Understanding Success Factors and Challenges to Circular Industrialised Housing: An Interdisciplinary, Process-Driven Approach

Annette Davis; Núria  Martí Audí; Gerard  van Bortel; Gemma Burgess

doi:10.55845/joce-2026-41349

Authors

Annette Davis School of Architecture La Salle, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona, Spain Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8608-1478
Núria Martí Audí School of Architecture La Salle, Ramon Llull University Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8005-4786
Gerard van Bortel Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3736-0483
Gemma Burgess Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3856-9572

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55845/joce-2026-41349

Keywords:

Circular Economy, Industrialised Construction, Social Housing, Affordable Housing

Abstract

The integration of Circular Economy principles with Industrialised Construction presents a crucial pathway for addressing the housing and climate crises. Industrialised Construction encompasses a controlled manufacturing approach, including prefabrication, off-site manufacturing, and on-site fabrication methods such as 3D printing, to produce repeatable products and reconfigurable systems that increasingly integrate digitalisation and Industry 4.0 technologies. However, scholarship on practical implementation across different national contexts remains limited, whilst existing frameworks are entrenched in linear approaches. This interdisciplinary study integrates practitioner knowledge across four distinct fields categorised as policymakers and disseminators, housing providers, designers, and off-site contractors to refine a process-driven lifecycle framework developed by the authors. The framework is structured around four key circular process types, rather than linear project stages: (re)planning, (re)designing, (re)manufacturing, and (dis)assembly. Drawing on interviews and survey analysis with 31 participants working at the forefront of applied circular and industrialised housing across the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Spain, success factors and challenges are identified and compared. The findings highlight the critical influence of the (re)planning process, cultural and governance factors, and identify new sub-themes for the lifecycle framework. The study provides best practice insights, supporting the transfer of Circular Industrialised Housing innovations across contexts with varying maturity, particularly within social and affordable housing.

Author Biographies

Annette Davis, School of Architecture La Salle, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona, Spain

Architect, graduated in 2014 from the University of Bath (UK), Master of Architecture in 2016 from Manchester School of Architecture (UK), and Advanced Diploma in Professional Practice in 2019 from the University of Westminster (UK). Currently a PhD Architecture candidate at the University Ramón Llull La Salle (Barcelona, Spain), investigating circular industrialised housing to address climate and housing challenges.

Brings four years of professional practice and a further four years of research experience at the doctoral level, reflecting commitment to addressing the urgent twin climate and housing crises. Recently employed as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow for the Horizon 2020 RE-DWELL project. Has worked with leading architectural firms in London including Hopkins Architects, Farrells and Tonkin Liu on residential, commercial, and public realm projects. Specialist areas include Life Cycle Assessment, circular economy principles, and sustainable construction methods.

Aims to drive change in industry through applied research and engage in knowledge transfer amongst practitioners, policymakers, and educational institutions. In academia has served as a lecturer in construction for the Bachelor's architecture program and as a visiting researcher at the University of Cambridge (UK) in 2024, Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) in 2023, and Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain) 2022.
Núria Martí Audí, School of Architecture La Salle, Ramon Llull University

University:
Arquitectura La Salle, Barcelona
Presentation:
Architecture degree 1997 School of Architecture of Barcelona (ETSAB/UPC). PhD 2005 with the doctoral thesis on “Gaudi’s shutters as tools of light", awarded by the Architecture Foundation.
- Academic experience: Teaching Project Design and Architectural Construction at La Salle School of Architecture of Barcelona (ETSALS / URL). Tutor of Degree Projects and Master Teacher in 2005. Director of the Construction Department.
- Research: carried out in Mediterranean Architecture with IAM research group. Participation in congresses as: CAH20thC, International Energy Forum on Solar Building Skins, Architectonics Network, CIDUI, SIIE, CISTI …
- Professional exercise: designs residential properties and public buildings as a pedestrian area a the School of Music and a the indoor heated swimming-pool and Municipal Sports Centre.
Gerard van Bortel, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology

Gerard van Bortel, PhD, is assistant professor of Housing Management at Delft University of Technology at the Faculty of Architecture’s Management in the Built Environment department. Gerard specialises in the organisational strategies, cross-sector partnerships and governance of social and affordable housing providers, and has published widely on these topics. Gerard is supervisory board member of a large Dutch housing association and works as a social housing performance auditor in the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders).
Gemma Burgess, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge

Professor Gemma Burgess is Director of the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research in the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge. She leads a multidisciplinary team working on policy-oriented research projects for a broad range of funders. Widely published, Gemma’s research interests include land supply and the delivery of housing through the planning system, housing and digital innovation, digital exclusion, and housing options for an ageing population. As a co-investigator for the Construction Innovation Hub grant, Gemma led work on the non-technical barriers that can inhibit the take up of innovation in construction, research on boosting the uptake of offsite and modular house building, and research exploring the governance of smart city projects.

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