Built environment experts share knowledge on circular economy at Helsinki Region’s first local event

On September 9th the first annual local stakeholder event in Helsinki Region took place online. The aim of the webinar was to gather a broad group of versatile construction, demolition and circular economy experts to discuss challenges and solutions in circular construction.

The webinar brought together key stakeholder from two other EU-projects; WOOL2LOOP and HYPPY. Both are also focused on promoting circular economy practices in the built environment, so it was logical to join forces and broaden knowledge sharing while facilitating cooperation between the three different projects.

Over 90 experts from 40 different organisations participated the webinar. In addition to the presentations a significant part of the event was dedicated to networking and knowledge sharing. In two separate sessions, participants were divided into ten small groups to discuss current challenges and solutions in circular construction.

Henna Teerihalme, Project Manager at HSY said;

“It´s great to see that even in an online webinar it´s possible to have vivid discussion and network effectively.”

The morning started with an opening speech about CIRCuIT, followed by a presentation from HYPPY on the results of their interviews with actors across the entire value chain in circular construction to get their perspectives on reuse and recycling of demolition materials. Anne Kaiser from Saint-Gobain Finland then gave updates on the WOOL2LOOP project and their work on harnessing geopolymer technology to transform mineral wool into raw material.

Marko Kolkwitz from Tampere University, one of CIRCuIT’s partners also shared insights on their work analyzing processes around stock, demolition and construction of buildings in Vantaa. Enhancing attendees’ knowledge of buildings with higher risk of replacement, in line with CIRCuiT´s aim of facilitating the sustainable transformation of buildings through adaptive reuse and refurbishment.

Jyrki Tarpio from Tampere University also gave a presentation on interior transformation of apartment buildings. He shared insight from his interviews with various architects in Finland.