To this day, many techniques, tools and approaches have been developed and tested either on a lab scale or in pilot buildings around Europe. These demonstrations have served as great showcases for circular built environments, but they are yet to be demonstrated at higher level. Copenhagen, Hamburg, Helsinki region (City of Vantaa) and Greater London have teamed up with partners from the entire built environment value chain. The results will have a direct uptake in the value chain and enable cities to initiate circular transition. CIRCuIT will demonstrate three innovative solutions in the four cities: dismantle buildings to reuse materials; transformation and refurbishment; and design for disassembly and flexible construction. CIRCuIT will develop urban planning instruments to support cities in implementing circular construction solutions and initiate changes at system level; implement a Circularity Hub, a data platform to evaluate progress of circular economy and regenerative capacity; and set up a knowledge sharing structure, the CIRCuIT Academy, to promote upscaling of solutions. London, Hamburg, Helsinki region and Copenhagen have the ambition to bridge the implementation gap from individual pilots to the actual circular and regenerative city, by demonstrating the application of current and future developed tools and instruments for circular built environment at a city level in 36 demonstration projects. It is the intention to boost the regenerative capacity of the three cities and Helsinki region, and finalise the development of an advanced set of indicators for impact measurement in an effective and cross-European monitoring programme. The aim is to increase the regenerative capacity in the four cities, and to reduce the yearly consumption of virgin raw material by 20% in new built environments, and to show cost savings of 15%.

Concrete is the most significant construction material and C&D waste stream globally and in the EU. ReCreate aims at closing the loop for concrete at the highest level of utilization by demonstrating the deconstruction and reuse of precast structural components, which retains the secondary material at its highest value. Compared to virgin production, aggregate recycling and backfilling, reusing can reduce energy consumption and carbon footprint by 93-98%. The main objective is to pilot deconstruction and reuse towards maturity as a socio-technical system. The project develops the transition towards circular construction by investigating the systemic changes needed in the whole ecosystems of construction and demolition. Drawing from partnerships that cover the entire value chain, ReCreate will demonstrate deconstruction of intact precast components from condemned buildings and reuse thereof in new buildings in four real-life innovative pilots. The pilots examine the challenge of circularity against the feature of the industry being relatively local, taking into account differences in precasting technologies, building types, construction industry structures and regulatory environments in the different countries. To develop technology and integrate the value chain so that the businesses can become viable, the project advances smart pre-deconstruction audit and deconstruction methods; rapid low-cost quality assurance and standardization; logistics, traceability, and BIM and digital market place integration; and novel design practices and reassembly techniques. In addition ReCreate analyses the potential volume of the supply and demand for secondary concrete components in the EU; reviews how concrete reuse can help the EU to reach its ambitious energy and climate targets for 2030; investigates how secondary components can become socially acceptable for relevant stakeholders and citizens; and elaborates on the changes needed to the regulatory environment to support reuse.