How can facade design contribute to a circular economy?

The construction sector has to contend with a large impact on the environment. In the past years, the growing environmental awareness has led to the introduction of the concept of circular economy (CE). Also in the construction sector, the transition from a linear economy towards a CE is encouraged. Architectural designers and advising engineers can support this transition through their design choices. To facilitate those design choices, VUB Architectural Engineering published a booklet containing Design Qualities for a circular economy.
However, from previous research it could be discovered that designers and engineers demand to have guidance on circularity principles on a more focused and applicable level than the general building level, i.e. on the level of building components. In this study, the design qualities for a circular economy are applied to the facade.
Five different building projects with circular potential were selected. Through discussing which design qualities were applied to the facade design, which were not applied and which could have been applied, and by developing an overview, conclusions and recommendations can be made for designers on the application of design qualities for a circular economy in facade designs.