The linear construction and real estate industry is the largest consumer of planetary raw materials and leaves behind immense amounts of waste. Not only are finite resources used up in the process; the material flows and manufacture of building products generate significant amounts of greenhouse gases. An average new building emits more greenhouse gases during its construction phase than during its 60-year operational phase. Today, building materials are increasingly being recycled during demolition or conversion work, but not nearly enough and usually with a loss of value.
We want to be a part of the solution to the raw material and environmental crises. For this reason, the construction industry must increasingly think and act in cycles and at all scales: from synergies in the neighborhood, to the reuse and repurposing of buildings, their component parts and recyclable construction, and to renewable building materials themselves. Solutions exist, but they need to be better known and applied by professionals.
CAS Circular Construction allows an introduction to this exciting topic.
