Sustainable Buildings from Marble Waste Heaps

This book examines how discarded marble heaps can be repurposed, in situ, to breathe new life into the landscape, offering solutions that are as innovative as they are practical and sustainable. The author showcases the power of creativity and sustainability to revitalize communities and landscapes with new architectural buildings and public spaces. The volume combines theory with practice, including an extensive bibliography about landscape mutation, rehabilitation of quarries and waste reuse, and, at the same time, a detailed case study on the Estremoz Anticline, in Portugal, one of the world’s main sites of marble extraction. Of all the material extracted from the several quarries of the Estremoz Anticline, only about 9% is marketed because of assessed of quality standards. Distinct from other research volumes in this domain, “Sustainable Buildings from Marble Waste Heaps” focuses on the regeneration of industrial landscapes through the on-site reuse of waste heaps, without removing the material from the context it belongs to or changing its morphology, preserving the identity of the place and promoting circular economy. - Introduces the reuse of industrial waste heaps on site without damage to the environment, promoting a circular economy; - Emphasizes deep analysis of landscape mutation (from origins to post-industrial era), focusing on its causes and effects; - Illustrates transformation of abandoned industrial sites into livable places, suitable for tourist cultural activities.