Circular Design in Buildings, Interiors: A Practical Guide for Sustainable Solutions
matt morley, Biofilico
What is Circular Design in Real Estate?
Circular design is an innovative approach grounded in the principles of the circular economy and systems thinking. It focuses on creating spaces and products that are inherently regenerative, with the aim of reducing waste and pollution, while keeping materials in use for as long as possible.
In real estate, circular design redefines how buildings and interiors are conceived, constructed, and maintained. It considers the entire lifecycle of a product—from raw materials to end-of-life—ensuring that resources are used efficiently and are reused, refurbished, or recycled at the end of their lifecycle.
By applying circular design principles to real estate, we create spaces that are not only healthier for occupants but also contribute to a more sustainable future for the planet. It is a transformative approach that reshapes how we think about building and interior design, with a focus on generating lasting, positive environmental impact.
The Circular Economy: Addressing Global Challenges
The circular economy is an inclusive, resilient economic model based on renewable energy and materials. It focuses on keeping resources in use for as long as possible, reducing waste and pollution, and promoting sustainable consumption and production.
This approach helps tackle critical global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. By reducing reliance on new raw materials, the circular economy supports more sustainable development and improves resource efficiency.
Adopting the circular economy requires a shift in business models, supply chains, and design processes. Leading organisations like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation are driving this transformation by promoting circular design principles that enable businesses to reduce their environmental impact and protect natural resources.
Implementing Circular Design Principles in Buildings and Interiors
Circular design principles, widely used in industries like fashion and packaging, are especially impactful in real estate and interiors. In these sectors, design decisions at the outset determine up to 80% of a product’s environmental impact, making it crucial to adopt sustainable practices early on.
Implementing circular design involves:
Designing out waste and pollution: Creating products and spaces that don’t contribute to the landfill.
Keeping materials in use: Ensuring that materials can be reused, recycled, or repurposed.
Regenerating natural systems: Using materials and processes that enhance rather than deplete the environment.
Sector Insights and Applications
Circular economy principles can be implemented across various sectors, offering tangible benefits for people, businesses, and the environment. By integrating circular design, industries can address sustainability challenges, reduce waste, and create long-term value.
In buildings and interiors, circular design is transforming the way materials are selected, used, and disposed of. By prioritising sustainable materials and designs that enable easy recycling or repurposing, businesses can reduce their environmental footprint. This approach not only supports environmental goals but also benefits businesses through increased efficiency and cost savings.
Business Cases and Benefits
The circular economy offers a sustainable, long-term model that aligns economic growth with environmental responsibility. It focuses on optimising supply chains, using recycled materials, and ensuring packaging is recyclable or reusable—practices that reduce waste and drive efficiency.
Circular design helps businesses cut costs, reduce pollution, and move towards more sustainable practices. By adopting these principles, companies can align with consumer demand for eco-friendly products, enhancing brand reputation and customer loyalty.
In addition to environmental benefits, circular design strategy enables businesses to unlock new revenue streams and business models. These include remanufacturing, product leasing, and refurbishment services, all of which create additional value and improve profitability.
Getting Started with Circular Design
Packaging is the first thing customers notice, and its environmental impact is just as important as its visual appeal.
Circular design principles focus on creating sustainable packaging that can be recycled, reused, or biodegradable. This approach reduces waste, supports the circular economy, and meets the growing demand for more eco-friendly solutions. By prioritising sustainability in packaging design, businesses can not only align with environmental goals but also improve operational efficiency and reduce material costs.
Measuring Success and Impact
To measure the success of circular economy design, an adaptive strategy offers six key leverage points that help designers eliminate waste and circulate products at their highest value. This strategy acts as both a diagnostic tool to assess a project’s alignment with circular principles and a guide for redesigning systems for sustainability.
By applying the three principles of circular design—extending product life, reducing waste, and regenerating natural systems—designers can develop solutions to tackle the biggest challenges of the linear economy. Collaboration and creativity play a vital role in co-creating ideas that can scale and push sustainability forward.
The strategy is grounded in practical case studies from the Foundation’s Circular Design Leaders, offering real-world insights to help turn ambition into action and create useful material that benefits both people and the planet.
The Future of Sustainable Solutions in Real Estate
The world faces complex challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and biodiversity loss, which require urgent action in the real estate sector. Sustainable solutions for buildings need a fundamental shift in business models, supply chains, and design processes.
The focus is moving beyond energy efficiency to creating buildings that regenerate the environment and support occupant well-being. Artificial intelligence plays a key role in optimising building performance and supporting circular design practices.
In the future, real estate will rely on collaboration across sectors to integrate nature into design, making buildings not only energy-efficient but also restorative for both people and the planet.