Circular design strategies for exhibitions: how museums can limit their waste

In search for sustainable development, museums have been showing a great willingness to adapt towards more sustainable methods. Of growing concern is the huge waste pile that stems from their practices, more specifically, the production of temporary exhibitions. Although circular practices, aimed at optimising resource use and eliminating waste, are an interesting direction for limiting the negative environmental impact, it is scarcely researched for temporary exhibition design. An in-depth inventory and analysis of ongoing practices exposes opportunities for implementing circular design strategies. This paper explores such opportunities through publications, policy documents, and cases in the museum sector both globally and in Belgium and the Netherlands. Additionally, the construction sector serves as an inspiration, as it is intensively focusing on designing out waste. Two frameworks frequently used in the construction sector, namely Design for X and the 9R strategies, can offer museum professionals in-depth insights into the waste management of temporary exhibitions.