As our planet’s resources dwindle, it’s critical we embrace the circular economy and reuse materials.  Our director Gareth Atkinson shares how we must respond to the challenge in a holistic, collaborative way:  

On 1st August, we passed Earth Overshoot Day – a grim milestone when, in just over eight months, humanity’s footprint exceeded what the Earth can regenerate in a year.  

Resource extraction and consumption is happening at an alarming rate worldwide, and the built environment contributes to 50% of it. As our planet’s resources dwindle, it’s critical we embrace the circular economy and reuse materials that already exist. 

Part of the challenge we face in repairing the damage we have caused to our natural environment lies in its inter-connectivity. The world we live in is made up of a system of systems that all interact with one another. We must respond in a holistic way accordingly, acknowledging the relationships that exist as we do and fostering new connections along the way. 

The regeneration of the Mayfield neighbourhood in Manchester is an example of how this approach goes hand-in-hand with adaptive reuse. At Mayfield Park, the previously heavily industrial location has been transformed into 6.5 acres of green space and Manchester’s first public park in more than a century. As civil and structural engineers on the site, we prioritised the reuse of as much of the historic structures as possible.  

In a pioneering move, we worked together with the wider project team to de-culvert the River Medlock, which had been hidden for more than 50 years, and reused the cast iron beams of the culvert for new pedestrian bridges within the park, as well as reusing reclaimed bricks and river walls. There’s an authenticity to picking out these heritage components and repositioning them in the landscape. Through the reuse of materials during the park’s construction alone, 240 tonnes of CO2 were saved. 

Elsewhere, our transformation of the former House of Fraser department store at Oxford Street in London into a mixed-use destination, is breaking new ground. Renamed ‘The Elephant’, we’re updating the 1930s Art Deco building for contemporary needs with minimal intervention and environmental impact, and by retaining much of the existing structure and façade. 

In an industry first, I brokered a steel reuse exchange for the project with Basil Demeroutis at FORE Partnership, on the back of an industry bicycle ride. It means that much of the 1930s steel we have dismantled from the site has been reused at TBC London, a workspace at Tower Bridge that will be net zero in its operation. We are also reusing what we can on-site.  

It’s true that in Manchester, London and across the UK, our more progressive clients are actively looking for projects that live up to their ambitions for reduced carbon use and carbon waste. But that’s only part of the story. The success of any structure, place or space also relies on the success of its context more holistically, and how it connects with the systems and people around it.  

At Civic Engineers, we developed ‘Our Conscience’, a set of behavioural principles shaped by our values, that acts as a decision-making framework and something that we use to guide our business strategy and operational choices. At its heart is our desire to create structures and places that have a positive impact on the environment and enable people to lead healthier and happier lives.  

We recognise that one design decision can have a domino chain effect on other parts of the puzzle, which is why urban design cannot be thought of in isolation.  

For a building to work for people, it needs to be connected to an activated and climate resilient public realm around it, active travel networks like bike lanes and other public transport, amenity that reduces burdens on surrounding ecosystems, and be in harmony with nature, biodiversity and its own ecosystem.  

It might seem an impossible task to influence those around us and push beyond contractual parameters, but it starts with having conversations about the mutual benefits of enhancing the places and spaces in and around buildings.  

It’s imperative we avoid becoming siloed in our response to the climate crisis. True change will involve collaboration with many stakeholders: different building owners, local authorities, utility companies and local businesses, to ensure that existing buildings are retrofitted in a way that enhances their impact on people and operational performance, not only their stand-alone embodied carbon performance.