Full Circle Renovations

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267767

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

Full Circle Renovations

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Description

Only 15% of Danish homeowners consult architects when renovating their home. As a result, up to 80% use incorrect methods and materials – reducing sustainability, limiting accessibility and compromising the aesthetic integrity of their projects. Full Circle Renovations is a digital sustainability certification and communication platform that builds public awareness and confidence in sustainable residential renovations. It connects architects, homeowners and contractors to promote best practices

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

Full Circle Renovation is a digital communication and collaboration platform aiming to increase architect-led, holistic, sustainable renovations of residential properties, including single-family homes, row houses and multi-story residential buildings in Denmark. Denmark’s private residential renovation industry needs an overhaul. Studies of the renovated Danish building stock reveal that 60-80% of renovations use incorrect methods and materials1, causing billions of kroner in repairs costs for both owners and the state2. Currently, only 15% of Danish homeowners consult architects and specialists such as energy consultants when doing maintenance or renovations on their home3 - but could architects be the answer to increasing renovation quality and sustainability? Inspired by the European Commission’s Renovation Wave for Europe and New European Bauhaus initiative, Full Circle Renovation will provide a holistic sustainability certification and communication platform to assist architects, homeowners and contractors in making sustainable renovations. Full Circle Renovation is A holistic sustainability certification helping architects and homeowners understand and ensure social, environmental, economic and cultural sustainability in residential renovations. A website to share knowledge about the certification as well as methods and materials to fulfil each sustainability category through case examples, expert resources and networking. A collaboration platform for architects, homeowners and contractors to ensure the renovation meets all sustainability categories from design to construction to assessment. The project has taken the first steps to get community input and feedback through a public webinar hosted on 27 May 2021. Full Circle Renovation will collaborate with architects, homeowners, building industry experts and organisations to develop the certification and platform.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

Denmark is introducing new greenhouse gas emissions reduction thresholds to the Danish Building Code, making energy sustainability a requirement. However, these requirements are only energy focused. The Danish building stock has already seen widespread damage from energy renovations on cultural heritage and poorly designed spaces for inhabitants’ daily life. By contrast, Full Circle Renovations uses four sustainability categories – Social, Environmental, Economic and Cultural – to ensure a holistic sustainability approach. Each category is divided into subcategories to provide measurable markers for each. Social Health – inhabitants’ physical health (ie. ventilation, daylight, heating) Well-being – inhabitants’ mental well-being and spatial satisfaction Functionality – spatial optimisation for inhabitants’ daily life Social Responsibility – safe and ethical work environment practices throughout the project for inhabitants and workers Environmental Energy Consumption – i.e., CO2 emission reductions, insulating Circularity – material reuse and recycling Materials – sustainable and local sourcing Biodiversity – co-evolution of the home and surrounding environment Economic Adaptability – design for disassembly or future additions Return on Investment (ROI) – ensuring a higher market value Life Cycle Costs (LCC) – reducing inhabitants' long term costs Cultural Heritage – surveying, protecting and strategically transforming the building’s historic qualities Aesthetics – a considered approach to the quality of experience Neighbourhood – aiming to contribute to the surrounding community or apartments   Certified Full Circle Renovation projects must meet a minimum threshold in each subcategory. Architects and homeowners will be encouraged to use the certification framework as a design tool. They will then use the Collaboration Platform to facilitate the assessment process and ensure that the project meets the criteria during all project phases.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

“Homes are important. They are places where we live, pray, suffer, laugh and cry … places where we always want to return and remember how it was.” Oscar Niemeyer Respect for the building’s heritage Even though most of Denmark’s residential building stock has cultural heritage value due to its unique and diverse typologies, most are not protected under any conservation regime. By sharing knowledge about Denmark’s rich residential architecture history, Full Circle Renovations aims to show homeowners the beauty of their historic homes and choose to renovate rather than tear them down. Case examples will showcase renovations that modernise homes while conserving their cultural heritage value. Specific knowledge will be shared about materials and methods appropriate for the particular building typology –materials used for the renovation of a 1915 Neoclassical home might not be well suited in terms of energy consumption or aesthetics when renovating a 1960s mid-century modern structure Showcasing architects’ unique aesthetic abilities Unlike some other European Countries, Denmark does not require that renovation projects of a certain size or scope must be overseen by an architect. Mostly due to poor communication, homeowners have difficulty understanding what value an architect can bring to a renovation project. Instead, Danish homeowners often make renovations themselves or go directly to a contractor to perform maintenance tasks, leading to poor aesthetic continuity. With their education and experience across social, cultural and visual arts, architects have a unique understanding of aesthetics and the ability to communicate their ideas through spatial design. Full Circle Renovations aims to showcase architects’ unique ability to provide a holistic overview, management skills, aesthetic and visual communications.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

Full Circle Renovations aims to create a common vocabulary and understanding of holistic sustainable renovation among architects, homeowners, and contractors. The certification and digital platform will make the assessment process transparent and facilitate a wide sharing of knowledge through case study examples, expert research, and a network of professionals and businesses. Using a co-creation strategy throughout the project development phases, Full Circle Renovations will gather input and feedback from a wide range of stakeholders. During the Define phase of the project, interviews were conducted with architects, homeowners, contractors, and building industry organisations such as to understand barriers for sustainable residential renovation. In the Design phase of the project, a series of public webinars are conducted to gauge interest and gather feedback. In the first iteration held on May 27th with funding from Grundejernes Investeringsfond (Landowners’ Investment Fund), following the project presentation, there were reaction presentations from an expert panel made up of researchers in architectural sustainability. The webinar gathered the interest of over 1600 people across stakeholder groups from over 50 countries. Garnering very positive feedback, a second iteration, this time using a workshop format, is being planned in the coming weeks focusing on homeowners with Danske BoligArkitekter (Association of Residential Architects). The certification criteria will be detailed during the Develop phase by project groups of experts from each category drawing on different backgrounds and industries. Each group will include: 3 experts (researchers, academics, industrial experts) A residential architect A communications expert A Full Circle representative The project groups will meet in a series of workshops to develop and define the criteria and assessment methods. In the Launch and Refine phases user tests of all stakeholder groups will take place.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

The Full Circle Renovations certification is unique in its focus on architect-led residential renovations and digital collaboration platform. A focused and holistic certification Studies show that certified sustainable buildings outperform conventional buildings on environmental, economic and social parameters. Not surprisingly, industry and public interest in sustainability certification has increased. However, most certifications are not suited for the private residential market for several reasons. Usually are for new-build projects Price is too high for small-budget projects Most focus on energy, not holistic criteria Some take many resources for architects to learn and implement them Often too technical for homeowners to understand Usually applied retroactively The Full Circle Renovations certification framework helps inform sustainability decisions throughout all project phases. It uses a communication strategy that is straightforward, visually engaging, and demonstrates the value of architects to renovation projects. Using a base of expert knowledge and clear assessment criteria, it helps architects ensure they are making a sustainable renovation for their clients and streamline the process through the collaboration platform. Collaboration platform The collaboration platform will help architects, homeowners and contractors track sustainability throughout the project and submit documentation for the certification assessment. The basic freemium platform will ensure that for each project A survey of the existing property is conducted Each sustainability criterion is considered in the design phase Sustainability decisions are executed during construction The certification assessment is made with a defined set of documentation A “pro” subscription-based version of the platform will give additional access to project management tools such as scheduling and budgeting and communication networks for stakeholders to use.

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

Design (in process) February - June 2021 Prototype multiple iterations of the Full Circle Renovations sustainability certification and platform. Hold public webinar and private meetings to inform and engage stakeholders. The Full Circle Renovations website, renovatedenmark.com - launched on May 27th, has already collected over 100 subscriptions from homeowners, architects and researchers interested in following the project.  Facilitate workshop to gather expert input from building industry organisations. Establish the Full Circle Renovations Entity. Secure first round of investors. Develop July - September 2021 Form project groups and meet with them to define and detail the sustainability certification criteria. Develop the website and collaboration platform and perform user tests. Collect case studies of existing sustainable renovations applying Full Circle Renovations certified methods. Select sustainable businesses for advertising on the website. Launch October 2021 Launch the freemium version Full Circle Renovations. Gather input and feedback from users. Continue calls for investments and advertisers. Refine November 2021 - February 2022 Update the certification, website, and platform based on user feedback. Develop the “pro” (paid-subscription) Full Circle Renovations platform. Continue calls for investments and advertisers. Scope March - April 2022 Launch the “pro” (paid-subscription) Full Circle Renovations project management platform. Launch the first Full Circle Renovations Awards. Research market expansion opportunities. Continue upkeep and investment calls. Expand May 2022 Announce the winners of the Full Circle Renovations Awards 2022. Determine the next target market (another EU country, office renovations, public residential renovations). Several Danish organisations have already expressed interest including, BLOXHUB, the Danish Association of Architectural Firms and Danske BoligArkitekter.

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.