Rethinking Circular Architectural Design as a Participatory and Inclusive practice

Circular Design is a fundamental concept inside Circular Economy (CE) initiatives aiming to achieve sustainability goals, especially in the Architecture field. Nonetheless, many applications of CE are failing to: reduce absolute resource input; address issues in current economic order; and balance the three sustainability dimensions – environmental, economic and social. In addition, users’ participation in Circular Design initiatives remains rarely disclosed. Motivated by those issues, this strategic basic research proposes a novel framework for rethinking Circular Design as a Participatory and inclusive practice in Architecture by using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools. Two projects will be used as testbeds: 'Woonbox' and 'Solidary Mobile Housing', both realized by Samenlevingsopbouw in collaboration with Altering Practices for Urban Inclusion Research Group. The research aims at: 1. developing an Integrative Conceptual Framework bridging Circular Design and Participatory Design; 2. Exploring circular and participatory solutions in the existing projects; 3. Implementing social-spatial aspects as Key Performance Indicators in Circular Building Assessment tools; 5. Testing existing ICT tools; 6. developing guidelines for socio-spatial inclusion in Participatory Circular Design; 7. Creating an Interactive 3D-platform for Participatory Circular Design in Architecture, allowing involvement of multiple participants along different stages of the design process.