Circular Construction

Issue

According to expert statements, more than 50 percent of the waste generated in industrialized countries comes from the construction industry. Encouraging recycling is one of the key measures for a sustainable construction industry. A “Circular Design” of components and structures is urgently required. How can buildings be designed from the start in such a way that their components can become part of a comprehensive circular economy?

Approach

In the pilot project “circular design_BAU”, the Cluster asked itself exactly this question. The program was set up together with the “Ecodesign” research group at the Vienna University of Technology. In a series of five workshops, the participants should learn how building components and business models can be optimized in the sense of the circular economy and how to carry out an environmental assessment of building products. The project is sponsored by the FFG (Austrian Research Promtion Agency) program Innovationcamps

The cluster is currently developing another format for its corporate network: On the “circular test bench”, building components, production processes and business models are screened for their recycling potential according to the 10 “R’s” and optimizations are determined.

Result

These measures represent the first steps towards establishing a circular mindset in the Lower Austrian construction industry.

Contact

Green Building Cluster of Lower Austria
Michaela Smertnig
+43 664 601 19664