Thinking ahead about the end thanks to circular procurement
In conversation with PhD researcher Karen Steukers.
With the renovation of the Infocentrum into Vonk, the Flemish Innovation Centre for Bio-based Construction, Kamp C not only wants to create a future-oriented building, but also to initiate a learning process. Circularity, reuse and knowledge sharing are central — not only in the end result, but also along the way. That is why two PhD students are actively involved in the renovation process. Their research runs parallel to the project and fuels the debate on circular construction in Flanders.
In this second interview, we speak to Karen Steukers, a PhD researcher with a background as an engineer-architect and experience at Rotor vzw, a Brussels-based pioneer in reuse. Her research focuses on an often underestimated lever for circular construction: the Belgian procurement framework.
From thesis to practice
Karen trained as an engineer-architect and started working at Rotor after her studies. That choice was no coincidence. During her thesis, she investigated how the reuse of building materials could be integrated into public procurement, based on a concrete case at the university.
"That was my introduction to the whole issue," she says. "On the one hand, you have the public procurement body and the regulations surrounding it, and on the other, you have construction practice, which wants to focus on reuse from a sustainability perspective. How can we bring the two together?"
At Rotor, she had the opportunity to experience this tension first-hand. Through her consultancy work, she saw how reuse takes shape in practice, but also where it gets stuck. That experience formed the basis for her PhD, which delves deeper into circular procurement.
Public procurement as a lever for the market
One hypothesis in Karen's research is that public procurement can be much more than an administrative obligation. It can be an active lever to steer the market and promote the reuse of building materials.
She starts from a recognisable reality: today, there is a tendering culture in which standard specifications circulate and clauses are often copied. "These documents are sometimes outdated and contain too much copy-paste," says Karen. "I wanted to re-examine these documents and tinker with them creatively."
For her, this is precisely where the design challenge lies. By reviewing and rethinking administrative documents, public clients can send clear signals to the market. She believes that the scale of the government makes this effect powerful. "If sustainable contracts come onto the market at the regional level, other players will have to develop along with them."
At the same time, she sees that many construction companies are indeed ready to work sustainably, but that it is not always made easy for them today. "They have to continue to compete with non-sustainable alternatives as long as a contract does not enforce sustainability."
For Karen, circularity does not have to wait for new regulations. "Being ahead of legislation is extremely relevant," she says. "There is already far-reaching legislation in the field of energy. It is too easy to put circular construction on hold because the legislation is not yet in place. We need to take an integrated approach to sustainability and embrace circularity on our own initiative."
Why case studies are indispensable
Karen bases her PhD on contemporary Belgian public contracts and deliberately chooses case studies, including 't Centrum and Vonk at Kamp C. This is no coincidence. "My research focuses on public clients in Belgium. That's already a lot of assumptions. Case studies help me to look at processes in a project-specific way within that context."
The reuse of building materials is always context-dependent. It depends on local networks, available materials, the type of building and the knowledge available. "If you only work theoretically, you risk overlooking preconditions and peripheral factors."
She wants to collect a total of twenty case studies. First, she analyses them on the basis of project documentation, then she delves deeper through stakeholder analyses and interviews with the clients. It is not only success stories that are considered. "It is sufficient that the ambition to reuse was there, even if it did not succeed. I want to identify both opportunities and obstacles."
From ambition to reality
According to Karen, these obstacles do exist. One important barrier is that not every client starts a project with the same level of knowledge. "Kamp C is an interesting case because it is a client with a lot of in-house expertise. That is not always the case with other clients."
In addition, time and resources play a major role. Public clients have limited capacity and have to do a lot at the same time. Karen notes that successful projects are often supported in advance through subsidies or test phases. "Without that support, local authorities quickly encounter many initial obstacles."
Staff capacity also remains a bottleneck. Many clients indicate that they need someone who can work full-time on circularity and reuse. At the same time, Karen sees a wide variety of approaches across her case studies. "There are many strategies. That makes it difficult, but it also makes people creative. There is no single solution."
What she wants to achieve with her research is therefore not a rigid step-by-step plan with one correct answer. Her goal is twofold. On the one hand, she wants to stimulate knowledge exchange between clients, for example by organising workshops in which experiences are shared. "That seems simple, but it's not. A lot of knowledge remains stuck in subsidies and pilot projects and does not filter through sufficiently to local authorities."
On the other hand, she does want to generate practical output, but in the form of scenarios. By mapping out different experiences and contexts, clients can recognise themselves in certain situations and learn from them. The search for the right format for this is part of her research. She already sees workshops as a direct and valuable first step.
Vonk in practice
In addition to her analysis of completed projects, Karen also actively follows the construction team meetings for the renovation of Vonk. She finds this particularly valuable. "You have a foot in practice," she says. "You see how discussions and collaboration take place in the moment."
Where case studies sometimes remain abstract in retrospect, the construction team makes the process tangible. This is especially true because the construction team is a relatively new form of collaboration in public contracts. Karen notices how old habits and new models coexist. "A new collaboration model is being presented, but actors also bring traditional reflexes with them."
That tension is what makes it interesting. She observes how decisions are rarely made by a single actor and how the discussion itself becomes a driving force in the construction process. At the same time, it becomes clear that collaboration also requires practice: how experimental can a consultation be, and how far does each actor leave their comfort zone?
Karen incorporates the insights she gains here into her research through observations. This is done partly according to classical academic methods, but the project also touches on action research. "By following the process live, we can also intervene. When questions about reuse arise, Amélie and I are often involved."
She notices that this makes her part of the questions and problems on the table. This not only provides inspiration for the construction team, but also valuable insights for her PhD.
Karen deliberately chose Kamp C, with 't Centrum and Vonk as practical cases. She sees Kamp C as a committed client that is willing to take risks and experiment with new processes. At 't Centrum, this was done through new award criteria and a DBME formula, and at Vonk through a new form of collaboration.
This willingness to test and learn makes these projects particularly relevant to her. They show what is possible when clients take on their exemplary role — even though the translation of vision into practice remains complex. "That translation is not always easy," Karen concludes. "But I do feel that there is increasing attention for it. And that we can no longer avoid getting started."
This research is funded by the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO), grant number 1S60825N.