Today’s construction industry is the most resource-intensive and wasteful industry which causes far-reaching socio-environmental problems. As a consequence, there is a growing call to change this way of constructing. The circular economy (CE) concept is put forward as a promising alternative. Creating a circular model of material use and considering buildings as valuable material banks are regarded as the pivot towards a sustainable and resilient built environment. However, building designers are lost in the shuffle on how this circularity thinking can be integrated in building design. Moreover, at present, the multifaceted profession of architects causes a complex and packed workflow, where fitting in innovative concepts is considered more of a burden than a relief.
Therefore, the main objective of this research is to develop actionable knowledge and insights that enables designers to make better-informed design choices during the design process and so support the transition towards a circular economy in the building sector.
Through participative action research (PAR), where numerous interviews and workshops were held with building designers, infused with literature research on sustainability interventions, the thesis offers a framework of circular interventions that can be undertaken during the design process. A second outcome is a methodological contribution to identify, prototype, and validate such interventions. Following that, this research produced some ready-to-use tools for building designers, such as an online platform and workshop formats. Ultimately, the ‘interventions for circular architecture’ can play the role of a guiding light for building designers as they illustrate how future design processes can be managed and have a positive impact on many.