Urban Mining Design – Planning for the Age of Recycling

In her lecture, architect Annette Hillebrandt gave an overview of the Urban­ Mining design strategy as a factor contributing to the “material transition.” Building according to the Urban Mining concept means following a strategy of cycle-orientated planning geared towards the “circular economy.” It involves enabling long-term multiple uses while at the same time employing building methods that facilitate the precise disassembly of structures into their component materials, hence creating efficient recyclability.

“It will be important to implement the goal of resource-efficient construction in the training of future architects and to supply as much information as possible to students and professionals alike. There is a huge knowledge deficit when it comes to resource-efficient building materials and construction methods, and this must be systematically reduced.” (Annette Hillebrandt at the IRBAU 2017).