ABSTRACT
The concrete industry is a significant source of global carbon emissions, mainly through cement production. Reusing concrete structural components is a more effective solution to maintaining structural integrity and reducing construction waste, and its significance in cultural heritage preservation deserves to be explored, especially when traditional adaptive reuse methods are insufficient. This paper presents a new workflow that integrates engineering practices with cultural heritage preservation and reintroduces, interprets and demystifies the historical term Spolia. The proposed workflow consists of a “cultural plug-in” that evaluates the structural and cultural values of a building before or after demolition, resulting in two modes of work, design-oriented and material-oriented. Ultimately, this paper demonstrates practical application and validates the process through a pedagogical trial in a design studio where students applied this workflow to repurpose a theater in Hong Kong.
