Dutch Architectural Firm Uses Recycled Plastic Tiles for the Facade of the First Wooden Laboratory in the Netherlands

Dutch manufacturer Pretty Plastic has created the facade for Plus Ultra III, the Netherlands' first wooden laboratory building, using tiles made from recycled post-consumer plastic waste. Located at the Wageningen University & Research campus in the central Netherlands, the building was designed by the Dutch studio Proof of the Sum and developed by laboratory operator Kadans Science Partner.

Plus Ultra III features a load-bearing structure built almost entirely from engineered timber, with exterior walls clad in Basic Third cladding material. This material was developed by Pretty Plastic, a company founded by architects Overtreders W and Bureau SLA. The 8,500 square meter building is covered with tiles made from 30,987 kilograms of post-consumer plastic waste.

Hester van Dijk, co-founder of Pretty Plastic, explains that the Basic Third cladding material was developed as a highly practical and scalable facade system. Its overlapping tile configuration allows for quick and easy installation, and the tile size is particularly suited to the structural logic of laboratories and utility buildings. These replaceable tiles are installed using an overlapping tongue-and-groove system, mechanically fastened with screws to a wooden batten system, creating a strong, replaceable, and efficient connection with the timber structure.

Basic Third is Pretty Plastic's third plastic tile design. Compared to previous products, it features a simpler installation method. To be more suitable for a wider range of architectural expressions, the designers gave it a more restrained surface appearance. Van Dijk believes that these upcycled plastic tiles have enormous potential for widespread application.

Van Dijk also states that the size of the Basic Third tiles makes them suitable for large public buildings, while the molds give designers freedom in form and color to customize facades according to specific architectural concepts. Their modular size also minimizes cutting waste, making them both design flexible and easy to apply.

The building features a bright atrium, and the addition of these fully removable tiles to the wooden facade contributes to a circular design. Pretty Plastic's tiles are made from 100% recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC), sourced from post-consumer construction waste such as old window frames and drainage pipes. The standard version of the tiles has three vertical stripes and is available in 12 color options.

Pretty Plastic tiles were previously featured on Dezeen Showroom. The first building to use these tiles for permanent cladding is a music pavilion designed by Dutch studio Grosfeld Bekkers Van de Velde Architecten.