Floor Frings, Werkstatt
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All this stuff came from somewhere - that is what Werkstatt wrote on the installation made of prefabricated hemp-lime blocks that it created on the occasion of winning the Young Maaskant Prize. The materials we build with all come from somewhere: extracted by people from a mine far away or harvested from a field nearby. Material choices have an impact on the global ecological system as well as on local communities. This awareness leads Werkstatt to approach design as holistically as possible and to prioritize biobased construction.
After completing several biobased projects for private clients, the firm is now working on an increasing number of public projects and on ever larger housing developments. In Nieuwegein, for example, Werkstatt designed a public transport hub with a striking lightweight roof featuring a timber structure clad in ETFE. The rainwater from that roof benefits the surrounding vegetation.
In its housing projects, the ambition to work primarily with biobased materials is combined with the goal of supporting community building and strengthening the natural environment. In the design for the collective private commissioning project (CPO) ‘Meer & Deel’ in Eindhoven - winner of the Dirk Roosenburg Prize 2025 - shared facilities have been created for residents, including a meeting space, workshop areas, guest studios, communal bicycle storage, storage rooms, laundry rooms, and a shared garden. Construction has just begun on ‘Klein Zwitserland’ in Strijp-S, which can be seen as a continuation of this approach and, alongside approximately 160 social housing units, will also include around 60 homes within a housing cooperative.
Meanwhile, in Leeuwarden, the firm is working on a car-free neighborhood where cars can be parked in mobility hubs along the edge of the area, creating space in the center for water features, shared courtyards, and a small ground-planted forest.
www.werkstatt.nu