PAUL SMULDERS HOUSING CONSULTANT AT IUNGO DRIVEN BY CIRCULARITY

To organize the realization of the installation package, Paul Smulders of iungo consultants was selected. Paul is a housing consultant and has been involved in transitions of office related work environments for over 30 years. As project leader, he is responsible for supervising the design, development and realization of the floor finish, system walls, custom work, AV and other furniture.

Fortunately, according to Paul, attention to sustainability and circularity is increasingly high on the agenda of clients. Especially in these times when the scarcity of raw materials has led to an explosive rise in prices and it is sometimes questionable whether the material or product will arrive at all on time. Paul notes that the word 'circularity' can be interpreted in different ways. For example, the visibility of the desired circularity in the case of reuse of materials and fitting it into the desired look & feel. The same applies to the renovation of the administrative building of the Province of South Holland. Certainly attention for circularity, but what else can be done besides reusing the furniture? With this question Paul came into contact with TRIBOO and it quickly became concrete: a combination of all sorts of circular materials while maintaining the desired look & feel. So we just went ahead and did it!

PRACTICALLY APPLICABLE CIRCULAR PRODUCTS ARE ALREADY MAKING A DIFFERENCE TODAY

To translate policies and ambitions on the reduction of energy, CO2, material use and waste into practical innovative solutions for the interior, you've come to the right place at TRIBOO's Circular Office Innovation Centre in Zevenhuizen, the Netherlands. The interpretation for Paul's design consists of the following furniture. A total of 140 innovative lightweight #GREENGRIDZ desk tops of 1600x800x24mm were fitted to reused bases. This resulted in 18 kilos less material per workstation and a total of 2,520 kilos of material was saved compared to traditional workstations with a solid desktop. 28 acoustic desk screens filled with circular insulation material from EverUse. The material has a negative CO2 footprint of -1 kilogram of CO2/product. The panel is finished with a textile made from the waste of old PET bottles. 9 oval meeting tables, a trapezoid table and a lectern were made of #GREENGRIDZ WOOD, solid-looking furniture that is veneered and has a 60% lower CO2 footprint than traditional tables made with solid particle board. At the end of its lifecycle, the #GREENGRIDZ desk or table top can be returned to TRIBOO where it will be pyrolyzed to produce activated carbon for reuse in water and air filters used in offices. The 3D printed orange planters in the shape of tulips that stand at the Keukenhof room are made of 100% reusable material whose raw material at the end of the useful life can be used for the production of other circular furniture.    

WORKING TOGETHER ON HOUSING WITH TRIBOO HAS A MUCH BROADER DIMENSION

What started with viewing a 3D printed tulip vase and was then driven by commitment and enthusiasm, many more circular solutions turned out to be possible, which were eventually realized in the building. TRIBOO gave "working together on housing" a much broader dimension and a story to go with it, according to Paul Smulders.