In recent years, the use of timber as a sustainable construction material has gained increasing attention driven by environmental policy incentives and growing demand for low-carbon alternatives. The idea of separate approaches to the social and technical systems upon transitioning towards timber could no longer suffice for the complex construction sector. We therefore investigate, (1) what are the socio-technical dynamics driving the transition to timber building projects? and (2) how can the transition to timber be facilitated within the complex and multifaceted residential construction industry from a Technological Innovation System (TIS) framework perspective? The socio-technical dynamics identified following the analysis of 17 semi-structured interviews in the Netherlands are leadership, standardization, product-based construction, stakeholder alignment, and business case viability. Theoretically, we argue that the timber transition requires a comprehensive approach across production systems and service delivery. Practically, this research identifies enabling processes that can support learning and legitimacy in timber construction projects. ... Read more

As the construction industry increasingly adopts digital technologies, recent studies emphasize digital twins as essential tools for managing construction projects and automating workflows. Although research has advanced the technical aspects of digital twins, there is a notable gap in examining human performance factors, particularly situation awareness – a cognitive process crucial for recognizing, comprehending, and anticipating changes in the work environment. With greater reliance on automation, neglecting this critical capability can lead to severe oversights, particularly during disruptions. To address this gap, we conducted a qualitative study grounded in a theoretical framework to explore the situation awareness requirements under different disruption scenarios in two contrasting construction contexts: offsite production and onsite assembly. First, drawing on 16 semi-structured interviews and non-participant field observations, we employ goal-directed task analysis to reveal the distinct information needs in each context. Second, through a comprehensive content analysis of the interview narratives, we identify the dynamics of gaining and maintaining situation awareness and provide digital twin design recommendations. Findings indicate that managers must shift from a macro-level overview to a micro-level detail in offsite production, requiring digital twin displays with adaptable granularity. In contrast, onsite assembly demands an intensely iterative approach to situational awareness, which calls for comprehensive real-time digital twin displays that support quick back-and-forth assessments. This study contributes by formalizing experts’ background knowledge, which can serve as a valuable basis for creating context-sensitive digital twin systems that better support human decision-making in offsite construction contexts and beyond. ... Read more

De Nederlandse overheid heeft als doel gesteld om in 2050 een volledig circulaire economie te realiseren, waarin primair grondstofgebruik en afvalproductie worden geminimaliseerd. De bouwsector speelt door het intensieve materiaalgebruik een cruciale rol in deze transitie. Dit artikel bespreekt hoe deze ambitie vorm krijgt in de praktijk en beschrijft de ontwikkeling van een raamwerk dat verschillende circulaire indicatoren integreert, specifiek ontwikkeld voor en door de Nederlandse bouwsector: Het Nieuwe Normaal (HNN), als 1.0 versie gelanceerd in december 2023, gevolgd door de 1.1 versie in december 2024. ... Read more

The construction sector is a significant contributor to global waste, highlighting the urgent need for circular practices. While the construction lifecycle includes phases such as construction, maintenance, renovation, and demolition, renovation is particularly complex—and integrating circularity adds further challenges. In circular renovation, material reuse and recovery are central goals. This study focuses on circular renovation within the construction sector, addressing a gap in current research through a systematic literature review of 121 publications. Based on the findings, a three-step process—Planning, Assessing, and Routing—is proposed, and associated methods, approaches, and tools are reviewed. Drawing on these insights, a new framework is developed from a meso-scale perspective, aimed at identifying material reuse cycles. Whereas most existing studies focus on individual projects (micro scale) or urban systems (macro scale), this research emphasizes the underexplored meso scale, promoting reuse across multiple projects through collaborative networks. This approach supports more sustainable construction practices and advances the broader objectives of the circular economy. ... Read more

Despite growing government and market interest to use Circular Building Hubs for reusing construction components, few academic articles have been written about them. We know little about the potential of hubs to answer to the challenges of reuse in the present and future, and their potential to drive systemic changes towards a circular economy. Using various qualitative research methods, this article aims to respond to this research gap by applying social practice theory and the multilevel perspective on past and future practice reconfigurations within the system-of-practices in which these hubs reside. Results show that within hubs reconfiguration from demolition to deconstruction and repair and refurbishment practices have been developed. However, selling components remains challenging, and procurement for reuse and design skill remain underdeveloped. Practitioners expect the system-of-practices to professionalize in the coming years, resulting in market growth for secondary components. Long term, practitioners expect hubs to shrink or disappear because the balance between supply and demand will be controlled digitally. Hubs are therefore a driver for the transition, but only as intermediate step, not as solution for a circular economy. This article is particularly interesting for academics studying CE and transitions, and policy makers interested in developing Circular Building Hubs. ... Read more

The construction sector is a significant contributor to global waste. With growing concerns about sustainability, adopting circularity in construction projects has become increasingly important. The urban infrastructure sector has characteristics that present valuable opportunities for circularity. This research explores these opportunities by focusing on the renovation of urban infrastructure components through a multi-project perspective. This innovative approach in the field of circular economy reveals new possibilities for material reuse by integrating material flows across multiple projects. By identifying the supply and demand of secondary materials, designers can incorporate them during the redesign phase. Additionally, the synchronization of project phases can be optimized in advance, as material donors and receivers are pre-determined. This research contributes to the field of circular renovation in construction. Project planners, municipalities, designers, contractors, and other stakeholders involved in the renovation process can leverage this novel approach to enhance the circularity and sustainability of their projects. The outcomes of this research can therefore contribute to the goal 12 (responsible consumption and production) and 9 (industries, innovation and infrastructure) of sustainable development goals. This paper presents the initial results and outcomes of a PhD journey. The methods and results will be demonstrated in later studies. ... Read more

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector is in need of a transition towards a circular economy. This article offers an analysis of two cases with a wide variation regarding project dynamics in the Netherlands. Alignments and misalignments were analyzed between practices concerning seven design strategies for circular design based on social practice theory and concepts from the multi-level perspective. Results show that many misalignments still hinder the transition, mostly concerning the use of secondary resources, such as notions regarding quality, beauty, and safety among project team members or rapid decision-making processes of the municipality that misalign with the uptake of design with secondary resources. This article offers directions for reconfiguration, such as better tuning between project planning and urban planning and taking up a more flexible stance regarding the function of the building. This research is interesting for practitioners and researchers focusing on the transition towards a circular economy in the AEC sector. ... Read more

Researchers employ many different approaches to study transitions towards more sustainable futures, of which Sustainability Transitions Research and Social Practice Theory are often used. These approaches offer complementary concepts that are helpful to analyse, explain, forecast, and drive sustainability transitions, e.g. heuristics on changing institutions (Sustainability Transitions Research) or dynamics to change behaviour through practice development (Social Practice Theory). However, despite first attempts, it remains unclear how the approaches can be used together. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to expose crossover frameworks in which these approaches are used together, elaborating on conditions that make this possible, and the strengths and weaknesses of specific crossover frameworks. A systematic literature review has been conducted, investigating the potentials and the limitations for crossovers between Social Practice Theory and Sustainability Transitions Research by analysing the approaches according to the different ontologies and theories and then analysing frameworks that have been created so far. This research elaborates on six crossover frameworks that have been created that all have diverse strengths, such as the ability to conceptualize early transitional changes or finding points of resistance in transitions. All the found crossover frameworks made use of either the multilevel perspective or transition management. Other frameworks of transition research have not been found. This research shows that there has been surprisingly little research to crossover frameworks that incorporate an element of time. The exposition following from this study is interesting for researchers and policymakers working on sustainability transitions and sets an agenda for further framework development. ... Read more

Within the framework of 'Blueprints for messy cities? Navigating the interplay of order and complexity at the "Reinventing the City" conference, this paper delves into a critical aspect of circular urban development and the assessment of building material reusability. As cities like Amsterdam strive for greater liveability, resilience, and sustainability, a good understanding of circularity becomes imperative. In the dynamic landscape of urban innovation spanning mobility, renewable energy, climate adaptation, and digitization, our research focuses on the intricate domain of building material reusability. We integrate key factors influencing construction product reusability into our assessment framework. The intention of my ongoing PhD program is to establish a framework that incorporates various factors, including practical, financial, organizational, and others. These factors constitute integral elements guiding our decision-making process. The primary contribution of this study lies in the development of a BIM-integrated method designed to quantify the material reusability value. This method, rooted in numerical analysis, focuses specifically on material life expectancy. The lifespan, or in other words, the age of the material, plays a crucial role in determining the material reusability value. As the initial step in my PhD research, gaining insight into the reusability level involves investigating the impact of age. The benefits of this method are manifold. Firstly, it serves as a forecasting tool, enabling stakeholders to anticipate the amount and quality of materials obtainable from buildings at the end of their life cycle. This foresight facilitates strategic planning for material reuse, recycling, and disposal, contributing to more sustainable urban development practices. Secondly, the method provides vital information about the categories of materials resulting from deconstruction and demolition processes, namely, those suitable for reuse, recycling, and disposal. This insight assists stakeholders in making informed decisions regarding proper equipment and resource allocation for each category, thereby optimizing the efficiency of the overall process. As urbanization continues to reshape our global landscape, cities emerge as catalysts for transformative change. This transformative potential is exemplified in pioneering initiatives like Urbiquay. Urbiquay, embodies the essence of urban evolution, showcasing a commitment to sustainable urban development and progressive methodologies. The method presented in this paper is developed to contribute to such transformative endeavours, particularly in the Logiquay project's Work Package 2 (WP2), which is also my ongoing PhD research. The method's ability to forecast the obtainable materials, categorize them based on reuse potential, and guide decision making on equipment and resource allocation aligns with the objectives of Logiquay, WP2. It bridges the gap between innovative research and practical, on the ground application, offering a pathway for cities to integrate sustainability into their ongoing urban transformation. ... Read more

In Nederland worden te weinig woningen geproduceerd om aan de vraag te voldoen. Conceptuele woningbouw biedt voor een deel van de opgave de kans om de productie te verhogen en te versnellen. In de markt is een grote variëteit van conceptaanbieders aanwezig. Conceptuele woningen worden in veel verschillende verschijningsvormen aangeboden en ook de aanbieders van deze woningen tonen onderling verschillen. Uit dit onderzoek blijkt dat opdrachtgevers het lastig vinden om onderscheid te maken tussen de verschillende aanbieders. Daarnaast geven conceptaanbieders aan dat ze als producent gezien willen worden en niet als aannemer. Het doel van dit onderzoek was de ontwikkeling van een hulpmiddel waarmee voor afnemers relevante eigenschappen van verschillende woningconcepten in kaart kunnen worden gebracht. De hoofdvraag van dit onderzoek is: Hoe onderscheiden de in Nederland beschikbare woningconcepten zich op voor opdrachtgevers relevante eigenschappen? Met dit onderzoek hebben we eigenschappen geïdentificeerd op basis waarvan opdrachtgevers op een eenvoudige wijze potentiële aanbieders en concepten kunnen selecteren. De eigenschappen zullen worden opgenomen in de Conceptenboulevard.nl van het Netwerk Conceptueel Bouwen (NCB), een online platform, waarop woningconcepten met elkaar kunnen worden vergeleken. Met dit onderzoek trachten we de woningbouw opgave te versnellen doordat opdrachtgevers makkelijker een preselectie kunnen maken van partijen die geschikt zijn voor een bepaalde opgave. ... Read more

Deze leidraad gaat over circulair ontwerpen, hét moment waarin circulaire ambities vorm krijgen. De keuzes die dan worden gemaakt, hebben immers een grote invloed op het resultaat. Maar dan moeten we er natuurlijk wel voor zorgen, dat de juiste keuzes worden gemaakt. En ook moeten alle betrokkenen bij het ontwerpproces dezelfde doelen en dezelfde oplossingen nastreven. Het zal duidelijk zijn dat goede afspraken hierover de ruis in de communicatie aanzienlijk vermindert en er uiteindelijk een effectiever ontwerpproces ontstaat. Met deze leidraad ‘Circulair ontwerpen’ leggen we die afspraken vast. Het gaat daarbij om afspraken die geschikt zijn voor de bouwsector in de breedte (woning- en utiliteitsbouw en GWW/infra), met, waar relevant, specificering naar de deelsectoren. En ook om afspraken die zich niet alleen richten op ontwerpers maar ook op alle andere rollen die een bijdrage kunnen of moeten leveren aan een circulair ontwerp en de realisatie daarvan. De afspraken aan ontwerpers moeten uiteraard voldoende vrijheid geven en geen belemmering vormen voor innovatie. ... Read more

The Paris Agreement requires building retrofitting practices to be more efficient and effective. However, the current practice for building energy retrofitting is lacking behind, and one reason for that is the time-consuming process of energy credit evaluation. Energy performance assessment such as BREEAM-NL in the Netherlands could apply a more automatic approach with the help of building information modelling (BIM) for an efficient building energy retrofitting evaluation process. However, to what extent BIM can help in accelerating energy performance evaluation in the BREEAM-NL certification process is under-examined. This paper first combines literature findings with practical interviews from a case study organization to present a holistic overview of the potential for automating energy-related credits evaluation in BREEAM-NL using BIM. To understand the possible impacts of such transition, a responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed (RACI) matrix is developed to map the impacts on different actors involved. Furthermore, to help practitioners in an organizational context to adopt a BIM-enabled energy credits assessment workflow, the case study organization is studied to (1) understand their current BIM use status; (2) propose a suitable starting point to take toward a BIM-enabled energy performance assessment for building energy retrofitting. Finally, the proposed starting point is demonstrated using a customized application, and the project team’s feedback is used to verify its efficiency and future directions are identified. ... Read more

Circularity aims to make waste obsolete by both closing and narrowing resource loops and by extending the lifespan of materials and products. This fundamentally different approach to construction practices necessitates a completely different method of organising the construction process. The rounds of decision-making undertaken by different actors at particular moments in the construction process have a significant role to play in this regard. Consequently, this research aims to analyse current circular practices for both the multi-actor environment and the decision-making process. An analytical framework is developed based on the theoretically-informed assumption that actors are responsible for decision-making and that circular strategies are an effective means through which to integrate circularity within the construction process. This analytical framework is applied to three circular building cases in the Netherlands, by drawing upon stakeholder interviews and documentation. It can be concluded that: some conventional actors have acquired knowledge on circularity; and that there is an emergent group of expert actors specialising in circularity. Both types of actors are a prerequisite for implementing circular strategies at both the beginning and end-of-life phase of a building; and should be involved early on to influence decision-making on circularity, especially concerning the long-lived layers of a building. ... Read more

The aim of this paper is to better understand the dynamics of circular construction projects and how these interorganizational projects contribute to the transition towards a circular economy. It is essential that the construction sector develops and adopts interorganizational initiatives to support the transition to a circular and low-carbon construction economy. A benefit of being involved in such initiatives is that organizations reflect on the emergence and acceptance of new practices related to changing organizational roles and responsibilities. In this paper, we study eight circular construction projects within the context of an interorganizational initiative to stimulate the transition towards a circular economy by exploring insights from evaluations thereof. We build upon literature from Sustainability Transitions Research (STR), circular construction research, and interorganizational project studies. Our findings show three clusters of dynamics that are relevant in the realization of circular ambitions in interorganizational construction projects: (1) prerequisites, (2) temporal dynamics in interorganizational projects, and (3) contextual influences. These insights highlight factors that enable the realization of circular ambitions in construction projects and contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of interorganizational construction projects and their role in the context of STR. ... Read more

In dit hoofdstuk staan de verschillende aspecten van de rol van een bouwkundig ingenieur centraal. Allereerst wordt ingegaan op de verschillende rollen die een bouwkundige ingenieur vervult in het projecten netwerk, over het algemeen als medewerker binnen een private of publieke organisatie, zoals gemeentes, architectenbureaus, ingenieursbureaus, ontwikkelaars, bouwbedrijven en projectmanagement bureaus. ... Read more

Circularity aims to reduce waste by closing and narrowing resource loops and by extending the lifetime of materials and products. As a consequence of this fundamentally different approach to construction practices, implementation entails a different organization of the building process. The purpose of this research is to make recommendations with respect to the actor network and the decision-making process to facilitate implementation of circularity in construction practices. First, a theoretical framework is developed to structure and prioritize decision-making to implement circularity based on resource and value strategies. Second, this framework is applied to three circular building cases in the Netherlands, relying on stakeholder interviews and documentation. These cases include a renovation project, a newly built project, and a transformation project. Third, analysis of the case study data demonstrates the actor network and decision-making process including the following aspects: Actors, resources, relations, positions, influence, and decision rounds. It can be concluded that: i) some conventional actors have acquired knowledge on circularity; and ii) expert actors emerged who have specialized in circularity. Both types of actors are a prerequisite iii) to implement circular strategies for the beginning and end phase of the building's lifetime; and iv) should be involved early on (in the design-making processes) to influence decision-making on circularity, especially concerning the long-lived layers of a building. ... Read more

Project-based firms have to capture value from the projects in which they engage. This can be challenging as firms need to reconcile project goals and organizational goals while attempting to avoid the slippage of value to other actors. Drawing on interviews with architects and clients, this research reveals how architectural firms used the strategies of postponing financial revenues in a project, compensating for loss of financial revenues across projects and rejecting a project to accept or mitigate the slippage of financial value, and to avoid the potential slippage of professional value in projects. With these strategies firms attempt to enhance their overall benefits. The study contributes to the literature on project business by showing how a more nuanced conceptualization of value slippage is particularly helpful to theoretically explain and practically manage
the value capture of project-based firms through both single project and project portfolio decisions. ... Read more

his study investigates whether integrative and collaborative practices of the construction industry can be exclusively attributed to integrated project-delivery methods or whether traditional project-delivery methods also foster integration within project-based design teams. Project managers assessed team collaboration and the integration of teams into 46 construction industry projects in The Netherlands. Explanatory factor analysis (EFA) was used to identify the components that explained collaboration and integration within project design teams. Using analysis of variance of factor scores, the main finding of the study was that, in the construction industry, collaboration is an independent component in integrative and collaborative practices that can be reliably assessed in research. Furthermore, this study provides evidence suggesting that both traditional and integrated project-delivery methods might lead to collaboration over time. The third finding is that different project-delivery methods were not significantly different in terms of the dimensions of integration and collaboration, except in the component of inclusive decision making within the building team and for strategic partnering. The findings suggest that relying on the type of project-delivery method is not sufficient for managers communicating about the level of supply chain integration and collaboration. ... Read more