Project Overview
Steel reuse offers up to 95% savings in embodied carbon compared to newly manufactured steel. Following the UK’s first large-scale commercial project, Holbein Gardens, using reclaimed steel in 2022, the number of buildings with steel reuse has grown to around 40 by 2025. While current reuse practices focus on solid steel sections, a significant stock of cellular beams is now approaching the end of its service life. This presents a timely opportunity to investigate the feasibility of cellular beam reuse.
The RE‑CELL project aims to assess the technical, economic, and supply chain viability of reusing cellular beams, with a special emphasis on leveraging AI and computer vision to predict reusability.
Project Work Packages
This feasibility study will explore the following themes:
- Suitability assessment: Identify which cellular beam types are most appropriate for reuse, accounting for manufacturing techniques, weld types, composite connections, section asymmetry, and other factors.
- AI‑based condition evaluation: Develop and train computer vision models using photographic datasets (new and reclaimed beams) to assess reusability potential. A small number of beams will also be tested physically at City University to validate AI predictions.
- Economic analysis: Estimate the market potential and commercial viability for reused cellular beams.
- Integration with M&E systems: Examine how reused cellular beams can integrate with building services (mechanical & electrical), working with M&E specialists.
- Design & deconstruction guidance: Formulate recommendations for building design and deconstruction that support future cellular beam reuse.
- Standardisation roadmap: Define requirements and pathways for developing a reuse standard for cellular beams, in collaboration with SCI.
Industry Engagement
To ensure impact and relevance, we invite participation from stakeholders across the construction supply chain:
- Industry bodies: SCI, BCSA
- Manufacturers: Cellular beam fabricators
- Design professionals: Structural engineers, M&E engineers
- Material suppliers: Reclaimed steel stockholders (e.g. Cleveland Steel and Tubes)
- Site professionals: Demolition contractors, pre-demolition audit specialists
How You Can Engage
Contribution | Purpose | Who We’re Seeking |
Provide access to images of cellular beams (with design data)
We could arrange a site visit to photograph cellular beams at a construction site. | To train AI models for assessing reusability | Beam manufacturers, site contractors |
Share data on currently installed cellular beams | To determine the potential market size of cellular beam reuse and economic analysis | Beam manufacturers |
Supply reclaimed cellular beams | To validate AI model predictions via physical testing | Demolition contractors |
Provide images of beams before/after demolition | To expand AI training datasets | Demolition contractors, audit teams |
Participate in interviews or workshops | To help co-create recommendations on economics, deconstruction, M&E integration | All stakeholders |
Image Requirements & Use Cases
We are particularly interested in two categories of images:
- New/installation phase: Photographs of cellular beams during construction, with associated design documentation where available.
- Reclaimed/used: Beams photographed in situ pre‑demolition or after recovery.
These images will be used to train AI models to identify visual features indicative of better reuse potential. The goal is not necessarily precise quantification, but pattern recognition and classification (for example, identifying beam geometries, weld conditions, or other cues that correlate with reuse viability).
With thanks to our funders
Project team
Find out more
For further information or to express interest, please contact:
Dr Asselia Katenbayeva, ASBP: assselia@asbp.org.uk
Prof Mark Lawson, SCI: m.lawson@steel-sci.com
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