CIRCULAR STRATEGIES TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The Circular Economy is placed within the 12th Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations entitled ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’. It directly addresses overconsumption within the field of construction and the crisis of increasing scarcity of raw materials. It aims to mitigate unnecessary use of finite and renewable resources but focuses on the potential of reuse and re-/upcycling of waste materials from demolition sites. It opens the door to novel approaches in design where material awareness and the impact of material use are key in architectural design. Similarly, the 13th Sustainable Development Goal of ‘Climate Action’ is also addressed by the Circular Economy. The most sustainable material is arguably any material we do not use. Such a strategy both mitigates new material use and unnecessary processing. Production of building materials is responsible for up to 40% of CO2 emission and thus hindering material consumption addresses scarcity and Global Warming Potentials.