Re-use of formwork for a Villa in Amsterdam

This research presents the re-use of formwork for the realisation of an Architectural villa in Amsterdam.
It is a good example of unused possibilities. The project was realised by a company producing concrete
elements, Geelen Beton, in cooperation with the Eindhoven University of Technology. The outcome of
the research was used to realise a pilot project for the building of two houses in Amsterdam. Currently
Geelen Beton annually produces 400 tons of wood waste from the formworks they produce. These
formwork elements for stairs and balconies can only be used for one project. Various other flat products,
such as floor and façade elements, can be re-used several times as formwork. After a while the formwork
surfaces become unsuitable and therefore next to the factory Geelen Beton has a 'mold churchyard'.
They are regularly squeezed to small pieces and burned in an oven. This method is becoming less and
less attractive nowadays, since the expenses are rising. Also, for environmental reasons there is a
growing need to look for a higher-quality way of re-use. The wasted wooden formworks may not be
suitable for visual work because of their irregularity, but they have been used as a support structure for
two houses in Amsterdam. The wood structure made from old formwork panels are rather thick and
large. Although the elements are no longer suitable as formwork the structural properties are still
sufficient. Although the wood for the construction was available for free, the house has not become
substantially cheaper. The building process was very labour-intensive, as details have to be adjusted
regularly due to the variation in the panels. This meant that carefully detailed drawings had to be
redesigned for several times. For future project it is planned to set up a BIM library to improve the
design and construction process and save a lot of time in the overall project