Taisugar Circular Village (TCV) is the first residential project in Taiwan fully integrated to the circular economy ideology. TCV is comprised with three housing blocks, a Circular Demo House (C-House), and an Eco-House (E-House); it accommodates 351 rental units, an urban farm coupled with an eco-pond, centrally located in the courtyard.
TCV is designed in response to the call for collective living requirements for contemporary living while re-enforcing an intimate sense of community. For the residents, the residential units serve as their rooms, the E-House functions as the kitchen, and the C-House plays the role of a garden.
Designing a building for circularity relies heavily on flexibility and adaptability. TCV’s circular design focuses on modularization and service-orientated appliance supply, all integrated within building passport for better optimization.
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Modularization is evident in the design of three housing blocks with a repetitive balcony façade system. All modules were prefabricated during construction to minimize on-site material wastage e: the entire external façade was made using pre-casted modularized panels; components are connected with nuts and bolts for future ease of disassembly. The prefabricated balcony façade system was installed similarly to a curtain wall system. Modular prefabricated hollowed core slabs were used as the floor system spanning across the main beams. This significantly reduces the use of smaller beams compared to decking systems. Modularization allows for future reuse and repurposes, extending materials’ life cycles and position within the value chain.
Every material used in TCV is assigned a unique id in the material passport to keep its data in check; doing so is to ensure building components’ life cycle continues post-demolition. TCV is designed in 6 layers: foundation, structure, façade, system, partition, and appliances. This allows for isolated repairs without compromising other components. TCV’s energy use in 2022 is approximately 50% less than predicted due to its renewable energy systems, details of which will be provided in the sustainability section.
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TCV brings changes to the conventional practice of manufacturing specific appliances for each building by offering a service-based approach. Manufacturers retain ownership of products, enabling a continuous product life cycle after dissembling. To pioneer this change in the consumer-oriented society involves working door to door with furniture, elevators, kitchen all the way to the electronic locks suppliers to tailor a sustainable service-based supply contract. Owing to the experimental nature of the procurement model, bank contracts and user agreements are tailored from scratch to ensure the legal requirement while maintaining the course of circular design principles.
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The effectiveness of TCV's sustainability strategies can be reflected in the following data:
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-With 2,500 square meters of solar panels, TCV generated 172,602 kWh/yr from September of 2021 to June of 2022. The rainwater collected from porous areas with filtered grey water resulted in 1860.7 tons of recycled water during the same time frame. TCV employs 41,000 BIM-registered components, including structure, wall, and HVAC systems, reserved for future use.
-Contrary to the Taiwan Industry convention of using reinforced concrete, the skeletal structure of TCV uses steel. This carries out a calculated reduction of 3,281,006 kilograms of embodied carbon.
-The ecology strategies consist of a naturally self-cleaning eco pond, a waste composting system, aquaponics, and beekeeping.
-Layered design lead to isolated repairs consequently less waste.
-Besides green materials, recycled bricks, TCV also uses old sugar transporting tracks as fencing materials, saving about 345 meters of new railings. With the client being Taiwan Sugar Corporation, this fosters a conversation between architecture and history.
-The energy use in 2022 was 16.89 (kWh/㎡/y), which is an 46% reduction from estimation. TCV's sustainability strategy proved to be more effective than expected.
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Embracing a circular economy, TCV establishes a sustainable framework that cultivates a sense of community. It transforms residents into integral parts of a shared local ecosystem, fostering a reconnection between people and nature and consumption with production. This holistic approach positions TCV as an exemplary model in sustainable architecture.