How can logistics real estate not only serve our global economy, but also our environment as a whole? Patrick Maes and Simon van Oldenbeek from Stellar Development are motivated to do the latter by connecting nature, architecture, technology and functionality in their projects, and by focussing on the long term. Together with building partners such as Heembouw and TRILUX they’re eager to turn things around in the logistics industry. 

As head of sustainability at TRILUX, Vick Nanthan is all about building towards a circular economy. His core belief is to be mindful of the earth and to not waste resources. He already felt that at a very early age, as a seven year old boy living in Kuala Lumpur. What’s his story? And what role can lighting play in reducing our carbon footprint?

It was on a plastic covered beach in Colombia that psychologist Elisah Pals realised she needed to do more to radically reduce waste production. At the time she was already living ‘wastefree’ for two and a half years. Now it was time to start a bigger movement. She founded Zero Waste NL, an organisation that strives towards a world where waste doesn’t exist. 

With a family name that means ‘green’ in Dutch, it was inevitable that Joop Groen would occupy himself with the transition towards a biobased economy. Such as CIRCUROAD, a Dutch collaborative project on creating biobased and circular alternatives for bitumen, the fossil binder of asphalt. Joop runs his company called Viride - meaning green in latin. He says he has an optimistic view on the future.

Anne-Jaap Deinum is managing director of Fedet, the Dutch federation for electrical engineering. Fedet plays a big role in the Dutch chapter of Europe’s transition to renewable energy. The European Union has set out to be climatologically ‘fit for 55’. It aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 55% in 2030 and be completely carbon neutral by 2050. What role can lighting play? “When the Netherlands switches to LED, we can save energy the equivalent to one nuclear plant.”

It was an internet search that set Jan Berbee on his path to becoming a biobased entrepreneur. While working as an advisor in sustainable packaging, a client asked Berbee if he could find an alternative for the plastic punnet in which mushrooms are sold in the supermarket. He typed in ‘mushroom packaging’ in the search engine and to his surprise, instead of packaging for mushrooms, he found packaging made from mushrooms. Berbee’s curiosity was triggered. He then founded the company Grown.bio, a biotechnology company that uses mycelium to grow sustainable and compostable protective packaging, building materials and interior design items. “We’re doing irreparable damage to the earth by using oil-based products. We can never make that right again”

If anyone is a pioneer of sustainable construction in the Netherlands, it is Mark Lepelaar, founder and co-owner of NPSP. An innovative company in biocomposites and sustainable building products. They are primarily active in the construction industry, challenging the status quo. But for Lepelaar, it all started with a catamaran made from flax. “In some way, you're kind of an inventor or adventurer, looking for new solutions”

Together with solar designer Marjan van Aubel architect Michiel Raaphorst designed the Solar Pavilion for the 2022 Dutch Design Week. A huge brightly coloured installation shaped like a giant beach chair showed both the power and beauty of solar energy. Together with other artists they also worked on The Netherlands pavilion during the World Expo in Dubai in 2021. "We wanted to find a solution for scarcity of water, energy and food. How can we make a liveable environment in the middle of the desert?"

Marvin Bratke is co-founder of Urban Beta, a spatial innovation studio in Berlin. The corona crisis painfully showed how inflexible our built environment is. He designed a modular and circular system: BetaPort. Beams and columns made from renewables that are connected through intelligent knots.

Read more on Marvin and the BetaPort on getinspiredbylight.com.

GIBL is an initiative of TRILUX. 

Jean and Enrique are founding partners of lighting design bureau OVI New York. Together they worked on impressive projects around the globe, with world renowned architects such as Zaha Hadid. A conversation about creativity, design and the future. Read more on getinspiredbylight.com. GIBL Podcast is an initiative of TRILUX.