By Daniella Donzelli Scorza - 18th August, 2025
At PLASTARC, we strive to be at the forefront of innovation in the built environment, especially when it comes to the intersection of sustainability, systems thinking, and social impact. Circularity is not just a sustainability goal, it is a systems shift that influences how we think about materials, value, and performance throughout the entire building lifecycle. The American Institute of Architects New York (AIA NY) recently hosted an interdisciplinary full-day symposium titled Circularity in Motion, spotlighting the barriers, opportunities, and innovations in advancing circular practices across the building lifecycle. As the construction industry increasingly confronts the environmental cost of “business as usual,” this symposium offered a timely examination of how circularity—particularly through material reuse and take-back programs—can shift the paradigm in design and construction in NYC, the US, and abroad. Through keynote speeches, presentations, and group sessions led by experts across architecture, government, manufacturing, construction, and education, the event consistently highlighted the interdependence of policy, industry practices, and cultural mindset in advancing circularity at scale.
During the session titled “Policies Paving the Way for Reuse and Innovation in NY,” NYS Assemblymember of the 125th District Dr. Anna Kelles stressed the importance of creating standards around circularity in construction and design. “Doing things uniquely and individualistically sets us back from our main mission,” she said.
Circular construction relies on materials and components that can be easily disassembled, reused, and repurposed. If individual companies develop unique systems or products that are not compatible with others, it can result in significant barriers to widespread adoption and impede efficient resource circulation. A truly circular construction sector requires collaboration across the entire value chain, including designers, builders, suppliers, waste managers, and policymakers. Individualistic approaches can lead to siloed efforts, missing opportunities for collective impact and system-level change.
Panelists emphasized that storytelling not only helps build client confidence but also underscores the urgency of transitioning to a more resource-resilient future. Through her presentation titled “Building Futures: Scaling Adaptive Reuse for a Circular Built Environment,” keynote speaker Lene Damsbo Brix highlighted the importance of awareness-building and messaging in accelerating circular adoption. Drawing from strategies used in Copenhagen, Denmark, she noted that resource scarcity—when communicated effectively—can serve as a compelling catalyst for circularity adoption. “The knowledge that we are lacking resources makes a big impression on people,” she shared. This idea cuts through abstract sustainability rhetoric by grounding it in the everyday reality of consumption. In a society that disposes habitually, reframing the conversation around depletion and future consequences compels both industry and consumers to re-evaluate their relationship with materials.
Brix further emphasized that true progress in circularity requires confronting the unknown. “The only way forward is by doing,” she said, advocating for a hands-on, iterative approach to developing reuse systems. Anticipating and addressing the inevitable questions that arise during early implementation—such as material identification, tracking, storage, and handling—should be viewed not as barriers, but as learning opportunities. By immersing in the process, stakeholders can refine strategies and build the knowledge base necessary for broader adoption. Brix noted that to foster widespread reuse initiatives, it is vital for designers and contractors to understand what materials are made out of, reinforcing the need for transparency and education across the value chain.
Panelists stressed that successful take-back programs depend on several key strategies:
Documenting processes and milestones to track circular progress;
Clearly assigning roles and responsibilities across the project team;
Providing design and demolition teams with standardized guidelines and tools to streamline recovery and reuse.
Clear metrics around cost savings, reduced waste, and enhanced resource management are proving critical in influencing client confidence. An illustrative case study came from the SPARC Kips Bay Campus—a joint effort between the NYC Economic Development Corporation and Dattner Architects. The project featured a comprehensive Circular Design and Construction Plan, which incorporated a circularity audit, life cycle assessments (LCAs), Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), and waste minimization trackers. The project underscored the value of well-documented systems, to support the integration of circular practices from the start of design through construction, with key considerations:
Conducting material inventories and condition assessments to determine reuse viability based on documented criteria.
Establishing digital tracking systems to log post-consumer materials throughout the construction and demolition process.
Throughout the session, attendees were challenged to rethink materials not as waste, but as future resources. This shift in language, from “waste” to “material,” is seen as pivotal in reorienting stakeholder mindsets and building new systems around end-of-life products. Circularity in the built environment demands more than design intent;it requires integrated protocols, aligned incentives, and regulatory clarity that enable reuse to become standard practice rather than exception. As the industry grapples with tightening resources and evolving policy landscapes, the greatest challenge is no longer about proving the value of circular strategies, but about aligning operations, documentation, and accountability to deliver on them. The path forward will be defined by our ability to operationalize these values through measurable outcomes, reliable systems, and consistent collaboration across the value chain.
At PLASTARC, we believe that sustainability and circularity are no longer optional, they are essential design principles that must be operationalized with rigor and creativity. Events such as Circularity in Motion inform our own approach to supporting clients who are navigating these transitions and help us stay connected to the broader ecosystem of changemakers and innovators. We look forward to continuing this dialogue and sharing strategies for embedding circularity into every phase of the building lifecycle.
