For housing cooperative De Bonte Hulst, bureau SLA designed a façade made from reused ventilation ducts. The developed system will clad the eight-storey façade of an apartment building in Buiksloterham, Amsterdam.

These ducts are residual products from buildings such as former office blocks and are usually not reused for their original function. Because they are hot-dip galvanised, they are well suited for exterior applications. To investigate the technical and aesthetic possibilities of this use, a material study was carried out together with various experts. This included the construction of a mock-up in which the material, detailing and appearance were tested.

The idea of using Spiro ventilation ducts as façade cladding comes from the architects of Vandkunsten and was developed within the framework of the Nordic Built Component Reuse research project, published in 2016. This Scandinavian initiative explores circular economy principles in construction.