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Despite state efforts to enhance affordability, access to adequate housing, deemed a fundamental human right, remains a global challenge. Projections indicate a looming housing deficit affecting 1.6 billion people by 2025, necessitating an integrated approach aligning environmental preservation with housing development. Circular Economy (CE) principles are identified as instrumental in advancing sustainable Social Housing Policies (SHPs). A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) placed best practice documents establishing a positive correlation between CE principles and increased social housing supply. The circularly built environment is recognised for reducing waste, carbon emissions, and resource depletion. However, this research proposes a nuanced perspective, asserting that integrating CE principles addresses housing needs and fosters environmental sustainability, job creation, and economic growth. Crucially, community, government, and the circular economy emerge as pivotal actors in overcoming challenges inherent in SHPs. This study contributes significantly to the discourse on housing policies and sustainability, advocating for an inclusive and environmentally conscious approach to the global housing deficit.

This research explores sustainable construction practices focusing on material reuse, specifically reclaimed structural steel and slag. In general, the building stock is not designed for deconstruction, and material recovery for reuse at the end of life of buildings is complex and challenging. The study evaluates the benefits of content reuse through a thorough analysis of three case studies—BedZED eco-friendly housing, Angus Technopôle building, and the use of steel slag aggregate in road construction. It highlights the value of reclaimed structural steel and by-products like steel slag in waste reduction, energy conservation, and resource preservation. The BedZED case study showcases recycled steel’s cost-effectiveness and economic viability in construction, while the Angus Technopôle building exemplifies the adaptive reuse of an old steel frame building. Additionally, the third case study showcases the benefits of using Electric Arc Furnace C slag in asphalt-wearing courses, highlighting the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact. The versatility of reclaimed structural steel and slag is evident in integrating material reuse in building construction and road infrastructure. These case studies illustrate the potential for reusing steel and its by-products in various construction contexts, from eco-friendly housing to road development. Therefore, the study aims to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of sustainable practices within the construction industry by showcasing the successful incorporation of reclaimed steel and slag in these projects. Considering the significant contributions of building construction to global greenhouse gas emissions, raw material extraction, and waste production, the study advocates for adopting circular economy (CE) principles within the construction industry. Finally, the analysis of case studies underscores the advantages of reclaimed structural steel and the valorisation of steel slag through the lens of CE and their contribution to sustainable development.

Building construction accounts for a significant proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions, raw material extraction, and waste production. Applying circular economy (CE) principles in the building construction industry would considerably reduce these values. However, uptake by the industry is relatively slow, which is largely attributed to sectoral barriers, including limitations in knowledge and experience. This review paper aims to assess and contribute to diminishing these obstacles by offering a comprehensive review of circular material usage principles and strategies within the construction sector. Opportunities and facilitators of change are also presented, including innovations and emerging technologies in recycling, digitization, robotic systems, novel materials, and processing. Finally, four case studies demonstrate the application of circular theory via a novel block system, recycled aggregate, modular kitchen reuse, and an energy efficiency retrofit. The conclusions show that future efforts should prioritize the development of strong regulatory frameworks, awareness initiatives, and international cooperation. In this regard, the integration of technological advancements, such as AI, robotics, and blockchain, is essential for optimizing waste management efficiency. Furthermore, education on circular practices plays a critical role. Through global collaboration, standardizing circular construction approaches can promote a more sustainable and resilient building construction industry.

Buildings are responsible for several negative impacts on the environment, most of them related to nonrenewable energy consumption, increasing the concern regarding buildings energy efficiency. In this context, computer software has been used to estimate the energy needs of the built environment, and the Building Information Modelling (BIM) methodology can be used to simplify this process. This study aims to validate a BIM-based framework to streamline the energy analysis of Portuguese buildings, based on the method of the national regulation for the thermal performance of residential buildings. Currently, designers need to spend considerable time assessing all the building characteristics and performing the mandatory calculations for energy performance analysis. It is also intended to link the results of the energy simulation with a Building Sustainability Assessment method—SBToolPT-H. The purpose is to demonstrate how it is possible to benefit from this approach to simultaneously improve building sustainability during the design stage. To do so, different case studies were modelled in Autodesk Revit and exported to a BIM energy tool to perform energy simulation analysis. The results were validated against the official assessment method of the Portuguese thermal regulation and were successfully used to assess the SBToolPT-H energy efficiency category. The research outcomes provide design teams with a reliable BIM-based framework to improve building energy performance and to develop thermal projects while enhancing building sustainability. It also increases the knowledge about the integration of sustainability assessment in the BIM environment, providing new insights for complete integration.

Solar passive strategies that have been developed in vernacular architecture from different regions are a response to specific climate effects. These strategies are usually simple, low-tech and have low potential environmental impact. For this reason, several studies highlight them as having potential to reduce the demands of non-renewable energy for buildings operation. In this paper, the climatic contrast between northern and southern parts of mainland Portugal is presented, namely the regions of Beira Alta and Alentejo. Additionally, it discusses the contribution of different climate-responsive strategies developed in vernacular architecture from both regions to assure thermal comfort conditions. In Beira Alta, the use of glazed balconies as a strategy to capture solar gains is usual, while in Alentejo the focus is on passive cooling strategies. To understand the effectiveness of these strategies, thermal performances and comfort conditions of two case studies were evaluated based on the adaptive comfort model. Field tests included measurement of hygrothermal parameters and surveys on occupants’ thermal sensation. From the results, it has been found that the case studies have shown a good thermal performance by passive means alone and that the occupants feel comfortable, except during winter where there is the need to use simple heating systems.

The priorities in the design of more sustainable buildings are quite dependent on the specific social context. In developing countries, the sustainability concept and priorities in the residential buildings sector are quite different from the ones of the developed countries, since there are still basic needs to answer. Therefore, this research is aimed at contributing to a better understanding of the concept of social sustainability in the residential building sector of the developing countries. A methodology to define and prioritise the social sustainability indicators is proposed and applied in the context of Palestine. The presented methodology is based on the sustainability indicators of international standards, on the most well know building sustainability assessment methods and in the analysis of their application to a specific context. It includes a methodology to prioritise the list of social indicators, by considering the expectations of two groups of building stakeholders: designers and building users. At the end, this research proposes a framework of social aspects to consider in the design of more sustainable residential buildings in West Bank, Palestine that is composed of twenty-one indicators, distributed among six sustainability categories and ranked according to their weight in the overall of sustainability level.

Due to its intricate production processes, complex supply chains, and industry-specific characteristics, the construction industry faces unique challenges in adopting circular economy (CE) principles that promote resource equity. To address this issue, this study aims to delve into identifying stakeholders’ opinions and perceptions regarding key CE strategies across different stages of the building life cycle (BLC). Both European and non-European stakeholders within the “CircularB” COST Action network and beyond participated in this research. Three methods were employed to assess stakeholders’ opinions: an online survey, a structured survey with a semi-guided workshop, and creative thinking round table discussions. Natural language processing (NLP), specifically topic modelling and sentiment analysis, was used to analyse the data collected from the online survey, which gathered text-based opinions from 209 participants on the cost-benefit aspects of circularity strategies. The structured survey, which collected data from 43 workshop participants, evaluated the perceived importance of CE strategies across various BLC phases and assessed the adoption of selected CE strategies in current or past projects. Finally, the Six Thinking Hats® activity, employed in the round table discussions, generated ideas from 25 professionals regarding the broader implementation challenges and opportunities of CE in construction. The research findings highlight the need to bridge the gap between theory and practice by fostering active industry stakeholder involvement in the transition to a CE model. The analyses of the collected stakeholder opinions through the three activities contribute to proactive and collaborative efforts aimed at advancing resource equity in the construction sector and promoting just and inclusive resource use. In summary, this research offers a comprehensive understanding of stakeholders’ opinions on CE strategies and provides guidance for the development of targeted policies and strategies to accelerate the integration of CE principles in the construction industry.