Circular Construction

Code:

MESTEC27

Acronym:

CC

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Construction and Civil Engineering

Instance: 2024/2025 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Civil and Georesources Engineering
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Civil Engineering Structures

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MESTEC	6	Syllabus	2	-	6	49	162

Teaching language

Portuguese and english

Objectives

The Circular Economy action plan identifies Construction and Demolition as one of the five priority intervention sectors.

This Course Unit is intended to alert the student to the importance of sustainability in construction and the role of Civil Engineering in the transition to Circular Economy

It is intended that the student acquires knowledge and tools that allow him to make technical decisions, duly substantiated, with regard to the design, dimensioning, maintenance, renovation / demolition of works according to the premises of the Circular Economy in construction.

At the end of the course the student should be able to:

- make technical decisions that promote Circular Construction;

- dimension in civil engineering with the inclusion of recycled materials;

- know new construction and management technologies aligned with the principles of Circular Economy;

- be aware of national and international legislation on Circular Economy

Learning outcomes and competences

Environmental sustainability and the promotion of sustainable construction make the adoption of Circular Economy in Construction essential.

Thus, it is important to provide students with knowledge about the concepts associated with Circular Economy, strategic plans for its implementation and innovation technologies in order to enable them to apply them to construction.

The syllabus contents constitute a structured response to the objectives of the Course Unit, since they include information and training in relation to the various relevant aspects within the scope of the application of Circular Construction. The syllabus will provide students with technical knowledge and skills, which will allow them to intervene in a reasoned manner in the related fields, namely, promoting the valorization of different types of waste in the design phase and at the construction site.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Module I – Circular Economy

- Introduction to Circular Economy: The concept; Global challenges; Context and macro trends; Transition from the Linear Economy to the Circular Economy paradigm; Circular Economy and Socioeconomic Strategies; C2C “Cradle to Cradle”. Biological and technical cycles. Circular economy action plan

- Strategic management for circular economy: Reverse logistics, new business models and closed loop supply chains; Waste as Resource

- Technology and Innovation Ecology and Industrial symbiosis; Emerging technologies, remanufacturing, eco-design, biomimicry

 

Module II – Waste Management and Valorization for Circularity

- Waste management and valorization in Portugal: Definitions and Terminology; Waste classification; Waste hierarchy; Waste management operations

- Construction and Demolition Waste: Processing and treatment operations; Applicable legislation; EU Protocol; Pre-demolition audits

- Valorization of Construction and Demolition Waste: Technical feasibility; Case studies

- Valorization of other waste and by-products: Case studies

 

Module III – Waste and by-products in mortars and concretes made with hydraulic binders

- Use of recycled coarse aggregates in concrete according to LNEC E 471

- Technical feasibility of using sand and dust from construction and demolition waste, industrial waste, and by-products in concrete and mortars

 

Module IV – Sustainability and Circularity in Building Construction

- Building Construction sustainability. The process of sustainable construction. Framework;

- Design for durability. Construction products selection;

- Sustainable construction products. Life cycle assessment. Environmental certification and labelling. Environmental Product Declaration;

- How to build producing less CDW. Alternative construction systems. Design for disassembly;

- Reduction of energy consumption in buildings, design options;

- Building in-use phase. Renovation and end of life;

- Construction sustainability assessment methods. LEVEL(S) framework.

Mandatory literature

Ellen MacArthur Foundation; Towards The Circular Economy. Economic and business rationale for an accelerated transition, 2013
Torgal, F.P. & Jalali ; A Sustentabilidade dos Materiais de Construção, TecMinho, 2010
F. Pacheco-Torgal; V.W.Y. Tam; J.A. Labrincha; Y. Ding; J. de Brito; Handbook of Recycled Concrete and Demolition Waste, WoodHead Publishing, 2013

Complementary Bibliography

Ghisellini, P., Cialani, C., Ulgiati S. ; A review on circular economy: the expected transition to a balanced interplay of environmental and economic systems, Journal of Cleaner Production, v. 114, 2016
Kirchherr, J., Reike, D., Hekkert, M ; Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions, Resources, Conservation & Recycling, v. 127, 2017
Prestom, A. ; A Global Redesign? Shaping the Circular Economy, Chatham House , 2012

Comments from the literature

Bibliography provided to students in digital support placed on the CU page

Teaching methods and learning activities

The teaching model of this Course Unit will include theoretical, theoretical-practical and laboratory lessons. In the theoretical lessons, fundamental basic knowledge will be addressed and relevant theoretical knowledge will be transmitted. Theoretical-practical lessons will seek to reconcile theoretical presentations of the concepts and methodologies related to the subjects to be studied, presentation and discussion of practical cases that represent good practices or situations to be avoided within the scope of Circular Construction and, also, to promote contact with relevant projects through invited speakers and (or) visits to works. In laboratory lessons, tests demonstrating the application of waste as raw material in construction will be carried out.

The evaluation will be of the distributed evaluation type without final exam and consists of two Tests T1 and T2 being the first, T1, performed during the period of classes and the second test, T2 performed in the exam period. Each test has a weight of 50%.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Teste	100,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	113,00
Frequência das aulas	49,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Obtaining a final classification requires compliance with attendance to the curricular unit, as established in the rules of evaluation of the MESTEC. It is considered that a student complies with the attendance to a curricular unit if, having been regularly enrolled, does not exceed the limit number of absences corresponding to 25% of each of the types of classes provided for.

Calculation formula of final grade

CALCULATION OF THE FINAL CLASSIFICATION:

The final classification is defined on the basis of a distributed assessment without final examination consisting of two tests T1 and T2 being the first, T1, held during the class period and the second test, T2 held during the examination period. Each test has a weight of 50%.

The final classification, CF, results from the following calculation formula

CF=CT1×50%+CT2×50%

Where,

CT1 - classification of the assessment test 1 to be held at a date to be announced

CT2 - classification of the assessment test to be held during the examination period


NOTE 1: All students enrolled in the course unit are graded according to this assessment method.

NOTE 2: Students who, for reasons of force majeure, were not able to take Exam T1 and whose absence justification has been accepted by the DEC, will be assessed at a date and time to be arranged with the teachers.
NOTE 3: In the Appeal period and also in the Improvement examination the student attending the current year may choose to take that Examination in one of the following three modalities:
(i) Repetition of Test T1
(ii) Repetition of Test T2
(iii) Taking an exam about the totality of the subject including both parts T1 and T2.

 

Classification improvement

In the Improvement Examination the student attending the current year may choose to take this Examination in one of the following three modalities:
(i) Repetition of Test T1
(ii) Repetition of Test T2
(iii) Taking an Exam about the TOTAL subject including both parts of T1 and T2.