Date: 2026-09-15 00:00:00 +0000 UTCTags: conference, paper, repurpose, circularity, reuse, steel, bridge
IASS-IWSS: Reuse steel
The IASS–IWSS 2026 joint conference brought together the annual symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) and the Italian Workshop on Shell and Spatial Structures (IWSS). Held in Turin, Italy, its theme was R-Evolution of Shapes: Sustainability, Re-Use, and New Design Paradigms.
We presented Reuse Steel in the Delivery of Optimised Public Infrastructure , a paper about the design and delivery of the Tan House footbridge. The 60 m crossing over a live railway was designed around an available stock of unused steel tubes that might otherwise have been scrapped.
The paper describes how we used a flexible digital design process to test structural arrangements against the available steel, while tracking embodied carbon throughout design and construction. It also shares lessons about procuring and testing repurposed steel for public infrastructure.
To learn more about the project, see our Tan House footbridge project page .