CIRCULAR BUILDING CONVERT
The Circular Building Convert (CBC) project seeks to tackle common economic, environmental and social challenges across urban areas in North-West Europe (NWE). The demand for affordable social housing in NWE far outstrips supply, intensified by limited land and underutilised office spaces. The CBC project directly addresses these challenges by developing innovative, circular solutions to convert vacant offices into sustainable housing. Our goal is to create an economically viable and replicable model, delivering tangible benefits to low-to-mid income populations across the region.
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Two pilot sites Heerlen (former DSM headquarter) and Lille (Rue Gambetta 75-77)
Overview
Across North-West Europe (NWE), cities face a pressing paradox: a severe lack of affordable and social housing, yet a growing number of vacant office buildings that no longer meet modern needs. With hundreds of thousands of housing units missing in countries like the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, and France, the social and economic costs of inaction are increasing.
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At the same time, urban areas are constrained by land scarcity and under pressure to meet ambitious climate and circular economy targets. Office buildings constructed between the 1970s and 1990s—often poorly insulated, oversized, and unsuited to contemporary business use—represent a dormant resource. Their transformation into homes offers an untapped solution to address housing shortages, reduce the environmental footprint of construction, and preserve already urbanised land.
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Yet, turning offices into homes is far from simple. Technical hurdles flourish: how to adapt the structure, add balconies, redesign interiors, and ensure affordability—all while maximizing the reuse of materials and minimizing emissions. The circular building economy, though promising, remains immature and fragmented, lacking the standardised solutions needed for widespread adoption.
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The Circular Building Convert project (CBC) was born to tackle these interlinked challenges. Through two full-scale pilot projects in Lille (France) and Heerlen (Netherlands), we will be developing and testing replicable, cost-effective, and circular conversion methods. These local experiences will feed into a transnational strategy and a training programme, ensuring that the know-how developed benefits the entire NWE region, and endures beyond the project’s lifetime.
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Objectives
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Develop standardised and cost-effective technical solutions for office-to-housing conversions, while addressing technical challenges: balcony additions, flat design, housing regulations, BIM integration for material reuse data, on-site logistics for reused materials.
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Develop a joint strategy for local authorities and professionals to promote the adoption of these solutions.
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Implement a transnational training programme for civil servants and building professionals to ensure long-term impact across the NWE area.
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Project metrics
EU funding: € 4,8 million
Total project budget: € 8,1 million
Period: 2025-2028
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