1. Bio-based and regenerative design and construction

One way to accelerate the circular transition is to replace materials such as concrete, steel, glass and brick with widely available, local, biobased materials. These are natural materials based on resources that can quickly be replenished, such as hemp, flax, reed, straw and seaweed. Given the specific properties of these biobased materials, however, we will need to develop new design, implementation and maintenance strategies. The Circular Building research line studies how biobased materials age, how they can be applied and more.

2. High-quality reuse of building materials

Every year, 90,000 tonnes of insulating glass is scrapped from buildings. Until recently, this glass was recycled and ground into glass granulate, which is downcycled as a raw material for glass jars and glass wool insulation. Thanks in part to the Reused Insulating Glass project of the Circular Building research line, the latest generation of HR++ glass can now contain 50% reused glass, with a new project aiming to develop 100% reused glass.

Other research focuses on reusing insulation materials such as mineral wool and glass wool from demolished buildings. Researchers are also exploring ways to design building components so as to make them easier to dismantle in order to recover their constituent materials, which would facilitate reuse.

3. Circular Values of Architecture: designing long-lifespan buildings

Most buildings are still made of concrete, steel, brick and glass, all of which are associated with high carbon emissions. As a matter of fact, producing these materials only makes sense for buildings that will remain in use for at least 120 years. A crucial factor in achieving this long lifespan is designing buildings in such a way that they can be repurposed over time and that they can be adapted to changing circumstances. To help architects do just that, researchers developed Building for all Futures, a game in which they can explore possible future scenarios and what they would mean for a residential building.

Ed Melet, Associate professor of Circular Building

Ed Melet is Associate professor of Circular Building in the Climate Resilient City research group. He received his PhD from TU Delft in 2017 with Activerende Gevels (Activating Facades), a study on buildings that change how people behave. Since then, he has led the Circular Building research line, first as a senior lecturer and now as an associate professor. Before joining AUAS in 2002, he was an engineering editor/researcher at trade magazine the Architect. He has also published in national and international journals.

Connecting education and research

The Circular Building research line always links architecture and building technology, and connects research and teaching. The knowledge gained by the team is therefore immediately integrated into the various graduate courses within the Built Environment programme.

Every year, 200 graduate students conduct research into a circular built environment in research projects on biobased & regenerative materials, reused materials and long-life buildings. In addition, fourth-year students from different majors and programmes work together in projects on themes that the research line develops with lecturers.

Partners of the Associate professor of Circular Building

Circular Building works with the central government, the City of Amsterdam, SMEs, industry organisations, engineering and consultancy firms, contractors, housing corporations, other knowledge institutions, and more. Its research is funded in part by a grant from the SIA taskforce for applied research, part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).