The rapidly changing conditions under which we create our built environment point to a great need for rapidly implemented changes in building. Although the present poses challenges, it also leaves a great deal of room for creativity and new visions. Since October 2023, research has been conducted at the Institute of Architecture Technology into the possibilities of recycling-oriented construction with the goal of developing “standardized” building details. Under the title “Circular Standards,” this project for architects offers an opportunity to reconsider the (technical) details of this kind of building and to use a common language in the form of “standard details” to find possibilities to implement them. In the process, we discover and appreciate the potential of the existing building fabric in the sense of continuing to use anthropogenic stores of building parts and materials. In addition, “innovative” and “new” constructions are being developed that, among other things, put current joining and connecting technologies and (dis)assembly processes to the test. To that end, currently common standard constructions are being evaluated in terms of “recyclability.” In addition, the potentials for and obstacles to establishing such circulation-oriented details will be determined. The project addresses both recycling-oriented new construction and forward-looking renovation of existing buildings.
