Exploded View Beyond Building

Onno Dwars

"The moment you can actually look in the mirror and say, 'I have really done the maximum possible in my capacity of imagination to make positive impact', you are fulfilling for me. It's about mindset." These inspiring words come from Onno Dwars. As managing director of Ballast Nedam Development, a Dutch property developer, he shed some light on their projects and the sustainable impact they are trying to make during our closing conference.

Onno indicated that it comes down to a moral compass, as a person and as a company. What are you doing and do you dare to question each other? That is the essence for transforming the construction industry into a sustainable thing. They want to make the world beautiful. To be able to design cities as natural parks. By making more sustainable interventions in the built environment, says Onno, we can ensure that people live longer.

As a company, they need to make sure there are collaborations between different parties to really make a difference. As a company, they want to set an example, convince politicians so that the positive impact increases. Want to know how they do this? Are you curious about their projects? View Onno's presentation under the 'Downloads' tab or visit their website.

Bas Van de Westerlo

We also welcomed Bas Van de Westerlo of Volantis, an engineering, architecture and consultancy group, to The Exploded View Beyond Building's farewell. Volantis' motto cannot be misunderstood:"Let's change the perspective". They are practical doers who dare to dream. Bas is Business Unit Manager Circularity at Volantis, making circular building part of his expertise. The combination with health is incredibly important to him. He told us more about it during the closing conference.

Toxicity, heat stress, biodiversity, reuse and recycling: more interests play a role in the choice for circular building. No topic was left undiscussed during Bas' presentation. You can read all about it under the 'Downloads' tab. More information about Volantis can be found here.

Sessions

Steering group Construction & Agriculture (closed) and Construction & Agriculture build sustainable biomaterial chains together i.c.w. Flanders Circular and ILVO

How can we form a sustainable value chain between construction and agriculture for bio-based building materials? This question was central to both sessions. We entered into discussions with the various stakeholders to determine the first steps towards an answer. Together with Rurant, Flanders Circular, B2B and the other attendees, we will process the input coming out of the sessions and create an action plan. It is the beginning of a journey with no set route, but we believe that together we will reach the finish line.

Find out more about Rurant here.

Natuurpunt farm Forest 't Ename i.c.w. Eurabo - Circularity in practice

As a supplier of natural materials, Eurabo is closely involved in circular and bio-based building projects. They see their role as a supplier broader than just providing their customers with the necessary building materials. They see cooperation and thinking along with all building actors - from architect, engineer and contractor to builder - as a crucial element in realising a successful sustainable, circular and bio-based building project. From this context, Eurabo cooperated, among others, in the realisation of the Natuurpunt farm in the forest of Ename, in Oudenaarde.

The renovation and extension of this farm, as Natuurpunt's educational centre, became a textbook example of circular, natural and nature-inclusive building. As much use as possible was made of local natural materials and crafts, and optimum use was also made of cooperation with local associations, schools, nature managers and farmers. So, besides being a sustainable project, this nature point farm has also become a social project for the region.

In the presentation by Dries Hubrechts (Purchasing Manager & Advisor at Eurabo), we will find out how the different pillars of circular and natural building were applied in practice in this project. In addition, some other practical examples are also discussed and we see how circular and natural building techniques and materials were optimally used here as well

More information on the nature point farm can be found here.

Zoersel builds the future

Eyes Hearts Hands, what is that? This innovative project promotes the transformation of cities. In doing so, it loses nothing out of sight: the local heritage and social context of the city, the involvement of inhabitants, the connection between different actors and a green transition close to home. The project bridges art, culture and education with science and technology.

One of the seven demo projects can be found in our own province, more specifically in Zoersel. With the support of Kamp C and Zonnewind CV, they are designing a new inclusive, innovative and sustainable library branch: a place to meet, learn from, inspire and create.

In order for the project to succeed, they are still looking for a strong construction team. That is why they presented the project at the closing conference. Curious about more? Quickly dive into the 'downloads' tab on this page and watch Zoersel's presentation.

Circular business space in cooperation with POM Antwerp

Together with POM Antwerp, we invited some construction experts for a talk on bio-based and circular building. What prejudices, misconceptions or pitfalls come up when we talk about this approach? With so many bankruptcies in the construction sector, is it a good time to start innovating or is it not better to stick to conservative methods? What do entrepreneurs and municipalities need to roll out bio-based construction?

We put the questions to Sarah Theeuws (West Architecture), Filip Schepers (POM Antwerp), Julie Peeters (VLAIO), Ingmar Nopens (C-Biotech) and Bart D'haese (Isohemp). You can read their answers in this report.

Local partners

To give local content to the exhibition, Kamp C focused on partnerships. Material as well as knowledge and network partners were invited to think with us.

In May 2022, Kamp C launched a broad call to the construction industry to find organisations that wanted to build with us. All these materials have been given a physical place in the pavilion. The public can learn about these products during the tour.

• Acoustix: Pan-Terre - acoustic sheet material made of cellulose from paper waste and flax.
• Isohemp: Hemp Blokcs - Insulation material made from stalks of hemp plants and hydraulic lime
• Arte Constructo: Unilit - Facade finish made from pure hydraulic lime
• Wienerberger - ClickBrick: Demountable and 100 per cent reusable clay facing brick
• Eurabo - consultant and distributor of ecological building materials including Geocell, Smartply OSB Pro Clima Solitex Fronta Quattro, construction timber, thermowood and Celit roofing boards
• Woodinc: CircuWallPanels, a circular façade element
• Wall garden: Vertical greenery
• Circular Matters: Wall tile based on maize and flax fibres
• Bio-Home: wooden bed frame made from downed poplars with 100% natural latex mattress made of sea grass.
• BC-materials: Gent Waste Brick for DING

Colruyt Group also put its weight behind the project to bring about a positive impact ecologically and socially. In the Vakcentrum Duurzame Bouwmaterialen (Centre for Sustainable Construction Materials), they investigate the various paths to improve their environmental impact per material type and per application. At the same time, the R&D&I Food Team is investigating how to make high-quality use of bio-based residual streams. The project The Exploded View encourages their overarching work. This project gave them the opportunity to seek out-of-the-box connections and work towards sustainability in different areas.

At the pavilion, Design Museum Gent presented the DING trajectory where their own circular facing brick was developed in collaboration with BC-Materials and Flanders Circular. Design Museum Gent also gave the opportunity to Orineo and Onbetaalbaar, Circular Matters and Studio Plastique to give their products a place in The Exploded View. Furthermore, we counted on the support of VIBE, Bouwunie, Sidati, Rurant, Buurman and Thomas More as partners of this innovative project.