About OpenCirc

The initiative

OpenCirc is an open-source initiative building the data infrastructure for circular construction. We create tools and standards that enable material passports to live as long as the buildings they document—50, 70, even 100 years.

The challenge

Construction consumes 40% of global raw materials and generates 35% of waste. As resources become scarcer, the industry must shift from linear consumption—extract, build, demolish, landfill—to circular material flows.

The barrier isn't technology or ambition. It's information loss.

At end-of-life, we lack the data needed to make informed reuse and recycling decisions. Even for new products, the industry struggles: data sits trapped in incompatible systems, using different definitions, speaking different languages. When a building faces renovation or demolition decades later, the critical material information is obsolete or gone entirely.

The approach

OpenCirc builds infrastructure for data that survives as long as buildings do.

Living material passports: We capture manufacturer data at specification, then continuously enrich it through operations, maintenance, and renovation. By the time deconstruction happens, you have a complete material biography—not a compliance snapshot from half a century ago.

Self-contained records: Definitions travel with the data itself, not through external links that break over time. Each data point carries its own semantic context—what it means, how it was measured, which standard it references. Data from 2025 remains interpretable in 2075.

Open by design: MIT-licensed code and Creative Commons data models ensure no single vendor controls access. The infrastructure is collectively owned by the industry. If OpenCirc the organization disappears, the data and tools remain usable.

Current projects

OpenCirc is being developed through multiple initiatives:

OpenCirc BuildConnect (2025-2026): Funded by WE BUILD DENMARK, this project develops semantic interoperability for Digital Product Passports, integrating with LCA tools and testing in full-scale construction projects across Denmark. Read more →

MUDP-supported infrastructure (2024-2025): Initial platform development focusing on material passport data models and lifecycle documentation systems. Read more →

Who we are

OpenCirc was founded by Openframe in collaboration with DTU construct and YourFairShare. The initiative is driven by a collaborative network of construction professionals, researchers, developers, and sustainability practitioners across the Nordic region and beyond.

We're supported by innovation grants and work closely with industry standardization bodies, building certification schemes, and the EU's circular economy initiatives.

Get involved

OpenCirc is industry-owned infrastructure. Whether you're a manufacturer, designer, builder, facility manager, or developer—if you work with building materials, this affects you.

Explore: Read our blog posts and technical documentation to understand the vision.

Contribute: Our code and data models are open-source. Join the development community.

Pilot: Test OpenCirc in real projects and help shape the platform.

Integrate: Build connections between OpenCirc and your existing tools.

Visit our GitHub or contact us at info@opencirc.org