The port demolition site demonstrated in practice the obstacles to the reuse of building components

(For customers.) During the spring and summer, the Port of Helsinki has carried out the demolition of its old Terminal 1990 in Jätkäsaari, Helsinki. The terminal to be demolished was originally built as a warehouse about a hundred years ago. In the 100s, the building was converted into a passenger terminal when traffic to Tallinn opened. Photo: Veikko Somerpuro/ Port of Helsinki Ltd. The low building with many pillars was no longer used for passenger traffic, so it was decided to demolish it. A recycling and reuse survey was initially carried out for the demolition contract. The tightly bricked facade of the terminal consisted of a total of approximately 000 bricks. The original goal was to dismantle approximately 60 of the old facade bricks intact and deliver them for reuse. “It wasn’t until we started demolishing that it became clear that the building had been built “a little too well”: The façade bricks were very tightly attached to the brick frame. When we tried to remove the bricks mechanically, we only managed to remove about 000 percent of them intact,” says Pekka Haikonen, the Port of Helsinki’s construction manager. Photo: Veikko Somerpuro/ Port of Helsinki Ltd. Over the past hundred years, the bricks have been exposed to weather phenomena and have become brittle. In the end, about 20 bricks were removed intact and delivered to Helen Oy’s site for reuse...