BC materials

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. That’s why we cordially invite you to sign the petition of House Europe! to stimulate (I) tax reductions for renovation works and reused materials, (II) fair rules to assess both potentials and risks of existing buildings, and (III) new values for the embedded CO2 in existing structures. This will also become incorporated into the Brussels building code to privilege renovation over new buildings (when we have a new government 😇 ), but we should also have a European movement towards it. It’s very simple: the carbon emissions we avoid now, are actually more important than the ones we avoid in ten, twenty, thirty,.. years time. CO2 is cumulative – the more we emit, the warmer it will get. Keeping existing buildings, renovating, insulating them & extending them saves up carbon in comparison to demolishing and building new buildings.  Pictures: exemplary renovation of neglected town house to fresh living space in Koekelberg by BC architects, with our red clay plaster. Copyright: Jasper Van der Linden, application by Grond Studio. You can sign the petition here : https://lnkd.in/eaeUdguk , find the full initiative here : https://lnkd.in/em_RKPV9 .

Building Beyond Borders 2025 – Registrations Open Soon We are excited to officially launch the next edition of Building Beyond Borders, an immersive learning experience that pushes the boundaries of sustainable design and circular construction. Registrations open on March 1, 2025, and close on May 1, 2025. Only 25 spots are available, this year !  Become a Building Beyond Borders postgrad and embark on a unique, hands-on journey, engaging in the renovation of an innovative bio-geo-based project in Helchteren, Belgium, in collaboration with DE GOUDEN LINIAAL ARCHITECTEN and MAGMA architecten. You will learn earth construction techniques alongside BC materials, gaining a deeper understanding of sustainable building methods. At the Pastorie, you will be at the forefront of a dynamic transformation. You will be helping to revive the garden by creating an outdoor workshop space and a sustainable vegetable garden, while also harvesting and transforming materials into exciting new interior objects. You will be working in collaboration with the Friends of the Pastorie and local inhabitants, helping to shape the Pastorie into a welcoming home for the community—and so much more. If you are eager to learn by doing, engage with experts and local communities, and contribute to meaningful projects, this is your opportunity to be part of something transformative. Great poster by laura Ghabris

We’re pleased to share that all our leem products have been tested and confirmed to meet the strictest standards for VOC emissions. With results below the minimum threshold, our clay-based materials are officially VOC-free. This achievement reflects our ongoing commitment to offering materials that are safe, sustainable, and contribute to healthier spaces. Photography Tim Van de Velde

I come from Romania, a country where there is almost no awareness of resource depletion, the carbon embedded in buildings, the housing crisis and the fact that neoliberalism has led to much less freedom for the majority. Belgium, my adopted country, is different in the sense that at least it has a tradition of adaptive reuse, with VAT on renovation/conversion to housing reduced from 21% to 6%. So I couldn't be happier to be an ambassador for the European Citizens' Initiative HouseEurope!, which is lobbying for new EU legislation to make renovation and conversion easier, more affordable and more social. Because demolishing existing buildings is as outdated as food waste, animal testing, fast fashion and single-use plastics. The initiative, which was launched yesterday, calls for a right to reuse for existing buildings based on three key pillars: (I) tax breaks for renovation work and reused materials, (II) fair rules for assessing the risks and potential of existing buildings, and (III) new values for the embedded CO2 in existing structures. Find out more about HouseEurope! and tell your friends: https://lnkd.in/eK4g_jz6. We need 1 million signatures from across the EU to help Member States stop demolition and renovate - to house Europe in our existing buildings. Sign now and share after: https://lnkd.in/e9A6gcpT Co-initiated and managed by Olaf Grawert, coordinated by Alina Kolar, and supported by Lacaton & Vassal, Herzog & de Meuron, Ruth Schagemann, Architects4Future, Barbara Metz, Enlai Hooi, Marion Waller, Saskia van Stein, Verena Konrad, Theresa Keilhacker, Rasmus Andresen, Elias Molitschnig, myself and many more. #houseeurope #stopdemolition #renovation #transformation #europeanunion

This weekend in BauNetz, Florian Heilmeyer looks back at Luma's Lot 8 project in Arles. He explores LUMA Arles's ambitious transformation of the site, focusing on how Atelier Luma is stimulating research and innovation in sustainable materials. Lot 8, a collaborative project with Assemble, is an integral part of this ongoing research process, pushing the boundaries of bio-regional architecture. full article: https://lnkd.in/dTY2vB2s Retrospective on the exploration of materials through the region's landscapes, highlighting the unique resources discovered and incorporated into the project. Photography Morgane Renou, Adrian Deweerdt, Joana Luz, Joseph Halligan/Assemble and Baptiste Chatenet/BC architects&studies&materials

Often we get the question if earth is very different in different regions. Well, even at small distances there can be different tonalities of color. We can see that in the Crèche Roodt project, a new daycare in Luxembourg built with local materials and utilizing the earth available on-site. Our work began with soil testing, which revealed an abundance of reddish rusty clay. This allowed us to produce blocks and mortar and, after a second phase of research and development, transform the excavated earth into Clay Plaster (base coat) and Clay Finish (top coat). The final plaster mix included 0.5% straw fibers, a small addition that enhances its performance while staying true to natural materials. After completing 61 tonnes of plasters, 55.000 blocks & 50tonnes of mortar, a small amount of this unique clay remains. Its distinctive reddish-purple tones make it perfect for use in plasters or paint. #SustainableArchitecture #LocalMaterials #ClayPlaster #EarthBasedConstruction

Super proud to have won the Henry Van De Velde Gold Award for Environment tonight with the Ghent Waste Brick! Thanks to the courage and vision of the City Of Ghent, the Design Museum Gent and the architectural team, we were able to prove that you can produce a very local facing brick in the city, with waste streams from Ghent and much less negative impact than an ordinary facing brick. Big thank you to all the partners who made this happen : ATAMA, Carmody Groarke, Local Works Studio, Sogent, but also very special thank you to the BC team members who did AMAZING work, arranging the production process, handling logistics & producing more than 80.000 Ghent bricks at the Arsenaal Site: Camillo Coloberti , Pedro Sequeira & Henrique F. Pintão.  The Henry van de Velde Awards, organized by Flanders DC, not only showcase and award only designers, companies and governments that use design intelligently, but also products, services and systems with a positive impact on society, the environment and the economy. In doing so, these awards emphasize the important social role of designers and their clients*. ---- * Check out also some of the other great winners: Urbanisto - modular e-bike, Open Access Breast Couch ( a positioning platform for a prone position for breast radiotherapy), .. on https://lnkd.in/esQX_zf9 #awards #ecodesign #environment #lowimpact #design

One of the best ways to mitigate climate change & support the path towards a liveable planet for future generations, is to structurally decrease (y)our dependence on the use of fossil fuels. As the EU has very few fossil resources itself, it’s not only environmental but also economic & strategic common sense, to do this. (In 2023, the EU's natural gas import dependency rate was 90%.) For example, by switching for internal blockwork from baked or other CO2 intensive blockwork to compressed earth blocks, one obtains significant CO2 reductions that not only avoid worsening climate change, but also decrease our reliance on a number of autocratic regimes.  And by massively insulating our homes & buildings with biobased insulation, we can reduce the heating demand, and especially in a country like Belgium where gas is still the most important heating source (like many other EU countries), decrease our collective reliance, unpredictable price hikes, and save means for other valuable purposes. More than ever, switching the way we produce, decreasing the needed heating & change the way we heat has important consequences and formidable long term advantages. Yes, we can! #climatecrisis #climatechange #decarbonize #earthblocks #circularbuilding

Best wishes for 2025!! Let’s start the year with some good news :) : “The World Cement Association has predicted that global demand for cement and clinker will decrease more than previously expected by 2050 due to changing market trends and sustainable material advancements.” The reasons for that are clear: “Real estate and infrastructure developers – are under pressure to cut the carbon footprint of their projects, often at a rate that is faster than the cement industry can satisfy. This will lead them to take actions that will reduce the demand for conventional cement.” There are several advantages to this evolution: -Less CO2 emissions  -Less waste  -Less need for (carbon intensive) carbon capture & storage installations: expensive machinery that usually has a high embodied carbon footprint and needs constant energy to run  -More opportunities for circular & reusable materials that (have) capture(d) C02 emissions Aside from structural timber for large buildings (that is mentioned in the report), there’s also the possibility for earth based products to replace some cement based ones, like our chape terre that is cement-free. It can replace a lot of classic screed, and offers good mass & acoustics. We’ve already tried it out on a number of test construction sites, with very good results. In the upcoming months larger construction sites will be tackled with the material and a collaboration with contractors. It will still take some time before we launch officially - good things take time 😉 - , but  it's a straightforward win to decarbonize flooring systems and reduce waste. (Full report of the World Cement Association: https://lnkd.in/eR2DBXTf

2024 has been a dramatic year (massive floodings & wildfires, wars that are caused or aggravated by the chase for ressources and/or fossil energy,...). But there's a lot possible, once we align interests & scale non-fossil based production, low tech & circular approaches. With BC materials we will be closed from 23rd of December till the 5th of January, but if it interests you, we'd like to give you some fascinating lecture, during your holidays, on how to implement these trajectories. - First of all: "It's About Time : The Architecture of Climate Change": a fascinating book, based on the Biennale in Rotterdam, that looks at the potential roles for architects as both Ancestor, Accelerator & Activist. Véronique Patteeuw & Léa-Catherine Szacka offer a wealth of options to save life on our planet through a regenerative approach. Kristiaan Borret was very right in pointing out during the book presentation at CIVA this week that legislation is a very important & necessary lever. Cue to: - Secondly: the World Green Building Council has set up a tracker to see how several legislative initiatives are on their way to help combat climate change, to steer finance towards sustainable investments, to set up regulations that facilitate very low carbon materials & public tenders that can work as a big lever for the building market. The Whole Life Carbon approach is actually one of the quickest wins, we can achieve. Find out more on : https://lnkd.in/dQqk9n_N - "How much is enough?", the economists Robert & Edward Skidelsky once asked. Ramboll recently answered part of this question for the building industry with a perspective on sufficiency, along three trajectories: *prioritising renovations over demolition and new construction; *increasing average space use intensity; *designing buildings to be used more intensively throughout the day/week or future uses.  (Full read: https://lnkd.in/e3ZgfMhp ) Happy reading & a great vacation with friends and loved ones! 🙏