Circular Economy Principles as Obstacles to Creativity?—A Study of Architects’ Expectations of Challenges and Opportunities

In the design phase, 80% of the environmental impact of products and services is determined. The implementation of a circular economy (CE) has the potential to reduce waste and encourage the reuse of resources. A CE enables firms to reduce pressure on the environment and stimulates the fight against climate change by adjusting the take-make-use-dispose paradigm to an approach that focuses on keeping materials in closed loops. A significant portion of the environmental impact of products and services is determined in the design phase, which potentially gives architects, who are involved in the early stages of the creative process, responsibility for meeting sustainability requirements. It has been claimed that sustainability requirements may reduce creativity. Therefore, it is relevant to investigate whether and how considering circular economy principles in the design phase will influence creativity. To investigate and comprehend the influence that principles of CE may have on creative outcomes, 21 Danish architects whose job duties particularly concentrate on artistic or creative work were interviewed. This study presents architects’ thoughts on how CE might impact their creativity and discusses expected opportunities and challenges related to considering CE in the creative process. By contributing to research on architects and the transition towards a CE, the project touches on two of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 11, which pertains to sustainable cities and consumption, and Goal 12, which concerns responsible consumption and production (United Nations in The 17 Goals. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2015).