'Commodities will eventually disappear'

"Reusing materials is the future, and take-back guarantees are already a reality with us. In fact, raw materials are going to disappear in time." We take a hint, using the BREEAM 'Outstanding' Lely Campus in Maassluis as an example.

Circularity, the reuse of building materials as a partial product or as a whole, is now taking off; especially at Cladding Point. "That can mean incorporating the foam from our panels into the dashboard of a truck after disassembly. But you can just as easily reuse the entire sandwich panel, provided with a new finishing layer, in its entirety," Van der Veen continues. Both examples are from practice. "We already work anyway with materials that last longer than the intended lifetime of the project buildings. In addition, the panels are getting thinner and thinner because the structural quality of the materials is being improved. The material does not age; everything is durable. This also applies to our supplier Brucha's production chain, which includes production in Austria controlled by a biogas plant, electric forklifts and transport by train to the Netherlands."

First ever 'Outstanding' project

To innovate in sustainable building is to take steps. However, the real innovation is not evolutionary, but revolutionary, says Van der Veen. "Mineral resources, not just fossil raw materials, will eventually disappear because only materials that do not age will be reused. We want to be a forerunner in this, with guaranteed take-back of steel and insulation materials." It is therefore no coincidence that, as with the new building in 2012, Cladding Point has been called in for the second phase of the BREEAM 'Outstanding' certified project Lely Maassluis, a production site for robots for dairy farming. "A piece of Dutch glory and we are proud of that," says Van der Veen. "Europe's first ever BREEAM 'Outstanding' utility building project is now being expanded on the basis of engaging the same parties." For the realization of phase II, Lely is using several long-term partners. ConverseArchitects has been engaged for the design and Dura Vermeer Bouw Zuid West as construction contractor.

'Reuse becomes the norm'

The agrotech multinational is a client that goes completely for certified quality, Van der Veen said. "In short, Lely partnered with A-brands in the field of sustainable construction in 2012, is satisfied with them and is once again going for the highest standards. The end result of the input from Cladding Point, with MGB Cladding Systems as its assembly company, are sandwich panel facades that are completely flat on the inside, as in a clean room." For the purpose of the facades, Cladding Point supplies both carrier panels (constructively load-bearing) and the aforementioned Premium Façade Flat panels with invisible fixing. The expanded Lely Campus along the A20 near Maassluis will also have about six thousand square meters of solar panels and run on a CHP system. Waste and water will be recycled. "Once again: the evolution in the formerly conservative construction industry continues unabated. We continue to innovate; the true revolution is in the use of raw materials. Reuse is becoming the norm and already is at Cladding Point."