Topics
We organise our actions in six thematic & strategic agendas:
Strategic Agendas:
Bio-economy
Circular Construction
Chemicals/Plastics
Manufacturing Industry
Food Chain
Water Cycles
Seven leverages provide additional support:
Leverage effects:
Lever Policy Instruments
Lever Circular Procurement
Lever Communication
Lever Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Lever Financing
Lever Jobs & Skills
Lever Research
What, why and how?
Why are we pursuing a circular economy?
Future visions 2050
How do we see our circular future?
About our management
Who steers what at Flanders Circular?
CircuLab Limburg
Multidisciplinary learning and research pathway for a new construction campus
A new, multidisciplinary research collaboration is under development at the science park in Diepenbeek. In this research and valorisation centre, POM Limburg wants to promote circular construction from different fields of expertise. This will be done through the construction of a new circular building on Campus Diepenbeek.
A learning and research process will be linked to the design and construction process: Circulab. This will analyse circular building from a legal, economic and design and construction point of view.
The ultimate goal is twofold. By considering the circular construction project as a large multidisciplinary business case, we want to draw lessons to fundamentally change the procurement landscape for circular construction.
In addition, based on our trajectory, we want to create a manual for circular construction. In it, we will identify the most common pain points and propose solutions. In this way, we hope to convince more clients and other construction actors to build circularly and to provide them with a clear roadmap.
POM Limburg
Partners UHasselt, Embuild Limburg (voorheen Confederatie Bouw Limburg)
Sectors
Themes
Organisations
Website
MOST IMPORTANT
RESULTS
- We organised a press conference, attended by Minister Demir, to publicise the project, the new building campus and the theme of circular construction to the general public.
- Architecture and Industrial Engineering students from UHasselt collaborated on circular design proposals and a menu of circular materials.
- We drew up a Cookbook, a compilation of learning lessons in five compact sheets: general lessons for circular building, the use of tools and instruments, optimal cooperation in the circular building process, modular permit and rule-free zone and tender procedures.
- We organised a closing event for the general public with three workshops: 'How to realise circular ambitions with all construction partners', 'GRO to set circular ambitions', and an interactive debate on legal issues.
MOST IMPORTANT
LESSONS LEARNED
- Organising joint activities with the entire team, for instance a training or inspiration visit, is very conducive. That way, everyone is uniformly informed, everyone speaks the same language and it is easier to set common ambitions.
- It is important for a team to be multidisciplinary, with different roles, tasks and responsibilities clearly defined. Commitment to good communication is also important.
- Circular checklists or tools, such as GRO, TOTEM, Circular Built ... help a lot in drawing up a solid ambition framework, as well as in adjusting it later and evaluating it afterwards.
- Choosing the right form of construction organisation and the right tendering procedure is as important in the preparation as the tender itself. There is no single ideal form of construction organisation: everything depends on the concrete case.
WHAT DOES
THE FUTURE HOLD?
The Circulab project will continue after its completion. The joint programme of POM Limburg and Embuild Limburg 'Boost Bouw Limburg' is committed to ambitious innovation and progressive transformation of the entire Limburg construction sector. The programme contributes to the objective of making Limburg construction companies further competitive for the future.
In the coming years, we will focus on inspiration, expertise and innovation. To this end, we outline three routes with specific objectives.
Inspiration route:
- We inspire construction companies, regional governments, knowledge institutions and other parties to take action around circular construction.
- We connect companies, governments, experts and knowledge institutions during networking and matchmaking events.
Expertise route:
- We encourage research and organise expert sessions and learning networks.
- We help organisations looking for good advice and bring them into contact with specialists and experts.
Innovation route:
- Circular construction is complex and involves several principles. Companies that have an innovation issue or a concrete case, we put them in contact with experts.
- In co-creation, we look for answers, tools and best practices. We launch projects with a leverage function for the entire sector. These projects can remove bottlenecks and have a solid impact on the transformation.
In addition, the new construction campus on the Diepenbeek campus will be realised. That campus will become the hub of the Limburg sector. Circularity and the cross-disciplinary approach are central to this. For the Limburg construction sector, the building will be a model and inspiration for: innovation, sustainability and flexibility. Future innovations in construction will arise here in cooperation with industry and knowledge institutions.
Needs change over time. Therefore, the building will adapt quickly and efficiently with as few structural and technical interventions as possible. Attention will be paid to the economical use of energy and materials. The aim is to minimise the building's footprint.
More info on the project and all activities can be found here
Info about the circular week, presentations and vimeos can be found here
