Circular building: Old windows get new life ... as windows

Circular construction, where products and materials are given the longest possible life through recycling and reuse, is crucial. It plays a key role in reducing waste and embedded carbon in buildings and can help ensure that industry has the necessary resources to meet future needs. At Hydro, they have been thinking sustainably and circularly for some time, which is why only Hydro CIRCAL 75R post-consumed material with an extremely low carbon footprint is used in the production of the SAPA window, door and curtain wall systems.

Reclycing and the ecological footprint

We take the example of England, where more than 60 million tons of non-hazardous waste is produced annually and resource recruitment for industry leads to climate change, deforestation, expropriation and pollution. In addition, many raw materials are increasingly difficult to obtain. "Mining raw materials is very energy intensive and also harmful to the environment. If the material then also has to be transported for processing, the carbon impact increases," states project manager Danny Decaluwaert. "Recycling, on the other hand, is often done relatively locally and, depending on the material, also requires less energy. Moreover, the materials do not end up in landfills, reducing waste." Circularity is therefore becoming increasingly important. "Especially in the Netherlands people have been working on this for years, but recently we have also been catching up in Belgium."

Aluminum as a circular material

Those who want to build circularly must choose the right materials, such as aluminum. Due to its natural corrosion resistance and excellent strength-to-weight ratio, this material can be used for many building elements: from roofs and walls to windows, doors, curtain walls and blinds. "Aluminum is ideal as a circular material. It can be recycled endlessly without loss of quality and properties and is easily separated from other waste. So when a building is demolished, a large proportion of the aluminum components can be recovered and recycled without any problem," Decaluwaert explains. "Moreover, smelting aluminum requires only 5% of the energy required to produce primary aluminum, which benefits the carbon footprint. Finally, aluminum is produced from bauxite ore, one of the most abundant resources on earth. As a result, there is enough aluminum available to be widely used."

Post-consumed aluminum

Hydro, one of the largest producers of primary aluminum and a major European supplier of extruded products, is betting heavily on circularity. "For the production of windows and doors, sliding windows and curtain wall systems, we only use Hydro CIRCAL 75R; aluminum that consists of a minimum of 75% from post-consumer scrap from, for example, facades and windows and has a footprint of only 2.3 kg CO2 per kg aluminum," Decaluwaert says. "Thanks to the revolutionary treatment of the supplied scrap, the quality of the Hydro CIRCAL 75R post-consumer material is identical to that of primary aluminum. It becomes the new standard for the production of all our products. And this is unique in the market. Old windows and doors get a new life ... as a window or door system."

Soleal Next

Today, the SAPA brand is unpacking a lot of new "CIRCAL" developments. For example, the SOLEAL Next universal door was recently introduced to the professional public. This door is available in many applications: free-standing or fixed part, glazed or overlapping panel, inward and outward opening, push-pull, panic doors, heavy-duty doors (tested up to 2,000,000 cycles), single or double door, integrated into the façade, hinged or pivoting, with low or barrier-free sill. It is suitable for glass thicknesses up to 59 mm and heights up to 3 meters, provides excellent performance in terms of thermal insulation and acoustics, and guarantees high density. SOLEAL Next also includes many security features, such as finger trap protection, anti-panic escape route, burglary resistance (RC2/RC3) and bullet resistance (FB4 NS), as well as smoke and fire protection. This innovation combines aesthetic design with a wide choice of colors and accessories, including concealed elements and hardware.