Design for the Reuse of Construction Materials: A Research Project on the Case of Demountable Ceilings

Overview of thesis

In a context of diminishing raw material resources and exponential growth in construction waste, the reuse of building materials is a practice that is undergoing a revival and is the subject of numerous experiments in architecture. To ensure that these practices have beneficial effects on a large scale, more and more players in the building sector are considering the mass reuse of materials, supported by a regulatory framework that encourages it. In this research, we propose that the project of reusing materials on a large scale be led by the building industry, with what we call Design for Reuse. To conceptualize this design method, which aims to ensure the future reuse of construction materials designed today, we will draw on Design for X, eco-design, and user-centered design methods, then propose a hypothesis articulating two design objectives: preservation and transmission. After proposing specific design tools for Design for Reuse, we will conduct an experiment based on the case study of removable ceilings, using the project-based research methodology. With three design projects and an experimental workshop involving several design disciplines, we will show that Design for Reuse covers a spectrum of possibilities, ranging across different levels of strategic ambition for the building sector.

PhD supervisors:
TUFANO Antonella MAACC (Modélisations pour l'Assistance à l'Activité Cognitive de la Conception), L'Abbé Grégoire doctoral school, CNAM.
Co-supervisor: 
CAHEN Roland, CRD (Centre de recherche en Design). 

Research funding: This doctoral thesis in human sciences and new humanities specializing in Arts, Design and Society (Abbé Grégoire doctoral school, CNAM), was prepared within the MAP-MAACC (ENSAPLV), the CRD (ENSCI-Les Ateliers, ENS Paris-Saclay), under a CIFRE contract with Saint-Gobain Research Paris.

 Thesis defense: Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. 

Salle de séminaire des laboratoires de l’ENSAPLV
23 rue des Ardennes, 75019 Paris.

Jury composition:

M. Jean-François BASSEREAU, Institut Mines Telecom Saint-Etienne, ENSAD, Rapporteur
Mme Ariane DUPONT-KIEFFER, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, Rapporteure
Mme Anne COSTE, ENSA Grenoble, Examinatrice
Mme Nazila Kahina BELKADI, ENSAPLV, Examinatrice
Mme Géraldine DURIEUX, Rotor, Examinatrice
Mme Katie COTELLON, Saint-Gobain Research Paris, Invitée
Mme Antonella TUFANO, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Directrice de thèse
M. Roland CAHEN, ENSCI, Co-directeur de thèse

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