The Future of Our Past: Current implementation of circular economy strategies in the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings and mitigating remaining barriers

The construction industry imposes significant pressure on the natural environment, making it essential to transition to the circular economy. A step towards this goal is the adaptive reuse of existing buildings, more specifically, heritage buildings. Adaptive reuse of heritage is a difficult procedure that seeks to maintain the qualities of...

Flexible floor systems: The effectiveness of flexibility measures in improving the circularity of building components

The environmental strain and depletion of natural resources caused by the current economic system could be reduced through the transition to a more circular economy, based on regenerative use of resources, where materials are kept in use for as long as possible and their value is retained (Cheshire, 2016; Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013;...

Adaptable Real Estate: The added value of adaptability in a long-term business case

Our cities have to expand either horizontally or vertically to accommodate the growing population and urbanization trends. Meanwhile, our needs, demands and desires evolve over time. This makes sustainable development and adaptability more relevant than ever. However, a main problem with adaptability is the additional investment costs against...

Reducing the environmental impact of distribution centres: Environmental impact assessment of the load-bearing structures of distribution centre design alternatives

Buildings influence the environment due to the emission of greenhouse gases, energy use, water consumption, and waste generation. The load-bearing structures of buildings also have a significant share in these emissions. Currently, European and national regulations oblige to focus on sustainability in designs as well. In this research, it is...

Implementing the design for disassembly (DfD) principle in the public procurement process of buildings in the Netherlands: Conceptualization of the implementation of the DfD principle in the public procurement process to achieve circular ambitions

The building industry is stained as unsustainable due to the linear economy model of “take, make and dispose”. There is a need to switch to Circular Economy (CE). One of the ways in which the public clients can stimulate this transition is by implementing the Design for Disassembly (DfD) principle in the public procurement process. However, this...

Accelerating circularity in Built-environment through "Active-procurement": An aggregated assessment framework to make sustainable choices while using secondary material at early design phase

In Europe, 1/3rd of all the products reaching recycling facilities can be sold as secondary materials, and this can be a high-quality replacement for low-quality new products. Circular Material Use rate shows how much material demand was catered by reused or recycled content. The Netherlands was estimated at 29% in 2016 is the highest among all...