Circular Disruption forum, Sydney

Atelier Ten joined industry peers at Circular Disruption on Wednesday 12 November at the Greenhouse Climate Tech Hub in Salesforce Tower, Sydney. Convened by The Fifth Estate, the forum explored how materials, products and investment are shaping a low carbon built environment.

The event program was curated to reflect the evolution of circular economy ideas from buzzword to boardroom, through practical case studies, tools and open discussion. The agenda invited panellists to share examples where value was created and how to scale it.

Atelier Ten’s Stewart Monti joined an engaging panel discussion to present The architecture and construction of a circular future alongside Jordan Schumacher (Woods Bagot) and Professor Mathew Aitchison (Building 4.0 CRC), moderated by Caroline Pidcock. Stewart highlighted key principles in adopting a Circular by Design approach and shared practical examples of how design for reuse and regeneration.

A consistent takeaway was the value of trust, collaboration and proactive stakeholder engagement to reduce risk and support timely delivery. Project references included Shoalhaven’s Resource Recovery Learning Centre, BlueScope’s Port Kembla Master Plan and international precedents such as Roots in the Sky, highlighting material reuse, disassembly and high recycled content volumes.

Sessions explored precinct scale energy and why global capital is taking interest, advanced local manufacturing, and practical ways to track embodied carbon through NABERS and Environmental Product Declarations. Speakers also discussed how finance is responding as policy settings shift.

Atelier Ten’s circularity work highlights several practical levers with clear application on current projects, including design for disassembly, reclaimed and high recycled materials, precinct systems and supply chain tracking. We also see embodied carbon budgets emerging as a useful business KPI and growing interest in treating material stockpiles as strategic assets.

Hosting the forum at 180 George Street reinforced the focus on translating ideas to market and provided a fitting backdrop for collaboration between innovators, investors and project teams. Circular Disruption forms part of The Fifth Estate’s continuing program of events and editorial that brings decision makers together to progress sustainability in the built environment.

Photos by Anthony Burns of Homepix.