessment, it indicates which materials can be used in the conservation and renovation of heritage buildings. This research has yielded a practical tool designed to enhance the sustainability and circularity of architectural renovations with a focus on bio-based materials. This framework also addresses the preservation of heritage qualities of buildings. Moreover, the outcome of the introduced tool contributes to the reduction of carbon and nitrogen emissions, as well as water consumption. It also actively supports the transition towards a cir

“Waste does not start as waste; instead, it is useful material in the wrong place” as explained by philosophy professor Michael Thompson in his book Rubbish Theory (Thompson, 1979). With the increasing population, industrialization, and rising human standards of living, waste generation is also increasing. The UNEP’s Global Waste Management Outlook 2024 projects that by 2050, the world’s waste generation will have increased from 2.1 billion tonnes in 2023 to 3.8 billion tonnes, emphasizing the need to transition from the garbage era to one where waste is transformed into resources. A breakdown of world’s municipal solid waste composition in the report indicates that a large amount of waste comprises of food and garden waste, paper and cardboard waste, glass, metal, and plastics. While food and garden waste, paper and cardboard are biodegrade and ,glass and metal have infinite recyclability, the major issue arises with plastic, which is a growing global concern. Plastic has become essential in daily life due to its cost benefits, but the complexity of recycling lies in identifying its diverse compositions, contaminants, and fillers. The construction and demolition industry significantly contributes to Europe’s plastic waste generation.

The thesis entitled “Re-P-Tile” focuses on the challenges that hinder the recycling process, specifically targeting the PVC waste stream in the construction and demolition industry. The aim of the thesis is to find alternative utilisation paths of this waste, by crating architectural products.

To fully understand the complexity of the plastic waste management problem, particularly in Europe, a literature review was conducted. This review involved examining online data and consulting with research experts, industry professionals, and fellow master thesis students. The study aimed to identify the challenges associated with recycling plastic and analsye plastic material flow. All types of resins were evaluated, with an analysis of material properties including the cost of virgin plastic, mechanical properties, flammability, and waste production percentage and PVC was chosen to study further.

Based on the identified plastic waste streams, PVC was found to generate greater amounts of waste than other resins, with particular concern regarding construction and demolition waste.PVC windows and pipes have material qualities that allow for their disassembly and segregation at the source, making them suitable for cascade recycling to manufacture other components instead of ending up in landfills. The idea of recycling PVC windows with UV-resistant chemicals and sewage pipes with calcium carbonate fillers is an example of transforming waste into a treasure.

Considering the high quality of PVC waste of windows and pipes, the second part of this thesis is dedicated to exploring the potential of recycling PVC for developing architectural components for cladding purpose. The thesis aimed to engineer a PVC sheet material as an architectural component. The composition, impurities, additive content, and thermal behavior of the waste samples were experimentally characterised, along with experimenting with different production tests to find a feasible production technique. A heat press was used to produce the tiles, and the influence of the production parameters was optimized. This included optimizing operational parameters such as temperature, pressure, and dwell time, as well as the effect of shred size and composition. The samples were evaluated for mechanical strength testing through the application of ASTM 970 standard procedures, microscopic visualization, and UV resistance testing.

The findings of these experiments indicate the material’s potential to be used as a façade panel, offering an alternative to conventional cladding materials. The mapping of waste management hierarchy and the carbon footprint assessment of the material, benchmarked against conventional materials, show promising results for the application of this material as a façade panel. The design freedom of the panels could potentially be used for dual façade cladding, particularly for artistic expression. For instance, these panels can produce an expressive visual statement on facades that incorporate dynamic wind or movement and can function as a screen on a white surface. After all, a façade is a canvas for expression, much more than just the exterior of a structure.

Dense urbanization increases the demand on the building sector who is responsible, on the one hand for producing large amounts of landfilled glass waste, and on the other for consuming the earth’s natural resources and release additional CO2 emissions, for the manufacture of new architectural glass. These unfavorable conditions together with the already apparent effects of climate change, demand resourceful solutions for adaptive and resilient cities, that utilize current waste and require low maintenance and low costs, to be implemented universally.

This, can only be ensured by letting nature to take over. Unexploited urban facades have a key role to provide this new ground that can be colonized by microorganisms, creating a microclimate by forming an outer green layer growing on its own. Aiming this, materials covering our urban facades need to be transformed to porous hosts by retaining rainwater and providing the right environment for bio-growth to take place.

This research aims to discover new ways that unutilized glass waste can be upcycled into bioreceptive applications, that form a promising set of criteria. By shedding light firstly on the specific material properties needed, the method of glass foaming is chosen to be investigated, as the means to provide an open porous network that can incorporate large amounts of waste into its recipe.

An experimental approach has been designed to explore the parameters related to the mixture, manufacturing process affecting the glass foam’s microstructure and potential biofilm formation by producing a total of 22 samples in the Glass lab in Stevin lab, TU Delft. These specimens were not foamed at once, but gradually being tested first of all, microscopically, to reveal the porosity network and secondly, with a series of quick tests related to their hydraulic performance, providing feedback for the next batch of samples regarding the most promising recipes to be further explored. All the samples were tested for their water absorption, evaporation rate and frosting resistance, while only the higher-scored specimens were put under test for moss-growth and compressive strength.

Apart from the experimental analysis, the next steps towards a product development were also explored by setting the bioreceptive design principles for manufacturing the meso-scale surface. Limitations in adjusting these guidelines to the way glass-foam is produced are addressed with possible solutions as suggestions for further experimentation. In addition, an application catalogue was composed as schematic recommendations to showcase the potential of bio-host glass. Combining this idea to the material science, these applications were also approached from an engineering view to analyze the material properties’ specific demands per product. This tool, can prove to be beneficial both in the hands of the future designer and material researcher to have a starting point on what needs to be further developed, depending on the chosen product out of bioreceptive glass-foam.

Taking the most immediately feasible example of a façade tile, based on the findings of the aforementioned analysis, during the last part of this project, a methodology for designing and implementing the new material into the urban environment is proposed. By informing the design of the macro-scale with weather data, precipitation levels can be exploited, in order to provide the maximum water content for the benefit of bioreceptivity.
Therefore, the novelty of this thesis, aspires by providing a holistic approach, based on the knowledge obtained both in the literature review and the conducted experiments, to stir not only bio-growth on our cities, but also innovative thinking and exploration on ways to combat the increasing landfill waste.

Although glass is a known material for centuries, extensive usage and today’s technology –with modern construction methods– made glass one of the most valuable materials of the present and future. Witnessing an immense progression and a broad innovative boost in the construction field, creating the perfect link between indoor and outdoor environments.

Given the growth of the world’s population and its constant need to improve the way of living, the demand for new flat glass production, and the replacement of the older ones are rising. However, what is happening at the end-of-life of such architectural glass waste coming from the construction and demolition sector? Α significant amount of post-consumer flat glass waste is generated, which is either down-cycled into low-value applications or discarded at the end of the life cycle, aggravating the existing problem of glass recycling whilst resulting in a significant impact on the ecological footprint.

Glass is a readily recyclable material, that can be remelted and reformed indefinitely into articles with the same quality and properties as the original one, nominating it as a perfect candidate in the transition efforts for a low-carbon environment. Even though the glass packaging industry is a successful recycling market, the same is not true for the floating glass industry, which occupies a more complex position. The vast majority of the remaining waste is rarely recycled into the same product, due to the lack of an organized recycling scheme, the incompatibility of different glass recipes, and the contamination rates of glazed products that could lead to risks in the total production line.

Among the down-recycled or landfilled glass, there is a great proportion of high-value float glass, pointing out the large potential in upgrading the glass recycling process from a linear chain to a circular one. The main scientific contribution of this research is the development and experimental verification with the aim of casting technique, not only new design concepts and engineering their fabrication following the design criteria, but also an ideal recycling collection system for cullets coming from the C&D sector while utilizing tools to check the product’s performance and assessing its life cycle impact to the environment.

The casting method, as a more flexible process, that easily shifts between different recipes, and is less energy-intensive than float line, proves feasible for the fabrication of 100% recycled panels out of post-consumer flat glass waste. These findings are introduced by means of closed-loop alternatives that extend their service life, establishing at the same time the foundation for a circular life-cycle of architectural glass, while can assist as guidelines for further exploration. These components are monolithic elements with higher thickness, compared to the conventional thin-walled glass to tolerate a higher contamination rate, intended for building envelope applications. Their format is adopted and explored through a strategic approach of a translucent composite product, which is made out of specific glass waste layering arrangement between different purity grades of cullet in such a manner to form an advantage tensile strength on the recycled panel, which is transferred on the surfaces and reinforces the object.

Grasping the boundaries of glass recycling, which has been continuously stretching, in the last years, only some primary attempts have been made by TU Delft. These are referred on the fabrication of 3-dimensional strong glass components or glass panels emphasizing the aesthetic result always with the method of casting, unveiling the ambitious potential of glass upcycling for the building sector.

Identifying the scientific gap, the focus of this research is the proper mapping of the current situation of glass recycling, and the identification of the most promising glass C&D waste through experimental research by contacting melting and tools that have not been utilized before. The experimental analysis of the new concept concentrates on the development of the composite panel and the thermal shock testing in uneven temperatures, as the strength of recycled glass has already been investigated previously. Additionally, this concept will be assessed for further analysis and understanding of the whole effectiveness of the proposed supply chain of this recycling method, which is carried out for the first time.

The development of the new composite panel and its experimental evaluation displayed strong findings for further exploration. This thesis set-up could be a promising strategy for float glass recyclability but also in this product’s performance, for transcending the main barriers of flat glass refusal owing to either impurities or different glass synthesis, while it is aligned with the 2050 Dutch policy of zero waste in the construction field and the European guidelines linked to the sustainable movement. Recovering discarded glass in cast glass products opens new paths to reintroduce such waste back to the supply chain, as a closed-loop approach.

The first part of this thesis investigated different pre-treatment methods of the fine glass dust in order to increase the reactivity when it was used as a cement replacement in cementitious mixtures. The results showed that the optimal pre-treatment for the fine glass dust was a heat-treatment at 600∘C for 1 hour combined with a grinding treatment of 1 hour. The heat-treatment was efficient in removing the organic compounds from the fine glass dust and the grinding treatment was efficient in reducing the particle size of the fine glass dust. The second part of this thesis investigated the influence of different cement replacement percentages by pre-treated fine glass dust in cementitious mixtures. Results showed that higher FGD percentages resulted in a reduction in compressive strength. However at longer curing ages (between 28 and 90 days) a small increase in strength development was observed. This could be attributed to the pozzolanic activity of the fine glass dust, which caused secondary strength development at later curing ages. It was also shown that significant amounts of secondary products were formed in the mixture with 25% FGD, which caused volume instability of the mixture. For the mixture with 10% FGD no volume instability was observed. The third part of this thesis investigated the suitability of pre-treated fine glass dust for 3D Concrete Printing using the set-on-demand printing technique. For the mixture with 50% FGD in the cementitious mixtures it was found that a superplasticizer (SP) dosage of 0.4% was sufficient to develop a pumpable cementitious mixture. For the mixture with 20% FGD, this SP dosage was found to be 0.35%. As a combination of cementitious mixture with an accelerator slurry with 10% and 8% CaCl2, Mix FGD50- SP0.35-Acc10% and FGD20-SP0.35-Acc8% provided promising results in terms of fast stiffness and strength development. Due to volume instability of the FGD50 mixture, only mix FGD20-SP0.35-Acc8% was tested on printability. This mixture proved to be printable with a nozzle moving speed of 3600 mm/min and a time interval between layers of 18.8 seconds. Therefore a 20% replacement of Portland cement with fine glass dust could be used to develop a printable cementitious mixture for 3DCP. The fourth part of this thesis discussed the applicability of the developed mixture in practice. A concrete bus shelter was used as a case study and it was shown that the mixture developed enough strength to withstand the stresses of the designed structure. The developed mixture FGD20-SP0.35- Acc8% was promising for implementation in 3DCP in terms of sustainable development of the concrete industry and as a new utilization of a byproduct from the glass recycling industry

In the current built environment, the three main glass elements are glass window blocks, (structural) float glass and (structural) glass bricks. Float glass is the most used type of glass element and it is evolving from a skin material to a structural material. Glass hollow blocks became popular in the 1930s, but have lost their appeal due to little structural capacity and outdated aesthetics. A new and upcoming technique is the usage of cast glass bricks, which provides high structural performance without the use of substructures. The 21st century is unmistakably characterized by climate change and the effort being put into the battle against it. It is the duty of engineers to design in a sustainable way. ‘Sustainable’ can be interpreted in many ways; the focus within this paper lies on the usage of recycled materials, the recyclability of the final product and the energy usage during the lifespan of the façade (linked to thermal performance). When looking at the material itself, glass is a very recyclable material. This is widely done for glass bottles. However, the recyclability of float glass is very limited. Windowpanes and structural glass panes both consists of several layers of glass, combined with a PVB interlayer. Mostly, these combined panes are themselves processed further into insulated glass units, or IGUs. This end product consists of many different materials, that are hard to separate and for this reason, IGUs are seldom recycled at this moment. Additionally, not only the end product is rarely recycled, little recycled material is used for the production of float glass. The tolerances for using waste cullet in the production of float glass is very limited. Since the lifecycle cannot easily be changed for float glass, it is interesting to look into cast glass. The production technique is different from the production of float glass. Glass is melted into a mould, rather than spread along a bath of tin. The latest research shows the possibilities of using glass cullet and thus casting waste glass. One opportunity that arises from this, is the development of waste glass bricks. One main problem of cast glass bricks is its thermal performance. Due to the lack of cavities, as present in IGUs or hollow glass bricks the thermal performance is not optimal, especially with the increasing need for high-performing facades to meet sustainability demands. There are several strategies to improve the thermal performance of glass structures. The most simple solution for reducing the thermal transmittance is the introduction of air pockets or cavities. Air is a relatively good insulator, especially in small confined geometries. Convection reduces the thermal resistance of air and the bigger the air pocket, the more convection can occur. Not only air can provide insulation, this can also be done with other materials. Inert gasses, like argon and krypton, have a lower thermal conductivity than glass, but are more costly and would require a more complex production process to fill the cavity and to ensure complete sealing. Translucent solutions can be achieved with materials like aerogel and glass fibres. Light transmittance is still present, but the result is not transparent. If transparency or translucency is completely ignored, traditional insulation materials, like rock wool and polystyrene, could increase the thermal resistance too. Improvements can also be made with either reducing the amount of as long-wave, infrared energy going through the glass utilizing coatings or by reducing the conductivity of the glass itself by changing the molecular build-up. The glass recipe influences the thermal conductivity. This thesis focuses on the thermal performance of cast glass bricks and in specifically the investigation of the impact of cavities on the thermal performance and the development of a relevant production method for cavity cast glass bricks. Air cavities can be added on either system-level or element-level. On a system-level, the design of a singular brick does not change, but the typology in which it is used does. Cavity walls with either a double brick wall or with an additional float glass wall will improve the thermal performance but will utilize a lot more material. When changing the geometry of the brick itself, one or more cavities can be introduced to improve the performance. Since smaller cavities have a relatively better performance, multiple small cavities will automatically perform better than a singular larger cavity. Several designs are drawn, varying from a single or double cavity to an arrangement of glass shards, providing lots of encapsulated air pockets. Thermal bridges within a design influence the overall thermal performance. The heat will choose the path with the least resistance, which is via the glass. It is possible to lengthen the path that the heat must undertake, by introducing multiple air chambers and increasing the overall thickness of the brick. This increased thickness will also aid the structural performance. Creating multiple air pockets is directly linked to many glass-air transitions and thus a more complex geometry and production process. Producing such a brick with current standard manufacturing techniques would require glue. Glueing is not very environmentally friendly. The glue is not easily (if not impossible) to remove and therefore the final product is not recyclable. With experimental research, the potential of tack fusing glass is highlighted. This ‘tack fusing’ is done at a temperature below the actual fusing temperature, where the glass still creates a permanent bond, without relaxation and shape loss. This temperature lies around the dilatometric softening point of the specific glass type. The potential of the tack fusing method is explored employing shear tests of fused specimens. Three types of specimens are tested: two different series of tack fused specimens at 650˚C (1hr, 3hr dwell at top temperature) and one series of glued samples (DELO 4468) to be used as a reference. DELO4468 is a high-performance glue, which is mostly used for its high strength. Nine design concepts are drawn, based on a solid brick of 200x200x100 mm. Seven element-based designs are limited within these boundaries since increased thickness (even with only glass) would lead to higher thermal performance. Two system-level alternatives are not in-depth researched but are still examined as reference. These two alternatives cannot be kept within these boundaries and are thus at increased depth of the finished wall. All nine designs are scored in a multi-criteria analysis. The main focus is the thermal performance and therefore the thermal transmittance of each design needs to be analysed. This is for eight out of nine designs done with TRISCO, a steady-state 3D thermal analysis software. The last design, a fused shard brick, consisting of a random arrangement of random-shaped shards and is not easily modelled in 3D software. For this reason, it is not analysed in TRISCO but analysed through an experimental analysis. This experiment replicates a situation in which one side of the brick is warmer than the other while measuring the temperatures and heat fluxes. With these measurements, the thermal transmittance can be estimated. The last part of this thesis is the multi-criteria analysis, or MCA, in which all alternatives are scored against several criteria. One of these criteria is the thermal performance, others are sustainability, producibility, aesthetical potential and transparency. The sustainability is scored against several checks, related to the recyclability and the required temperature for production. The producibility and the aesthetical potential is scored utilizing a small expert survey. Both criteria are subjective of nature, but by including the opinion of several experts, the outcome is inter-subjective. The transparency is scored regarding the number of refractive surfaces (because with each air-glass transition visibility is lost due to reflections) and the percentage of non-transparent materials in the cross-section. The result of this thesis is not a single design, but insights in the potential of each concept. All designs are not ready for direct application but would require further structural verification and thermal optimisation, depending on the governing thermal requirements. There is not one perfect solution since each façade has different performance requirements, but the results do provide insights for an improvement from the current technologies.

Aiming at maximizing the recyclability of glass and integrating the sustainability with glass structural application, the concept of recycled glass beam has been proposed at the beginning of this project. Based on the investigation of existing glass manufacturing and recycling industry, the resource material has been targeting at float glass from building sector. This thesis present the recycling process in the lab, as well as the selection of experiment method. In the view of structural application, the mechanical property of the recycled float glass has been tested and the results has been discussed in combination with chemical composition analysis. The prediction of the material property for this recycled float glass, especially the structural behavior has been raised on account of the empirical data and the computational analysis. At last, the applicability of the recycled float glass has been proved, following by the data of relative mechanical properties. This thesis is end up with the discussion of the possibility for further development and the conclusion of this recycled float-glass beam project.

This master's graduation project researches the potential of upcycling waste glass into glass-ceramic components through casting techniques and thermal treatments. To explore its potential and possibilities, the process of crystallization, the material glass-ceramic and influencing parameters are studied at first. A glass-ceramic is a glassy yet crystalline material consisting of inorganic and non-metallic compounds. A glass-ceramic can be produced through different controlled crystallization methods, whereas in this research heat treatment of casted components is applied. Upon heat treatment, crystallization occurs when the right temperatures are applied for the two-steps in crystallization; nucleation and crystal growth. Crystallization may occur spontaneously or along preferential sites, whereas this research makes use of the latter. Many parameters affect the crystallization process, whereas this research only focusses on glass composition, temperature and dwell time. The parameters are set through literature study and trial and error of melting experiments. This research focusses on the crystallization of soda-lime-silica bottle glass, the results of each melting experiment show the effect of the parameters. Each glass from another manufacturing has another glass composition. The amounts of glass formers, modifiers and fluxes are various, resulting in diverse temperature curves and thus diverse melting temperatures and crystallization temperatures. Through the melting experiments are noticeable that the applied melting temperature were of bigger influence than the crystallization temperature. A melting temperature too low resulted in an undesired fused sample, while a too high melting temperature resulted in no or little preferential sites for crystallization to occur. Through the results of the splitting experiment the mechanical characteristics could be observed, which are fracture toughness and fracture behaviour in this research. The fracture toughness seems better of samples with a higher quality crystal polymorph or with a higher amount of crystallinity or high amounts of glassy phases, whereby the material acts as one material upon loading rather than as a composite. While for samples with little and unconnected crystallization it does not seem to benefit its fracture toughness. The fracture propagation through glassy and crystalline phases is very different. A fracture propagation through a glassy phase is conchoidal, while the fracture propagation in the crystalline phase follows the crystalline structure, reaching its extremities or can be conchoidal, depending on the crystal polymorph. Observable from the fracture propagation from glassy to crystalline and from crystalline back to glassy is the discontinuity. The crystal or crystalline surface acts like an obstacle once the failure propagation reaches from the glassy phase. The failure does propagate but once it continues over to the glassy phase again, a change in energy and direction is noticeable. All by all, there do is potential in upcycling waste glass into structural cast glass-ceramic components. Crystallization does influence the fracture toughness and fracture behaviour in a cast glass-ceramic component, but the effect is highly dependent on the amount and distribution of glassy and crystalline phases.

The high compressive strength of the material glass in combination with its transparency, make it an attractive material to use for a column. Though different types and configurations of glass columns have been subject of academic research, a demountable glass column made from laminated components remains unexplored. This structural concept allows for modular and temporary structures with incorporated structural safety. Assembly and demounting is quick and the smaller, laminated components give the column sufficient redundancy.

Glass however, is notorious for its low tensile strength and brittle failure. Also, a column made from interlocking components introduces stability problems. A comprehensive understanding of this new type of glass column is necessary before application in the built environment is possible. So far, no numerical analysis has been conducted on columns made up of interlocking laminated elements, while this analysis can help understand the stability, force distribution and stress concentrations of such a system.

The main objective of this research is to obtain a feasible all-glass column design. This is achieved by using a Finite Element Analysis(FEA) to investigate: stability, force distribution and stress concentrations. Furthermore, a variety of design aspects and trade-offs are discussed in detail. These structural and design considerations are used to iterate the column design and to propose a combination of parameters that leads to a feasible design.

The FEA investigates the following structural parameters: component dimension, roof ballast load, façade stiffness and interlayer thickness. Different combinations of investigated parameters lead to a feasible, functioning column designs. The column is able to horizontally displace up to 9,1mm before becoming unstable. The heavier ballast load of 1,2kN/m2 is desired over the minimal value of 0,6kN/m2. The column is unable to take up a significant amount of the total horizontal case study load for all investigated component widths. It can take up up to 39% of the vertically applied load when a minimal amount of soft interlayers is used. The tensile stress concentrations stay within the allowable limits.

The different design aspects investigated include: material constraints, fabrication limitations, safety and redundancy and assembly. Each laminated component is made of up 3x15mm thick annealed float glass plates, and is fit with a sacrificial layer on either side for protection. The glass plates are water jet cut into the desired shape and then laminated together to form the component. The shape of the interlock is gradual end rounded in order to prevent (tensile) peak stresses. The risk of damage has been minimised. Moreover, the glass column has sufficient redundancy because the laminated components retain sufficient bearing capacity in case of damage. Also, the structural glass façade serves as secondary loading path in the case of severe damage.

This research serves as a starting point for future research and possible real-life application of a novel type of interlocking glass column. This type of column can be applied in demountable structures. Combinations of parameters have been proposed that result in a feasible, functioning column. Recommendations have been set up to improve future iterations of columns with a similar design.

Glass is one of the most remarkable building material in modern architecture. It has become more and more valued as a major construction material. It does not only provide continuous transparency but it can be applied as a main structural element due to its high load-bearing capacity. The structural system has already been realized in several architecture projects, but it is still limited. The main issue of a fully transparent glass facade is its poor thermal properties which would result a poor indoor environmental quality. Therefore, the current research is focusing on the development of a cast glass component with an integrated solar energy system. The new unit would work as a solar concentrator/ optical device, therefore it redirects the light rays into a certain area. As an implementation of the new unit, Crystal House is used as a case study where the existing glass components are replaced with the new smart bricks. The research has been done several levels with the main aim to create an innovative solar facade that can improve the indoor environmental quality and at the same time it can produce electricity to overcome the additional cooling cost.

The main topic of this thesis is the design of arch with components made up of glass and reinforced concrete. Parametric process as well as experiment is carried out in this research. In this thesis, bond strength between glass and fly ash concrete are studied.

Glass is a versatile material applied in a large number of industries. It can for example be found in everyday household items, inside high tech machines or it can be used as part of mechanical structures in buildings. This research focuses on using structural cast glass components for a dome design forming a sustainable living habitat for Lori parrots in a moderate climate while being minimum invasive for the local environment

The objective of this research is to investigate the possibilities of creating an algorithmic design for structural glass covers, to create an innovative methodology with a broad spectrum of potential applications. The methodology should stimulate the easy use of glass as a structural material. It should also contribute to the bridging of the gap between architects and structural engineers and take advantage of the potential of parametric design for architectural and structural purposes.