An optimal circular business building

Publishing house DAVO will soon be the user of a building built with the highest possible degree of circularity. To this end, innovative steps were taken particularly in the steel construction. This has been coated with Biocoat® and can eventually be easily dismantled and reused.

"Building a fully circular building had been on our wish list since 2016," says Aniek Averesch, project consultant at Circular Steel. "Circular building, however, has only been taking concrete shape for a year. We had to look for a builder who wanted to co-develop the concept and a user who wanted to embrace our ambition." With the steel concept of Brink Staalbouw 'Circulairstaal', Metron Vastgoed and Aan de Stegge Twello, the new building plan for Davo Publishing House came up for an optimally circular commercial building.

Intensive search

Three pillars were always central to the development of the property. The building had to reusable, detachable and minimally burdensome for the environment. It required an intensive search to gather the appropriate products and concepts. "Ultimately, the building materials used for 80% are circular," says Teun Wesselink, technical project manager at Aan de Stegge Twello. "The remaining 20% is in the foundation. Not fully circular, but very CO₂-arm."

Circular and demountable steel structure

Particularly innovative steps were taken with the steel structure. The design took into account from the very beginning that the structure had to be fully dismantleable and reusable for other purposes after a period of time. Therefore, the steel elements were not welded together, but connected with bolted connections. This approach also reduced the CO₂-emissions. The traditional, color-matched coating was replaced with protective Biocoat®, a durable and transparent powder coating.

Repurchase guarantee

Circular Steel and all other shell suppliers provide a buy-back guarantee on the materials. This also makes the project unique. By registering all used materials and agreeing on take-back guarantees with the suppliers, there remains long-term visibility on the raw materials used and they can be reused when demolished. In addition, the building remains worth more money because parts do not have to be demolished, but can be reused.

However ambitious, circular steps are not always enthusiastically received yet. "In most cases the focus is on BREEAM; circularity still remains a tricky item," Averesch says. "Steel construction companies see reuse as a threat to their services. DAVO's circular commercial building has accelerated the acceptance process. The building is already serving as an example for other circular new construction projects.