Detail 11/2022: Circual Economy

Reuse Building Materials

The industry generates 230 tonnes of construction and demolition waste annually – about 55 % of all German waste. Given these numbers, new builds are no longer in keeping with the times. Instead, we need to ask how we can use existing building stock as a resource, reusing bricks, windows, or facade pieces. If the aim is net zero, demolition and landfill disposal must be avoided at all costs. Today, a progressive architecture is one that takes part in the circular economy and reuses building materials.

This issue presents buildings designed with this in mind: Powerhouse Company’s Floating Office in Rotterdam can be moved as a whole or disassembled into reusable elements. In Basel, Baubüro in mainly used recycled building components to refurbish and extend the Elys cultural and commercial building. In Amsterdam, Cepezed designed a temporary courthouse whose dismantling and relocation were planned from the outset. Our special Green section rounds out this look at the circular economy by addressing buildings’ energy consumption.