Back from the Monkey House

As I mentioned before, last week we had a project meeting in Apeldorn in the Netherlands.  Aside from the fact that the Netherlands is a splendid country to visit, our Dutch partners, Agrodome, laid on a brilliant meeting venue at Apenheul/Natuurhuis De St@art. 

Apenheul is home to 200 free ranging primates and is a conservation project started in the 1970s.  As a visitor, you can wander round the carefully created habitat and observe the monkeys going about their daily business. 

In 2011, Apenheul was augmented by the construction of a beautiful eco-building called DeSt@art which houses the offices of the Apenheul Foundation and Natuurhuis.  A well equipped educational centre is set up for visiting groups and part of that centre is one of Agrodome's demonstration centres.

Designed by the Dutch architects RAU,

'De St@art is designed to look like a gigantic wooden skeleton that forms a binding element between the Apenheul and Park Berg en Bos. The arrival of the building will introduce a new trail that runs through the park to the entrance of the Apenheul. To emphasise the perception of nature, parts of the building, such as the auditorium, have been constructed underground as much as possible'.

For more information and professional images of the building go here

These are just a couple of the images that I captured on our tour:

Their underground auditorium had fantastic acuostics because of the specially designed timber walls:

And Agrodome's demonstration centre, which is located on the ground floor with a lovely view of the grounds is set up for visitors to have access to all materials on display.

Wall Mock-Up

Duurzaam Coir

Homatherm Isulation

My favourites?


Easy to build Green Wall- I might try this at home!



BioFoam Insulation- like a polystryene but plant based

Quick Install Bamboo Flooring (laid like carpet)

Just a reminder- all of this brought to you by:

Truly an inspirational visit.  For any more information about the Dutch building products on display, get in touch!

Until the next time...



Are you running a SMART business?

Happy Monday to all of your in the blogosphere.  Anybody out there running a SMART business?  If you're not, time is running out...

SMART is a fantastic project being run here at BSK for companies in the construction industry.  It's all about Sustainable Materials and Renewable Technology and it offers businesses support to help them become more 'sustainability saavy'. 

Like CAP'EM, SMART is funded by the EU so all the support is free to your business and there are some great offers:

• FREE Workshops Part L and RHI
• Business Development Days
• Marketing for Construction and other publicity opportunities
• Retrofitting opportunities for small traders
• Code for Sustainable Homes-legislation
• Retrofitting focus-opportunities and advantages of sustainable practice and materials
• Marketing Your Green Credentials
• Case Studies

Don't get left behind...these opportunities are only around for 2 more months so Click Here to take advantage!

You heard it here...

Best Wishes,

Follow SMART on Twitter

Get free SMART Eco-Materials Cards.  Call Katie on 08457 22 66 55

The Cycle of Stuff...

When you spend each day living and breathing eco-materials, you start to think about the ethos behind eco a little more broadly.

For instance, CAP'EM focuses on eco-materials in construction.  Many of the CAP'EM materials are derived from natural products which means that the fundamental building block of the product is renewable.  But what do you do if you live or work in a situation that involves stuff that doesn't fit into this renewable way of thinking? 

So much of materials decision making comes down to needs versus budget.  And whilst the whole life cost argument is compelling and rightfully so (For those who don't know- whole life cost considers the impact of the product on more than just your pocketbook), sometimes the renewable products on offer just don't meet the specification.

Example- when fitting out Build4, we were in desperate need of tables for our mezzanine level.  The budget said we couldn't afford brand new conference tables.  Sustainable tables were difficult to source and expensive. My heart said that I didn't  want something new made of chipboard and formeldyhyde infused glue- not to mention the carbon footprint of something most likely made in the far east.  My head told me that there must be a marketplace for buying these things second hand because after all, in the waste hierarchy, re-using comes before re-cycling. 

And of course there is a marketplace and it is alive and kicking.  Which is why we have wooden folding tables (with a 1950s vibe), built to NATO specifications for the British Army and rescued from the Ministry of Defence for a knock down rate of  £25 per table.  The British Army didn't need them anymore and they augmented our upcycled cabinet beautifully!

One of the organisations that turned up on my Google search  for second hand tables and chairs was a social enterprise called FRN- Furniture Recycling Network.  Lo and behold FRN turned up this new year in an excellent collaboration with IKEA to encourage people to donate their used furniture locally.  What a great way to close the second-hand loop!

I wonder how long a great re-using loop could go on with no need to produce anything new.  I think we probably have produced enough stuff to keep us all going for a while...yes, I do realise that there are employment ramifications at play here, but for arguments' sake, we could train people in craft and maintenance skills...

My point, in a roundabout sort of way is there is never one correct answer to the sustainabiltiy question.  Your needs will dictate your path and if you think that new is too expensive, what about looking at second hand?  What better way to honour the resources and people that produced something than by giving it another life?  And while you're at it, think about how you might ethically dispose of the item you're replacing.  To start you off- a list of ideas follow:

Give them away at:
Freecycle
FRN (find local donation centres here)

Or try to earn a little extra cash by selling through:
Gumtree
Preloved
Second hand tables and chairs

Do you know of any other good organisations that support re-using?  Let us know in the comment section!

Best wishes,

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a nice Christmas break and recycled all that gift wrap!

Today is our first day back at Build4 and catching up on email, I received a link from Fred, one of our Dutch partners.  There's so much creativity and innovation coming from the Netherlands- have a look at this:
Agrodome's Demonstration Centre .  I'm looking forward to a visit later this month and will post some pics to share with you all.

In the spirit of New Year's Resolutions, Build4 has made a resolution to get more people through the door. So if you are looking for a place in Kent to host a meeting, get in touch with us.  Build4 is available for this purpose and is set up with wi-fi, tables/chairs, and caffeine!  As we're publicly funded, there is no charge to use our space and its a great opportunity to learn a bit more about eco-materials at the same time.

Find more information for hiring this space go to Build4 .

Best wishes,