Circularity on demand and at the side: Working rules in infrastructure design practices

The transition towards circular construction requires a large-scale, systemic change of deeply embedded practices. This research aims to understand better how the written and unwritten rules underlying the daily practices of construction firms influence the potential to generate circular solutions. It applies the Institutional Analysis and Development framework and a transition perspective to an embedded case study of three (circular) infrastructure design processes of a Dutch engineering and consultancy firm. Data gathered comprised ten semi-structured interviews with firm employees and project documentation analyses. Seventeen working rules that underlie infrastructure design practices and impact circularity were uncovered. Two key rule patterns were derived from this: identified working rules limit circularity as a criterion on demand, to be acted upon when clients request it, and as a criterion at the side, to be considered nice-to-have. These rule patterns illustrate the deeply embedded and circularity hampering nature of existing working practices. They also indicate the required adaptation of existing working rules to embrace circularity and fully achieve transformative change.