Here’s an extraordinary initiative: in the Netherlands, one of the first practical examples of fully circular architecture is a temporary court, which had been set up in Amsterdam pending completion of the renovation of the usual facilities.
Designed by the Dutch firm cepezed, the 5,400m2 courthouse will temporarily house the court. There are courtrooms, spaces for magistrates and detention facilities for suspects.
The relocation of the building is part of a circular strategy to avoid wasting materials and energy and reuse the building in a quality manner. The temporary court was, from the start, designed and built to be relocated. It was a DBMR type contract (Design, Build, Maintain & Remove). In addition, the 5R rule of circular priorities was used, and particularly the Refuse, Reduce and Reuse aspects were at the centre of the concerns.
Disassembly/reassembly planned from the design stage
Thanks to a unique code based on a 3D scan, the exact position of each component is known. The building is designed to be completely dismantled and then reassembled elsewhere. Materials that are not reused are reprocessed in other projects. Finally, a minimum quantity of components will be recycled.
After five years, the premises of the temporary Amsterdam court will move to the city of Enschede. In passing, the function of the building will change since it will house, from 2022, an office and research space.
