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CIRCLE HOUSE

The stated objective is for 90% of the project’s

housing materials to be reusable

without loss of value.

CIRCLE HOUSE WILL MAKE THE WAY FOR CIRCULAR BUILDING

The Circle House project is the world’s first social housing units, built according to circular principles. This means, among other things, that the construction can be disassembled again and the elements can be recycled almost without losing value.

BACKGROUND

The Circle House project consists of 60 social housing units in Lisbjerg outside Aarhus, which is expected to be completed by 2020. In addition to serving as housing, Circle House is a scalable demonstration project that can give the construction industry new knowledge about the experience of circular building.

The project is supported by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Technology Development and Demonstration Program (MUDP) and Realdania’s Innovation Program in Construction.

The building is sketched by the a Collaboration Studio between 3XN Architects, Lendager Group and Vandkunsten. The project is expected to be offered in 2018, construction start in 2019 and completed in 2020.

TYPOLOGIES

2 FLOOR ROW HOUSE

The terraced housing units with 2 floors are laid out with an entrance, bathroom, dining area, kitchen and living room on the ground floor. The 1st floor has one large and one small bedroom and a small living room/study. The interiors can also be laid out differently, e.g. as two small bedrooms and one large living room or two large bedrooms.

1-FLOOR ROW HOUSE

The one-floor terraced units have a similar layout for the entrance, bathroom, dining area, kitchen and living room. For the bedrooms, there is the freedom of making one large and one small room, two medium-sized rooms or four small ones.

THE TOWER BLOCK

The tower blocks will incorporate all the alternative style flats and common facilities. All units will have access to a shared staircase.

CIRCLE HOUSE DEMONSTRATOR

The Circle House Demonstrator is a 1:1 mock up and exhibition space, where all the building’s layers, materials and products are exposed, displayed and described.

SUPERSTRUCTURE

The circular superstructure is based on already existing solutions from the Circle House partners: Precast concrete elements from Spæncom, mechanical joints from Peikko and connections is cast with lime mortar from Kalk.

DIGITIZED TRACEABILITY

An RFiD-chip cast in a concrete element for the Circle House Demonstrator. The chip links to a material passport containing information about the element, e.g.: the recipe for concrete, the structural integrity of the element and drawings of the building.

NATURAL PROTECTION OF ROT AND MOLD

The varies façade cladding is mounted to the wall by a wood grid. Larch wood is used for the grid, as the species heartwood has a natural protection against rot and mold. It ensures a long durability without any treatment of the material.

SHINGLES FROM UPCYCLED PLASTIC WASTE

The tiles by Bureau SLA and Overtreders W are made out of recycled plastic waste from households. The colour scheme is natural. By sorting the plastic waste by colour, they were able to produce a range of different tiles.

TILE AND WOOD SHINGLES

In the design proposals, the formats are either kept as large (full sheets) or as small (shingles or boards) as possible in order to maximise their potential reusability value.

EXPANDED CORK BOARDS

The facade material is fitted using screws or mountings in order to preserve its value for subsequent reuse.

ACOUSTIC PANELS WITH TAKE-BACK SYSTEM

With a service life of at least 75 years, a single panel can enter into multiple use cycles based on smart mounting systems. Troldtekt has launched a take-back system so that offcuts and other construction site waste can be collected and composted.

FLOORING LIKE LEGO BRICKS

Tarkett, uses a ’click system’ for its flooring systems in wood, laminate and LVT. A unique but very simple assembly solution makes it easy for consumers to assemble and disassemble their flooring.

DISCARDED LIGHT TO LED LIGHT

Fischer lighting renew discarded lights to LED. The old electronics from the luminaire are removed, leaving only the shell. The desired LED technology is then installed.

CIRCLE HOUSE AND ENVIRONMENT

VIDEO, KASPER GULDAGER CEO GXN

CIRCLE HOUSE BOOK

BUILDING A CIRCULAR FUTURE

This book present all findings, case studies, background and context for the themes. It consists of three main chapters: Design for Disassembly, Material Passport and Circular Economy. All content comes from extensive research or through workshops with partners across industries.

Download

Birgitte Ostertag

t: +45 6192 8230

e: bo@ds.dk

Kåre Stokholm Poulsgaard
t: +45 6066 9820
e: ksp@3xn.dk

Tine Lange

t: +45 4229 4000

e: tine.lange@responsible-assets.com