{"id":705837,"date":"2026-01-19T06:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T06:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/705837\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T06:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T06:38:20","slug":"pretty-plastic-clads-timber-laboratory-in-upcycled-plastic-tiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/705837\/","title":{"rendered":"Pretty Plastic clads timber laboratory in upcycled plastic tiles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dutch manufacturer Pretty Plastic<\/a> has created the facade for Plus Ultra III, the first timber laboratory building in the Netherlands, using tiles made from recycled<\/a> post-consumer plastic waste.<\/p>\n

Located on Wageningen University and Research Campus in central Netherlands, the building was designed by Dutch studio Proof of the Sum<\/a> and developed by lab operator Kadans Science Partner<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"FacadePlus Ultra III is the first timber laboratory in the Netherlands<\/p>\n

It has a load-bearing structure that was almost entirely constructed from engineered timber and a facade clad in Basic Third, a cladding material developed by the Pretty Plastic<\/a> company started by architects Overtreders W<\/a> and Bureau SLA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 8,500-square-metre building is covered in the tiles, which were made from 30,987 kilograms of post-consumer plastic waste.<\/p>\n

\"Close-upIt was clad in recycled plastic tiles<\/p>\n

“The Basic Third cladding was developed as a highly practical and scalable facade system,” Pretty Plastic co-founder Hester van Dijk told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“Its overlapped shingle configuration allows for fast and straightforward installation, while the tile dimensions are specifically suited to the construction logic of laboratory and utility buildings.”<\/p>\n

The tiles, which are replaceable, were installed using an overlapping shiplap-style system.<\/p>\n

“The tiles are mechanically fixed with screws to a timber batten system, creating a robust, replaceable and efficient connection to the timber structure,” Van Dijk said.<\/p>\n

\"WomanPretty Plastic makes the tiles from 100 per cent recycled PVC<\/p>\n

Basic Third is Pretty Plastic’s third plastic-tile design. It has a simplified installation method compared to its previous products.<\/p>\n

In order to be more suitable for broader architectural expression, the designers also gave it a more restrained surface expression. Van Dijk thinks that this version of the upcycled plastic tiles has strong potential for wider use.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Overtreders<\/p>\n

Pretty Plastic shingles made from recycled PVC windows and gutters are “first 100 per cent recycled cladding material”\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

“The dimensions of the Basic Third tile make it suitable for large-scale utility buildings, while the mould allows designers freedom in form and colour to tailor the facade to a specific architectural concept,” Van Dijk said.<\/p>\n

“Its modular sizing also minimises cutting waste, making it both design-flexible and efficient to apply.”<\/p>\n

\"InteriorThe building has a bright atrium<\/p>\n

By adding it to a timber facade, the fully demountable tiles help to create buildings with a circular design.<\/p>\n

Pretty Plastic’s tiles are made from 100 per cent recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC), sourced from post-consumer construction waste, such as old window frames and drainpipes. The standard version of the tiles has three vertical strips and is available in 12 colours.<\/p>\n

\"InteriorPlus Ultra III is located on the Wageningen University and Research Campus<\/p>\n

The Pretty Plastic tiles have previously been featured on Dezeen Showroom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first permanent building to be clad in the tiles was a music pavilion by Dutch studio Grosfeld Bekkers Van der Velde Architecten<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Marcel van der Burg<\/a> and the plans are by Proof of the Sum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dutch manufacturer Pretty Plastic has created the facade for Plus Ultra III, the first timber laboratory building in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":705838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,4022,77,20185,211913,132175,126129,126130,130296,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-705837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-design","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-facades","13":"tag-pretty-plastic","14":"tag-recycled-plastic","15":"tag-sectionall","16":"tag-sectionarchitecture","17":"tag-tiles","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115920391860202856","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/705838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}