Circular building adaptability and its determinants – A literature review

Abstract

PurposeAdaptability is an inherent quality in building circularity, as adaptability can physically facilitate the reversibility of materials in a closed-reversible chain, also called “loops”. Nevertheless, positioning adaptability in circularity-oriented models could overlook some of the contextual considerations that contribute to the utility for the built environment. This paper reconceptualises building adaptability to incorporate circularity, in order to facilitate for the resource loops whilst preserving the long-lasting functionality in buildings.Design/methodology/approachAn integrative literature review on adaptability and circularity of buildings was conducted using systematic search approach. From the initial database of 4631 publications, 104 publications were included for the final analysis. A comparative analysis of definitions and determinants of both concepts was conducted to reconceptualise circular building adaptability.FindingsThe findings of the literature study show that incorporating circularity and adaptability is possible through 10 design and operation determinants, namely configuration flexibility, product dismantlability, asset multi-usability, design regularity, functional convertibility, material reversibility, building maintainability, resource recovery, volume scalability, and asset refit-ability. The study concludes that considering the defined determinants in a holistic manner could simultaneously facilitate: building resilience to contextual changes, creation of asset value, and elimination of waste generation.Originality/valueThis paper expands the relevant bodies of literature by providing a novel way of perceiving building adaptability, incorporating circularity. The practical value of this paper lies in the discussion of potential strategies that can be proactively or reactively employed to operationalise circular building adaptability.

Adaptability of buildings: to what extent do design-support models consider context-related factors? A literature review

“…There is a broad body of literature on adaptability and its meanings. [8], [9], [7], and [10] among others, analyse the multiplicity of terms that are used as either synonyms, antonyms or metaphors by the practitioners. This article employs the categorization proposed by [11] to clarify the use of these terms.…”

“…Building are expected to be adapted during their lifecycle [10], a building that responds to the stakeholders'(e.g. users, tenants and community) needs is considered as relevant.…”

Taxonomy supporting design strategies for reuse of building parts in timber-based construction

“…Additionally, confusion about the meaning of adaptability is made worse by the term “flexibility,” often used as a synonym and in conflicting ways. Schneider and Till (2005, p. 157) describe adaptability as being “capable of different social uses” and flexibility as being “capable of different physical arrangements.” In contrast, in the literature analysis performed by Hamida et al (2022), it is argued that flexibility should be incorporated in the design of new buildings as well as in the adaptation of existing buildings (Kaya et al , 2021b). Obviously, literature on adaptability shows that researchers either used different terms or the same terms with different meanings (van Ellen et al , 2021).…”

“…To perform DfA, factors that designers need to consider, as summarized by Hamida et al (2022), are as follows: flexibility or adjustability, which refers to the possibility to adjust the spatial configuration of the building through minor interventions; generality, multifunctionality or versatility, which refers to the possibility of using the spaces in a building for different purposes without conducting any changes; elasticity, expandability or scalability, which relates to the possibility to increase the volume of the building, vertically or horizontally, or divide and merge building spaces; movability or relocate-ability, which relates to the possibility to easily change the location of building assets, or displace the building components; dismantlability (dismountable or deconstructable) or removability, which refers to the possibility of removing the physical objects easily and effectively; convertibility or transformability, which relates to the possibility to give the building a new function in light of physical, legal and economic constraints; recyclability, reusability or disaggregatability which relates to the possibility of facilitating reuse and recycling of building parts; refit-ability, which relates to the possibility to manipulate and improve the performance of components and systems; accessibility or availability, which relates to the capacity to access building components and systems for further reprocessing and changes; and modularity or regularity, which refers to the potential for increasing regularity in the building pattern. …”

What Advantages Do Adaptive Industrial Heritage Reuse Processes Provide? An Econometric Model for Estimating the Impact on the Surrounding Residential Housing Market

“…Moreover, these buildings were originally designed to maximize work efficiency by providing a lot of natural light, which promotes the work of the people inside. Maximizing the potential benefits of natural ventilation and shading is also a prerogative of these passive buildings via natural air conditioning systems and shading and these architectural qualities can be adapted to the needs of new uses during the conversion of these structures [7,8].…”