Aim. Circular economy research and practise in the built environment prioritises material flow recirculation and technological fixes. However, for circular economy strategies to be implemented in urban systems, they must account for the spatially bounded, socio-technical specificities that shape the building lifecycle. In this thesis, I address the contextual dimensions of circular economy.

Methods. I adopt a mixed-methods strategy of inquiry to examine how building stocks and flows interact with the material and social spatiality of urban systems. A thematic analysis of 85 publications examines how circularity is conceptualised in relation to land, buildings and infrastructure. This exploratory study guides the selection of spatial and social parameters for subsequent empirical analyses. I quantify material stocks, embodied and operational emissions, and energy demand across levels of urbanisation, household profiles and ownership structures with a spatially explicit, bottom-up assessment of residential buildings in canton Vaud. Then, using survey data from 1,603 households in the Lemanic region, I analyse household dwelling clusters and renovation patterns. Finally, I explore circular economy strategies for critical raw materials in low carbon technologies in Switzerland with interview informed dynamic stock-flow modelling.

Results. The socio-metabolic profile of the built environment is characterised by material intensity, embodied emissions and operational energy demand that vary with building age, typology, ownership and household composition. Ownership structures govern different segments of the stock: companies own newer, materially intensive multi-family buildings, while private individuals and communities hold older dwellings with higher per capita energy demand. Single-person and elderly households occupy large living spaces, with higher operational energy demand per resident; elderly households in rural areas frequently inhabit pre-1919 dwellings with the highest energy intensities. Renovation rates differ across household dwelling contexts (0.7 to 1.4% per year), with uneven uptake of envelope upgrades, heating system changes and solar panels. These behavioural and technical differences shape current building lifecycle impacts and the future trajectory of the stock. The exploratory scenario analysis for solar panels, electric vehicles and wind turbines shows that strategies such as extending lifespans and increasing recycling rates can reduce primary demand for critical raw materials, while diversification of sub-technologies shifts rather than lowers overall demand. There is an underlying material cost of integrating low carbon technologies in the built environment.

Conclusions. This thesis advances the theoretical and empirical grounding of circular economy and provides context relevant insights for Switzerland. Circularity depends on processes operating at multiple scales. Interventions are therefore effective when they are tailored to how actors interact with buildings over their life trajectory. By treating the building stock as a long-lived socio-metabolic system, I demonstrate that material demand, energy use and renovation patterns are tied to housing context. This underscores the need for multi-scalar, actor-sensitive and stock-centred approaches that reflect the diversity of contextual conditions in which long-term reductions in resource dependency are made.