Cradle to Cradle-rehabilitation of industrial heritage : the opportunities for Cradle to Cradle in the Netherlands

Throughout the Netherlands, the impact of the Industrial Revolution is still very apparent by its numerous industrial buildings. However lately new strategies of industrial development have made them become more and more functionally obsolete. Rehabilitation is often considered as sustainable for allowing the reuse of existing buildings. Though, that is not always the case, not even in rehabilitations targeting durability. This assumption can be clearly evidenced, when an accurate evaluation is done taking as base the Cradle to Cradle-principles. This paper shall present the results of a MSc. Thesis and the conclusions reached when determining the opportunities of Cradle to Cradle in the Netherlands within the perspective of rehabilitating a complex of industrial buildings. Functionally obsolete industrial buildings could be easily considered as waste. But Cradle to Cradle perceives them as food. We believe there is much more potential on rehabilitating them, than simply wasting them. But, as believing is not enough, we shall verify and present our conclusions, based on evidences and a newlydeveloped Cradle to Cradle guidelines for the built environment.