Circular Architecture: Designing for a Regenerative Future
The utopia of having complete circular design architecture has long been dreamt of and prophesied, increasingly efforts are made to reuse as much material as possible within creation. Students are taught from a young age the important principles and are introduced to the prospect of the ‘6 Rs of responsibility’ which they should incorporate into their design, these being:
Reuse,
Recycle,
Repair,
Refuse,
Reduce,
Rethink.
Design should attempt to incorporate all aspects of this mantra. We should design our ideations to be easily disassembled like how the Cork house is mentioned in a prior blog. Whilst attempting this we should try to reuse materials from nearby sources and use vernacular materials. Only by sustainably attaining many of the goals of the ‘Six R’s of responsibility, can we reasonably attempt to call our project an environmentally friendly circular economy. The AQA A level design technology book articulates, (Will Potts et al, 2018) “the world has finite resources of oil, natural gas and metals, but the current ‘throw away’ culture and cycle of raw material extraction, processing, use and unconsidered disposal is not a sustainable approach.”
“The traditional approach is for a linear economy (take, make, dispose) where raw materials are taken from the source, made into products which may last from a few minutes to a few years and then disposed of in landfill. A circular economy aims to use materials in a way that ensures a continual cycle of reuse and remanufacture, without utilising wasteful resources or having products end their life in landfill. Resources should be available to keep materials, products and components at the highest level of effectiveness at all points in the life cycle.”
Immediately this reminds me of a recent lecture I went to with RIBA Hampshire given by the practice Purcell Architects.
Charlotte Robinson of Purcell architecture gave a lecture about how they practice historic restoration. This includes buildings in Oxford and also the Winchester cathedral. Every five years, Charlotte conducts the quinquennial inspection of the Cathedral of Winchester where she assesses the quality of the building, what repairs need to be made and the order of priority that these repairs need to be done. This is essential as prioritisation means they can keep the Cathedral to the best standard they can as the church can’t afford to pay for all the complete total repairs.
Figure 1: Photo of Winchester cathedral taken by myself
The lecturer, Charlotte, said that you could donate £100,000 towards the restoration of the cathedral and it still would have more work that would be needed doing. The relevance of this to an architectural circular economy is tied. Architects need to choose similar qualities of stone so that they resemble the existing architecture and don’t look out of place. Where they can, they should strive to reuse pieces of stone, this is where the notion of ‘circular economy’ comes in; the principle of reusing materials within your design. For example using deteriorated pieces of stone for other features of mansonry, and where this can’t be achieved, using locally sourced materials.
The ‘mobius loop’ circular cycle of material is becoming ever more important. This is greatly articulated by architect and writer Caroline O’Donnell, who opens the start of her book ‘The architecture of waste’ by stating: “Global material crises are imminent. In the very near future, recycling will no longer be a choice made by those concerned about the environment, but a necessity for all. This means that a paradigm shift in domestic behavior, manufacturing, construction, and design is inevitable.” Indeed, this is becoming our new reality: we must either adapt to recycling or fall into the burden of a world filled of rubbish. This sentiment is exacerbated by Giliam Dokter et al, who compellingly writes “According to the Circular EconomyAction Plan, the potential of the CE (Circular Economy) to tackle environmental challenges is considered to be significant in the built environment, due to its high impact.
Ultimately, the future of our planet is in our hands, and as architects it is our duty to maximise ecologically sustainable practice wherever and whenever possible. Only then may we be able to reverse the extreme amount of damage that has been done.
References
Dokter, G., Thuvander, L., & Rahe, U. (2021). How circular is current design practice? Investigating perspectives across industrial design and architecture in the transition towards a circular economy. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 26, 692–708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.12.032
O’Donnell, C., & Pranger, D. (2020). The Architecture of Waste. Routledge.
Potts, W., Morrison, J., Granger, I., & Sumpner, D. (2018). AQA AS/A-level design and technology. Product design. Hodder Education.
Tedesco, S., Montacchini, E., & Andreotti, J. (2025). Access Manager. Ebsco.com. https://research.ebsco.com/c/qgabbp/viewer/pdf/mfcy7box3b
Image thumbnail: The Circular Economy_©ecoideaz
Achitects mentioned: https://www.purcelluk.com/
