https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0137
Lean-digital-place integration for circular housing design
Samira Awwal1, Patricia Tzortzopoulos2, Esmaeel Fatahian3, Catherine Hill4, Rakesh Mishra5 & Leigh Fleming6
1Senior Lecturer, Department of Engineering and Built Environment, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom, [email protected] , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7771-15112Professor, Design and Built Environment, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom, [email protected] , https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8740-6753
3Research Assistant, Department of Engineering & Technology, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom, [email protected] , https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6984-5113
4Research Assistant, Department of Engineering & Technology, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom, [email protected] , https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9305-0594
5Professor, Department of Engineering & Technology, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom, [email protected] , https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1620-3238
6Professor, Department of Engineering & Technology, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom, [email protected] , https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6962-8686
Abstract
Circular economy strategies are increasingly promoted to reduce material waste, embodied carbon, and lifecycle environmental impacts in the built environment. However, practical adoption in housing remains limited due to fragmentation across process, information, and regional infrastructures. Existing studies emphasise design strategies or digital tools but do not appropriately consider the production system conditions required for circular workflows. A structured narrative literature review was conducted across three domains: Lean Construction, digital construction technologies (including BIM, Digital Twins, and AI), and circular economy. Based on this synthesis, the paper proposes a Lean-Digital-Place (LDP) framework that conceptualises circularity as an emergent property of aligned production processes, digital information infrastructures, and regional material ecosystems. The framework extends Lean Construction thinking from the project-level toward lifecycle and regionally embedded production systems. A research agenda and evaluation indicators are proposed to guide empirical validation and support the development of scalable circular housing systems.
Keywords
Circular economy, BIM, Digital Twins, AI, Lean Construction, lifecycle analysis.
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Reference in APA 7th edition format:
Awwal, S., Tzortzopoulos, P., Fatahian, E., Hill, C., Mishra, R. & Fleming, L.. (2026). Lean-digital-place integration for circular housing design. In Hamzeh, F., Poshdar, M., & Garcia-Lopez,, N. P. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34) (pp. 1395–1406). https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0137
Shortened reference for use in IGLC papers:
Awwal, S., Tzortzopoulos, P., Fatahian, E., Hill, C., Mishra, R. & Fleming, L.. (2026). Lean-digital-place integration for circular housing design. IGLC34. https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0137
Founded in 1993, the IGLC is an international network of researchers from practice and academia in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) who feel that the practice, education, and research of the AEC industry have to be radically renewed in order to respond to the global challenges ahead.
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