The past in the future: Investigating values of circularity

In the past, buildings and built structures were reused and transformed and, as a consequence, they had a long life span and materials degraded very slowly. With modernism, however, building changed and buildings became part of the throwaway culture. In connection with social transformations towards sustainable development and the future prediction of scarce and expensive resources, it is important to bear in mind that existing buildings and built structures form an immense material legacy and a great potential for circularity.

This research is based on the hypothesis that theories and methodologies of architectural conservation may promote circularity in existing buildings and built structures. Consequently, the primary objective is to investigate how a reading of the (historic) building fabric and the assessment of values can develop and qualify future circular building. A further objective is to challenge and broaden our understanding of values related to circularity.

The first part of the paper examines the development of values in architectural conservation with a view to exploring circular values. To achieve this, the paper will present a number of case studies. The second part of the paper comments on the extent to which values-based methodologies of architectural conservation have the potential to aid future circularity in existing building.