Breda is experimenting with a new building method that uses biobased materials like elephant grass for student housing. The project, a collaboration between Urban Living Lab Breda, ROOTZ, and the municipality, aims to demonstrate how plant-based building materials perform in practice.
Trial with biobased student housing
The construction of the student housing is part of a broader ambition for the municipality of Breda. The city aims to be climate-neutral by 2044 and fully circular by 2050. To achieve this, ways to make the construction sector more sustainable are being explored, including through the use of biobased materials.
The initiative is taking shape at the Treeport business park, home to the ROOTZ innovation center. The building itself is largely constructed using biobased materials. From there, research is underway to explore how knowledge and innovations from the lab can be translated into real-world housing. Student housing has been chosen as a test environment, allowing both builders and residents to gain experience with these new materials.
Elephant grass as a raw material
Elephant grass, officially Miscanthus giganteus, grows quickly and requires little maintenance. The plant can be used as insulation, as a fiber in panels, or as an additive in concrete. This makes it attractive to the construction industry, which is looking for ways to reduce CO₂ emissions.
When mixed with concrete, elephant grass can help reduce emissions per cubic meter and store CO₂ within the material. The crop also has beneficial properties for insulation and sound insulation. However, challenges remain, such as the scale at which it can be produced, the certification of materials, and approval within existing building regulations.
Learning in practice
The Breda trial aims to demonstrate how biobased materials perform in real buildings. Simultaneously, in existing neighborhoods, such as Zandberg Oost, experiments are being conducted with sustainable insulation in collaboration with residents. The resulting knowledge will be shared through workshops and training sessions, so that other construction projects can also benefit.
The goal is to build one new student house each year for the coming years. This will create a growing series of examples of biobased construction, allowing experience to be gained in design, implementation, and maintenance.
Environmental benefits and limitations
Research from Wageningen University & Research shows that biobased building materials have an average environmental impact of 18 to 33 percent less than traditional materials. This is partly because they require less energy to produce and are often lighter, making foundations easier to construct.
One point of concern is that CO₂ absorption by plant materials isn't always fully factored into environmental calculations. As a result, the climate benefits of biobased construction aren't always fully reflected. Furthermore, regulations and the National Environmental Database aren't yet fully geared towards these new materials.
Looking forward
The project in Breda is small in scale, but it's an important learning experience. It demonstrates what's technically and practically feasible, and where the limits lie. If the approach works, it can also be applied to larger projects, such as those in social housing or renovation projects.
Biobased construction doesn't completely replace traditional materials, but it can contribute to reducing the environmental impact of the construction sector. For widespread adoption, collaboration and knowledge sharing between farmers, manufacturers, construction companies, and government agencies are essential.
<strong> More info: </strong> Urban Living Lab
