Circular construction at Schiphol: BAM building checkpoint using demolition waste

“At Schiphol, we have high ambitions when it comes to circularity. In 2030, we want to be completely waste free. That requires different ways of designing and building. Redevelopment and maintenance projects at the airport produce a lot of residual materials, and we want to use as much as possible in other projects. Checkpoint 90 is a unique example. The origin of the materials and the detachability of the design gives form to our ambitions and shows what is already possible.”
Taco van Iersel, Manager Sustainability & Energy Management at Schiphol

“The design team got involved right at the start of the circular demolition. An important factor, because then you can tailor the design to the collected materials. We often see design being put out to tender at a later stage. In this case, the processes went hand-in-hand. We’re really looking forward to the next step in the creation of this new checkpoint. We are implementing BAM’s ‘Building a sustainable tomorrow’ strategy in this project, with sustainability the key objective.”
Susanne IJsenbrandt, sustainability manager BAM Bouw en Techniek

Materials not being recycled for the checkpoint have found other destinations. Bike sheds are being reused, window frames are being used in new buildings and even cable ducts are finding a new lease of life. What’s more, the roofing is going to be processed and used to make asphalt for Rotterdam The Hague Airport.

Circularity at Schiphol 
Schiphol aims to be a waste-free airport by 2030. Residual streams will be 100% reused or recycled, also in construction and maintenance projects whenever possible. When demolishing old buildings, we reuse as much of the material as possible, and we build circularly when using new materials. The source buildings for the checkpoint were demolished piece by piece and a record was kept of where the material came from and what state it was in. An architect then assessed the materials and (re)used them in new designs. Schiphol’s circular ambitions focus on preserving scarce and recently produced construction materials, and on reusing them. An example of this is Schiphol’s own concrete recycling plant, where concrete from renovation and maintenance projects is crushed and turned into new concrete or foundation material.