Circular Economy in Commercial Real Estate A Study of the Design Process for Increased Reuse in Redevelopment Projects
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Program
Design and construction project management (MPDCM), MSc
Publicerad
2023
Författare
HOLMÉN, IDA
ANGERVALL, SIMON
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
The building and construction industry is currently one of the industries with the
most significant environmental impact. It is responsible for roughly 100 billion tons
of waste yearly. The main reason is that the building and construction industry has
traditionally adopted the linear concept of “take-make-waste” where products are
discarded long before they have researched their end of life. One promising approach
could be to adopt circular processes in line with circular economy principles,
aiming to recover and reuse construction products from existing buildings rather than
resorting to demolition and disposal. Therefore, this thesis aimed to research how
the introduction of circular processes in redevelopment projects affects the design
process and how to facilitate this transition. The research was conducted in
collaboration with Sweco and entailed 15 qualitative interviews covering both pilots and
more ordinary routine projects in commercial real estate.
The research concludes that reuse in the Swedish building and construction industry
is still at an early stage. Large-scale reuse implementation is mainly hindered by
the fragmented market since sourcing reuse from other projects then becomes both
time-consuming and unreliable. Besides, there are no set routines and methods
for approaching reuse in redevelopment projects. The study revealed effects on
the design process by introducing reuse practices, which resulted in three models.
One provides an overview of the changed design process with guidance for when
additional activities related to reuse should be performed, and the second proposes
a step-by-step process for conducting inventories and setting project goals related
to reuse. The third model suggests an order of prioritization for reuse actions in
redevelopment projects. Following this, results suggest that on-site reuse within the
property and, in some cases, just-in-time reuse from the local area can be profitable.
This points to a significant future potential for off-site reuse, sourced from other
projects, to become increasingly profitable as the market matures and logistical
solutions are established.
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Circular Economy in Commercial Real Estate A Study of the Design Process for Increased Reuse in Redevelopment Projects