{"id":485936,"date":"2024-08-29T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T04:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=485936"},"modified":"2024-08-29T06:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T04:30:00","slug":"faster-and-more-sustainable-construction-with-assembly-line-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/faster-and-more-sustainable-construction-with-assembly-line-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"Faster and more sustainable construction with assembly line foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Foundations have been in the news regularly in recent months. Up to one million Dutch houses are at risk of subsidence – the process by which land or dwellings sink to a lower level. This applies especially to houses built on wooden piles. The sinking groundwater level – due to drought – causes the wooden poles to rise above water. This causes the wood to rot. Concrete foundations (also called foundations on steel) on peat or clay soil also pose a risk. In drought, the soil shrinks, and in wetter periods, the soil expands. The shifts can cause a foundation to lose stability, and a lot of water over a short period can wash away the material under the foundation. Repairs can add up to more than a ton per building, causing anxiety for homeowners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The foundations are the basis of all buildings, so they must be solid. It’s time to explore new solutions then. What innovations can improve foundations? And solve the problems? I talked to building scientist Faas Moonen and entrepreneur Gijs Schalkwijk. They are working on innovations in construction every day. \u201cRepairing or replacing the foundation of a building is a big task. It takes a lot of time and involves considerable engineering efforts. So far, no smart solutions have been devised to simplify this process on a large scale,\u201d outlines Schalkwijk, CTO and co-owner of B-smart<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foundations from the factory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Schalkwijk’s company focuses on improving the construction of new foundations, a process that takes several steps and involves several other companies. \u201cThe construction process is very fragmented, and many different parties are needed to arrive at an end product,\u201d he says. Companies are highly dependent on each other. If one person delays, it affects the rest of the process. That often makes it very inefficient and also increases the risk of failure costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B-smart’s construction method is completely different. It consists of fewer intermediate steps, all done by one party. The foundation’s formwork is largely made in a factory. This automated process ensures fewer errors, higher quality, and faster turnaround time. Craftsmen lay the ready-made formwork, including reinforcement, on the ground and pour concrete. \u201cIn this way, the process goes a lot faster,\u201d Schalkwijk says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From research to startup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The innovative foundations have now managed to secure a spot in the market. But that didn’t happen by itself. It started some twenty years ago with scientific research by Faas Moonen, associate professor of innovative structural design at the Faculty of Architecture at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU\/e). Moonen earned his doctorate by researching a new form of foundation. Using Moonen’s research as a basis, B-smart builds many foundations for distribution centers and focuses on the more complex infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

It is a push to make the promise of research into new technology come true in practice<\/p>\nFaas Moonen<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While studying at TU\/e, Gijs Schalkwijk, and Joost Huijgen wrote a business plan based on Moonen’s idea. Schalkwijk graduated with a thesis on the technical part of the product, and Huijgen focused on the commercial aspects. A golden entrepreneurial duo, as the following years proved. \u201cWe got a grant from the Foundation for Technical Sciences (STW) to further develop the product and make a prototype,\u201d Schalkwijk says. Such grants are crucial to getting innovations off the ground, Moonen emphasizes. \u201cIt is a push to make the promise of research into new technology come true in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covering all aspects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The founders of B-smart introduced a completely new view of construction, and that is not always easy. Says Schalkwijk, \u201cIn the current construction process, innovation is hard to get off the ground because everyone only does a small piece of the job. So, the influence of an individual party is limited. For a major innovation to really get off the ground in the complete process, parties must work together. Moreover, fewer parties will be needed in such a development in the future.\u201d He believes in a model where everything takes place under one roof. \u201cParts are made in the factory, but we also have engineers in-house who devise everything and craftsmen who eventually build it. The lines are short and clear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B-smart, then, is not Schalkwijk and Huijgen’s only company. They now own the B-group, which includes five different companies. In addition to B-smart’s foundations, B-invented is the engineering firm, and B-too deals with architecture – both inside and outside. B-happy, in turn, takes care of the execution of total buildings on site. Schalkwijk: \u201cThis allows us to make the necessary efficiency efforts, the lines are short, and improvements are implemented faster. Moreover, we learn much for the future, so we keep improving ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
Students build ingenious houses to solve construction problems<\/div>
A large worksite and a cluttered office full of ambitious students. They are already building the houses of the future today.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Moonen emphasizes that innovating in construction is difficult, in part because of a deeply held belief in society: \u201cConstruction works differently than many other economies. If we buy a car, we know that the vehicle will be worth next to nothing in a certain number of years and that we have to save up in time to buy a new one. With a house, it works differently. If we sell a house after several years, we want to get more back for it than we invested. As a result, there is a fear of depreciation throughout the sector, which makes everyone stick to the familiar ways of working, and thus we innovate less.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collaboration is important<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

B-smart has always maintained a connection with the university; for example, there is regular consultation between entrepreneurs and scientists, such as Moonen. In addition, several students work at the company. \u201cThey help us with making drawings and other tasks. This is very convenient for us and instructive for the students; they gain practical experience early on. In recent years, many of those students also stay with us after their training. They grow within the company.\u201d Such collaborations between universities and companies can drive innovations forward, as seen within 4TU.Built Environment, a partnership between the architecture faculties of the four technical universities in the Netherlands. They also regularly seek collaboration with innovative companies in research and education projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power of sustainability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sustainability plays an important role in B-group’s process. \u201cIn all honesty, when we started this company, people thought sustainability was fun if they got it for free. Now, sustainable construction is fundamental. This is, of course, because government regulations have become stricter in recent years, but we also see that our clients are making different choices in this area for real,\u201d Schalkwijk outlines. In the engineering process outlined by B-group, the construction is optimized as best as possible. \u201cThis results in major savings compared to original designs,\u201d Schalkwijk states. As a result, materials are also used more economically. \u201cFor example, we use a filler element in our foundations so that the concrete forms a kind of tube instead of a completely massive beam. This way, we save concrete without the foundation losing stability.\u201d Such an innovative approach to design for sustainability in construction is needed for the transition to a circular economy by 2050. That is one of the focal points of the Domain Acceleration Team (DAT) Circularity & Sustainability<\/a> within 4TU.Built Environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the coming period, Schalkwijk and Huijgen will focus on wood construction in addition to their existing activities. B-leaf is the youngest member of the B-family. This company’s main focus is timber construction. \u201cWith the same thought as with B-smart, offering a whole wooden construction, including connecting elements, production, and execution of the whole.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foundations have been in the news regularly in recent months. Up to one million Dutch houses are at risk of subsidence – the process by which land or dwellings sink to a lower level. This applies especially to houses built on wooden piles. The sinking groundwater level – due to drought – causes the wooden […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1640,"featured_media":506376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"views\/single-partner.blade.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[83676],"tags":[39555,70670,58898,6278],"location":[6763],"article_type":[6758],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-485936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green","tag-4tu-en","tag-4tu-bouw","tag-housing-construction","tag-sustainability","location-netherlands","article_type-interview"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"Up to one million homes in the Netherlands could start to subside in the next few years. There is no ready-made solution yet, but innovations are emerging.","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Linda Bak","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/linda-bak\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Funderingen-4TU.png","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["GREEN+<\/a>"],"unlinked":["GREEN+<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["4TU<\/a>","4TU.Built Environment<\/a>","housing construction<\/a>","Sustainability<\/a>"],"unlinked":["4TU<\/span>","4TU.Built Environment<\/span>","housing construction<\/span>","Sustainability<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on August 29, 2024","modified":"Updated on August 29, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on August 29, 2024 6:30 am","modified":"Updated on August 29, 2024 6:30 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1640"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485936"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=485936"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=485936"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=485936"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=485936"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=485936"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=485936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}