Circular building adaptability and its determinants – A literature review

• Published in: International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation Vol. 41; no. 6; pp. 47 - 69
• Main Authors: Hamida, Mohammad B., Jylhä, Tuuli, Remøy, Hilde, Gruis, Vincent
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bingley Emerald Publishing Limited 18.12.2023; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Adaptability; Adaptation; Buildings; Built environment; Circularity; Flexibility; Grey literature; Literature reviews; Maintainability; Resource recovery; Circular economy; Built environment; Building adaptation; Circular building; Adaptability; Circularity
• ISSN: 2398-4708; 2398-4716
• DOI: 10.1108/IJBPA-11-2021-0150

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.