Extending the Circular Design Framework for Bio-Based Materials: Reconsidering Cascading and Agency Through the Case of Biopolymer Composites

Pressing issues of sustainability drive thepursuit of new circular bio-based designframeworks in order to limit the use of finiteresources and fossil fuel energy consumption.In architecture and the built environment theseefforts have fostered a renewed interest inbio-based materials as the only truly sustainable resource for building materials. However,bio-based materials are different to theresources that cascade through technologicalcycles. With the increased interest and application of bio-based material in the buildingsectors comes the realisation that they do notmap directly on to existing models of circulardesign for the built environment. In this paperwe present an effort to extend the circulardesign framework for biopolymer compositesin architectural applications. The paper takespoint of departure in a mapping of existingstrategies for cascading in the built environment. By presenting two biopolymer composites as case studies, we examine howintroducing this class of materials into thecircular design framework challenges theactions and implication of cascading andreconfigures the weighting of agency andcontrol. The conceptual, technical and practical implications of the usage of such materialsin future building practice are speculated onthrough the creation of six design scenariosthat expand the role of cascading creating anew connectivity between material practices.