Comparing Circular Kitchens: A Study of the Dutch Housing Sector

The built environment can become more sustainable by gradually replacing building components with circular ones. Kitchens are a logical component to be made circular, given their relatively short lifespan, product-based nature, and affordable prototypes. Since various designs for circular kitchens can be developed, understanding the feasibility of these designs is crucial for their successful implementation. This knowledge, however, remains limited. Therefore, this article aimed to determine which types of circular kitchens are feasible. Circular kitchens available or announced in the Dutch housing sector within the past five years were compared using an adapted version of the CBC generator, a comprehensive design framework for circular building components. The comparison included the Circular Kitchen (CIK), developed as part of an international research project. Data were sourced from manufacturers' websites and online publications supplemented by interviews with two outliers to verify the results. The analysis encompassed seven circular kitchens, with two developed by established manufacturers and five by start-ups. The manufacturers mostly communicated about their kitchen's physical design. The established manufacturers' circular kitchens were found to be more similar to their non-circular kitchens, while start-ups applied more radical innovations. Furthermore, the kitchens that had a frame structure using technical materials or a panel-based structure using biological materials were more likely to be feasible. These findings can facilitate future circular kitchen development by improving these kitchens' feasibility, thus aiding the transition to a more circular built environment. Furthermore, this research contributes scientifically by adapting a comprehensive design framework (the CBC generator) to compare circular designs.