A circular economy is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems. This stage will consider the benefits of a circular economy and explores how the construction sector can dramatically reduce its consumption of raw materials and the generation of waste.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
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- Circular Economy
In the wake of changes to the UK building regulations clamping down on the use of ‘combustible materials’ for tall building façades the use of timber has been seriously undermined - shattering confidence in it at a time when its embodied carbon credentials make it the prime material choice. Waugh Thistleton Architects, pioneers in the use of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) for residential buildings, are working on the ‘New Model Building’ which overcomes the recent restrictions, and poses an innovative design typology for residential buildings of all types.
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For the last two centuries, world economies have been based on growth. But we know that infinite economic growth is impossible – unsustainable. Sustainable design is no longer enough. Regenerative design is not restrictive, to reduce emissions; it creates restorative systems of social and environmental justice that incentivise behaviour change and revitalize human and natural resources. Freed from an economic system dependent on growth, buildings are not profit centres; they must restore our relationships with each other and the natural world. How can we engage today’s construction industry in this profoundly challenging project?
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- Circular Economy
Start-ups from LWARB’s Advance London Advisory Programme are working to drive circular economy innovation in the built environment.
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A Circular Economy doesn’t just mean an economy, it means society as a whole. Transformations in attitudes and behaviours are driving or being driven by the circular idea; we explore the potential triumphs, the maybes and the definite downsides of circularity’s social impact.
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No material has ever revolutionised the way we live, work and produce to the extent of plastic – the miracle of the 1950s. Why is it such an amazing material, how is it stifling us, and what – if anything - we can do about it?
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- Circular Economy
In which some potentially provocative proposals about the pursuit of profit and productivity as opposed to stable, healthy and happy urban living are aired – remembering that such ideas are already being floated in the boardrooms of responsible companies and corporations.
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An analysis of exemplar projects from the worlds of architecture, design, and the circular economy supply chain reveals a range of strategies, some of the more practicable – and cheaper – than others.
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The ‘why didn't anyone think of that before?’ moment. Blue-sky thinking and research mixes with innovation in use and re-use of existing materials; sympathetic harnessing and harvesting of the richness of the natural world is not the only way to go
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We drill down into existing and proposed models for urban circular economies and consider a whole new range of analytics and metrics.
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The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) has identified that by 2036 a Circular Economy could provide London with net benefits of up to £7bn per annum, with up to 12,000 new jobs. How and where do we start making our cities circular, where is current best practice and what can we learn?
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It’s a stretch of the imagination to see similarities between the small Sussex county town of Lewes and the great metropolis of New York City. When it comes to circularity, however, the parallels are telling. Achieving an urban circular economy addresses the multiple issues of community wealth building, employment, training and education; the need for systemic change and new business models is imperative at any scale. This double case study delivers practical information and inspiration for the re-imagining of both local and national economies.
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Reduce, reuse, recycle, recover… remanufacture? The mission to reduce non-renewable raw material input and increase re-use of materials in construction is not new, and we are making progress. We consider the technological – and attitudinal – developments we need to hit ambitious targets.
