Business case

Impact on the health and happiness of human populations

Well-being

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

Reduced use of virgin materials and/or an increase of the use of secondary and bio-based materials

Reduce Material Consumption (SDG12)

Reduced use of fossil fuel energy sources and/or increased use of renewable energy

Reduce Energy Consumption

Providing public and private education and support services at any level or for any profession, and governmental and public administration services, including judicial, regulatory, and legislative activities, taxation, defence, public order and safety, immigration services, foreign affairs and the administration of government programmes

Education and Government Services

Producing building materials and finished and semi-finished building products for construction

Construction Materials and Products

Extracting and gathering wood through forestry and producing wood and paper products

Wood and Paper

Using bio-based materials such as bioplastics, mushroom-based materials, etc.

Alternative bio-based materials and inputs

Using <a href="https://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals" target="_blank">materials that are not toxic or hazardous</a>.

Non-toxic materials and inputs

Designing products that can easily breakdown and degrade in the environment

Design for bio-degradability

Locally produced food has to travel shorter, which means less fuel is consumed and less greenhouse gases are generated. Moreover, buying locally produced food helps local farmers and markets and creates more jobs in the local businesses. 


Produce locally

Impacts

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Industries

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The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

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Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

Urban Opportunities

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Based on the work of [Bocken et al. (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309699661_Product_design_and_business_model_strategies_for_a_circular_economy), the Four Flows Framework serves as a simple framework for managing resource flows in a circular economy by using less (Narrow), using for longer (Slow), using again (Cycle), and using clean, regenerative materials and energy (Regenerate).

These different principles of circular economy can be applied to our socioeconomic metabolism: we can design stocks like buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and vehicles to be rich resource mines for the future, and design manufactured goods and consumables to be cycled and made regenerative. Furthermore, the focus must also centre on getting more value out of fewer materials. Achieving the aims of a circular economy—minimising material use, regenerating the Earth, and preventing material losses—can be done through these four key strategies mentioned above.

Source: Circle Economy. (2023). *[The circularity gap report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)* (p.22). Amsterdam: Circle Economy. 

Four Flows Framework

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Panyaden International School is situated in the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. It’s philosophy is to teach human values based on love for nature and Buddhist educational principles alongside an internationally competitive British curriculum. As the climate is mainly hot or wet, it became important as the school grew to provide for a sheltered sports arena. Thus the Panyaden International School Sports Hall was conceived.
True to its principles the whole school was built only with natural materials to bring the kids closer to nature and show them these materials are actually superior to the main construction materials as they keep the rooms cool and are pleasant to look at and touch. At the same time they reduced the carbon footprint by 90% compared to the standard techniques of construction.
Chiangmai Life Architect’s Bamboo Sports Hall for Panyaden International School combines modern organic design, 21st century engineering and a natural material – bamboo.
The design was based on the lotus flower as Panyaden International School is in Thailand and uses Buddhist teachings to infuse values into its academic curriculum and teach the underlying mechanisms of the human mind.
The brief was to build a hall that should be big enough to hold the projected capacity of 300 students, but still smoothly integrates with the previous earthen and bamboo buildings of the school as well as the natural hilly landscape of the area. It should provide modern sports facilities and use only bamboo to maintain the low carbon footprint and the “Green School” mission of Panyaden.
The hall covers an area of 782 sqm, and hosts futsal, basketball, volleyball and badminton courts, as well as a stage that can be lifted automatically. The backdrop of the stage is the front wall of a storage room for sports and drama equipment. On both long sides balconies provide space for parents and other visitors to observe sporting events or shows.
The design and material enable a cool and pleasant climate all year round through natural ventilation and insulation. At the same time, the exposed bamboo structure is a feast to the eye and an exhibition of masterly handicraft.
The hall was designed with the help of 2 independent engineers to modern safety standards of loads, shear forces etc. to withstand the local high-speed winds, earthquakes and all other natural forces.
The innovative structural design is based on newly developed prefabricated bamboo trusses with a span of over 17 meters without steel reinforcements or connections. These trusses were prebuilt on site and lifted into position with the help of a crane.
Panyaden’s Sports Hall’s carbon footprint is zero. The bamboo used absorbed carbon to a much higher extent than the carbon emitted during treatment, transport and construction.
The bamboo was all well selected for age and treated with borax salt. No toxic chemicals were involved in the treatment process. The life span of the bamboo hall is expected to be at least 50 years.
 https://www.designboom.com/architecture/chiangmai-life-architects-bamboo-sports-hall-panyaden-international-school-thailand-08-09-2017/ http://www.archdaily.com/877165/bamboo-sports-hall-for-panyaden-international-school-chiangmai-life-construction
http://inhabitat.com/breathtaking-bamboo-building-withstands-earthquakes-and-boasts-a-zero-carbon-footprint/
http://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/2017/08/23/bamboo_sports_hall.html
http://www.wantoday.com/NR/2017/Aug_15/index.html
http://www.highsnobiety.com/2017/08/10/bamboo-sports-hall-panyaden-international-school/ 
http://trendsfolio.com/2017/08/bamboo-sports-hall-for-panyaden-international-school/
https://divisare.com/bamboo-architecture http://www.gooood.hk/bamboo-sports-hall-for-panyaden-international-school-thailand-by-chiangmai-life-architect.htm
http://www.designmagazin.cz/architektura/69163-thajska-sportovni-hala-je-postavena-cela-z-bambusu.html
https://www.themanual.com/living/bamboo-sports-hall-gym/
http://worldarchitecture.org/articles-links/cvfmh/cla_used_organic_flowing_curves_with_newly_invented_bamboo_trusses_for_bamboo_sports_hall_in_thailand.html 

Chiang Mai

Thailand

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Chiangmai Life Architects

Panyaden International School

A 782 square metre school sports hall in Thailand was built from bamboo, showcasing the strength and beauty of this sustainable construction material.