Circularity in design: embracing a sustainable approach

When it comes to creating a more environmentally sustainable future, architects and designers across the globe are exploring new ways to implement circularity into both their practice and ongoing designs. In the United States especially, A+D play a critical role in shaping how the sector evolves toward sustainable design principles, both in how they specify products and how their values shift industry mindsets toward more sustainable practices.

“It used to be that designers would only look at the end product result, like how much recycled content a product has, or how much of it can be recycled in the future.” Lindsey Engels, Founder and Principal Architect at Arclogica Architects, says. “Now, we are taking into account life cycle analysis, and we have to ask: where is that piece of tile coming from? Is it coming all the way from Denmark? What is the cost of that shipping in terms of carbon and environmental impact, not in dollars?”

A large part of what drives sustainable specification by A+D in the US is the concept of cradle-to-cradle design, which emphasizes the creation of products and systems where all materials used can be repurposed, reused, or redesigned indefinitely. Given nearly 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris is created each year in the US alone, A+D throughout the country are driving manufacturers to transform their products and place stronger emphasis on the environmental, social, and economic benefits of sustainable design.

 “While environmental sustainability should always be important to business on a global scale, we understand that our design decisions and the buildings constructed drive much of the waste, pollution, and greenhouse gases worldwide,” Engels says. “Manufacturers, installers, architects, specifiers, and interior designers are all wanting to find materials that leave as little impact on the planet as possible.”

In populous places like California and Texas, the emphasis on incorporating sustainable materials and practices, particularly those with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), is central to A+D design concerns even if their clients don’t initially request them. Where building owners are pursuing LEED or WELL certification, selecting products like Autex Acoustics® can drive additional credits and contribute positively to a building’s overall Life Cycle Analysis.

“American landfills are crazy full, so if we can do anything to be better for our environment, we do,” Kendra Moulton, Associate Designer at Inventure Design, says. “We try to be mindful of the materials we select, and if we’re able to have a LEED project or a WELL project, both assist us in educating our client and the general contractor on the best way to go about demolition, rebuilding, waste of materials, all of that stuff.”

For manufacturers like Autex Acoustics^®, whose global production and operations have been carbon neutral since 2022 and whose domestic manufacturing plants minimize the need for overseas shipping, spearheading sustainable design practices is inherent to our core values. Even so, manufacturers across the construction and demolition space, especially in the United States, are being challenged to move toward more sustainable, cradle-to-cradle design practices if they hope to remain at the forefront of their sector in the future.

“I do think that in the next handful of years, it’s gonna be a different game,” Moulton says.  “You look on the back of a label for a wall covering and they’ve got some sustainability stuff listed on there, but it’s harder to find manufacturers who think about the second or third lifecycle aspect, like a cradle to cradle. Something like that—where it’s not only pulling from recycled content in its origin, but also how you deal with it after the fact, like after it served its purpose—I think those are harder things to find, and I think those are the more important ones.”

Engels agrees. “When it comes down to material selection, recycled content is big, and embodied carbon is big—whether it’s cradle-to-grave or cradle-to-cradle is big,” she says. “That’s why these environmental product declarations are becoming so important because that means the manufacturer has taken the time and put forth the money to get the research done and to have all of that information at the ready so that designers can make a more informed decision.”

Learn more about Autex Acoustics’ commitment to sustainable design.