The book summarizes the panel discussions held 2-4 November 2022 here at the faculty of A+BE at TU Delft. More than 35 participants joined us from Europe and abroad to share their perspectives on circular education and their understanding of how learning in uncertainty challenges our pedagogies. A big thank you to everyone involved and EAAE for collaborating with us and also, to all people who helped make this book.
Download your copy here: https://books.bk.tudelft.nl/press/catalog/book/806
Circular economy (CE) rises from environmental concerns and the reduction of use of raw materials. It is primarily motivated by cost savings and “achievement of competitive advantage for firms rather than extra-economic premises.”
Diverse economies (DEs) emerge from the growing need to represent the diversity of forms of economic organization both within and outside global capitalism. They are portrayed as “necessary features of an intrinsically heterogeneous and locally emergent economy landscape comprising of a great variety of institutional forms and circuits of value.” They are also inherently dynamic, performed and in the process of becoming (both organizationally and geographically). They are important for community development.
DEs are increasingly aligned with CE practices as in the R strategies: this way, institutions and enterprises operating in DE serve as sinks for outflows and capture flows of stocks recirculating through DE itself. Alternative economic spaces often emerge from the need to provide means of survival for communities. The notion of ‘circuits of value’ provides an analytical glue between CE and DEs.
CIRCUITS OF VALUE: these refer to material and social pathways around which values are produced, transformed, exchanged and consumed through relevant economic activities. As these circuits are being constantly reconfigured by social relations, they embed multiple, diverse conceptions of both capitalist and non-capitalist values. By embedding non-capitalist values, ‘circuits of value’ go beyond Marx’s ‘circuits of capital’ that refer to pathways in which labor and commodity value circulate across spaces of consumption, production and exchange through monetary financial transactions and their supporting institutions and where any generated surplus is appropriated by the owner of the means of production and therefore value is mainly connected to capital-labor relations. Circuits of capital have also been distinguished between upper circuits (mainstream economic activities) and lower circuits (small-scale, informal enterprises). By looking into circuits of value instead of capital, upper and lower circuits can potentially “support the development of necessary conditions to sustain or improve extant social relations, human life and (circular) economic activities.”
Reference – Excerpts from:
Małgorzata Lekan, Andrew E. G. Jonas & Pauline Deutz (2021) Circularity as Alterity? Untangling Circuits of Value in the Social Enterprise–Led Local Development of the Circular Economy, Economic Geography, 97:3, 257-283, DOI: 10.1080/00130095.2021.1931109
Possibilities of alternative forms of economic geographies (geographies constructed by people in their struggle to make a living) by looking in a. sociality and materiality geographies, b. the political significance of the mutual formation of territorial and relational space and c. the notion that economic change is necessarily profound and becomes possible only through crisis.
These do not necessarily lead to progressive directions. Notions of otherness are encouraged by political economy to increase inequality by simultaneously benefiting the self of capital and privilege and by marginalizing low paid and under-valued engagement (or no engagement at all). So, are there ways of (re)thinking economy with a progressive difference? Can the ordinary economy act as a (partial) resolution of this contradiction? Can the power of the ordinary economy be used and its diversity/otherness generalized to enable coherent political mobilization around multiple non-capitalist social relations and values? The possibilities of alternative/diverse/other economic geographies are ever present and even practiced. The issue then, argues Lee, becomes the political consciousness of the reality and potential of social construction of alternative/diverse/other economic geographies.
Reference – Excerpts from:
Lee, R. (2013). The possibilities of economic difference? Social relations of value, space and economic geographies. In Alternative economies and spaces. New perspectives for a sustainable economy, ed. H. M. Zademach and S. Hillebrand, 69–84. Bielefield, Germnay: Transcript.
The Circular Built Environment Hub of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment will host the second Summer School on Circularity in the Built Environment from 5 to 7 July 2023.
Our focus will be on developing (new) ways of performing circularity as a desirable future in the social realm further inquiring on the normative actions required to scale up and accelerate the transition. During the three days we will have the chance to visit specific locations, and meet with people who can facilitate the discussion. Based on their input, and the CBE Hub “Scales to aspects model,” we will work together to identify how “circuits of value” can help us develop and prioritize our criteria for enabling circularity informed decisions.
Students from all levels of education (BSc, MSc) as well as PhD researchers and professionals are invited to participate.
The guest list of our summer school on circularity in the built environment is building up! So is our program of activities. Check our website for updates.
Conceptualizing future scenarios largely depends on people’s perspective on capitalism and the role of the state: one section sees no relation to the state as is now and the corporate structures that influence politics and policies. [anarchist thinkers like Bookchin and eco-socialists]. The other looks into the economics of the commons or the planetary boundaries and therefore rely on the state to provide with structures to support green investments and regulations related to decreasing carbon emissions and welfare provision. Great read.
Futures | Architecture after Architecture: Spatial Practice in the Face of the Climate Emergency
Want to talk with us on the current challenges of architecture and how these are affecting architectural education? Join us from 2-4 November, live here in Delft for the ‘Architectural Education in Times of Uncertainty’ Symposium. The event unfolds over three days with discussions on the integration of circularity in current curricula, new types of collaboration, transitions in pedagogy and learning in extreme complexity with an amazing line up. For more information and registrations please visit our website.
I couldn’t be prouder of my dear friend Markus Berger who -together with his colleague Kate Irvin – has compiled this amazing book I am holding in my hands right now. I am most grateful for having been entrusted to contribute with a chapter on repair and architecture. I had so much fun studying for it and writing it and I am delighted my piece found its place in this volume amongst so many interesting contributions.
Learn more about this book here
#circularity #circularbuiltenvironment #circulareconomy #repair #architecture #circulardesign
Here are the links to two new online platforms we launched recently. The first one is called ‘Circularity for Educators’ and contains a series of different types of resources that can support teaching based on the way we have currently framed this in our education. The second, is called ‘Educators for Circularity’ and is complementary to the first one. It provides with an opportunity to connect to colleagues, exchange views on topics related to circularity and/or share insights from teaching. It is also meant as tools for creating new opportunities for collaboration within a wider community of people (academics or not) who are in one way or another involved in circular ventures.
Click here for ‘Circularity for Educators’
https://www.tudelft.nl/…/educ…/circularity-for-educators
Click here for ‘Educators for Circularity’
During our Summer School sessions, our Dr. Bucky Lab, (aka Marcel Bilow) was silently circling the room with his equipment and was discretely filming our event. And now, he put together an amazing video that captures the energy in the room, while offering a comprehensive outlook of what went on in our sessions. Our first Summer School on Circularity in the Built Environment may be over, but thanks to this we will hold on to the event for much longer!
#BKTUDelft #circularityinthebuiltenvrionment #CBEHub #circularity #circulareconomy
After months working on the ‘Scales to Aspects’ diagram, we were finally able to put it to test. From Sunday, July 10 to Tuesday, July 12 we held a Summer School on Circularity in the Built Environment here at TU Delft. We used Binckhorst as a case study, a post industrial area in the Hague currently transitioning to a residential/commercial area.
So, how can we achieve a circular transition? Is it just by using circular building products or circular building practices for the new buildings? Or do we also need to consider how pushing the industry away from the city will affect our circular goals? Where will all necessary materials come from? And what would be the role(s) of the local citizens?
The ‘Scales to Aspects’ model developed here by the CBE Hub was scrutinized by forty participants from all over the world using the input of twelve guest lecturers and the CBE Hub group; four new visions were created for a more circular transition for Binckhorst based on its specific context. In the following months we’ll study the results of what has been an amazing experience for all of us here at BK TU Delft and we’ll make sure to keep this conversation going. A big thanks to everyone who helped make this possible.
#circularity #circularbuiltenvironment @BKTUDelft #summerschool
Can academia provide society with a safe space for developing imaginaries and socially performing alternative political futures? Can it help reconnect the many knowledge domains that appear now to be dispersed and fragmented? And what is the role of adult learning in achieving this transition and in dealing with complex issues such as sustainability? Check our CLIMA2022 contribution for the section on Education co-authored with @TillmannKlein here: https://proceedings.open.tudelft.nl/clima2022/article/view/215
#circularity #circulareconomy #clima2022 #lifelonglearning #adultlearning #professionaleducation
We at the Circular Built Environment Hub (CBE Hub) of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, at TU Delft are happy to announce the new dates for our Summer School on Circularity in the Built Environment. The event will take place July 10-12 (Sunday to Tuesday) in Delft.
The topic of scales remains our main focus: for the past year we have worked extensively with our group to determine how circularity manifests at different scales and how the scales interrelate. We look forward to sharing this input with you and to getting your feedback.
An amazing line up of colleagues and guests will give you the opportunity to deepen your understanding of the theoretical aspects of circularity and circular economy and to learn from current examples from practice and our research. Our definitive program will be uploaded shortly on our website. We will also be visiting Binckhorst, a district in the Hague that aspires to become an exemplary circular redevelopment for South Holland with mixed residential-commercial and industrial uses. We will use this district as a case study to contextualize our discourse.
Students from all levels of education (BSc, MSc) as well as PhD researchers and professionals are welcome to participate. Only limited spots are available.
Stay tuned for more information or visit our website
connecting data to information to knowledge 