Description
The building sector is the single largest consumer of natural resources, accounting for a staggering half of global material use and over a third of energy use and carbon emissions. As a response, the circular transition in the building sector has been focused on strategies such as extracting material from demolished buildings, and design-for-disassembly in new construction projects. Sadly, significant resource loss occurs in these type of ineffective recycling processes. Moreover, strategies for new construction fit poorly with the urgency of the sustainability crises. More efficient use of existing buildings would result in a more immediate reduction in the net consumption of resources. Many existing buildings may be functionally or locationally obsolete but hold major potential in terms of resource efficiency. We therefore imagine a circular future for the building sector in 2035, with zero new construction. The imagined futures are, as follows: 1) rural hubs are the most common workplaces outside of homes; 2) virtual and hybrid spaces are the most common workplaces overall; 3) the remaining corporate offices are in collaborative use; 4) offices are adapted to residential use; 5) temporary creative use thrives, and 6) vertical extension, and; 7) relocation of existing buildings are the norm. Consequently, we engage in seven backcasting workshops, each with 4-5 topic experts. We make use of the PESTE framework and guide the experts to explore which political, economic, social, technological, or environmental developments took place in 2030 and 2025, respectively, for the image to realize in 2035. Our findings comprise insights into actions and actors needed to reach the seven preferable futures to sustain our planets finite resources. We offer a novel outlook for policy makers and building industry professionals as they navigate the green and circular transition.| Period | 13 Jun 2024 |
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| Event title | Futures Conference: Futures of Natural Resources |
| Event type | Conference |
| Conference number | 24 |
| Location | Turku, FinlandShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |