Circular Design for the Lansingerland Resource Recovery Centre

A Comprehensive Concept to Close Material Loops

At the Dorsvloerweg in Bergschenhoek, Urban Climate Architects is designing the entrance building for the new Resource Recovery Centre (GIS) commissioned by the Municipality of Lansingerland.

This facility is not about waste disposal, but about closing material cycles. The Resource Recovery Centre operates as an integrated concept in which materials are reclaimed, reused and reintroduced into local circular flows.

Residents can bring reusable items to give them a second life. A circular craft centre provides space to repair and refurbish products. The recycling yard enables the separate collection of materials for high-quality recycling.

This is circular construction aligned with circular systems thinking.

The Entrance Building as a Visible Statement

The two-storey entrance building forms the civic heart of the site. The upper floor accommodates offices for site managers. On the ground floor, a staff canteen connects to a multi-functional space designed for workshops, lectures and initiatives such as repair cafés.

Modulo Milieustraten is responsible for the wider site development.

The building is not secondary infrastructure. It is the architectural expression of Lansingerland’s circular ambitions.

Slim and Flexible Mass Timber Structure

The building is constructed entirely in mass timber. CLT floor slabs are supported by laminated timber columns connected through an innovative spider joint system, eliminating the need for beams.

This results in maximum clear storey heights, transparent façades and spatial openness. Lateral stability is provided by strategically positioned CLT wall elements.

The structural clarity ensures flexibility, demountability and long-term adaptability.

How Sustainable is the GIS?

The Resource Recovery Centre integrates circular and biobased strategies throughout:

• Recycling yard constructed using reclaimed concrete
• Fully reusable prefabricated structural system
• Mass timber CLT office and entrance building
• Façade finished with reclaimed paving slabs
• Demolished paving processed into planted gabions
• Timber-aluminium curtain wall system
• Biobased insulation
• Reclaimed timber in interior finishes
• Rainwater collection for toilet flushing
• Fully energy-neutral through on-site PV generation and battery storage
• Reused kitchen installation
• Surplus tile batches used in sanitary areas
• Acoustic ceiling finish made from recycled paper fibres
• Recycled plastic substructure beneath containers
• Semi-permeable paving to support infiltration

Sustainability is not applied as an add-on. It is embedded at every scale.

Recycled Materials as Architectural Identity

Reclaimed paving slabs collected locally are reassembled into varied masonry patterns across the façade. Former waste materials are transformed into architectural expression.

Additional reclaimed components are incorporated within the interior, extending the circular strategy into the building’s material detailing.

A Demonstrator for Circular Construction

Beyond its operational role, the building functions as a demonstrator. Through its transparent circular design, the Municipality of Lansingerland and Urban Climate Architects make sustainability visible.

Visitors can experience how material loops operate in practice and how reuse, repair and renewable energy integrate within one cohesive architectural framework.

This is circular construction realised in built form.