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Design for Disassembly (DfD)

Design for Disassembly DfD is a growing phenomenon within manufacturing industries as greater attention is devoted to the management of the end-of-life of products.

What is DfD?

DfD is a building design process that allows for the easy recovery of products, parts and materials when a building is disassembled or renovated. The process is intended to maximize economic value and minimize environmental impacts through reuse, repair, remanufacture and recycling. A DfD process involves developing the assemblies, components, materials, construction techniques, and information and management systems to accomplish this goal.

DfD is a growing phenomenon within manufacturing industries as greater attention is devoted to the management of the end-of-life of products. The effort is driven by the increasing disposal of large amounts of consumer goods, and the resulting pollution and the loss of materials and energy that these products contain.

The DfD building design process also addresses energy recovery from materials and safe bio-degradation. DfD enables flexibility, convertibility, addition, and subtraction of whole-buildings. In this manner DfD may help avoid the removal of buildings altogether.

DfD Guide

The DfD guide (PDF, 1.0 MB) is an introduction to the principles, methods, and materials of Design for Disassembly in the built environment. It is intended for owners, architects, designers and builders, and we hope it will help facilitate investigations and incorporation of this important aspect of sustainable design and building.

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