CSTB Research vision & programming, by 2030

These orientations are structured around four Roadmaps, aiming to meet all the expectations of the building sector, the neighborhood and the city, in line with the major societal challenges and for the benefit of users: Buildings and neighborhoods for living well together; Buildings and cities facing climate change; Renovation, reliability of the act of building, innovation; Circular economy and building resources.

Among these four areas of strategic action, the challenge of developing the circular economy and limiting the consumption of resources used for construction was widely exposed on June 29. This presentation is part of a cycle of presentations of each of the CSTB Research Roadmaps, scheduled for 2023 and 2024.

To deal with all the challenges of construction, it is essential to go beyond strictly technical and disciplinary fields. It is a question of seizing subjects echoing the concerns of society, for more comfortable buildings, while being more sober in energy, respectful of the environment, at controlled cost.

For Etienne Crépon, President of CSTB:“Climate change, demographic transition, digital revolution…: our world has entered a phase of profound changes, from which the building and the city are no exception. CSTB's mission is to support players in the face of the challenges thus generated, in the service of the general interest. Our priority areas of research have been structured to respond to all of these cross-cutting concerns, in a global and interdisciplinary vision. »

It is around this vision and in line with its scientific and technical priorities (creation and dissemination of knowledge, enhancement of performance and support for innovation), that CSTB has organized its four Research Roadmaps:

• Buildings and neighborhoods for living well together : propose a continuity of "well-being", from the private sphere of housing, to the public space, through the different places of life and modes of travel.
• Buildings and cities in the face of climate change : supporting stakeholders to enable the construction sector to effectively combat climate change and adapt to its effects.
• Renovation, reliability of the act of construction, innovation : bring together these three essential approaches to maintain a good level of quality, safety and durability of constructions, meet the objectives of carbon neutrality and reduction of energy consumption.
• Circular economy and building resources : optimize the use of resources to ensure their sustainability and preserve the environment, by working on reuse, recycling, extending the lifespan and exploitation, the frugal and circular design of products and structures and the circularity of water, and this, through the development of new job-creating sectors.

Based on these Roadmaps, a 1^st The work and project programming phase has been put in place until 2025. It covers all the construction challenges of yesterday, today and tomorrow, in an ambitious and demanding systemic and multidisciplinary approach, as underlined by Hervé Charrue, Deputy Director General of the CSTB, in charge of Research and Development.

For Hervé Charrue, Deputy Director General of CSTB, in charge of Research and Development: “With a long-term vision, we will intensify scientific and technical partnerships in order to articulate and pool our efforts to develop and share decisive scientific and technical knowledge. In parallel, we will have to educate on the effects of our behaviors, our individual and collective uses; communicate on the role of the building, its possibilities and its constraints; and finally, to value its contributions, its impacts on the scale of the individual, of the urban, up to those on the planet. The new directions of research commit us to this. »

Focus on the “Circular economy and building resources” Roadmap

In 2018, 49% of the materials mobilized for French domestic consumption concerned the construction and development sector. However, among the raw materials extracted from the ground, 56% are not renewable[1]. In addition, approximately 45 million tonnes of waste are generated each year, making the construction sector one of the main producers in this area[2].

In a dynamic of preserving the environment, the theme of the resources used by the sector is therefore fundamental. It is at the center of the “Circular economy and building resources” Roadmap, to which the day of June 29 was devoted.

Through this Roadmap, the CSTB devotes a large part of its research activity to the development of the circular economy in the building sector, by uniting the players and removing the technical, normative, regulatory, insurance or economic barriers. It is organized around 3 projects:

• “Economy and Circular Design”, dedicated to :
• Control of material flows and anticipation of the adequacy of consumption with resources at the territorial level : understand the challenges of saving resources and know the flow and stocks of materials, anticipate future needs and shed light on the structuring of possible sectors for massification.
• The recovery of material from existing buildings : promote the transition to selective deconstruction and material recovery approaches; favor reuse and increase recycling; optimize the management of rainwater, gray water and wastewater.
• The integration of the circular economy, from the design phase of products, building projects and land development : define pressure indicators and quality indices that will promote eco-design; deal with the subject of the durability of components and works and that of frugality, by optimizing the consumption of energy and non-energy resources; promote the ability of products and works to adapt to different uses.
• “Preservation of water resources, in a context of climate change affecting the water cycle”: act at different scales to facilitate the circularity of water use, from the building to the district, and thus considerably increase the use of non-conventional water (rain, grey, valves), while reducing consumption of drinking water, contributing to the asset management of existing networks to improve performance, limit health risks.
• « Evaluation of the durability of the performance and durability of systems and materials » : assess, from the implementation phase, the ability of products to maintain their technical, functional and health performance over the long term, and compare actual observed lifespans with theoretical forecasts, to extend these lifespans and better anticipate the reuse of products that have already undergone a cycle of use.

Presentation of the objectives of the research program for 2030, issues of the "Circular Economy & Resources for the Building" Roadmap and of the Economy and Resources Department of CSTB, conferences and feedback on projects carried out by CSTB and its partners and round tables… marked the Research Day of June 29. Different moments of networking and exchanges between building, construction and development professionals were also offered.

The round tables organized during the CSTB Research Day, dedicated to the Roadmap “Circular economy and building resources” will soon be available in replay, on the CSTB website.

Several focuses on CSTB's Research Roadmaps, conferences, webinars, etc. are also scheduled for the coming months.

[1] Waste key figures, 2020 edition, Ecological Transition Agency (ADEME)
[2] Survey of waste and rubble produced by construction activity – Ministry for Ecological Transition, data and statistical studies department