Design process of a circular and bio-based housing prototype – Living Lab Ghent

The construction industry is accounted for one third of all waste generation in the European Union (EU) countries. The Interreg Circular Bio-Based Construction Industry (CBCI) project explored the circular principles and bio-based materials for enhancing sustainability in construction industry. A new approach on circular and bio-based building design was demonstrated via a case study of a housing prototype; the Living Lab Ghent in Belgium. The design utilizes circularity tools and life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. For this purpose, nine preliminary designs were assessed in a comparative study, which consists of three basic construction methods: masonry, light-weight steel and wood framing construction. The integrated design process involved environmental, social and economic assessments. In the end of the study, a demountable residential building was constructed by use of prefabricated, hybrid bio-based panels. The building is currently located in KU Leuven Ghent Campus and will be dismantled and relocated into the city in 2026.

Biography:

Nuri Cihan Kayacetin is an architect with an academic specialization on life cycle sustainability. His dissertation titled ‘A Life Cycle Assessment Based Decision Support Tool for Early Design Phase of Mass-Housing Neighbourhoods in Turkey’ focused on the environmental impact of TOKİ housing developments on different scales; component, building and urban. He has experience in architectural practice on office and health-care facilities design in Turkiye and abroad. He also has participated in several architectural design competitions. In 2020, he joined KU Leuven in Gent for his post-doctoral studies on socio-ecological construction. The study was based on a living lab approach where several circular and bio-based materials & methods were tested in a real-life setting. He is currently an assistant professor in Bilkent University and his current research areas are integrated sustainable design, energy efficiency, circular and bio-based construction and socio-ecological life cycle assessment of the built environment.