About
The construction sector consumes 50% of raw materials and generates 35% of all waste, making it a major societal challenge. With strong commitments at national and European levels to reduce climate impact and promote a circular economy, the industry is under pressure to change. Initiatives like Buildings as Material Banks (BAMB), Material Passports, and circularity hubs are steps in the right direction, but more systemic changes are needed.
The UPSCALE project aims to drive this shift by transforming traditional supply chains into dynamic, waste-reducing networks. By linking state-of-the-art decentralised, networked web technologies with decomposed asset data in Building Information Models and Digital Twins, the project focuses on tracking and tracing construction and demolition waste (CDW). The project also includes behavioral research to encourage the adoption of new technologies and practices, alongside management and business model research to develop scalable processes and decision-making models for integrating CDW into sustainable supply networks. The project participants actively engage in co-design and co-creation with industry stakeholders to ensure practical and effective integration of these innovations into the construction sector.
Ambitions
BEHAVIOR
- Outcome 1: An irreversible cultural and behavioural change towards circularity and reuse can be recognised in the day-to-day activities of the construction value chain.
- Outcome 2: Acquiring and purchasing policies and processes have changed for CDW and circular materials, facilitating the circular transition of the built environment.
SYSTEM
- Outcome 3: Other industries apply the UPSCALE approach.
ECONOMY
- Outcome 4: Increased turnover from circular activities and products, and creation of more functionality from existing elements and new product flows to other industries.
- Outcome 5: Incentive for and reuse of CDW in new products, materials and constructions.
DEMONSTRATORS
WORK PACKAGES
There are five work packages:
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Project Management and Coordination
Project Management and Coordination
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Societal Trust and Community Engagement
Societal Trust and Community Engagement
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Digital System Infrastructure for Networked Circularity Twins
Digital System Infrastructure for Networked Circularity Twins
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Business Potentials in a Networked CDW Circular Economy
Business Potentials in a Networked CDW Circular Economy
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Learning Communities, Co-Creation, Exploitation and Dissemination
Learning Communities, Co-Creation, Exploitation and Dissemination
Results
Several research results are gradually shared on this page, including public project deliverables, conference articles, student reports (e.g. MSc graduation reports), and other
Student Reports
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Baauw, J. (2024) Data sharing for a Circular Building Economy: Managing tensions. MSc Graduation Thesis. Utrecht University, December 2024.
Go to thesis -
van Zandwijk, G. R. K. (2024) Seamless and Trustworthy Information Exchange in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations Industry: the Governance and Development of a Data Space. MSc Graduation Thesis. Eindhoven University of Technology, December 2024.
Go to thesis
Project Organization
Pieter Pauwels
TU/e
Project Management and Coordination
Laura Piscicelli
UU
Societal Trust and Community Management
Ekaterina Petrova
TU/e
Digital System Infrastructure for Networked Circularity Twins
Tong Wang
TUD
Business Potentials in a Networked CDW Circular Economy
Tomasz Jaskiewizc
RUAS
Learning Communities, Co-Creation, Exploitation and Dissemination
