Systemic thinking in Regenerative Construction. A Dutch Approach.
History of Sustainable Construction in the Netherlands
Sustainable construction started gaining momentum in the Netherlands post the 1973 Gulf Embargo on oil. The restriction faced with fossil fuel dependency invigorated the search for alternatives. The building sector is the largest consumer of resources worldwide, it offers great potential to reduce energy, ground and material consumption because it is responsible for 30 % of global CO2 emissions and 40 % of global primary energy consumption.¹ There has been a consensus since to switch to more energy-saving, less polluting alternatives. Though the process of streamlining sustainable construction has been made possible using BREEAM, LEED systems introduced in 1990 & 1994 respectively, and the subsequent introduction of life cycle analysis in 2000 ¹, there is yet a need to address the process more holistically. One that takes into consideration Social Justice and the rights of nature among other things. This is where regenerative design plays a role.
Jack van der Palen and Regenerative Design in Groningen
Jack van der Palen is a leading architect in Regenerative Design in Groningen, Netherlands. He has over 25 plus years of experience in the field of circular economy, sustainable construction and Regenerative design. As a result, he has honed a relatively simple guiding model for regenerative construction.
Development Phase
The model establishes a baseline, the aim is to indulge in activities that create value and abstain from those destruct. In the development phase, rigorous vetting of materials using life cycle assessment(LCA) is carried out, it enables a quantitative estimate of the environmental impacts caused by construction materials and buildings¹. According to current knowledge, adopting LCA has an optimisation potential of more than 50 % so long as there is flexibility in design ². The European standard EN 15 978 is specially designed for the life cycle assessment of buildings and provides a detailed description of all aspects that are relevant in the context of property development ³.
At this stage, Jack stresses the importance of sourcing building materials locally, this helps the local economy as well as reduces the transportation footprint.
Next, comes the technical and functional design phase, this is Jack’s forte. He likes to imagine a structure as one having many layers. The basic idea being the purpose of a building can vary in time, the design should be such that the transition causes minimum disruption. Modular designs which are easy to assemble and dismantle is favoured, these elements can be altered with minimal effort and residual pollution. This facilitates re-use and repurposing and thereby extends the life span (more like the use-span)of buildings. Furthermore, less construction waste is produced on-site due to standardised processes⁴. Jack also advocates the use of tools like Design BIM, it offers great insight, perception and aids in co-ordination and transparency.
During our conversation, Jack mentioned that sometimes during the initial rounds of client discussion, it’s a little difficult to talk about the topic of dismantling the structure, even before its genesis!. But such early considerations is essential in choosing a design approach which aids in easy restructuring.
Value Retention
Our goal is to prolong the value retention phase. This is achieved by enabling the structure to evolve according to the changing utility of the property. Re-use must not necessarily involve the entire building, but can also be limited to a few easily recyclable components⁵. Innovative designs such as detachable concrete slabs go a long way towards reuse, which is significantly better than the alternative of it having to be demolished and then dumped in landfills. Small but systemic changes in design and mindset can add value.
There is no one size fits all when it comes to Regenerative Design. The goal is to procure local with minimal destruction to the ecosystem and embrace intelligent design. This is functionally a systemic approach influencing all stakeholders involved in the process.
[1]Sustainable Construction techniques, Sebastian EL Khouli Chapter 2
[2] Environmental objectives, criteria and assessment methods, Sebastian EL Khouli
[3] DIN German Institute for Standardization (pub.): Environmental management — life cycle assessment — principles and framework. DIN EN ISO 14 040. Berlin 2006
[4]Widman, Joakim; Swedish Institute of Steel Construction (pub.): Sustainability of Modular Construction. SBI Report 229–2. Stockholm 2004
[5]Ball, R.M. (2002) Reuse potential and vacant industrial premises: revisiting the regeneration issue in Stoke on Trent, Journal of Property Research , 19, 93–110.
