What is Urban Click about?
“As Urban Click, our vision is to improve the circularity in the construction sector by improving the accessibility of knowledge and used products for renovation or new construction”
With Urban Click, our aim is to create a user interface platform that helps to connect various stakeholders not only to buy and sell recycled and used materials but also to exchange data and knowledge. We believe that this is one of the fundamental steps in order to create circularity within the construction sector.
Our idea on how the platform will look (own design).
Urban Click Platform will contain:
- Page to upload the BIM models
- Page to view all products available from a building
- Local news and updates shared from various stakeholders
- Connecting forum for knowledge transfer
The Urban Click platform will contain information such as the material content and description, price, and availability. Data for the building materials will be collected with the consent of building owners in BIM format (IFC file) where it can be further used as a layer in maps and will be stored by us. This BIM file will contain information about the building materials and the products used in the building. That information will be helpful to estimate the materials that can be retrieved from the building afterward. The BIM file will also contain the life span (design period) of the building which can help to estimate the time of demolition and thus available materials for future projects.
As Urban Click, our vision is to improve the circularity in the construction sector by improving the accessibility of knowledge and used products for renovation or new construction. This will be achieved by enhancing the reuse and recycling of construction materials and therefore, increasing material circularity within the construction sector.
Who is behind Urban Click?
“We define ourselves as a team of individuals who are passionate about solving environmental issues and promote sustainable development in our community”.
Since the middle of 2020, we have been working on developing an idea that promotes the concept of circular economy and sustainability. While exploring the topic we found out that the construction industry is one of the largest waste emitters in terms of volume and has great potential in being developed with innovative ideas and opportunities for the circulation of waste materials. To do this, we came up with an idea to create a user interface platform that helps connect the stakeholders not only to buy and sell recycled and used materials but also to exchange data and knowledge.
Below you find the description of the members of Urban Click; Elif Ceren Yilmaz (Turkey), Kaushik Selva Dhanush Ravi (India), Sarurul Delgerbayar (Mongolia), and Melissa Capcha Eulogio (Peru). Some of the members are currently enrolled in studies abroad and others recently graduated and trying to put into practice what we have learned in the past years.
The Urban Click team
How have you applied innovation in your project?
“With our idea of creating BIM integration with material information, we aim to ease the process of obtaining information about buildings and available materials in the future”.
We try to create an interest among individuals and companies to use materials and products that already had been in use before. By using our platform, people will be able to reach and sell used and recycled materials and therefore contribute to creating a more sustainable way of using resources. In a broader sense, we aim to minimize waste and pollution caused by the massive production of new materials and products and enhance resource efficiency. With our idea of creating BIM integration with material information, we aim to ease the process of obtaining information about buildings and available materials in the future.
Addressing climate change and other environmental and social problems
“Some of the direct environmental benefits of our activity include the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with landfilling and the production of new products”.
Even though our project’s main focus has a direct relation with environmental aspects of sustainability, it is also aimed to create social and economic values. With the implementation of our project, we want to tackle climate change. Likewise, we expect that valuable materials from demolitions sent to landfills can be decreased, saving up to 60% of costs. The risks of toxic chemicals leaching into the ground and water can be greatly minimized as a consequence. Recycling and reusing materials locally can decrease the rate of materials that are being imported and this greatly cuts down the emissions associated with transportation. It is also possible to reduce the energy consumption associated with this activity and the promotion of policies and legislation in a long-term scenario.
Moreover, it is expected to create a social impact, such as job creation and increased awareness of citizens in the promotion of the conscious built environment.
Do you want to know more about Urban Click?
We prepared a video where you can find more about our project:
Our next steps
We are currently applying to many funding opportunities in order to go to the next level with our project. We also know that stakeholders are the key elements for our project therefore we are currently working on that too. If you want to contact us to know more about us, you can always reach us by email to urbanclick.rebuildup@gmail.com.