Design choices, extending the service life of buildings and fostering closed material loops, can be a key instrument for the transition towards a circular economy. After all, the best waste, is waste that will never exist. For... [ view full abstract ]
Design choices, extending the service life of buildings and fostering closed material loops, can be a key instrument for the transition towards a circular economy. After all, the best waste, is waste that will never exist. For this reason, the Flanders’ Public Waste Agency OVAM published in 2013 a set of 23 design principles for increasing the generality, adaptability and thus circularity of buildings and their components. These principles were developed in de context of a design consultancy program (Paduart et al., 2013), and are illustrated in fact-sheets by exemplary techniques and applications (Debacker et al., 2015). Organised in a matrix, all principles together, address three scale levels and three design aspects.
Since 2013, the set of design principles has been guiding consultancy programs but was also used as an evaluation framework during explorative master theses, strategic research projects, and construction system reviews by members of the TRANSFORM research team of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Occasionally they have been adopted in construction practice. Although successful in creating awareness about the long-term consequences of design choices among architects and engineers, that hands-on experience revealed a series of complexities characterising the matrix at the table. Moreover, it could be observed that every consultancy program and design evaluation reinterpreted the principles and adapted the set to their specific context and goal. Although the freedom to make those interpretations might be a strength of the matrix, it also challenges its robustness and relevance. In concrete terms, it is difficult to compare the outcomes of different evaluations and therefore limits the matrix’s role in the transition towards a circular economy.
Based on all experience, the extended abstract below tackles different types of complexity. To each of these complexities, possible risks and drawbacks are related, among which the clearness of the principles, the comprehensiveness of a resulting qualitative evaluation, and its relevance for extending the service life of buildings and closing material loops. Following these findings, a major revision of the matrix of principles is recommended. It is suggested that a revision should include a refined definition of every scale level, design aspect and individual principle, but also additional principles such as the location, facilities and accessibility of buildings, and the the purity, safety and renewability of materials. Further it comes with a series of guidelines about how this matrix can be used to create awareness or as a design review framework.
Lessons learnt from practical projects , Development of design and modelling methods
