#21 Sustainable Construction with Circular Economics feat. Professor Carl Hass (University of Waterloo)

Build Our Future Podcast

We will see a lot more prefabrication, modularization, and other signs of the move toward a more circular economy in construction in the next decade. Here to speak about his research and share his thoughts on circular economics and adaptive reuse in construction is Professor Carl Haas from the University of Waterloo. Professor Haas starts by giving listeners an idea of his academic career before diving into his recent paper on adaptive reuse and the complexities of managing large construction projects. This segues into a deep dive we take into the topic of circular economics and Professor Haas comments on how it is a different approach to sustainability than traditional notions of ‘going green’; buildings can be altered rather than knocked down and replaced by ‘smarter’ ones! We discuss examples of reused buildings, what types of alterations can be made, and when adaptive reuse versus building afresh presents the most advantages. We also talk about the idea of building with reuse in mind, sharing examples of this paradigm from different cultures. Here Professor Haas comments on the role of modularization as well as the technology that is making this practice increasingly possible. Along with this, Professor Haas discusses the move toward a more circular economy from political and economic perspectives. Wrapping up for the day, we talk about some of our guest's exciting new research as well as the innovative courses bridging architecture and engineering being taught at the University of Waterloo!