The collection of waste is part of everyday life in the city. This idea underlies the waste disposal station designed by Wessel van Geffen architects in collaboration with SuperUse in the Transvaal district in The Hague. The result is an energy-neutral building that takes a new design step with recycled materials.

 

After closing a waste disposal station in Scheveningen, the municipality of The Hague decided not to house their new waste disposal station on the outskirts but in the centre of the city. The designated location is an inner-city business park adjacent to a residential area.

 

An essential municipal requirement was that the building be energy neutral and that recycled materials be used as much as possible. To this end, the conventional design process is turned inside out: it was not the form that was the starting point for the architect but the available materials.

 

In collaboration with the contractor, Van Boekel Zeeland and reuse consultant Superuse, the choice for the facade material was made of steel contour plates: a residual industrial material from the car industry. This is supplemented with upcycled sandwich panels and rock wool from a company hall demolished by the contractor. Only the main steel supporting structure is new, making a self-conscious statement about the possibilities of reuse.