Proceedings of International Structural Engineering and Construction Holistic Overview of Structural Design and Construction Edited by Vacanas, Y., Danezis, C., Singh, A., and Yazdani, S. Copyright © 2020 ISEC Press ISSN: 2644-108X CPM-04-1 ANALYZING THE HUMAN SPHERE WITH THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY MODEL IN POST- EARTHQUAKE CONSTRUCTION: MECHEｶS HOUSE PAULINA CRIOLLO 1 and ENRIQUE VILLACIS TAPIA 2 1 Dept of Sustainability, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Guayaquil, Ecuador 2 School of Architecture, Design and Arts/ Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador Meche’s House is a post-earthquake house construction in Pedro Carbo, Ecuador. This article is based on the analysis of this construction under a specific model called Circular Economy (CE). The CE analyzes the flows of matter and energy, ensuring that everything recirculates in the system, causing the so-called waste to become a nutrient for new processes. This article explains the traditional concept of CE, based on the butterfly model by Ellen MacArthur Foundation which inserts flows of matter and energy in two spheres: biosphere and technosphere. However, this article inserts and analyzes a new one: the human sphere. The system for the construction of Meche’s House is analyzed especially under the latter sphere, to understand the local people as a resource within the system flows, emphasizing the post-earthquake context. Keywords: Biosphere, Technosphere, Waste, Nutrients. 1 INTRODUCTION The flows of matter and energy in the Circular Economy (CE) can be seen within three spheres: biosphere, technosphere and human sphere. The system behind the construction of Meche’s house is a concrete example of the interconnected energy and matter flows that can be translated as circular. The flows embedded in this system can be seen in the construction materials, in the design of the house and in the use of skills and labor of the community of Pedro Carbo in Ecuador. It is important to emphasize the different actors involved, as they are also part of the flow of matter and energy under the analysis of CE. Various actors such as Meche (a woman called like that by the community who is the owner of the house that was built after the earthquake) and her family, residents of Pedro Carbo, PACARI (a company that works with cocoa farmers in the area) and Ensusitio (an organization that works on construction techniques) participated in the post-earthquake construction of the Meche house. This article will begin with a brief introduction of the concept of CE and then analyze it within the context of Meche’s House. 1.1 The Circular Economy (CE) The current linear economic system of extracting resources, generating products and disposing of them, is reaching its limit. This linear system is creating a large amount of waste that is not only