[PhD Defense] 🎓 Dr. Muheeb Al-Obaidy at ULiège

On May 15, 2025, Muheeb Al-Obaidy successfully defended his PhD at ULiège: “A Circularity Evaluation Framework for Newly Constructed Office Building Design” 👉 ”.The PhD is part of a larger project, DeConstruct, 2020-2024, A circularity evaluation framework for office building design: https://lnkd.in/dhkXJiSi

This research addresses one of the most urgent questions facing the construction sector today: How can circularity move from a conceptual ambition to an operational design framework for real buildings?

Muheeb’s work addresses this challenge by developing an integrated framework for evaluating circular office building design at the early design stage. The research bridges environmental assessment, circularity metrics, and practical decision-making in architectural engineering. Rather than treating circularity as a single indicator, the thesis combines: • life cycle assessment (LCA) • design for disassembly principles • material circularity indicators • adaptability and reuse potential • multi-criteria building evaluation approaches.

The PhD is part of a larger project, DeConstruct, 2020-2024, A circularity evaluation framework for office building design: https://www.sbd.uliege.be/cms/c_11206193/en/sbdlab-project-deconstruct

👉 The central message is clear: Circularity cannot be assessed only through material recycling rates. It must be evaluated as a whole-building design strategy integrating environmental impact, adaptability, reversibility, and long-term resource efficiency.

📊 Key contributions from the research

• Development of a circularity evaluation framework for office buildings • Integration of environmental and circularity indicators into early-stage design assessment • Identification of limitations in current circularity metrics and rating systems • Application of the framework to real building design scenarios • Bridging the gap between academic theory and professional practice

🔬 The thesis combines: • systematic literature analysis • framework development and indicator structuring • comparative building assessment • life cycle thinking and circular design principles • applied case-study evaluation

This creates a strong connection between research, engineering practice, and policy ambitions for the transition toward a low-carbon built environment.

🌍 Why this matters

The European construction sector faces increasing pressure to reduce embodied carbon, resource depletion, and construction waste. Yet many circularity claims remain qualitative, fragmented, or difficult to operationalize during design.

This work helps move from: 👉 generic circularity ambitions → measurable building evaluation 👉 isolated indicators → integrated assessment frameworks 👉 theoretical concepts → practical implementation pathways

👏 Congratulations to Dr. Muheeb Al-ObaidyIt was a privilege to supervise this work and witness its evolution into a rigorous and practice-oriented contribution to circular building design research. Special thanks to Hilde Carens for the partnership and support of Colruyt Group and Joeri Beneens and the Beneens team.

Thanks as well to the jury members and collaborators for their valuable discussions and engagement: Luc Courard, Rafael Passarelli, Ulrich Knaack, and Michiel Ritzen. Supervisor Shady Attia 阿提亚 沙帝

📚 Download and read the dissertation: https://lnkd.in/gDXt_GUB

📚 Learn more about our research https://www.sbd.uliege.be/

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