Table Of ContentCircular Buildings the
Urban Living Lab Way
A Practical Facilitation Tool as Guidance for a Circular Building
Process as Collaborative Ecosystem
Quinton Jie
MSc Thesis Industrial Ecology
Circular Buildings the Urban Living Lab Way
A Pract icalF ac i l i tat ion Tool as Guidance for a C ircular
Bui lding Process as Col laborat ive Ecosys tem
Thesis Research Project by
Quinton Jie
Leiden University: S1326589 | Delft University of Technology: 4281799
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the de gree of
Master of Scienc e
in Industrial Ecolog y
Date of Submission: Febru3a,r y2 016
First Supervisor : Dr. Nancy M.P. Bocken, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering ,
Delft University of Technology
Second Supervisor : Dr. ir. Jaco N. Quist, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management,
Delft University of Technology
External Supervisor : Douwe Jan Joustra, Director of ICE -Amsterdam
(Implement Circular Economy Amsterdam)
Contact :
Executive Summary
The built environment is a major contributor to current global problems of resource depletion,
pollution and climate change. It is an energy and material intensive sector that relies on the availability
of resources. It is an environment where multiple human activities come together that can have their
direct and/or indirect impacts within its environment in which the three pillars of sustainability (i.e.
People, Planet, Profit) are present. In the case of the Dutch building sector, here presents a challenge,
as it is currently highly reliant on the importation of these materials.
The concept of Circular Economy introduces new opportunities to become increasingly innovative and
becoming more material efficient. For the Dutch building sector in particular, this means becoming less
reliant on the importation of building materials. The concept promotes a resilient industrial economy
that is self-fulfilling, by relying on renewable energies, minimising wastage, and eliminating the usage
of toxic chemicals. There is a focus on developing new strategies for reduction, reuse and recycling of
materials and energy, also known as the ‘3R’ principles. It promotes the development of new business
based on performance over consumption, closing loops and using a systems approach. To change the
traditional discourse to such a circular approach a paradigm shift is necessary. As a consequence, the
building sector will need to challenge existing uncertainties and consider opportunities that a Circular
Economy may offer.
To explore the opportunities in what way circular buildings could be beneficial in the building sector,
three cases (Town Hall Brummen, Circular Office Alliander and Cradle -to-Cradle City Hall Venlo) were
analysed in this thesis. Evidence from these case studies supported the hypothesis that asking the
questions in terms of functional performance ne eds instead of technical details promotes creativity.
This can be achieved by putting your vision and ambitions on the market for tendering. By asking for a
vision and ambitions , the specific requirements and conditions what normally are given were open fo r
discussions, suggestion and idea.s This creates more flexibility and adaptability for all the parties along
the Circular Building Process, which is also strengthened if a client is asking to design a building process
instead of using a pre-designed building adjusted for a Circular Economy. Asking the client to
participate in the creation of the process means that it becomes more important to explore the
opportunities through collaboration and c-ocreation in an open innovation network and finding the
right partners to do so.
Living Labs is a concept that builds on the idea of open innovation networks. Its main focus is to use all
the external ideas as a source for supporting innovation processes through experimentations. It uses
a user-centric perspective to develop usable products and services. For the built environment it is
obvious that a user-centric perspective is necessary, because they determine what the building context
will be. They are often the ones who will be using the building according to their needs. However,
involving the users actively in the innovation process to reveal their ‘real’ needs is not always the case.
Therefore, Urban Living labs is a good starting point to explore and reveal the needs of the user for a
Circular Economy in the building sector. Therefore, the following definition is being developed for the
building sector: Urban Living Labs is a systematic approach that integrates research and innovation by
collaborating with multiple stakeholders (public-private-civic partnerships) to co-create, develop and
validate new products, services, businesses and technologies for sustainable value in territorial
ecosystems in which the user is actively involved .
Based on the concepts of Urban Living Labs and a Circular Economy the threec ases are analysed to
develop a conceptual Circular Building Process that is seen as an example of a Collaborative Ecosystem.
For this conceptual model the circular building process is assumed to be an ideal process that is derived
from the case studies and supported by the findings of the interviews, workshop and literature. The
aim is to improve the traditional building process by embedding the principles of Urban Living Labs .
I
The Urban Living Labs principles are extended further within the execution phase. Where the focus of
Urban Living Labs is based on the experimentation by collaborating and co-creating in an open
innovation process, the focus of the execution phase is based on the translation of experimentations
into viable options towards a fully functioning product or service. The Circular Building Process as
Collaborative Ecosystem contains five phases: 1) Envisioning Phase, 2) Co-Creation & Exploration
Phase, 3) Experimentation Phase, 4) Execution Phase and 5) Monitoring & Evaluation. To guide the
client towards a circular building process, a practical facilitation tool is included in the model that
incorporates these phases, which helps the client by constructing circular buildings in a similar manne r.
The tool is a sequential approach of deciison-making that is focused on co-creation, collaboration,
integral designing and experimentation within a circular building network. It makes it practical by
executing these experiments by tria-land-error learning. This should incorporate a circular share dvalue
design proposition. The practical facilitation tool sees the Circular Building Process as a learning
process where failures and making mistakes are allowed as long as you are able to improve using
lessons learned.
When creating such a setting, iti s important to build a relationship with the stakeholders that is based
on trust and mutual benefits, which in the end of the process should result in a fully functional circular
building that is in line with the vision and ambitions of a client. By goin bgack and forth in aligning the
shared goals between the client/user and the stakeholders, it makes the Circular Building Process
Facilitation Tool iterative by nature .
Whilst the Circular Building Process as a Collaborative Ecosystem with its Facilitatnio Tool is still
conceptual and not is being tested or validated yet, the proposed model does have the potential for
adding value by combining Urban Living Labs and Circular Economy concepts. It adds value by guiding
the client through the circular building process phases to make the right decisions, encouraging them
not to be afraid to make mistakes and to go beyond their boundaries. It also helps to find the right
partners as client to collaborate with a multidisciplinary consortium, explore new opportunieits in
Circular Economy through experimenting and tria-land-error.
By introducing Urban Living Labs concepts to a Circular Economy a link is made to explore the
opportunities of open system innovation and new ways of doing business. Suggested further reasrch
(see Chapter 7 for more recommendations) includes to test the proposed facilitation tool as a
standardised Circular Economy facilitation tool with more case studies and more ways in whi cUhrban
Living Labs concepts and Circular Economy concepts can work in partnership. In the cases, thei dea of
seeing buildings as resource depotsw as explored, but the challenge they were facing wa sto translate
its potential value to preserve the use of resources and reduce waste into practice. It is an area that is
underexplored, future research should study this field of interest to develop theories and concepts
that help the building sector to become circular and material/resource efficient without compromising
the quality of life.
II
Acknowledgements
This Thesis Research Project is representing the final work for the fulfilment of the Master of Science
of Industrial Ecology in Leiden University and Delft University of Technology. The research and the
process to finish this project is something that canot be achieved without the help of those who were
involved.
First, I would like to thank my first supervisor Nancy Bocken, because at the momewnet met she was
enthusiastic, committed and willing to help me with my journey in the world of Circular Economy.
Second, I want to thank Jaco Quist my second supervisor who helped me through the process at the
beginning of my thesis preparation module in odrer to find and to get an approval for my first
supervisor, because at the moment I staertd with my thesis preparation module there was no
supervisor available that had the expertise in Circular Economy and was approved by the board of
examiners of Industr ial Ecology.
Both supervisors were of great help with their critical but thoughtful feedback and recommendations
to structure my thesis research project that combines two relatively new scientific research areas;
Living labs and Circular Economy. It was Jaco who introduced the concept of Living Labs and proposed
to combine this concept with my field of interest the Circular Economy. Their critical view challenged
me to become more critical and guided me to set my scope and boundaries into the right direct ion
were needed.
Furthermore, I would like to thank Douwe Jan Joustra as my third external supervisor. As one of the
pioneers in the field of Circular Economy in practice, he was knowledgeable and very inspirational for
me to explore more what Circular Ec onomy had to offer. With his expertise and social network, he
shared his knowledge that provided me a lot of insight for finalising my research and appointed me to
the right experts for interviews. I want to thank all those experts that I have interviewed for their time,
effort, openness and willingness to share their information.
Last not least, my special thanks to my family and friends who supported me with their positive energy,
interest, comments and valuable feedback to finalise my master thesis work. That I have inspired some
of them as well to explore what the Circular Economy could mean for them, gave me even more
commitment to continue within the field of Circular Economy. Hopefully, with this master thesis I can
also inspire you, as reader, to ex plore what Circular Economy combined with the aspects of Living Labs
have to offer.
Quinton Jie
Diemen, February 2016
III
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................. I
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... III
Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. IV
List of Figures ................................................................................................................... VII
List of Tables ................................................................................................................... VIII
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................. 1
1.2 A Need for a Practical Facilitation Tool ................................................................................... 2
1.3 Relevance to Industrial Ecology .............................................................................................. 4
1.4 Research Question and Scope ................................................................................................ 4
1.5 Structure of the Report .......................................................................................................... 5
2. Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 7
2.1 The Concept of Circular Economy ........................................................................................... 7
2.1.1 SWOT-Analysis .............................................................................................................. 10
2.1.2 The added value for the building sector ........................................................................ 13
2.1.3 Opportunities for businesses ......................................................................................... 14
2.2 The Concept of (Urban) Living Labs ...................................................................................... 21
2.2.1 SWOT-Analysis .............................................................................................................. 23
2.2.2 The added value for the building sector ........................................................................ 25
2.2.3 Opportunities for businesses ......................................................................................... 26
2.3 (Circular) Business Model (Innovation) ................................................................................. 33
2.3.1 SWOT-Analysis .............................................................................................................. 37
2.4 Building Blocks for a Circular Building Process ..................................................................... 39
3. Framework and Methodology ................................................................................... 44
3.1 Research Context .................................................................................................................. 44
3.2 Framework Development ..................................................................................................... 45
3.2.1 The Analytical Framework ............................................................................................ 45
3.2.2 Circular Building Process ............................................................................................... 47
3.3 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 52
3.3.1 Case Study Research ..................................................................................................... 52
3.3.2 Circular Building (pilot) Cases ....................................................................................... 53
3.3.3 Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 57
3.3.4 Case Analysis ................................................................................................................ 59
IV
4. Findings for Circular Buildings ................................................................................... 60
4.1 Functional Performance Based Town Hall Brummen ........................................................... 60
4.1.1 Circular Building Process: Collaborative Ecosystem ...................................................... 61
4.1.2 Envisioning Phase ......................................................................................................... 62
4.1.3 Co-Creation & Exploration Phase .................................................................................. 64
4.1.4 Experimentation Phase ................................................................................................. 64
4.1.5 Execution Phase ............................................................................................................ 65
4.1.6 Monitoring & Evaluation Phase .................................................................................... 66
4.2 Circular Office Alliander ........................................................................................................ 67
4.2.1 Circular Building Process: Collaborative Ecosystem ...................................................... 68
4.2.2 Envisioning Phase ......................................................................................................... 70
4.2.3 Co-creation & Exploration Phase .................................................................................. 71
4.2.4 Experimentation Phase ................................................................................................. 72
4.2.5 Execution Phase ............................................................................................................ 72
4.2.6 Monitoring & Evaluation Phase .................................................................................... 73
4.3 Cradle-to-Cradle City Hall Venlo ........................................................................................... 74
4.3.1 Circular Building Process: Collaborative Ecosystem ...................................................... 76
4.3.2 Envisioning Phase ......................................................................................................... 77
4.3.3 Co-creation & Exploration Phase .................................................................................. 78
4.3.4 Experimentation Phase ................................................................................................. 79
4.3.5 Execution Phase ............................................................................................................ 80
4.3.6 Monitoring & Evaluation Phase .................................................................................... 81
4.4 Finding the Patterns: Cross-Case Analysis ............................................................................ 82
5. The Results of the Design Workshop ......................................................................... 91
5.1 The Findings of the Design Workshop .................................................................................. 91
5.1.1 From vision to needs to results ..................................................................................... 92
5.1.2 The effect of asking the right questions and the right partners .................................... 95
5.2 Verifying the Collected Data ................................................................................................. 98
6. Conceptual Circular Building Process Facilitation Tool .............................................. 101
6.1 Building Blocks for Facilitation Tool .................................................................................... 101
6.2 Developing the Circular Building Process Facilitation Tool ................................................. 102
6.2.1 Getting started: The Circular Building Process ............................................................ 104
6.2.2 Practical Facilitation Tool as Guidance Towards Circular Buildings ............................ 104
6.3 Added Value of the Circular Building Process Facilitation Tool........................................... 112
V
7. Conclusion and Discussion ........................................................................................ 114
7.1 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 114
7.2 Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 116
7.2.1 Potential Value of the Conceptual Circular Building Process Facilitation Tool ............ 119
7.2.2 Theoretical and practical implications of the research ............................................... 120
7.3 Recommendations for Further Research ............................................................................ 121
7.4 Recommendations for Clients ............................................................................................ 123
Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 125
Appendix A: General List of Interview Questions (Dutch) ................................................ 133
Appendix B: General List of Interview Questions (English) ............................................... 135
Appendix C: List of Interviews ......................................................................................... 137
Appendix D: Full Transcription Interviews (Attachment) ................................................. 139
Appendix E: Data Collection – Interviews ........................................................................ 140
Appendix F: Data Collection – Desk Research .................................................................. 149
Appendix G: Programme of the Design Workshop ........................................................... 154
Appendix H: Structure of the Design Workshop ............................................................... 163
Appendix I: Full List of Challenges to be Faced for Change ............................................... 166
Appendix J: Formulation of the Question for the Tool ..................................................... 167
Appendix K: The Conceptual Circular Building Facilitation Tool ....................................... 170
Appendix K-1: Envisioning Phase .................................................................................................... 171
Appendix K-2: Co-Creation & Exploration Phase ............................................................................ 176
Appendix K-3: Experimentation Phase ........................................................................................... 180
Appendix K-4: Execution Phase ...................................................................................................... 185
Appendix K-5: Monitoring & Evaluation ......................................................................................... 187
VI
List of Figures
Figure 1: Shifting from compliance to opportunities for value creation................................................. 2
Figure 2: Industrial Ecology point of view dealing with systems of systems, the built environment..... 4
Figure 3: Structure of the Thesis Report ................................................................................................. 6
Figure 4: The Ellen MacArthur Foundation Circular Economy ‘Butterfly’ Diagram................................. 8
Figure 5: The potential of improving systems by optimisation, redesign and innovation for
environmental efficiency ......................................................................................................... 11
Figure 6: Summarised SWOT-Analysis of Circular Economy ................................................................. 12
Figure 7: The difference between a traditional building process and a circular building process ........ 15
Figure 8: The benefits of early integration of sustainability on the agenda ......................................... 16
Figure 9: Circular economy product and business model strategy framework .................................... 19
Figure 10: Summarised SWOT-Analysis of (Urban) Living Lab Concepts .............................................. 25
Figure 11: Simplified and logical transition path to sustainable development with the related steps
and activities............................................................................................................................ 27
Figure 12: The 'architecture' conceptual model of Smart City: a fourfold network seen as a
collaborative ecosystem in which value and affordance flows are interacting between
different actors ........................................................................................................................ 28
Figure 13: Matrix of Innovation Mechanisms in Living Lab Networks .................................................. 31
Figure 14: Middle-out approach and its directions of influence ........................................................... 32
Figure 15: Lean Start-Up methodology ................................................................................................ 36
Figure 16: Summarised SWOT-Analysis of (Circular) Business Model (Innovation) .............................. 38
Figure 17: Overview research method and short descriptions. ............................................................ 44
Figure 18: Conceptual model of the Circular Building process as an ecosystem including value and
affordance flows between actors ............................................................................................ 46
Figure 20: Analytical Framework Circular Building Process as a Collaborative Ecosystem ................... 52
Figure 21: Visualisation Present and Future Vision Town Hall Brummen, 2013-2033 .......................... 63
Figure 22: Copper8 Tendering Process Step-by-Step (Cécile van Oppen and Koen Eising, 2012). ........ 70
Figure 23: Visualisation of the keywords and statements that are provided by the participants during
the workshop that define in their opinions a circular building sector ..................................... 92
Figure 24: Test-validate-learn cycle .................................................................................................... 103
Figure 25: The Conceptual Model of the Circular Building Process as Collaborative Ecosystem that
embedded the ULL elements ................................................................................................. 103
Figure 26: Summarised Conceptual Circular Building Facilitation Tool .............................................. 105
Figure 27: Supportive tool for the Client to find and ask the right question for the Circular Building
Process .................................................................................................................................. 108
Figure 28: Supportive tool for the Consortium to ask the right question within the Circular Building
Process .................................................................................................................................. 110
Figure 29: Proposed extended innovation-mechanism matrix by including the 'Middle-Out' approach
and associated roles .............................................................................................................. 117
Figure 30: The process structure of the workshop from vision towards a Circular & Cooperative
Proposition Design ................................................................................................................. 163
VII
