The Application of the Circular Economy Concept to Architectural Fields:Insights from European Projects

XIAO Yiqiang; PENG Jiaxin; LI Yuepeng; YIN Shi

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-0232.2026.01.006

Abstract：The construction industry is a major contributor to resource consumption globally and a significant producer of carbon emissions.The industry's conventional linear model of"acquisition-production-disposal"has led to substantial resource waste and environmental pollution.Therefore,to realise sustainable development,it is urgent to shift towards a circular economy model in the construction industry.A circular model refers to a closed-loop system of"resources-products-renewable resources",thus reducing resource consumption,prolonging the service life of materials,and realising material recycling.This paper discusses the application pathways of circular economy principles to the construction field.Moreover,some feasible implementation strategies are summarised based on the case study of European demonstration projects.The paper starts by reviewing the theoretical development of circular architectures,through which the core principles,such as narrowing,slowing,closing,and renewing resource circulation,are identified.It also emphasises upcycling and equivalent cycling to maximise the value of materials throughout their service life. The author systematically reviews the circular strategies throughout the full life cycle of buildings,including design,manufacturing and supply,construction,operation and maintenance,and end-of-life demolition.Buildings developed using the circular model require architects to shift from spatial designers to resource managers,their responsibility encompassing all material flows.At the design stage,attention shall be paid to reversibility,adaptability,and standardisation for the convenience of reconstruction and demolition in the future.At the construction stage,reversible technology and prefabricated modular systems can be used to reduce resource waste.At the operation and maintenance stage,the sharing economy and service-based business model shall be introduced to improve resource use. To verify the feasibility of circular buildings,four European demonstration projects(in the UK,Denmark,the Netherlands,and Switzerland)were chosen for comparative analysis.These projects innovated structural component reuse,low-carbon material selection,and prefabricated construction.The results show that circular buildings achieve significant progress in reducing embodied carbon emissions and that the carbon emissions of some projects decrease by more than 50％compared to those of traditional buildings.Although the construction cost is still high at present,economic effectiveness is expected to increase with technological optimisation and market maturity. Based on the European experiences,the study proposes strategic pathways to promote the circular transformation of buildings in China.Firstly,it proposes that the circular principles be applied from the design stage,and buildings be viewed as a"future material library".Secondly,it proposes a support system for the entire industrial chain,including a materials database,circular construction technology,and policy standards.Thirdly,it proposes strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration to reconstruct the roles and working flow of architects.Fourthly,it proposes increasing public awareness and professional education to encourage cooperation between the involved parties. In short,circular buildings can not only reduce carbon emissions and resource consumption significantly but also provide a feasible transition to the sustainable development of the architectural industry.Although there are still problems with comprehensive circular buildings,the architectural field in China shows potential and is expected to contribute greatly to the national goal of'carbon neutralisation and carbon emission reduction'through design innovation,technological support,policy guidance,and social involvement.