Through championing collaboration our aim is to strengthen the approach towards the circular economy. This is through providing accessible advice to designers and specifiers on why and how to reuse effectively and how facilitate this in the construction industry; bridging the gap between developers, architects, interior designers, engineers, suppliers and contractors. The pocketbook acts as a successor to Elliott Wood’s ‘Full Circle to Reuse’ guide, offering helpful, bitesize advice and moving towards a cross disciplinary approach. The overarching aim is to reduce embodied carbon emissions and material extraction, while also minimising construction waste in response to the climate emergency. While there is a plethora of great literature in the circular economy sphere on reuse, this book aims to consolidate the collaborative learnings and practical expertise of design teams to provide practical and implementable advice to all across the sector. All this made available in a small, interactive book, big enough to fit in your back pocket.

Marks Barfield Architects (Architects), Elliott Wood (Engineers) and Material Index (Specialists) have collaborated to provide a digestable aid for reuse. In 2022 MBA was undergoing a turnkey commercial, packed full of near-new materials. Demolition felt criminal. Championing deconstruction, the design team and contractors achieved an 575 tnCO2e carbon saving, on top of an £1,.6 million cost saving due to reuse. This process was invaluable, and changed the way MBA have approached reuse since; the pocketbook is the culmination of this venture.