Kunnig cladding

Contractor Joeri Beneens Bouw en Interieur from Olen went in search of reclaimed wood for the cladding of 't Centrum on the Kamp C site in Westerlo. Bespoke company Kunnig from Antwerp thus came across Joeri Beneens' path. "We compared a lot of alternatives for the facade but untreated sustainable wood came out best. If this wood has then already had a previous life on another building, that is not only proof but it reinforces its sustainable character. Coincidentally, the cladding of Hangar 26 was going to be demolished. We gave the price for the complete renovations. When the project was awarded to another party, we sat down with them. No bid was made, but we did look for a win-win solution in which they had less landfill costs. We have worked with reclaimed wood before. "

For the operation of the panels, Beneens was keen to work with a bespoke company. They have had positive experiences in the past with companies that employ people who cannot enter the regular employment circuit. This was the first time they worked with Kunnig. "In terms of location, they were the most suitable. They are also based in Antwerp, so they were close to the source," states Joeri.

Kunnig, a customisation company in Antwerp, has a workshop that mainly processes wood for office furnishing. "Recuperating wood is not our core business," explains Frank Vandenbussche, work manager at Kunnig. "In our workshop, we mainly make complete office furnishings. For example, we make large cabinets for the music school. The advantage of our workshop is that we take on different types of orders. For example, we will soon start making beach chairs. We cut wooden boards for timber merchants or discs for ceramics. We are now sanding and preparing planks for Buurman. We mainly work with new material so the job for 't Centrum is a unique one." The workshop employs tailors and joiners. The cladding of Hangar 26 was dismantled and transported to Kunnig.

"Along one side of the building, our employees simply took the boards off, checked everything, took out the nails and sorted the different lengths. On the other side of the building, complete panels were taken off. We took off the Rockwool insulation, then sorted the insulation keeping the foil separate, took nails out of the boards, checked them and sorted them into separate bins," Frank clarified.

The labour force was employed through social employment. "The job was an opportunity for us because it was a calmer period due to the corona crisis. Some workers will already prefer recovering wood to others. The job came to us via Buurman Antwerpen, an organisation that recycles waste streams from companies. So the recovery of the cladding was certainly not a standard assignment for us," says Frank.