Future Use Architecture: Connecting housing policy, housing typology, and resource use for housing in Canada

This study investigates the potential of residential building material stock in Canadian cities to address Canada’shousing and retrofitting needs. We introduce the concept of Future-Use Architecture (FUA) within a Circular Economy(CE) design approach. Cities are significant contributors to a nation’s material resource use, but they are also banks of materials. In alignment with Canadian government policies and projections, the study addresses the imperative of retrofitting 600,000 homes annually until 2040 and meeting the demand for 2.3 million new homes between 2021 and2030. FUA involves incorporating recovered materials into new building designs and the early integration of end-of-life building strategies, such as design for disassembly. This approach encompasses a comprehensive evaluation of urban building material stocks and the development of reuse and recycling strategies. This paper builds on prior work by the authors that investigated the potential carbon emission reductions through material recovery in Canadian housing stocks. Taking this as a starting point, it links this knowledge to current government policies for renovating and building new housing in Canada by 2040. The findings highlight the substantial quantities of building materials embedded in our structures and the considerable potential for reducing environmental impacts, such as carbon emissions, through adopting the Future-Use Architecture (FUA) approach. However, it becomes apparent that substantial shifts in both material supply and construction practices within Canada are imperative to fully unlock the potential of FUA and efficiently utilize the materials stored in our buildings.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AM.112.5

Volume Editors
Germane Barnes & Blair Satterfield

ISBN
978-1-944214-45-6