StoneCycling

Stonecycling was co-founded in 2013 by Tom van Soest and Ward Massa and is located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Tom van Soest is the creative director and focuses on product development and Ward Massa handles business strategy as general director. StoneCycling creates new building materials from demolition and construction waste.The company’s mission is “Moving towards beautiful building materials made from 100% upcycled waste with a positive carbon impact on the planet.” StoneCycling is CE certified and meets European Union standards for health, safety, and environmental protection.

StoneCycling works with waste management companies, architects, designers, and real estate developers to customize their handmade materials for various applications. The company's products include bricks that are biodegradable, durable, hard, easy-to-decompose, and naturally treated. The company strives to manufacture products that are both technically sound and aesthetically pleasing, with a variety of color and texture options.

In 2010, Tom van Soest was studying at Design Academy Eindhoven and became interested in what happens to construction and demolition waste—the biggest waste stream in the Netherlands and throughout Europe. In 2012, he conducted his graduation project on creating a new material upcycled from demolition waste, which caught the attention of longtime friend and entrepreneur Ward Massa. They teamed up in 2013 and extended Van Soest's research and design processes and developed StoneCycling's® first product, WasteBasedBricks®.

WasteBasedBricks® are made from 60% mineral waste, and calculations show a 25% energy savings in production over traditional bricks.They were originally manufactured from 100% debris, but in order to compete in the market and provide a more traditional acting and looking brick, the amount of waste material was reduced. Stonecycling® describes WasteBasedBricks® to have similar properties to normal bricks, but are stronger and have less water intake. Initial interest in their product on behalf of construction companies was low because the industry tends to prefer companies with a long history of manufacturing bricks. In order to compete, StoneCycling® moved production to existing brick factories and offered a standard factory warranty.

Various WasteBasedBricks

To meet the design needs of each architectural project, WaterBasedBricks® are produced in a variety of sizes, shapes, textures, and colors. Textures include: "Raw," with a straight-from-production look; "Punched," with a deeper look and feel; "Sliced," which reveals the inside of the brick; and "Shine," which adds a shimmer to the brick with a glaze. Colors include: Blackpepper, Nougat, Orange, Pistachio, Radish, Salami, Salt+Pepper, Mushroom, Wasabi, Aubergine, and Truffle.

During the production of WasteBasedBricks®, there is a small amount of leftover product that would normally go to landfill. In looking to limit their own waste, StoneCycling® decided to collect this unused material and created a limited edition WasteBasedBricks® called 2Good2Waste®. These bricks have a warm color and rough texture and are recommended for interior wall cladding and flooring.

Following the launch of WasteBasedBricks®, StoneCycling® collaborated with Amsterdam-based architecture studio, Studioninedots, in designing a pavilion called The TrueTalker. The building's purpose was to provide a place to share ideas on the future of Europe and the world, and came to fruition when Amsterdam hosted the European Union in 2016. Since that time, WasteBasedBricks® have been used in fifteen countries (as of June 2020) in a variety of projects ranging from office, restaurant, and bar interiors to outdoor facades, dry-stack features, and landscaping These projects include:

• Fosbury & Sons co-working space in Antwerp, Belgium's Watt Tower
• House made of waste in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
• NEST research building on the campus of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) in Dübendorf, Switzerland
• Starbucks drive-thrus in Bucharest, Romania; Belvedere, UK; and Hayes, UK
• EOSTA office building in Waddinxveen, the Netherlands
• Headoffice tech company in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• CBRE office in Amersterdam, the Netherlands
• KIT Karlsruhe (Federal Garden Show 2019) in Heilbronn, Germany
• Condo house Poeldijkstraat "Pondok" in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• COS store in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
• The interior of Bar Romona in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• AVR office building in Rozenburg, the Netherlands
• Sands End Arts and Community Center, in London, England
• MMousse Future House in Ulvenhout, the Netherlands
• BPD Zeeburg houses, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• Nando's restaurant, in Reading Gateway, England
• Private house in Venlo, the Netherlands
• Circular neighborhood in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• Crossover office building in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• Ace and Tate eyewear store in Barcelona, Spain
• Condo residential development on 11th Avenue in New York City, New York