House Made of Waste in Rotterdam

Building a dream house

Architectuur MAKEN has a mission to work on a future where construction will no longer produce waste. In fact, together with construction partners, they even want to reduce waste.

When architects Ferry and Nina visited the StoneCycling office in 2014 with the drawings of their dream house at the Gouvernestraat in the city centre of Rotterdam, it was clear that we would be a great match!

Together we started a process of developing a custom-made WasteBasedBrick®, not only to their own liking, but also one that fits in the overall architecture of the street.

Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Client: Architectuur Maken
Design: Architectuur Maken
Application: Facades

Impact

Waste upcycled with this project 22.830 kg

Custom WasteBasedBricks®

In 2016, “De Gouverneur“ was built in the Gouvernestraat, in between existing buildings. Due to the height of the building and the masonry facade, it has become a neutral integration into its surroundings and is surprisingly spacious and light on the inside.

By playing with a combination of the Caramel Punched & Caramel Sliced, the facade becomes playful and quite unique.

This directly ties back to Architectuur MAKEN’s core values of showing the beauty of sustainability and the sustainability of beauty in their projects.

Filling the Gap

The building is a contemporary newcomer in the street, but with the brick facade referring to both pre-war and post-war architecture, and the wide wooden front door, it becomes part of its surroundings.

This project fits in with municipal policy that focuses on filling gaps in the urban fabric and improving urban structures in existing neighbourhoods with compaction without demolition.

In their article of May 21, 2016, The Guardian led with the headline “The Rotterdam couple that will live in a house made from waste”, marking the importance of exploring new ways to go about our planet’s resources.

By choosing WasteBasedBricks®, Architectuur MAKEN has given us the opportunity to show that we have a high-quality and yet aesthetic product that you can build incredible architecture with.

Media Mentions

The Rotterdam couple that will live in a house made from waste [theguardian.com]
The First House Built With Bricks From StoneCycling [materialdistrict.com]
The Bricks In This House Are All Made From Industrial Waste [fastcompany.com]
This Dutch Startup Is Making Bricks From Industrial Waste [smithsonianmag.com]
Rotterdam couple lives in a skinny house built from 15 tonnes of industrial waste [inhabitat.com]
Fifteen tonnes of rubble used to build Rotterdam house by Architectuur Maken [dezeen.com]
De Gouverneur / Architectuur MAKEN [archdaily.com]
Rotterdam house built with rubble exemplifies construction waste recycling [architectureanddesign.com.au]
Rotterdam Architects to Build House Made Entirely from Waste [waste360.com]
Magazine Rotterdam in Ontwikkeling: Architectuur Maken Inspireert tot Circulair Bouwen [rotterdamcirculair.nl]
Dit Rotterdamse huis is gemaakt van 15 ton bouwafval: glas, dakpannen en… toiletpotten [businessinsider.nl]
ARC16: de Gouverneur – architectuurMAKEN [dearchitect.nl]
Gevels met een Onbekend Verleden [trouw.nl]
Dit Huis in Rotterdam is Gemaakt van 15 Ton Bouwafval [manify.nl]
WasteBasedBricks: House of waste [innovatievematerialen.nl]
Recycled Building – ArchitectuurMAKEN [rhinecapital.com]
The Bricks In This House Are All Made From Industrial Waste [architectmagazine.com]
WasteBasedBrick & StoneCycling, unique building materials from waste [themethodcase.com]
Rotterdam home made from refuse [homes.nine.com.au]
De Gouverneur [archello.com]
Eigen huis architectuurMAKEN met StoneCycling [architectuur.nl]

We wanted to prove that using waste materials for construction does not necessarily mean the building has to look like trash, but that it can be beautiful! Since we did the project in this manner, we have become even more aware of the influence we have on the environment while constructing buildings.

Ferry in ‘t Veld & Nina Aalbers, ArchitectuurMAKEN

Products in this project

Custom Made Caramel Punched & Sliced

This was a one-off product made specifically for this project. With our Custom Made Service, it's possible to develop your own bespoke brick or brick slip.

Discover the possibilities