Building nature-inclusive means a radical break in the current construction economy. BlueCity sees embracing natural principles in the renovation of the former Tropicana swimming pool as part of its mission to exemplify how a circular economy works in practice. Nienke Binnendijk, director of the BlueCity Lab: 'For us, biobased, circular, nature-inclusive, and climate-adaptive are part of the new construction economy. However, this is far from self-evident.'

This new construction economy is about more than just using different materials. Otherwise, we will run up against the same limits of the planet in scaling up as with the current use of materials. We have to organize ourselves differently, approach ownership in a radically different way, and collaborate much smarter, for example, to link water collection, biodiversity recovery, and CO2 storage to the renovation of buildings.

Invitation interactive workshop on nature-inclusive building

Building nature-inclusive requires a different view of what it means to build, and this starts with the question of why we build. On Monday, June 13th during Rotterdam Architecture Month, BlueCity and archi3o are organizing an interactive evening where you will work with the method of nature-inclusive construction: observe, feel, share and experience.

The evening starts with an introduction by one of the Dutch pioneers in this field: architect Renz Pijnenborgh. He shares his methodology based on a visitor center of Staatsbosbeheer that he has built. After this, we will apply that method in smaller teams. The building is our canvas and at the end of the evening, you have become acquainted with the principles of nature-inclusive construction. During the break, you walk through the BlueCity Expo in the whitewater course to get some extra inspiration. Join this workshop and experience how as a design professional or construction professional you can build with and for nature.

About archi3o

Renz Pijnenborgh has been using natural principles for more than 40 years to create buildings, living environments, products, and materials that fit into the ecosystem that takes place around them. This approach fits well in a future circular or biobased economy: buildings that capture CO2 in the construction process instead of emitting it. Hardly any nitrogen emissions in the production process. A healthy living and working climate thanks to the natural materials used, without volatile substances from glues or chemical paints.

About BlueCity

BlueCity is a living example of the circular economy: a city within the city of Rotterdam where enterprising minds meet and develop concrete action perspectives, whether it concerns increasing your impact, living zero waste, or developing a future-proof material in our labs. In the further development of our building, we go further than circular in the sense of only using second-hand materials: we look for collaborations with nature and investigate what nature-inclusive construction means by doing it.