Design Approaches Definitions

Design for Adaptability, Longevity and Disassembly

The greatest challenge for circular design is prolonging the building products’ life span. Different design approaches have been developed that aim at doing so that can either be used separately or in combination. In this video, Stijn presents the three most common design approaches that are related to circular design.

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Main Takeaways

  • Design for longevity aims at designing buildings that can withstand the test of time.
  • Design for disassembly opts at connecting products in a reversible way should allow dismantling them without reducing their remaining value.
  • Design for adaptability allows reconfigurations but also extensions or even partial dismantling of a building.

Further Reading

Galle, W., Cambier, C., Elsen, S., Lanckriet, W., Poppe, J., Tavernier, I., Vandervaeren, C., De Temmerman, N. (2019). Building a circular economy: design qualities to guide and inspire building designers and clients. Brussels: Vrije Universiteit Brussel. DOWNLOAD REPORT & DOWNLOAD CARDS

Author

Stijn Brancart
Stijn Brancart
Assistant Professor

Dr. Ing. Stijn Brancart is Assistant Professor of structural design in the Department of Architectural Engineering & Technology at the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture. His research is focused on sustainable structural design and more specifically circular structural design, adaptive and responsive structures. Stijn teaches different courses on load-bearing structures in the BSc of Architecture. His research interests are centred around sustainable and circular structural design, more specifically including design for change, modular structures, design for disassembly and bio-based structures. Trained as an architectural engineer, Stijn’s research and teaching activities are situated at the intersection of design and engineering. 

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Circularity for Educators

The platform is intended to provide with content on either circularity or pedagogy for and about circularity. It is one of the outcomes of the Circular Impulse Initiative (CII), a project intending to enhance the integration of circularity in the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment education. The platform mainly aims to help tutors get better acquainted with circularity in the built environment by providing a series of resources on this subject that they can either view to get better informed or directly share with their students in class or online. A large number of the Faculty's professors and researchers have contributed substantially both in creating a coherent narrative for circularity in the built environment as well as further elaborating on different aspects of it. Besides this one, a new platform for interaction and direct exchange was also established in parallel that we call ‘Educators for Circularity‘. This one offers the opportunity for all of us to meet and share our experiences and learn from one another.

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