Circular Building Design: An Analysis of Barriers and Drivers for a Circular Building Sector

Circular building design could significantly reduce the environmental impact of buildings and the pressure on natural resources. However, most buildings today are not designed according to the principles of the circular economy. Most literature has focused on either methods for quantifying the lifecycle analysis of buildings and materials, or on innovative circular building materials, but not much is known about the design process of circular buildings and how architects are dealing with translating the principles of the circular economy to the building sector. A series of semi-structured interviews with architects and consultants that have engaged in circular building design has been conducted to identify the barriers and drivers of the transformation towards a circular building sector. Interviews were analysed using qualitative coding analysis. The conservativeness of the building industry, the lack of political priority and the dependency throughout the building industry were found to be the main barriers, while a supportive client with a well-defined assignment and idea was considered to be the main driver. The contribution of this paper to key actors in the building sector is to identify the main barriers and drivers for a circular building sector.