#circular construction

Elementerre is a Senegalese company founded with the mission of revolutionising the construction sector using sustainable, locally sourced materials. Established in 2010, just a few kilometres from the city of Mbour, the company has made rammed earth its primary material, offering it as an ecological and long-lasting alternative to conventional building materials.

Another material widely used in the company’s products, such as bricks and insulating panels, is bulrush, or cattail, a monocotyledonous plant from the Typhaceae family. It grows naturally along riverbanks and in wetland areas with stagnant water, such as marshes.

Using compressed earth blocks, produced by mixing local soil with a small quantity of natural stabilisers, Elementerre creates building materials with a low environmental impact. Rammed earth is a renewable, readily available material that generates zero carbon emissions during its production. It offers a compelling alternative to energy-intensive materials such as concrete, providing thermal and acoustic insulation that reduces energy consumption for cooling, while also ensuring durability and strength. Thanks to the compression process, the blocks form solid structures that are resistant to erosion.

A Regenerative Future: Nikken Sekkei’s Next-Generation Skyscraper Wins the WAFX Prize 2025

Introduction As construction shifts toward sustainability and circular economy principles, traditional cost estimating must evolve. An estimating service that integrates circular construction strategies offers clients insights into both environmental and financial performance, especially through material reuse and lifecycle analysis.

Assessing Reusable Materials Estimators examine available salvageable materials from demolition or deconstruction processes. They assess their structural integrity, performance history, and compliance with code requirements. A precise estimate of cost savings from reuse versus new material procurement is critical to circular planning.

Cost Implications of Circular Processes Reclaimed materials often require additional labor for processing, transportation, or certification. An estimating service calculates these secondary costs and compares them against the expense of virgin materials. This holistic approach ensures reuse is both environmentally and economically justified.

Lifecycle Cost Estimation Instead of focusing only on upfront expenses, circular estimating emphasizes long-term value. Estimators provide lifecycle cost analysis to show clients the savings from using durable, low-maintenance reused materials, accounting for extended replacement cycles and potential operational savings.

Collaboration with Deconstruction Teams Estimating services coordinate with demolition contractors and sustainability consultants to quantify the volume and value of recoverable materials. This data feeds into the budget and helps determine whether reuse strategies align with the project’s financial goals.

Incentives and Certification Support Many jurisdictions offer financial incentives for using recycled materials or achieving green certifications. An estimating service identifies applicable credits, tax breaks, or LEED points, incorporating them into the estimate to demonstrate potential offsets in total project cost.

Software Tools and Databases Estimators now use platforms that include inventories of reusable materials and databases tracking regional material exchange programs. These tools enhance accuracy and help estimators provide clients with both sourcing opportunities and reliable cost benchmarks.

Resources can be conserved and emissions saved during construction.

The scarcity of resources, climate change and the housing shortage are topics that are currently of concern. The real estate industry is already making a significant contribution in these areas. When it comes to real estate operations, measures to decarbonize and increase energy efficiency are well known and some progress has been made. To date, too little consideration has been given to the greenhouse gases caused by the construction of building materials or the reuse of materials. For some time now, however, the topic of circular construction has become the focus of institutional builders, scientists and authorities.

Avoid, Reduce, Reuse

At the heart of the circular economy is the idea that resources should be kept in an endless cycle. Waste should be avoided, reduced to a minimum or reused in order to conserve raw materials. In the construction industry, this means a reduction in non-renewable materials, the systematic recording and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and an improvement in circularity in renovations and new buildings. Building materials are designed to be as sustainable as possible, to be reused or repaired. The five “Re” approaches also describe recommendations for action for the real estate industry, which are to be understood as a sequence of priorities (see figure).

Preserve and use space efficiently

The greatest effect is generally achieved by avoiding structural measures. However, given the existing housing shortage, this is hardly compatible with social goals. The increasing need for space per capita not only significantly worsens resource consumption, but also the energy balance. In order to keep the consumption of resources as low as possible, this means - where possible - enabling continued use, condensing existing buildings and, for example, increasing space utilization through flexibility. Community areas and co-working spaces not only promote togetherness and social coexistence, but also a reduced need for individual space.

Sacrificing can increase comfort

A building can only be demolished, dismantled and reused ecologically and economically if it was built to be recyclable, i.e. divisible into its raw materials. To achieve this, raw materials for products and buildings must be used in such a way that they can either be maintained in the same quality and reused or be returned to the biological cycle. The elimination or reduction of construction adhesives and the use of pollutant-free, long-lasting building materials also means increased air quality, health and thus greater comfort for the residents.

Creative solutions needed for the circular economy The circular economy presents the real estate industry with a paradigm shift, because project planning requires a rethinking of the classic construction phases. Creative solutions are necessary because the existing materials now form the basis for planning. Poor construction quality, structural deficits and contaminated sites can limit circular renovation or construction of existing buildings. Greater effort in planning and collecting reusable materials or storing reusable components can lead to higher costs. No industry or company can solve these challenges alone. Important prerequisites for this are partnership approaches and an interaction between business, science and politics, which create suitable framework conditions and incentives. However, successful concepts offer the opportunity to conserve scarce resources, take social aspects into account and thus assume social responsibility.

Source

Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science Hubert Rahier (VUB) and Dutch scientists have developed a technology to recycle old concrete into new building material.

Hubert Rahier was surprised when a Ukrainian company approached him asking if he was interested in processing war debris. In collaboration with our northern neighbours, the professor of chemistry and materials science at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel developed a technology for recycling old concrete into new binding and building material.

“Originally we wanted to develop a technology to recycle concrete in a sustainable way in Belgium and the Netherlands, that have been struggling with a huge mountain of (concrete) waste for years,” he says. “The problem was that Belgian and Dutch concrete is not composed in the same way. That is why we had to devise a system in which both types of concrete can be recycled in a sustainable manner. After long brainstorming, we were finally able to develop a grinding technology that can process both Belgian and Dutch, and by extension even most European concrete waste. That broad field of application makes it interesting, of course.”

Boy's dream

Rahier says he didn't have to think long before answering the Ukrainian question. “You don't develop a technology like this in a few weeks, it takes years. Even before my PhD, during my master's thesis, I have already started researching how waste materials can be used to make new building materials. Of course you hope that something like this will be adopted in other circumstances.”

“Coincidentally, my wife and I also host a Ukrainian family at home. In that way we had someone in the house to do the translation. This made the negotiations with the Ukrainian company a little smoother.”

It is no coincidence that he was already researching waste materials as a student. "I've been an environmentalist since I was 14. My interest in the environment has only grown since then.”

Recycling technology makes a childhood dream come true. “Absolutely. During the recycling process, all materials – such as river pebbles, gravel, sand and cement – are removed from the concrete. This enables us to make new materials. We therefore try to lose as little as possible  and not to extract any additional raw materials from nature. In addition, the microwave oven and the crusher that we use for the recycling process run entirely on green energy. We hope to be able to close the material cycle in this way.”

40 tons per hour

A crusher can grind about 40 tons of concrete per hour. At Rutte[1], the Dutch company where the technology is already being used today, they currently process about 200 tons per day. “That seems like a lot, but make no mistake,” says Rahier. “There is a lot of concrete in a building. For a large apartment building you have to grind during several months.”

The intention is to start the project in Ukraine as soon as the machines are available. “We hope they will be ready for large-scale deployment in the spring of 2024.”

Source

Fran Eelen, Belg geeft Oekraïens oorlogspuin tweede leven, in: De Standaard, 14-03-2023, https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20230313_95724704

The new regulations[1] oblige Spanish companies to separate the waste generated in the works

The European Union generates more than 2,500 million tons of waste per year and those derived from construction and demolition (RCD) [2] occupy the first position in the ranking, according to Eurostat data.[3] Spain is no stranger to this reality; The building sector is also in first place with 29.8% of the total waste generated in the country. In order to reduce these figures, the new Waste Law approved last April requires the separation of rubble on site and establishes the objective of reaching 70% recovery of the waste generated by construction. According to the results of a survey carried out by the Building Cluster[4], 75% of construction companies fail to comply with this law.

Beatriz de Diego, an expert from the Technical Area of the Green Building Council Spain (GBCe)[5], believes that there is a compelling reason for this non-compliance: the increase in cost. [6]  “The process is complicated and more space is needed on site to carry out the separation, which includes the fractions of wood, minerals, metals, glass, plastic and plaster. In addition, those products that can be reused and therefore retain more value should be separated, for example, roof tiles, sanitary ware or structural elements”, she argues. Alfons Ventura, an expert at GBCe, also points out that the separation of the plaster represents a real challenge, especially in renovation works in which it is attached to the wall and it should be pealed off in order to separate it before the demolition of any partition, "Which is probably not being fulfilled either."

The Building Cluster survey[7] gives percentages to the reasons why the new regulations are not complied with: lack of economic incentives (61%); absence of space for the separation of construction and demolition waste (57%); difficulty with materials due to their recyclability (44%); lack of awareness and motivation (24%). Miguel García, co-leader of the Building Cluster's waste management and circular economy working group and head of the Rockwool Prescription Department[8], stresses that compliance with the objectives set by law not only depends on the construction company, "but on all the agents within the value chain”. Opinion shared by Juan Diego Berjón, head of the waste treatment service at Surge Ambiental[9], of the Sacyr group[10]: "Although the intention of this regulation is positive, the reality is that the agents involved (companies, administrations...) are not prepared for so much volume of documentary generation. There is a lack of digitisation to achieve adequate traceability and comply with the extended responsibility of the producer of the waste”.

Digitised process

It is important to have the material traceability process digitized. “In the displacement and treatment of waste, documentation must be generated that certifies said process. If this documentation continues to be issued manually, it is very likely that errors will be made and that there will be fields that are not properly filled in", says David Ganuza, also co-leader of the Cluster's waste management and circular economy working group and director of Institutional Relations of Cocircular[11].

Experts believe that the legislator has missed the opportunity to improve the current waste situation. “Many of our regulations do not contemplate or, in the best of cases, limit the use of materials with the adjective 'recycled' to a lower percentage. We must develop a regulatory context where the benefit prevails, that is, the final contribution of the whole, without discriminating whether the source material is recycled or not”, explains Ramiro García, head of Innovation and Development at Sika[12].

The truth is that for a construction company, the cost of recycling construction waste is high. In a building of 80 or 90 homes, which could be the most representative, it would mean around 600 euros per property, according to data from the Building Cluster. And this figure is without considering the cost of managing the earth residues produced in the excavation. It is recommended that the cost of recycling not exceed 0.2% of the material execution budget (PEM)[13], "which indicates the low importance of this chapter in the planning of the work," says Berjón.

“This is mainly due to the fact that the taxation of construction waste does not reflect the environmental cost of its disposal. The new Waste Law establishes the taxation of inert waste at three euros per ton, compared to non-hazardous waste, which will be 15 euros per ton. But the situation is further aggravated when there is no control over the waste that is deposited in inert waste landfill vessels, these being a very attractive place to deposit non-hazardous waste at a very low tax rate”, adds the expert from the Sacyr group. .

Berjón recalls that the Waste Law implies that everything that cannot be recovered or valued is not controlled and can be deposited in a landfill at no cost, externalizing the environmental costs that this has in the medium term and clearly discouraging separation of waste at source. This context makes the management of the construction residues a minimum item in the budget of a work.

The renovation of houses is not gaining strength by improving recycling either. And this despite the fact that the actions derived from the Next Generation funds[14] must guarantee that at least 70% (by weight) of the construction and demolition waste generated is prepared for reuse, recycling and the revaluation of other materials. Although it is not implying a brake to grant these aids, this is a widespread concern in the sector and among professionals, as confirmed by Juan López-Asiain, director of the Technical Cabinet of the General Council of Technical Architecture of Spain[15].

Source

Juanjo Bueno del Amo, Residuos en paradero desconocido: por qué las constructoras incumplen la ley, in: El País, 9-01-2023, https://elpais.com/economia/negocios/2023-01-09/residuos-en-paradero-desconocido-por-que-las-constructoras-incumplen-la-ley.html

[1] Read also: https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/690913091543842816/digitisation-of-construction-and-demolition-waste

[2] Reducing the use of plastic bags or containers and trying to generate less waste by using reusable containers is an easy New Year's resolution to fulfil. It is a gesture that can help to improve the high levels of pollution that exist worldwide and that also has a direct impact on spending, since in this way economic savings are also favoured. https://elpais.com/escaparate/2023-01-10/11-productos-sostenibles-de-uso-cotidiano-para-reducir-el-consumo-de-plastico-y-generar-menos-residuos.html

[3] Read also: https://at.tumblr.com/earaercircular/circular-economy-building-waste-management-turns/sxq1c6tjqmus

[4] The building sector is one of the strategic sectors in Spain due to its size and its economic, environmental and social significance. In this area, the Building Cluster operates as a non-profit association and is made up of companies, universities and research centres. The objective shared by all is to innovate in the construction of the existing park and new construction of any use or possession. The leadership of el Clúster de la Edificación (the Building Cluster) is based on the critical mass that its cooperation processes generate and that strengthen the competitiveness of its associates, enhance the generation of knowledge and the visibility of the sector. https://clusteredificacion.com/quienes-somos/

[5] GBCe (Green Building Council Spain, or Consejo para la Edificación Sostenible en España) is the main sustainable building organization in Spain.​ Established in 2008, they are the benchmark in the transformation towards a sustainable model of the building sector.​ It belongs to a broad, growing and diverse global network, with a presence in more than 70 countries and 36,000 members representing the entire value chain: World Green Building Council, WorldGBC. Together with its associates, it trains, certifies and facilitates connections to accelerate the transformation towards the sustainability of the Spanish habitat. https://gbce.es/

[6] How to control cost overruns when building. The drop in the price of materials makes the works cheaper, but there are other formulas to guarantee that the budgets do not deviate and trigger the final invoice https://elpais.com/economia/2021-04-10/como-controlar-los-sobrecostes-al-construir.html

[7] Industry releases a new manager in a hurry: execute more than 4,000 million of European funds in a year. Francisco Blanco assumes the general secretary in a year in which Minister Maroto will also leave to be mayor of Madrid. https://elpais.com/economia/2021-04-10/como-controlar-los-sobrecostes-al-construir.html

[8] https://www.rockwool.com/pt/contato/representante-de-vendas/

[9] Surge Ambiental S.L. was born as a construction and demolition waste management company, although currently, thanks to growing demand, trends and experience, we are committed to comprehensive management of all waste. For this reason, our scope of application is the management of any privately generated waste. In addition, we are a company 100% owned by Valoriza Medioambiente that is part of the Sacyr S.A. business group. All this provides us with a position with complete national coverage, as well as a great experience in the entire sector. https://www.surgeambiental.com/quienes-somos

[10] SACYR S.A. is a Spanish infrastructure operator and developer company based in Madrid. Sacyr was the largest shareholder in the Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, holding an approximate 20% stake. On December 20, 2011, Repsol YPF bought half of Sacyr's stake back in order to save the shares from being seized in a foreclosure. As of June 2021, SACYR owned 7.8% of Repsol YPF. https://www.sacyr.com/en/

[11] CoCircular is one of the initiatives that arises from Zubi Labs, whose objective is to create companies that provide solutions to social and environmental challenges, generating a positive impact in our immediate environment. We are more than 80 people dedicated to projects in different fields and stages of maturity. with a common goal: Create a better future. https://www.cocircular.es/

[12] Sika AG is an international specialty chemical company with a leading position in the development and production of systems and products for bonding, sealing, waterproofing, damping, reinforcement and protection in the construction and automotive industries. Sika is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland and has subsidiaries in 100 countries around the world and manufactures in more than 300 factories. Sika employs more than 25,000 people and has an annual sales turnover of CHF 9.3 billion. At the end of 2019, Sika won the Swiss Technology Award for a groundbreaking new adhesive technology. https://www.sika.com/

[13] The Presupuesto de Ejecución Material (PEM) (Material Execution Budget) is the amount of the cost of materials and labour, necessary for the execution of a work. This is calculated by multiplying the measurement by the unit price of each unit of work.

[14] Given the COVID-19 crisis and the challenges it is posing for Europe, the European Union and the Member States have had to adopt emergency measures to protect both the health of their citizens and the economy. For this reason, on July 21, 2020, the European Council agreed on an exceptional temporary recovery instrument, the NextGenerationEU, with a budget of 750,000 million euros. This European NextGeneration fund authorizes the European Commission to borrow up to 750,000 million euros on behalf of the European Union for the first time, and can be used to grant repayable loans for a volume of up to 360,000 million euros and non-refundable transfers for 390,000 million of euros. The disbursement of these amounts will be made until 2026 and the loans will have to be repaid before the end of 2058. https://es.fi-group.com/plan-recuperacion-y-resiliencia-nextgenerationeu/?campaignid=17932172134&adgroupid=148992114447&adid=645267025410&gclid=Cj0KCQiAw8OeBhCeARIsAGxWtUzv0CEOpWfbz8NMhrgcGP7Cr_4xu_qfNxUZDw5xgnjSJHLo5qoBGAoaAh6UEALw_wcB

Split buying is presented nowadays at the new construction project Nobile in Puurs

For those who no longer want to rent, but also do not immediately have the means to buy their own home, the new buying formula "split buying" may be something. It is a way to first only buy the house and within seven years also the land. In the Belgian Puurs, in the province of Antwerp, the concept is presented in the new construction project Nobile.

A young person who nowadays wants to buy a home in Belgium must already be able to produce an average of almost 57,000 euros of own resources. This appeared already in a study by the Belgian Central Bank this summer. For many house hunters, the threshold is therefore too great to buy a house of their own, let alone a new one. To make the latter feasible, project developer Van Roey Vastgoed[1] is launching the concept of "split buying".

With the new "Split-It" buying formula, buyers can split the purchase of a home and the land. With a leasehold estate[2] buyers get the opportunity to first only buy the house, and only later, within seven years, to settle the land value. "With Split-It we lower the threshold for buying a new construction and we ensure that the costs can be spread better and smarter over time," says Catherine Vangilbergen of the affordability research unit at Van Roey Vastgoed.

How exactly does such a purchase work?

In concrete terms, in the beginning you can only buy your home and not the land. Van Roey will retain ownership of that land for a while. As a result, your initial investment is about 20 to 25 percent lower than usual. Please note, as long as Van Roey remains the owner of the land, you will have to pay a monthly fee, a kind of rent. In addition, the land value must be settled within seven years.

"The selling price of the land and its evolution over time are settled when the house is purchased. During that seven-year period, you can decide to buy the land or to sell the whole. The land is then also sold to the next owner. From that moment on, the monthly 'rent' for the land also expires," says Van Roey.

If you do not want to continue living in your house and therefore do not want to purchase the land, you can also sell your home back to the real estate company at the end of the period. This takes place at the original purchase value, excluding costs.

"In the case of split purchases, the own contribution when purchasing a new building is up to 50 percent lower, since you do not buy land in the beginning, but only the house. In addition, your monthly repayment is also lower because you borrow a smaller amount, and in a new-build home you save on your energy bill."

A win win?

The entire concept is sold as a win-win for the prospective buyer, but it is of course also a way for project developers to sell new-build homes in these times of crisis. "As a sector, we also have to ensure that our product remains feasible: if nobody is able buy a house, we can't build one either," says Bert Grugeon, general manager at Van Roey Vastgoed.

According to the Belgian Building Federation Embuild[3], split-buying can be a solution for buyers who cannot immediately finance both land and building, especially with high inflation. "But it's not a free lunch," adds CEO Niko Demeester. "You pay a little less in the beginning, but after 7 years you will also have to pay off the land in addition to your house. You have to anticipate that."

Notary Jelle Van Hove, spokesperson for Notaris.be[4], agrees. "As a professional group, we have nothing against this, but we do recommend that you read the contract carefully and that you are well informed about the second part: the purchase of the land. What are you committing to? How will the land value increase during the years? And at what value can you sell the house and the land if it doesn't work out?"

"You should also be aware that you will probably sign a notarial deed twice (for the house as well as the land) whereby you pay registration fees, mortgage fees, etc. twice. So buying everything in one go is cheaper, but for whom is not possible, this could certainly be an interesting track."

Split buying is presented nowadays at the new construction project Nobile in Puurs. A new district will be built there this autumn, including 95 apartments, five houses and two commercial properties.

Source

Sielke Sanen, Met weinig eigen inbreng toch een huis kopen? Nieuwe formule "splitskopen" wil dat mogelijk maken, in: VRTNws, 22-09-2022, https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2022/09/21/met-weinig-eigen-inbreng-toch-een-huis-kopen-nieuwe-formule-sp/

[1] Van Roey Vastgoed is part of the Van Roey Group located in Rijkevorsel. We don't actually build real estate at Van Roey Vastgoed, but we create 'places'. Places where it is pleasant to live and which are perfectly interwoven with the existing environment. We create renewed pieces of the city that we want to give back to its residents. So we build a home for you and ensure that other functions are nearby. A library, a school, office or shop: it is precisely this mix that makes your neighborhood liveable. When we develop a new project, we find 'surprises' extremely important: a hidden square, a roof garden where you do not expect it or a special cafe in a great location.

We are part of a group that has existed for 275 years. The culture is characterized by an open relationship of trust with our customers. Commitment and quality are our guarantees. As Van Roey Vastgoed, we don't just build for people, but especially with people, and we have been doing this for 25 years! https://www.groepvanroey.be/nl/ontdek-de-groep/bedrijven/van-roey-vastgoed

[2] A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a leasehold estate is typically considered personal property.

[3] Embuild, formerly the Construction Confederation, was founded in 1946 and consists of 12 local associations, 3 regional entities, 17 professional associations and the central entity. They all work together to offer our members the best tailor-made service. https://embuild.be/nl/wie-zijn-we