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Paper short abstract

This paper examines circular construction as a form of repair. Through stakeholder interactions, study of demolition flows and design-led reuse experiments, it explores how digital craft and classification practices reshape how discarded materials are reassembled into future building practices.

Paper long abstract

Demolition is commonly framed as the endpoint of buildings, where materials enter waste streams and are processed through recycling infrastructures. Within emerging circular construction debates, however, reuse practices increasingly challenge this linear framing by attempting to reintegrate discarded materials into new building processes. This paper examines how such practices can be understood as forms of repair of urban material stocks.

Focusing on reclaimed brick flows in Hamburg, the study investigates how construction and demolition waste (CDW) is defined, classified, and circulated within existing recycling systems. Although Germany reports high recycling rates, many reclaimed bricks are downcycled due to irregular geometries, mortar residues, and regulatory classifications that limit direct reuse. Drawing on interviews with authorities, policy makers, demolition actors, recycling facilities, and design practitioners, the research traces how definitions of recycling and reuse are negotiated across institutional, regulatory, and professional contexts.

Alongside this investigation, the paper presents design-led experiments exploring digitally fabricated systems for irregular reclaimed bricks. These experiments are to test how digital craft based workflows can adapt assembly logics to non-standard materials and support reversible strategies.

Rather than presenting prototyping as a purely technical solution, the study approaches experimentation as a mediating practice that exposes tensions between material properties, regulatory categories, and professional routines. The paper argues that circular construction can be understood as building through repair, where the reassembly of demolition materials reconfigures both urban material flows and the socio-technical practices through which construction futures are assembled.