Circularity on demand and at the side: working rule patterns in construction design practices

The shift towards circular construction necessitates comprehensive, systemic alterations of deeply ingrained practices. This research seeks to gain a deeper understanding of how the underlying working rules that govern daily construction practices impact the ability to create circular solutions. It utilises the Institutional Analysis and Development framework to analyse two embedded case studies that encompass five (circular) design processes within Dutch engineering firms. We identified twenty-five working rules that underlie the design practices examined and how they affect circularity. From this, two key patterns of rules were identified: one in which working rules restrict circularity as a demand criterion, requiring action only when clients request it; and another in which circularity is treated as a peripheral consideration, viewed as a desirable but not necessary add-on. These patterns of rules demonstrate that circularity has yet to become the underlying design principle of design processes, requiring a fundamental change in the rules constituting construction practices.