Circular Material Library. An Innovative Tool to Design Circular Economy

Virtanen, Maarit; Manskinen, Kati; Eerola, Sauli

doi:10.1080/14606925.2017.1352685

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…As for cluster 4, which analyses how to improve the environmental impact through respectful products, it is monitored by indicators A (2, 3, and 4), B (1, 3, and 6), C (2), and D (1 and 2) [122].…”

Section: Analysis Of the Ce Indicators And Research Lines: Generationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Circular Economy Policies on the Environment and Sustainable Growth: Worldwide Research

et al. 2020

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The challenge of transitioning from a linear to a circular economy model is still ongoing and requires the development and application of new knowledge, leading to innovative, technological, and sustainable processes, products, and services. The evolution of global research on this topic from 2004 to 2019 was studied in this work. For this purpose, a bibliometric analysis of 1366 articles was applied, producing results on the scientific productivity of the driving agents that most contribute to this theme. The findings show a growing interest, especially in the last four years, in the study of circular economy (CE) policies on the environment. The main subject area that articles address is environmental science. Five research lines have been identified, which mainly study the efficient management of energy resources and the economic factors that make the CE model possible: Environmental pollution and agricultural activity; waste management to avoid a negative environmental impact; improvement of the environmental impact through ecological products; the product life cycle, and the consequences of climate change. The implementation of CE policies will contribute to making economies less dependent and unprotected and more competitive. Global research has exhibited an upward trend during the period analyzed and has grown exponentially since 2015, coinciding with the publication of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.

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Section: Analysis Of the Ce Indicators And Research Lines: Generationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Circular Economy Policies on the Environment and Sustainable Growth: Worldwide Research

et al. 2020

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“…Furthermore, when looking at a broader perspective than the construction sector, more tools on circular design are being researched and developed. For example, the tool of Gehin et al [104] on implementing sustainable end-of-life strategies in the product development phase, the value mapping tool for sustainable business modelling by Bocken et al [105], the Circular Material Library of Virtanen et al [106] and the assessment tool for end of life product recovery strategies by Alamerew et al [107] are studies aiming to develop design support tools for all kinds of circular products.…”

Section: Ongoing Research Tracks and Developments On Design Support Tools For Circular Buildingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research and Development Directions for Design Support Tools for Circular Building

2020

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To support the construction sector in its transition to a circular economy, many design instruments and decision support tools have been and are still being developed. This development is uncoordinated and raises confusion among building designers and advising engineers, slowing down the tools’ adoption in practice. Moreover, it is unclear if the available design tools are able to fulfil the needs of design professionals at all. Therefore, this research identifies the knowledge challenges for the “supply and demand” of design tools for a circular construction practice. It focuses on Flanders, given the importance the topic receives in the region’s policy programme and among practitioners. This study builds on a thorough literature review, and on inventorying and categorising instruments and ongoing developments. By comparing that review with the needs that were identified during interviews with a focus group, it was possible to pinpoint designers’ needs for support tools and outline three urgent research tracks. More generally, it was found that the needs of our focus group are only partially reflected by the available design tools and the ongoing developments. This identified mismatch advocates for a more participatory and practice-oriented research approach when developing design support tools for circular building.

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“…By focusing on open design and distributed production experiments and inviting others to participate in those experiments as a form of co-creation, a new cohort of future designers will be educated so as to be better prepared to contribute to a future circular economy. Virtanen et al [112] assessed a Circular Material Library (i.e., a library containing a selection of available recycled materials) to understand how it can impact circular re-thinking and re-designing of products. They found that such tools can help to develop circular economy competencies in designers and companies, particularly with regards to using recycled materials to replace virgin ones and creating collaborative networks through symbiosis products that are made of recycled and other materials.…”

Section: Design Education For the Circular Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

Circular Economy in Industrial Design Research: A Review

Dam¹,

Simeone

Keskin

et al. 2020

Sustainability

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In the past decades, industrial design practice and research have focused extensively on how to optimize production and consumption, as a way to prevent negative environmental impacts, such as resource depletion, pollution, and excessive waste. Recently, the “circular economy” concept is increasingly used to achieve environmental benefits and economic growth simultaneously. Industrial design can contribute to a circular economy by fostering systems changes to achieve durability, optimal reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling of products and materials. Indeed, researchers have examined both the theoretical and practical aspects of how design knowledge can support the transition to a circular economy. However, this body of knowledge has not been systematically analyzed yet. To address this critical gap, this paper poses the following question: How has industrial design research so far contributed to advancing the circular economy knowledge? Accordingly, we survey relevant design literature focusing on the circular economy, through a review of contributions published in 42 scientific journals. Based on our results, we discuss how industrial design practices can potentially contribute to a circular economy across four thematic areas: (1) design for circular production processes, (2) design for circular consumption, (3) design to support policy towards the circular economy, and (4) design education for the circular economy.

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Circular Material Library. An Innovative Tool to Design Circular Economy

Cited by 18 publications

References 4 publications

Effects of Circular Economy Policies on the Environment and Sustainable Growth: Worldwide Research

Effects of Circular Economy Policies on the Environment and Sustainable Growth: Worldwide Research

Research and Development Directions for Design Support Tools for Circular Building

Circular Economy in Industrial Design Research: A Review

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