Circular Economy House
Ab 2019 entsteht ein zweites CRCLR Haus in Pretschen, einem wunderschönen Dorf in der Märkischen Heide. Read more
“Durch den Einsatz von recycelten Materialien bei Neubauten kann der CO2-Fußabdruck im Vergleich zu herkömmlichen Bauweisen um bis zu 70% reduziert werden.” ... Read more
Tell us a bit about yourself: I was born and raised in Southern Africa and have lived in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa before settling in Berlin. I am p... Read more
“There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.” - Marshall McLuhan Exciting times are ahead of us! After four years of work and a lot of support from you, we were able to sign a 99 year lease on the CRCLR house. But what is a heritable building right? An heritable building lease describes the transfer of the right of use from the owner, in our case the Edith Maryon Foundation, to the ground leaseholder (our building cooperative) for 99 years. In return, we pay a ground rent and have a building and maintenance obligation. The heritable building right means that the land can be effectively withdrawn from speculation and permanently used for the common good of society without the barriers to entry being increased by rising prices over time. This is almost revolutionary, especially in times of extremely fast-rising rents, and we would like to see more heritable building rights for public interest projects and social housing in Berlin. In concrete terms, the heritable building lease means that we can secure our location for the Circular Economy House, which is oriented towards the public interest, for the next 99 years. We hope that this is enough time to initiate and drive forward the transformation from a linear to a circular economy in Neukölln. The heritable building lease entails not only the right of use but also the obligation to build. For example, we are now working together with architects and planners on a comprehensive educational journey to develop a circular construction method and utilisation concepts for the CRCLR house based on it. With the CRCLR House, a prototype for sustainable living and working is being built in the middle of Berlin-Neukölln - guided by principles of the circular economy. Further construction projects - also in rural areas - are planned. Read more
Nachhaltigkeit ist ein globaler Trend der nicht nur in der Politik inzwischen voll angekommen ist sondern auch vor der Wirtschaft nicht mehr halt macht. So bemühen sich nun Unternehmen aus einer Vielzahl von Branchen und Geographien um eine positive und öffentlichkeitswirksame Ökobilanz. Aktuell stellen sich viele Unternehmen und ganze Branchen berechtigte und wichtige Fragen: Was können wir tun um den ökologischen Fußabdruck unserer Branche zu optimieren? Dieser Frage macht auch vor der Berliner Eventbranche nicht halt. Mehr noch bietet der Trend aber eine Chance für die Berliner Eventbranche, im Thema Nachhaltigkeit Vorreiter zu werden. Ein Lösungsansatz, der dabei zunehmend mehr Aufmerksamkeit erfährt, ist das Prinzip der Circular Economy (zirkuläre Wirtschaft): Eine Wirtschaft, die qua Design regenerativ ist. Sie zielt mit systemweiten Innovationen darauf ab, Produkte und Dienstleistungen so zu gestalten, um Abfall und negative Auswirkungen auf Mensch und Umwelt von vornherein zu verhindern. Doch während die eine zirkuläre Wirtschaft in der Theorie zunächst einleuchtend und vielversprechend klingt, fehlt es oftmals an konkreten Lösungen und Handlungsansätzen, um den Wandel dorthin zu gestalten. Im Rahmen des Tag der Berliner Kongresswirtschaft (MICE Summit) haben wir mit den Teilnehmer*innen die Potentiale für eine zirkuläre Wirtschaft in ausgewählten Wertschöpfungsketten der Eventbranche analysiert. In einer systemischen Analyse haben wir uns angeschaut, welche Akteure und Faktoren Treiber und Betroffene sind um somit im nächsten Schritt starke Hebel für Veränderung zu identifizieren. In der Arbeit unterstützen uns Methoden aus dem Google Sprint und Design Thinking: nutzerzentriert verfolgten wir die einzelnen Stationen des Caterers von der Beauftragung bis hin zu Durchführung und Abtransport möglicher Reste. Dies verdeutlichte die Momente in der Wertschöpfungskette, an denen aktuell besonders viel Müll entsteht. Beispielhaft nahmen sich die Teilnehmenden dem Aspekt der “Minimierung von Verpackungs- und Transportabfalls” vor, um zu erarbeiten, welche Hebel es für eine Veränderung hin zu mehr Nachhaltigkeit gibt. Im Brainstorming wurden anschließend spannende Ansätze entwickelt. In weiteren Iterationsschleifen kristallisierte sich die Idee für einen Kodex für zirkuläres Catering heraus.. Dieser wurde prototypisch in einer “Idea Napkin” ausdifferenziert. Was denkt ihr: könnte ein Kodex für zirkuläres Catering helfen die Eventbranche nachhaltiger zu machen? Es wäre ein erster Schritt hin zu einer Selbstverpflichtung der Branche. Um einen solchen Kodex zu entwickeln, müsste diese sich zunächst mit den Lösungen und Herausforderungen en détail beschäftigen. Ein solcher Kodex würde es Veranstaltern ermöglichen, auch in Zeiten von wirtschaftlichem und zeitlichem Druck, verlässliche und zertifizierte Partner für zirkuläre Event zu finden und somit den ökologischen Fußabdruck der Branche substantiell zu verbessern. Read more
After an insightful Kick Off Party on February the 9th 2018, the planning phase of our project Baubude is now coming to an end and the process enters the next stage: As a matter of fact we are going to build the pavilion with our own hands on the Kindl–Areal starting beginning of March! Read more
Das haben die Besucher des Release Events von momus am Samstag selbst erfahren dürfen. Das Circular House war die Location für den Höhe- bzw. Wendepunkt einer Kampagne gegen Fast Fashion. Getarnt als Release des neuen Fast Fashion Labels momus hat das Event Besucher angelockt, die im besten Glauben waren einen Pop-Up Shop zu besuchen und die neuen IT-Pieces exklusiv vor der Eröffnung des online Shops erwerben zu können. Geködert hat das Label mit satten Rabatten auf die neuen Kollektionen beim Mitbringen ausrangierter Kleidungsstücke. Read more
How does one build an entire structure made from waste? This task has been in the centre of our attention and we are currently in the process of realization of a completely new prototype made of waste material. Read more
“I think the media can be the greatest force for peace on earth”. The prize-winning American journalist Amy Goodman founded the independent, journalistic medium Democracy Now! in 1996 as an alternative to the established newspapers and TV-stations in the U.S. In November 2017 she told the audience at her lecture in Berlin how American media is used as weapons of war and why independent journalism is more necessary than ever. Read more
URKU along with a group of graffiti artists used our house as their canvas a few weeks ago, and worked their magic on our walls. Check out the video to see h... Read more
How do we build a room that will be used temporarily, without having to throw away the structure or material afterwards? That is what we asked ourselves as we began preparing for winter at the CRCLR house. Our goal was to create a heatable space, giving a new life to used materials, a temporary structure which would not generate any waste once dismantled. Read more
The OSCEdays festival took place 3 weeks ago at the CRCLR House under the theme the Circular City. Over 750 participants ranging from businesses and grass root organisations to politicians and neighbours joined in the 4 day program. Read more
“I don’t know the question, but art is definitely the answer.” Paraphrasing Woody Allen’s famous quote captures how we feel about art here at CRCLR. Read more
We are at a really interesting and challenging time in history. Our current linear model seems to have reached its limits. We’re seeing high burnout rates, growing inequality and environmental degradation. Let’s take the chance to create something healthier! In order to enable this change at CRCLR we believe that it has to start with ourselves. Read more
The CRCLR Finance program investigates the future of social impact finance. When we speak about money, we don’t talk about the medium but about what it can enable in terms of social equality, environmental regeneration and a transition toward a circular economy. Read more
How can a circular framework for food production enable a more sustainable and equitable food supply? At the CRCLR House we are addressing this problem. We want to implement solutions and offer answers to global issues by applying them on a smaller scale, thereby empowering our local community. Two of our key projects where we are currently putting this framework into practice are our mushroom lab and community garden. Read more
At the CRCLR House we believe it is now the time to rethink and redesign how we live and work together in a better way. A circular economy model is the framework we have chosen to develop creative solutions, simply because life is just not linear. Read more
We believe Open Source facilitates collaboration between actors in a circular economy. By decentralising the innovation process, people are empowered to develop local real-life solutions. This way we can accelerate systemic transformation. Read more
“*Circularity to us means to use resources in the most anticipating and innovative way so we keep their value infinitely*” Ina Budde, [Design for Ci... Read more
The CRCLR House is located in the heart of Neukölln between Karl-Marx Straße and Hermannstraße. It is on the premises of what used to be the Kindl Brewery, and was formerly used as a storage space. Today it is Berlin’s ground zero for all things circular economy. Read more
In 2019, a second CRCLR house will be built in the beautiful village of Pretschen in Brandenburg. The house, a former apprentice dorm which has been abandoned for many years, will now be brought back to life. With the joined forces of the CRCLR team and Pretschen locals, we will establish a circular retreat center. Read more
Meet the members of the CRCLR House council. Read more
The circular economy model is inspired by nature’s own ecosystem, resilience and longevity. Waste does not exist in nature. A circular economy ensures an economic system where no materials are wasted. Instead, they are managed in closed loops. Products are designed and built so that after consumption they can be reused, refurbished or repurposed. Read more
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the CRCLR House. Read more
The CRCLR House is where we are putting circular economy principles into practice. It’s a hub from which we rethink all aspects of living and working together in a circular way. We also want it to become a home for communities working on this paradigm shift. Read more
Browse through our job openings at the CRCLR House Read more
We’d like to introduce you to the CRCLR team. What brings us together is our shared belief in a circular economy and its potential for positive impact in the world. We dare to think outside of the box. Our approach is to combine boldness with creativity along with a generous serving of business acumen in order to build long lasting circular solutions. Read more
Collection of articles, mentions and clippings in which the CRCLR House has appeared. Download the press kit here. Read more
The CRCLR House is a Berlin based center for circular economy practices. Established in 2016 as Europe‘s first circular economy hub, we invite like-minded individuals and institutions to meet, exchange ideas and collaborate around circular economy projects. We believe that a different way of living and working together is both necessary and possible. Read more
