In the exposed landscape of Lauwersoog, where the Netherlands meets the Wadden Sea—a UNESCO World Heritage site—a revolutionary building is rewriting the rules of sustainable design. The World Heritage Centre Wadden Sea (WEC), a multifunctional hub dedicated to research, education, and wildlife conservation, demanded an interior that was not just environmentally responsible, but intrinsically linked to its sensitive ecosystem. Spring Studio answered this call with an almost alchemic approach, transforming local, bio-based waste streams—including crushed seashells, potato starch, and coastal grasses—into a sophisticated, tactile interior. This ambitious project, with its commitment to nearly 70 percent bio-based materials, moves far beyond simple aesthetic greenwashing. It crafts an immersive experience designed to reflect the very “rhythm and richness” of the unique Wadden environment, proving that the future of premium design is local, demountable, and deeply rooted in its native landscape.
The Wadden Sea Context and the Centre’s Mandate
The World Heritage Centre Wadden Sea, housed within a striking structure designed by the Danish architecture firm Dorte Mandrup, is a crucial institution. The Wadden Sea itself is the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world, a critically important ecosystem shared by the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. As a global sentinel for tidal ecology, the WEC carries a profound responsibility: to operate as a beacon of research and education while demonstrating the highest standards of environmental stewardship in its own footprint.
This unique context mandated that the interior design could not simply be a collection of off-the-shelf, low-impact products. It required an approach that was regenerative, sourcing materials from the region it seeks to protect. Spring Studio was brought onto the project after their successful work on a former locomotive shed for De Graanrepubliek restaurant, demonstrating a proven track record in collaborating with local, sustainable artisans. For the WEC’s entrance, restaurant, shop, and lobby, this partnership was taken further, culminating in a design philosophy where organic forms, tactile surfaces, and radical regionalism became the guiding principles.
The interior’s ambition was to ensure a profound connection between the building’s function and its materiality. Every surface, from the reception desk to the light fittings, had to tell a story about the Wadden Sea and its immediate vicinity. This commitment meant turning the traditionally linear process of interior design into a circular loop, where local resources and regional craftsmanship were valued above global supply chains.
The Radical Material Palette: A Bio-Based Revolution
To achieve its goal of a truly reflective and sustainable interior, Spring Studio entered a deep partnership with HuisVeendam, specialists in pioneering sustainable materials. This collaboration was fundamental to delivering an interior that is approximately 70 percent bio-based, a statistic that sets a significant new benchmark in large-scale commercial design. The resulting palette is a radical departure from conventional construction, embracing materials that are either reclaimed waste products or rapidly renewable local resources.
The fundamental aesthetic of the interior is a direct homage to the Wadden landscape, utilizing its colors, textures, and rhythms. Instead of relying on imported stone or synthetic composites, the designers looked to the shorelines and fields of the surrounding province. They sought out local waste streams that, with minimal processing, could be transformed into beautiful and durable architectural surfaces. This focus on bio-based materials is not just about reducing carbon emissions; it is about creating a sense of “belonging,” as the designers describe, where the architecture itself is literally grown from the soil of the community it serves.
A prime example of this innovative use of local resources is seen in the construction of the tabletops. These were not made from timber or plastic, but feature biolaminates developed by HuisVeendam using locally harvested coastal grasses. These grasses are processed into inlays, lending the tabletops a unique, organic texture and a pale, striated appearance that subtly evokes the marshlands and tidal flats of the Wadden Sea. This process ensures that a material which might otherwise be composted or discarded is elevated to a high-design finish, completing the ecological narrative of the space.
From Kitchen Scrap to Countertop: Unveiling Key Features
The true innovation in the WEC interior is best demonstrated by the tactile, high-impact features used in the reception and communal areas. The project’s commitment to radical sustainability turns everyday waste into sculptural elements. For instance, the curving surface of the reception desk—the first element visitors encounter—is a composite marvel. Its plaster is made from potato starch, a common industrial waste product in the Netherlands, combined directly with crushed shells. These shells, remnants of the local aquaculture and seafood industries, introduce a delicate aggregate texture, providing a natural luminescence and reinforcing the coastal identity of the center.
Further reinforcing this theme, the countertop of the reception desk utilizes a biolaminate that also incorporates crushed shells. This strategic application of a singular, locally abundant resource across multiple elements—from plaster to laminate—creates a sense of material continuity throughout the building’s public face. The resulting texture is far richer and more complex than traditional composite stone, possessing an artisanal warmth that mass-produced materials often lack.
The lighting fixtures continue the biomaterial narrative overhead. The custom pendant lights were formed by moulding a composite made from potato starch bonded with locally sourced jute from the nearby province of Groningen. This approach highlights the studio’s talent for taking humble, agricultural fibres and creating fixtures that are both structurally sound and visually appealing. The lights filter a warm, diffuse glow, complementing the earthy, organic tones of the surrounding surfaces and further establishing the serene, naturalistic atmosphere of the interiors.
The Circular Design Mandate: Furniture and Deconstructability
Beyond the surfaces, the furniture program at the World Heritage Centre Wadden Sea provides a blueprint for genuine circular design. Spring Studio adhered to a strict mandate that emphasized longevity, repairability, and complete disassembly. This “deconstructability” ethos addresses the entire lifecycle of the furniture, ensuring that when the time eventually comes for refurbishment, materials can be easily separated and recycled or repurposed, rather than ending up as mixed waste.
The restaurant benches, for example, were crafted from untreated oak, sourced exclusively from trees that were felled by the local council. By using wood that was scheduled for removal, the project provided an immediate, hyper-local source of high-quality timber. Crucially, these benches were assembled using traditional joinery techniques—methods that rely on careful cuts and pegs rather than adhesives or screws. This old-world craftsmanship ensures that the furniture can be easily taken apart without damaging the raw material. Even the bench cushions adhere to this principle: rather than being permanently fixed, they are secured in place using simple ropes, allowing for effortless removal and recycling of both the fabric and the filling.
In the shop and library areas, cabinets were constructed from untreated solid birch panels. Just like the restaurant seating, these units were designed to be fully demountable. This practice, using minimal fixing methods and simple, natural materials, serves as a powerful testament to the fact that high-quality commercial furniture does not require complex, toxic bonding agents or complicated alloys. It positions simplicity and material purity at the forefront of sustainable interior architecture.
Beyond Aesthetics: Acoustic and Art Installations
The commitment to resourceful design extends even to the most functional and artistic elements of the WEC interior, specifically targeting acoustic comfort and visual accentuation. A significant challenge in any large public space is managing noise and echo. Spring Studio tackled this by developing acoustic panels for walls and ceilings using reclaimed textile waste. These panels incorporate a composite of recycled denim jeans and large quantities of reused cotton sheets sourced from local hospitals and hotels.
This use of post-consumer and post-industrial textile waste not only diverts substantial material from landfills but provides superior acoustic dampening qualities. To ensure the process remained bio-based, the denim and cotton fibres were bonded together using a potato-starch glue, replacing the petrochemical adhesives commonly found in commercial acoustic products. This seamless integration of waste material into essential building components perfectly illustrates the studio’s belief that sustainability should be invisible, yet inherently superior.
Finally, the reception area is adorned with an artistic piece that ties the entire narrative together: an artwork composed of a chain of algae-based sequins. These bioplastic elements, dyed using only natural pigments, introduce a subtle, fluid splash of color, mimicking the reflective shimmer of the Wadden Sea itself. This installation is a microcosm of the entire project, showcasing how innovative, non-toxic, and ephemeral materials can be used for purely decorative purposes without compromising the building’s deep environmental mandate. It is a visual representation of the project’s core philosophy: that beauty, material science, and ecological responsibility are inseparable.
Setting a New Global Standard for Sustainable Interiors
The World Heritage Centre Wadden Sea project is far more than a local triumph; it is a global template for the future of interior architecture. By proving that a commercial-scale project can successfully source approximately 70 percent of its materials locally and bio-based, Spring Studio has challenged industry reliance on standardized, high-carbon materials. Their methodology, which involved producing most of the materials on a small scale specifically for the WEC, allowed for unparalleled quality control and traceable sourcing at every stage, a rarity in modern construction.
The project successfully achieved its stated goal: to demonstrate how innovative, eco-friendly architecture, underpinned by regional craftsmanship, can set new standards for sustainability worldwide. This achievement has not gone unnoticed, with the interior being longlisted for a prestigious Dezeen Award in the sustainable interior category. The recognition elevates the WEC from a regional success story to an international case study, drawing attention to the power of biomaterials and circular principles.
Spring Studio’s ultimate philosophical message remains the core takeaway: “We believe in inspiring more people to see the beauty and potential of what’s already around them. And we believe that working with our environment gives us a true sense of place. Where making becomes belonging, and creation gives us a place in this fast, beautiful world.” By turning coastal waste and agricultural by-products into lasting design elements, the WEC interior offers a profound and optimistic vision for an architecture that is simultaneously cutting-edge, regionally specific, and deeply in harmony with the environment it celebrates.
