Circular Economy in Buildings

[Environmental conscious life begins with food, clothing, housing, transportation, and entertainment]: How to create a circular economy in living

More than half of the world’s raw materials are used to build houses. The construction and use of buildings consume 36% of the world’s energy, generating nearly 40% of the world’s carbon emissions. In order to make steel bars, cement, and other building materials, not only does the manufacturing process consume a lot of energy, but also mining ores has a huge impact on the environment. After the end of the life cycle of a building, a large amount of construction waste becomes more difficult to deal with. How should we solve these problems?

Six levers for a circular building

Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which is committed to promoting the transformation of the global circular economy, and the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment jointly published the report Growth Within: A Circular Economy Vision for a Competitive Europe, and put forward the ReSOLVE framework, transforming the core principles of the circular economy into six levers.

Build an ecosystem that can recycle energy and food independently. It is expected that the circular settlement will become a new community with zero carbon emissions, zero waste, and zero accidents.

In terms of the construction industry, what opportunities do these six levers provide?

The first concept of recycling construction is that, although a building is man-made, it should also be regarded as a part of the ecosystem. Therefore, we should put the ReSOLVE framework back into the life cycle of the building.

Regenerate

In the past, the construction industry paid little attention to the relationship between the building itself and the whole environment, focusing instead on buildings with a bright appearance while ignoring the damage it may cause to the environment. Therefore, the ReSOLVE framework should first pursue “regenerate” by using renewable energy and materials. Through the design and construction stage of buildings, we can create a building that can maintain or even restore the balance of the ecosystem through the selection of building materials and space design, select environmentally-friendly building materials, and incorporate them into the renewable energy system.

We can use the concept of “sharing” in the ReSOLVE framework to maximize the benefits of products so that the same building can be used by more people and meet more needs. If a conference room is idle for half the time, we will say it is a waste. However, in order to meet the needs of different units, the previous way has always been to build more buildings and space, which also means that resource consumption and waste will grow by multiples. However, through the sharing mechanism, the existing building space can be fully flexible to meet different needs. Shared offices and Airbnb are already quite common in Taiwan. They can even rent idle roofs to energy companies for solar power generation.

The roof is leased to an energy company to install solar panels and equipment. The construction and maintenance are handled by the company, and the lessor can also earn profits. At the same time, the concept of “regenerate” and “share” in the ReSOLVE frame could be realized.

The bionics principle is used to imitate the structure of a termite nest so that the building can cool itself, reducing energy use by 35% compared with similar buildings.

Optimise

Speaking of fuel consumption in driving and energy consumption in household appliances; however, in a circular economy, in addition to the efficiency of the use process, more attention should be paid to the overall performance of the system. For example, if the heat insulation and convection mechanism are not well done in the design time of the building, the selection of energy-saving air conditioners will only make up for it. Therefore, the “optimize” here is a systematic adjustment, which includes not only the performance of the product itself, but also the entire life cycle of the product in the manufacturing process and after abandonment, and even the entire supply chain system, by which to improve the efficiency of energy resources.

To implement it in the architecture and construction industry, during design, we can design passive buildings to make new or renovated houses less dependent on air-conditioning. In the use period, many energy-service companies (ESCOs) also assist buildings or plants to systematically optimize energy efficiency. The modular design is adopted in the design period, and the building materials are pre-cast in the plant and then transported to the site for assembly. This can not only reduce the waste generated in the construction period, but also improve the reusability after demolition, and is also an effective measure for optimizing the use of resources.

Loop

If a power-saving device is often broken down and consumed, for which we must buy a new one. From the perspective of the entire life cycle, energy efficiency will be greatly reduced. This is why the ReSOLVE framework also puts forward the concept of “Loop.” Firstly, it emphasizes the durability of the product, and then it advocates maintaining, reusing, refurbishing, and remanufacturing, by which to retain the product parts or building materials in a closed cycle, so that the energy and resources needed for production can be greatly reduced.

The design concept of this community is introduced into the recycling thinking of flexible compartments, exposed pipe configuration, building materials bank, etc., and then combined with the environmental life support systems such as safety control, smart electricity, water network, and self-grown food materials.

Virtualise

From CD to the Spotify service, music no longer has to be displayed and transmitted through physical vehicles, virtually reducing the demand for materials. Many services are now realized through network and cloud technology, and we don’t even need physical stores to buy and sell things. Through this “Virtualize” approach, we can directly or indirectly “dematerialize” and reduce resource use and space requirements. For example, long-distance work can reduce the demand for office space.

Another advantage of virtualization is that, through good information systems, products or materials with entities can be better managed. Madaster, a Dutch online platform for building materials resume of circular economy, creates a set of online resume system based on the complete data of products and building materials, similar to a digital separation, so that all parts of the building can be fully mastered through digital tools.

Smart homes and various networked household appliances, combined with the trend analysis of big data, can find more efficient use patterns and can also find out the frequency and risk factors of various equipment failures from the trend analysis. It can not only prevent them in advance to reduce maintenance costs, but also improve the design of products, helping to reduce consumption and improve efficiency.

Through the optimization of space configuration, considering the illuminance of natural light, the flow of ventilation, the adjustment of indoor temperature, and the use of non-toxic building materials, a healthy house that is comfortable for both body and mind can be created.

Exchange

Finally, the “Exchange” of the ReSOLVE framework emphasizes that we need to be brave to try innovative technologies, materials, or services. For example, the use of pre-cast building materials modules and 3D printing to replace the traditional building materials manufacturing methods can create lighter products with the same functionality, which also changes the process and efficiency of building construction, and significantly reduces manufacturing costs, carbon emissions, and waste generation.

The new agriculture is not only related to farmers, but also a new diet culture upgrade. In addition to letting residents experience the agricultural culture, in the urban farm in the circular settlement, through the recycling mechanism of organic kitchen waste fertilizer, rainwater recycling system, fish-vegetable symbiosis, and so on, which makes agriculture new and more valuable in maintaining ecology, food safety, and maintaining neighborhood feelings.

Taking recycling construction as an opportunity for industrial transformation

In response to the challenges of climate change and overall sustainable development, Taiwan has launched a non-nuclear and low-carbon energy transformation, and the circular economy has become the central plan of national industrial innovation. The architecture and construction industry that use a lot of energy resources, are absolutely indispensable. We can also see that this market trend is gradually emerging in Taiwan, from the TaiSugar's Circular Village to the Nangang Circular Social Housing of Taipei Municipal Government. The six levers of the ReSOLVE framework guide relevant industries to develop their respective circular economy strategies and create the competitiveness needed in the future. We expect more forward-looking entrepreneurs in Taiwan to face the challenge of circular innovation and create a livable environment where people and the environment can coexist.

The atrium of the circular settlement is designed with a diversified green landscape, making it a circular natural ecosystem. This layout helps to adjust the microclimate and increase the living comfort. The multi-level landscaping also creates a scene where residents in the community can share their lives.

Shared knowledge space. Whether it is hardware or software, in the “demonstration house,” we will jointly implement the concept of “circular economy,” provide a communication platform, sponsor education implementation, and provide more room for ideas to be implemented through various exhibition activities or creative spaces.

Share the Hanging Garden. The open space on the roof floor, which is designed with the concept of “Townhouses in the air” brings the farm and garden to the high floors and connects the shared life of the circular settlement to all heights of the building.

Share a healthy life. Each residential building is equipped with a public staircase hall and a terrace, extending the living space of each household to the outside of the door to provide a place for the community to participate in activities, and connects the various aspects of life of residents in the community.

References:

Commonwealth Magazinehttps://reurl.cc/6Le92V

vision magazinehttps://www.gvm.com.tw/article/82064

Cycle Taiwan Foundationhttps://circular-taiwan.org/2019/03/01/column-cw-20190301/

Image Source:

Circular Taiwan Networkhttps://circular-taiwan.org/2019/03/01/column-cw-20190301/

Jiudian United Architectshttps://bioarchbaf.wixsite.com/circular-village-cn

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