AROUND AND FORWARD

Transformation and Circular Economy

This theme explores principles and innovations to transform the building sector into a circular economy.

Concept

AROUND AND FORWARD explores principles and innovations to transform the building sector into a circular economy. Climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity today. Many aspects of the built environment, which encompasses materials, energy systems and building processes, contribute to climate change. Any effective response needs to be able to reduce the demand for diminishing resources, to respond flexibly to the changing environment, or both. Innovations are needed to enable a sustainable and circular economy in the future. Appropriate certifications and cradle-to-cradle principles are crucial to help the transition process in and around our cities and rural areas towards independent and resilient systems.

This theme supports knowledge exchange and new connections between various disciplines to create unique and foresightful research. In this context, ANCB also investigates new processes and materials that will play a key role in design and planning to reach sustainability goals and exemplary applications that can contribute to health and comfort, including limiting waste, helping our ecosystem and increasing affordability.  Further, the theme asks to what extend product prototypes are relevant for the urban planning, building, design and fashion industries to explore potentials and new systems, considering the building façade as the ‘second skin’ to cross-feed ideas from architecture to functions of other design disciplines.