2021 is definitely the year to go greener, and the number of eco-friendly choices we can make are rapidly growing. From recycling to buying farm-to-table products, we can also explore innovative ways of experiencing living spaces: sustainable and circular housing.
What makes a house sustainable? There are many factors in the game, but above all, less waste, more recycling and re-use, and fewer life-cycle environmental impacts. This results in building environmentally friendly houses that are made of recycled materials, with minimization of energy use, including also a chance for biodiversity prosperity and a greater user satisfaction.
Under the umbrella of “sustainable housing” there is the circular approach, which consists of finding new opportunities to recycle and expand house lifespan. By following the circular design, it is possible to fabricate houses that align to many sustainable principles.
Three leading-edge companies are moving forward in the sustainable housing sector in the Netherlands. Let’s explore them together.
Finch Buildings – zero carbon modular houses
Finch Buildings is solving the climate problem by building modular houses from wood which have the lowest possible CO2 footprint, both in production and use. Normally, in the Netherlands the realization of an average construction project takes between 7 and 10 years, but Finch Buildings is trying to do it in a faster and more sustainable way. Their Finch Modules are made with CLT (Cross-laminated timber) and other environmentally friendly materials. And every house can be unique with all kinds of facade finishes, so you don’t have to compromise on design.
Boom Builds – sustainability with investment returns
Boom Builds also uses wood as a primary material. By building houses that follow scalable and circular principles, they want to solve the relevant issue in the Netherlands of housing shortage of 75.000 homes a year. Boom Builds has three pillars:
- Offer an open source platform full of design elements
- Build circular with their production partners
- Allow to design iconic architecture by aligning their client needs in their platform.
In conclusion, Boom Builds wants to provide a “happy healthy living environment”, with a relevant focus on investment returns.
Sustainer Homes – kick-ass modular systems
Guess who is also integrating wood as a construction material? That’s the Sustainer Homes team, who develops the future of sustainable housing with a “kick-ass circular performance”. They want to help architects in the transition from industrial to a more circular way of building. At the moment, Sustainer Homes has 100 projects in 25 towns. One of them is called Brainport Smart District, and it will result in the realization of a circular residential area of 140 houses in Helmond. Their wood buildings are modular, dismountable and completely adaptable.
These three companies are contributing to our well-being and preserving the planet through the adoption of a housing green approach. What they can do now, is to apply successful managerial and organizational strategies that will lead them to be future sustainable housing scale-ups.
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