A new day and a new interview, given by Sven Erik Janssen and this time to the online magazine KMIDB (quartermasters in the construction industry). Sven tells about the origin of Duplicor, the various possibilities with our biocomposite and how he sees the future of bio-based construction.
Sven Erik Janssen, one of the owners of Holland Composites, has a clear vision of the future. “The ideal world is one that makes full use of reusable and bio-based materials.” With the material Duplicor, a bio-based composite, Holland composites is taking the first steps towards such a world.
The origin of Holland Composites lies in yacht building. However, for several years now, Holland Composites has increasingly focused on the construction sector. “Think of using lightweight composite materials in construction,” says Janssen. The company has already provided quite a few high-profile projects with their products. Examples include the facades of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the striking composite facade of Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht.
Bio-based
All the knowledge and experience that Holland Composites has built up in recent years has now been translated into a new bio-based composite material that they are marketing under the name Duplicor. “Our material”, explains Janssen, “originates from plant waste. Think sugar cane stalks and corn residues. We press these into a very high thermal and acid-resistant bioresin. We then join that together with a fiberglass laminate in outdoor applications such as facades and roofs. Duplicor can also contain natural fibers for interior walls. We use recycled pet foam as an insulation core in a sandwich element. This is not a bio product, but we have consciously abandoned the use of PUR, PIR, EPS foams and toxic synthetic resins in our composite products. We actually use the plastic soup in the form of PET foam as a thermally insulating layer in our facade and roof constructions from Duplicor.”
Lighter
What makes the product especially special is that it is a lot lighter than regular building materials. Janssen points out that an airplane consists of 350 kilos of high-performance materials per person. “And then it also flies about 1000 kilometers per hour. A building in which we live and work easily consists of 55,000 kilos per person of concrete, steel and all kinds of other conventional building materials.” Compared to this, Duplicor as a building material stands out positively. “CE Delft has made an LCA study. They mainly looked at the CO2 equivalent per kilogram of product. To do this, she analyzed a typical facade with an insulation value of 5.8. For this we need a panel with a thickness of 172 millimeters with a total weight of 24 kilograms per square meter. To be able to deliver the same performance with a concrete facade, for example, you need a thickness of 400 millimeters, which equates to a weight of 450 kilos per square meter.” Count from your profit in usable floor space per building low and less use of materials.
Less material
He just wants to say that a lot less material is needed to build with his product. “In fact, such a slender facade saves roughly fifteen to twenty centimeters of floor space per floor. Believe me, with numbers like this, every developer is on the edge of his seat. Especially since we also meet the highest fire standards.”
The Pulse of Amsterdam, a combination of living, working and cultural facilities, is currently being built with a constructive façade by Duplicor. “We make the facade elements of approximately four by four meters in our factory. It concerns both the insulating shell complete with solar panels and the interior finish that people look at when they live or work in the building.”
In short, the material is now finding its way to various projects. However, Janssen is not going fast enough. On the one hand, this has to do with legislation and regulations. And on the other hand with the cost. When it comes to safety, the laws and regulations cannot be strict enough as far as he is concerned. According to him, the material meets all fire safety requirements mainly due to the strict laws and regulations. “But the same laws and regulations still allow materials to be used that are not good for the environment or are even at odds with sustainability requirements. Do something about that. Prescribe that this percentage of new-build facades has a certain performance. Then a lot of materials are already dropped and it forces the architect and the client to meet those requirements. Because let's be honest, if we leave it up to the developer or the end client, the transition to a CO2 neutral and circular world will take a while.”
Cost price
According to him, the use of bio-based materials would also help to bring down the cost price of his products. “We innovate by the grace of the orders we have. Think of it like a flywheel. We work very hard from our factory, but now you really have to go to automotive-like construction processes with this material. To bring down that material price, which is now even higher, we are working on a cracking efficient production process. At the same time”, he adds in the same breath, “I think that clients who stick their necks out can also be helped.”
In addition to new construction, Duplicor also focuses on renovation. “This involves replacing roofs and facades. “We provide the facades with the fire-resistant and insulating panels. If the building comes to the end of its usage cycle, we can reuse or recycle the elements.”
Modular building system
And finally, there is the flexible and modular building system in which Janssen sees a growing market. “We don't make complete units in the factory, but all different products such as facade and roof elements. Think of it as the Ikea cabinet that you can put together and expand yourself. So an element with a window, element with a door and so on. Ultimately, this mix of elements together form a home. For example, we are going to build 99 care homes of forty square meters for a client in this way. We set up the entire hull in one day.”
A major advantage of this approach is that the complex can also be taken apart in no time and placed elsewhere. “With this system we can build infinitely flexible modular. And we designed it for reuse. Because”, emphasizes Janssen, “the ideal world is one that will soon make full use of reusable and bio-based materials. We do agree on that.”
Read the interview here at KMIDB
Aan de rand van het Dakpark in Rotterdam realiseert Slokker Bouwgroep het project Kop Dakpark: een nieuw woongebouw dat stedelijk wonen combineert met groen, ruimte en leefkwaliteit. Het project vormt een markante entree naar het park en draagt bij aan de verdere ontwikkeling van Delfshaven als aantrekkelijke woonomgeving.
Voor Woonzorg Flevoland realiseert QBIX een moderne woonzorgomgeving waarin comfort, duurzaamheid en leefkwaliteit centraal staan. Het project is gericht op het creëren van een toekomstbestendige zorgomgeving, met oog voor zowel bewoners als de directe leefomgeving.
De ambitie om duurzaam te verbouwen leeft breed in de bouwsector. Energiezuiniger, circulair en toekomstbestendig bouwen wordt steeds vaker als uitgangspunt genomen; juist ook bij renovaties. Maar in de praktijk blijkt duurzaam bouwen vaak complex, zeker als het gaat om bestaande gebouwen die niet ontworpen zijn voor de normen van nu. In die zoektocht krijgt bio-composiet materiaal een steeds grotere rol.