Circular City Aachen

As part of the "Circular City Aachen" project, the City of Aachen’s Building Management Department is involved in the two subprojects "Urban Mining Hub" ("BauWIRKstatt") and "Circular City Hub" ("KreislaufWIRKstatt") to promote circularity and, in particular, the reuse of building materials.

Together with partners from government, academia, and industry, we are developing sustainable solutions and frameworks for concrete, practical measures to conserve resources —with support from the NRW funding program “CircularCities.NRW,” co-financed by the EU.

Background and Objective
: The objective of the overall “Circular City Aachen” project is to make circularity accessible to everyone and to establish structures that enable the sustainable use of resources in the long term. The project examines various aspects of everyday urban life—from everyday objects to building components and construction products.

The goal of the Urban Mining Hub subproject (part of the Center for Urban Raw Material Extraction, “BauWIRKstatt”) is to facilitate this circularity and its practical implementation in the construction sector by developing and implementing the building blocks of the associated value chain.

Project Anatomy:

*Project Partners:
E26: Building Management Department of the City of Aachen, Lead Urban Mining Hub
; Concular GmbH: A consulting and service provider specializing in the circular economy in the construction sector, as well as the operator of a network of Urban Mining Hubs throughout
GermanyE18: City of Aachen Public Utilities, Lead Circular City
HubCSCP gGmbH: Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production, a nonprofit international think tank and implementation organization

Urban Mining Hub ("BauWIRKstatt") 

The Urban Mining Hub ("Urban Raw Materials Center") is one of two subprojects of Circular City Aachen. It is a warehouse where the circular construction transition is made visible and tangible, and where it is further developed collaboratively.

A collaborative effort led by the Facilities Management department is developing key elements for the practical reuse of building materials, such as the creation of the necessary infrastructure.

Interim Storage as the Most Powerful Lever for the Circular Economy
: Providing a warehouse creates the opportunity to remove components and bulky items on a flexible schedule, store them under quality-assured conditions, refurbish them, recertify them, and reuse them later.

This facility is the central, physical building block of the new value chain and of our strategy for the circular construction transition. It thus closes the largest gap in feasibility, serves as the public sector’s greatest lever, and enables us to develop additional relevant tools and processes.

Digital Recording and Evaluation
: Development of a digital tool for documenting, evaluating, and presenting building components.

Recycling and Refurbishment of Building
Products: Local repairs and overhauls in cooperation with workshops, craft businesses, social enterprises, and startups.

Recertification and warranty of remanufactured components
; development of procedures to verify the quality, safety, and serviceability of components.

Circular City Hub ("KreislaufWIRKstatt")

The Circular City Hub is the second subproject of the Circular City Aachen strategy. This collaboration, led by the City of Aachen’s Public Works Department (E18), develops general strategies and pilot models in the fields of construction, textiles, electronics, and food.

Status Quo

The entire project is currently under development.

One date has already been set, however: The Urban Mining Hub will open on October 26, 2026.

A Collaborative Approach to a Circular City
: The Circular City project is just getting started—and will be further developed in collaboration with experts and local stakeholders.

We provide the impetus, but the details are worked out collectively: Everyone is invited to share their experiences, needs, and ideas so that the BauWIRKstatt is practical and sustainable in the long term.

Step by step, this creates a structure that facilitates reuse, conserves resources, and supports the City of Aachen’s sustainability goals.

Joint website of the Circular City Aachen project
partnerswww.circularcityaachen.de

Funding and Project Partnership
: The project is part of the “Circular Economy – CircularCities.NRW” funding program, which is funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Transportation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and co-financed by the European Union.