At MAKER, we carry out integrated evaluations that combine environmental, economic, social, technical, and functional performance, ensuring that design decisions are grounded in a full life cycle perspective. Beyond operational energy use, we place strong emphasis on the embodied energy of materials and on reuse cycles across the entire lifespan of a building.

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We apply life cycle thinking through environmental assessments such as Circular Building Assessment (CBA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), alongside economic analyses using Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Materials are systematically tracked and documented at the levels of the building, elements, and components, forming the basis of a material bank that records material flows, reuse potential, and costs. This approach supports circular design strategies and emphasises technical reversibility, enabling efficient (dis)assembly, interchangeability, and reuse across multiple life cycles.

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Analyses, comparisons, and data processing are central to our methodology. Data related to energy performance, life cycle assessments, circular indicators, business models, and BIM tools are structured in matrices and tables to assess both sustainability and feasibility.

These principles are applied in practice through projects such as the WVDM Living Lab and the ZNA Middelheim, where renovation strategies are tested under real-use conditions. Where modular and reversible system solutions were developed for adaptable interiors and technical installations. In both cases, components are designed for maintenance, reuse, repurposing, or recycling, supported by TCO analyses were carried out, providing an integrated assessment across the entire life cycle: from production and transport to installation, use, maintenance, end-of-life, and processing.