Omlab
Huub Looze & Margreet van Uffelen
Huub Looze and Margreet van Uffelen create items such as embankment tiles and birdhouses that help restore soil and biodiversity after use. Through their design and research firm Omlab, they conduct research into biobased and circular materials, designing product examples to make the building industry more sustainable.
The construction industry is responsible for a quarter of all waste in the Netherlands. In addition, the industry often relies on materials that deplete resources, such as concrete, or on products that are harmful to nature, like chemical coatings. As a result, biodiversity in the Netherlands has been declining for a century, with current levels only 15% of what they once were.
We spoke with Huub and Margreet about their ideals, their view of nature as a shareholder and the beauty of natural materials.
Photography: Anouk Moerman
Hi Margreet and Huub! What connects the two of you, what drives you?
Margreet: We are both concerned about the state of the natural environment and believe it is vital to treat nature with respect. The number of birds and insects has declined tremendously in our lifetime, and much biodiversity has been destroyed for the sake of the economy, often by mining resources in ways that degrade both people and nature. What drives us is the desire to stop the loss of biodiversity for the sake of generations to come.
Huub: For a long time, I worked as a product designer and teacher at the St. Joost Art Academy in Breda. Even then, I was fascinated by the potential of all-natural materials. The great thing about that role was that I could directly share the knowledge I had gained with my students, raising awareness about biobased materials among the next generation of designers. At home my enthusiasm was contagious as well. At that time, Margreet was working as an independent communication consultant, primarily for art and nature organisations, so she was already engaged in sustainability and nature in her professional life.
Margreet: In 2016, we began a project together on biobased materials for the municipality of Bergen op Zoom. For this project, we spoke with all kinds of policy officers and companies about natural materials, and we realised how many opportunities there were for improvement. We decided to pool the knowledge we had accumulated over the years and start our own company. That is how Omlab was born. A design and research company that develops biobased and circular, or biocircular, materials and products to make the building industry more sustainable.
You started Omlab together, to help make the construction industry more sustainable with biobased solutions. What needs to be improved in the construction industry?
Huub: The penny dropped for us years ago when our microwave broke. Instead of buying a new one, we wanted to have it repaired. The mechanic who came by thought our request was strange: he said it was much cheaper to just buy a new one. But we wanted to prevent the appliance from ending up as waste.
Margreet: This incident was eye opening. We began to see that very few consumers think this way, let alone the producers of these products. They focus mainly on profit. To serve that end, they deplete resources, create poor working conditions and leave behind an ever-growing mountain of waste. They are often aware of these 'side effects' but still choose not to take responsibility.
Huub: This attitude has a huge negative impact on our environment, with the construction sector being a particularly significant polluter. In fact, construction is responsible for a quarter of all waste in the Netherlands. Additionally, this industry often chooses materials that deplete resources, such as concrete, or products that are harmful to nature, like chemical coatings that leave plastic particles in the environment. As a result, biodiversity has been declining rapidly for a century: in the Netherlands, biodiversity fell from over 40% of what it once was in 1900 to about 15% in 2000. This is disastrous for animals, plants and people.
We want to design in such a way that the construction industry enhances biodiversity.
So you want to boost biodiversity, what products do you design to accomplish this?
Huub: When we founded Omlab In 2019, we found that few materials were both 100% natural and circular. So we developed our own. Our material consists of ingredients such as lime, flushed and purified toilet paper from the sewage system and binders based on brown seaweed and Kaumera. This is a raw material from sewage treatment. Mixed, it resembles clay in structure and can be processed in different ways. We can 3D print it or press it into moulds. And when it hardens, it feels a bit like concrete.
Margreet: Using the materials we develop, we design nature-friendly product samples, such as building blocks, embankment tiles, swallow nest boxes and bat boxes. This allows us to show the industry how it can design and build in a nature-positive way. We can also use our materials to custom design any product that suits a customer's needs.
Huub: We like to design differently, with nature as a shareholder. Besides material and product development, education and knowledge sharing are important means of having an impact. Therefore, we regularly organise workshops and master classes for students and companies, together with schools and research organisations. We do this in our workshop in Arnhem, where we introduce everyone hands-on to the possibilities of biobased and circular building, often leading to new product ideas.
Can you tell a bit more about your embankment tiles, swallow boxes and bat boxes?
Margreet: We believe it’s important that our products not only avoid causing damage, but also add value to nature. We call this nature-positive: we want to design in such a way that the construction industry enhances biodiversity rather than reducing it. This starts with the choice of raw materials and the design. We work without fossil raw materials or harmful chemicals, as many things can be made without them, using valuable materials that we currently call waste.
Huub: We aim to contribute to nature recovery with the ingredients of our materials. This is reflected well in our embankment tile. Embankment tiles are used to reinforce slopes and prevent erosion, which is a growing problem in the Netherlands due to climate change. We’ve designed a natural alternative that provides enough stability for nature to recover, but eventually dissolve once nature can take over, which now takes about a year. We’re working with Wageningen University to conduct further research into this.
Margreet: We can adapt the 3D-printed tiles to the specific needs of the soil, for instance by adding extra lime. This is important because in more and more places in the Netherlands, the soil suffers from a calcium deficiency, partly due to erosion problems. In this way, our tiles actually support nature, serving as a nutritional supplement for the soil.
Huub: Our swallow and bat boxes work on the same principle. They’re best described as temporary, prefabricated starter homes. We hang these boxes at sites that are being redeveloped or where nature management is just starting up. The construction industry is required by the Nature Act to hang hives during construction projects. Our hives offer a safe place for these animals to settle and build up their populations, and once construction is complete, swallows build their own nests. Our hives then fall to the ground and decay, with their lime adding positively to the soil or at least causing no harm.
How do clients know how to find you, and where do the product ideas come from?
Margreet: We showcase product examples to the market and our workshop plays a crucial role in this process. It’s not just a place where we work with materials, it’s a real breeding ground for new ideas and innovations. Every collaboration, whether with construction companies, students or policymakers, starts here. We let every partner experience firsthand what can be achieved by designing differently and opting for biobased and circular raw materials.
Huub: By working hands-on, we bring the concept of biobased building to life. This approach works well for companies and designers who may not yet have a clear picture of exactly what it entails to make a 100% bio-circular material. And players with experience see our workshop as a 'candy store' full of possibilities. This approach is not only informative but also highly inspiring.
Our strength lies in our creativity and imagination—the ability to explore new possibilities. Because we have extensive in-house knowledge about natural materials and processes, we’re not just a company that develops products. Omlab is also a think tank for innovative and sustainable product solutions.
Our tiles eventually dissolve once nature can take over.
A candy store for 100% biobased possibilities, that sounds good. But becoming 100% sustainable is often tricky. What are your biggest dilemmas?
Huub: Nature always comes first in the choices we make about our materials and products. We follow the principles of natural circular processes, in which materials decompose over time and become part of nature again. Our materials degrade in about a year. We don't consider this a disadvantage, but rather a positive aspect of our products. In this respect, we have a reputation for being very principled and idealistic. This is something we are proud of.
Margreet: That's right. Some parties actually choose us for our idealistic attitude and persistence, while others struggle with it. In reality, a construction product must comply with many regulations. Those regulations demand optimal performance, which sometimes conflicts with our sustainable principles. Rather than making concessions regarding our principles, we like to keep searching for better solutions. There are already far too many building products with concessions on the market.
Huub: We know we could easily make our product perform 'better' by adding a bit of cement or chemical binder. But that would end the quest for a better solution. We consciously choose to avoid these harmful chemical additives and go fully for biocircular. This makes our journey longer, and sometimes companies drop out because of this. That’s why we’re looking for partners who can take our designs further into the market. This way, we can still make an impact in the sector while continuing to focus on developing new applications based on our ideals
You are looking for partners to market your products. To what extent are your products market-ready yet?
Huub: Our products are currently at the proof-of-concept stage. We’ve conducted tests with working prototypes and can demonstrate functionality at this level. We are able to show the construction industry that they can indeed make environmental choices.
Margreet: Our expertise lies in initiating product ideas and exploring new applications. While our workshop equipment allows for us to demonstrate the possibilities on a smaller scale, we lack the technology to produce on a large scale.
We’re not looking to become a factory, however, we’re currently encountering a challenge. When a company expresses interest in our work, we want to be able to supply the products. To address this, we're seeking partners who can help us with that.
How do you envision the future, what do you need to make an impact on a larger scale?
Margreet: An important next step for us is to bridge the gap between the market and production. We want to collaborate with 3D printing companies that already have significant experience in industrial production, such as Neolithic. This approach requires us to figure out a solid business model, and for that, we are looking for consultants.
Huub: We also want to take our material one step further. To achieve this, we are seeking progressive companies in the construction industry that want to collaborate with us and are open to innovation and biocircular materials. This also includes upgrading our workshop with more advanced equipment, such as better 3D printers and a robotic arm. This way we will be able to carry out more extensive tests, in line with the industry. We are actively looking for investors and partners who can help us in this endeavour.
Finally, what would you like to convey to our readers?
Margreet: Our main message is in our name: Om! The Dutch prefix ‘om’ translates roughly to the English ‘re’, as in ‘rethink’, ‘reverse’, ‘redirect’, and so on. This is our call for a radically different way of thinking and doing— a plea to design in a way that recognises humans and our lifestyles as a circular part of nature. Because, as far as we are concerned, this is the only way to turn the tide for biodiversity and, ultimately, for ourselves.
Huub: We challenge everyone, from construction companies to politicians, designers and consumers, to take responsibility and opt for nature-positive solutions.
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