17 februari 2022
Antwerp-based sheltered workshop Kunnig has prepared the façade cladding of former events venue Hangar 26 for reuse as façade cladding at ‘t Centrum. Kunnig gave the wood a total makeover. The wooden beams have now been given a new lease on life as façade cladding for ‘t Centrum, the circular office building at Kamp C.
Contractor Joeri Beneens of Olen-based Bouw en Interieur went in search of reclaimed wood for the façade cladding of ’t Centrum on the Kamp C site in Westerlo. That is how he wound up at Kunnig, an Antwerp-based sheltered workshop. “We compared several alternatives for the façade but ultimately, untreated sustainable wood seemed the best option. The fact that this wood has already had a previous life in another building is proof that it’s both durable and sustainable. As it happened, Hangar 26 was about to strip its façade of its cladding. We quoted them a price for the complete renovation. After the contract was awarded to another party, we sat down with them. While we did not make a bid, we tried to find a win-win that would also reduce their landfill costs. We have previously worked with reclaimed wood.”
Beneens wanted to collaborate with a sheltered workshop for the processing of the cladding. The company has had previous positive experiences with companies that employ people who are unable to find a job on the regular labour market. This was their first collaboration with Kunnig. “They were the most suitable because of their location. They are based in Antwerp, in close proximity to the source”, says Joeri.
Social economy
Kunnig, an Antwerp-based sheltered workshop, mainly processes wood for office interiors. “Reclaimed wood is not our core business”, says Frank Vandenbussche, who works as a supervisor at Kunnig. “Our workshop mainly produces complete office interiors. We build large cabinets for music academies, for example. Our workshop can take on all kinds of different jobs. Soon we will start to produce beach chairs. We saw wood panels for timber merchants or pottery wheels for ceramic artists. Currently, we are sanding down and preparing boards for Buurman. We mainly work with new material so in that sense, the job for ‘t Centrum was quite very different from what we usually do.” The workshop employs joiners and people at a distance from the labour market. The façade cladding of Hangar 26 was dismantled and transported to Kunnig.
“Our employees took down the boards on one side of the building, checking them and removing any nails in them in addition to sorting them by length. On the other side of the building, however, they had to dismantle entire panels. We removed the Rockwool insulation, after which we sorted the insulation materials, separating the film as well as removing the nails, checking the panels and sorting them in separate containers”, Frank says.
The labourers are employed under a social employment scheme. “This job was a welcome opportunity because things were relatively quiet as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Obviously, some employees will enjoy the process of reclaiming wood more than others. Buurman Antwerpen, an organisation that reuses the waste streams of companies, told Beneens to contact us. In that sense, the reclaiming of façade cladding was perhaps a little out of the ordinary for us”, Frank explains.
Photos: Kunnig processes wood from Hangar 26 into new façade cladding for 't Centrum - © Beneens
