European Commission; Laufzeit: 2019 - 2023
Projektleitung: Kuchta, Kerstin
Stellvertende Projektleitung: Doostdar Kejdehi, Mahsa
Mitarbeitende: Doostdar Kejdehi, Mahsa; zum Brock, Janus; Morales Rapallo, Ariana
Website: https://www.circuit-project.eu/
According to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, ‘the construction and demolition of buildings account for around one-third of global material consumption and waste’. We are extracting and dumping resources at an unsustainable rate, and with global construction output projected to grow 85 % by 2030, there is an urgent need for the construction sector to transition from a linear into a circular economy. Though various techniques have been trialled and piloted, myriad barriers such as legislation, lack of knowledge and scepticism prevent new approaches from being widely adopted.
CIRCuIT, which stands for Circular Construction in Regenerative Cities is a project funded by the EU Commission Horizon 2020, which brings together four European cities, Hamburg, Helsinki, Copenhagen, and London to undertake a fully circular and regenerative transition. This amazing project aims to move away from conventional construction practices into a more circular, eco-friendly, and regenerative construction approach. The project involves demolition practices, construction material recovering, building elements reuse, structural adaptability for future needs, and much more. With the collaboration of 36 demonstrators and the participation of multiple city partners, the CIRCuIT project will provide the tools of today to transition to a regenerative and circular tomorrow while sustainably reducing the extraction and use of virgin material and promoting a better and more eco-friendly building behavior.
CIRCuIT aims to bridge the gap between theory, practice and policy by delivering a series of demonstrations, case studies, events and other dissemination activities that showcase how circular construction approaches can be scaled and replicated across Europe to enable cities to build more sustainably and transition to a circular economy on a wider scale.
The overall objective of CIRCuIT is to implement circular economy in the value chain of the built environment and to enable cities to initiate circular transitions.
Throughout Copenhagen, Hamburg, Helsinki Region and Greater London innovative solutions will be implemented through 36 pilot projects. The solutions will include:
- Urban mining and reverse cycles (Dismantling buildings to re-use and recycling of materials)
- Extending building life through transformation and refurbishment
- Designing for disassembly and flexible construction
- Developing urban planning instruments to support cities in implementing circular construction solutions
- Implementing Circularity Hub which will include a data platform to evaluate the progress of circular economy and regenerative capacity
- Setting up a knowledge sharing structure in the form of the CIRCuIT Academy, to promote upscaling of solutions
Expected impacts
- Increase the regenerative capacity within the four cities
- Reduce yearly consumption of virgin materials by 20% in new built environments
- Show cost savings of 15 %
