Sustainable social housing in Taiwan: integrating circular economy principles into architectural design and building construction

Implementing circular economy (CE) in the construction industry is challenging due to the long lifecycle of buildings, extended supply chains, and diverse material standards. Identifying and implementing appropriate CE strategies is crucial for building project stakeholders. Although various CE frameworks exist (e.g. ReSOLVE and the 9 R framework), their strengths and limitations have rarely been discussed. The ReSOLVE framework proposed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is popular but is seldom applied throughout all phases of a building project. This study adopts a case study approach to examine Project CE in Taiwan, a pioneering social housing initiative that has implemented CE principles since its inception. This research reveals the practices adopted and obstacles encountered during the implementation of targeted CE strategies while providing quantitative data on the benefits of circular approaches in this social housing initiative. Additionally, the adapted 8S-ReSOLVE framework – an expansion of the original ReSOLVE through integration with an eight-layer building system – is proposed as a reference for the systemic integration of CE principles into building projects. These research findings will be useful for stakeholders involved in social housing projects that aim to identify and implement appropriate CE strategies.