Circular building - Starting at the Façade

• CIRCULAR SOCIETY
• DESIGN FOR CHANGE
• TALK

When it comes to striving for circularity, collaboration often is the challenge requiring a lot of change. What happens when you, as an entire chain, remain responsible for (parts of) a building? How do you address those processes practically (and legally)? And what changes about the role of the architect? VMRG is the branch organization in the facade industry and has taken a leading position in circular development. In doing so, they work more as a business than a traditional association. Based on the knowledge they’ve acquired, they are increasingly being asked to be involved in commercial projects. Together with Houthoff they have developed a legal ownership model that has gathered wide interest for use.

Of course, the role of design and architects changes with a circular building. The arrows are often aimed at standardizing, but that can be (perceived as) very restricting for creativity. An interesting opening: architects generally say that they consider user responsibility, but end up leaving their own stamp on it. This is mostly caused by the fact that they don’t have a contractual responsibility for the building. They are held responsible for delivery, not for management and maintenance afterwards. Other contract forms are needed, in which you are rewarded or punished together. The VMRG is thinking about this, and is researching the possibilities for producer responsibility in various projects. As they move along, they develop pilots that can take construction to the next circular level. Take a dive in this method of VMRG and CIRCO.