Building Revolutions

The book describes how buildings and materials can be reused or salvaged to extend their life and proposes ways new business models can be applied to reduce capital and lifecycle costs, providing a positive architectural legacy for future generations.

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The construction industry, on the whole, operates within a linear economy of make, use, dispose. But with common materials becoming ever more expensive to procure and rare earth elements becoming increasingly scarce, it is time to apply a more effective model.

 

The principles of the circular economy are already being used by other industries, and in recent years both the UK Government and the European Commission have promoted the model as the most sustainable option for the future. Yet despite this emphasis there has been little focus on how construction industry professionals and their clients can contribute towards the movement.

 

Building Revolutions addresses this absence: drawing on illustrative methods and examples, the author explains in simple and practical terms how the principles of a circular economy can be applied to the built environment, thereby reducing the resources required to construct, fit-out, maintain and refurbish buildings.