Colloquia

Summary

Abstract

The construction sector accounts for a substantial share of global resource consumption, yet the adoption of circular economy principles in building products remains limited. This thesis investigates why these principles have not been more widely embraced and examines the human and organizational factors contributing to the inertia in moving away from conventional, linear methods. Drawing on an extensive literature review, the research explores selective demolition, design-for-disassembly strategies, circular economy certifications and organizational systems and, importantly, socio-behavioral and market barriers that slow the transition to circular practices. It also analyzes how collaborative frameworks, policy incentives, and client perceptions interact to shape reuse initiatives. Using a prefab cassette wall as a concrete case study, the project illustrates how circular materials and demountable connections can be integrated into construction products without sacrificing performance or design flexibility. Rather than focusing solely on technical feasibility, it places equal emphasis on stakeholder insights gathered through interviews with stakeholders from the Dutch construction industry such as: demolition experts, architects, contractors, sustainability and procurement managers. These conversations reveal that reclaimed components can indeed replace integral wall elements if concerns over labor costs, policy support, and “second-hand” quality are addressed. They further highlight that client demand and policy alignment often tip the scale between choosing reused or virgin materials, reflecting deeper cultural and economic dynamics at play. The outcome is a modular, demountable wall system featuring finger-jointed reused wood and off-the-shelf hardware, designed to demonstrate the viability of circular approaches in both structural and behavioral dimensions, even for suppliers with a more limited scale of operations. While time constraints limited advanced prototyping and full LCA validations, the findings confirm that design-for-disassembly can meaningfully reduce waste and resource use, provided that market skepticism and organizational fragmentation are tackled through stronger policy frameworks and more transparent material marketplaces. Ultimately, this research underscores how human factors, informed design strategies, and robust policy incentives must converge to make circular construction a practical and profitable reality.