Platform on concrete and steel in construction
Willy Naessens Group launched The Circle®, a revolutionary and circular building concept. With one hundred elements, industrial building projects can be realized quickly, flexibly, sustainably and modularly. This clever concept, which enables construction with ‘lego blocks’ of precast concrete, among other materials, is aimed at reusing and recycling logistics real estate at the end of its useful life. Also in the Netherlands, Willy Naessens serves the market with The Circle®. The concept is eminently interesting for developers, architects, contractors, investors and consultants who want to build quickly and effectively, aspire to achieving sustainability requirements and strive for a circular future.
The Willy Naessens Group has been a reliable partner in sustainable and complex integral, industrial construction projects with precast concrete for more than sixty years. Willy Naessens Netherlands is part of the Willy Naessens Group and has been a leader in the construction industry for many years. In 2024, in the context of expansion and sustainability, the Group developed a pioneering and life-extending concept, which shapes the industrial building of the future: The Circle®. This puts Willy Naessens Group at the forefront, because it has found the fastest and most efficient way to realize circular industrial construction projects with an extended lifespan as well as to easily repurpose or partially recycle robust industrial buildings. With this flexible logistics concept, it is anticipating an increasing demand for high-end business accommodation. “This is how Willy Naessens plays along at the highest level in finding solutions in a fast-moving market that needs to become more sustainable,” says Erik Koremans, Chief Sustainability and Commercial Officer (CSCO) of Willy Naessens Netherlands.
“We are legolizing construction,” Koremans says of the ‘construction box’ with one hundred precast building blocks that can be dry assembled and disassembled. Seventy percent of the precast concrete elements can be reused in new construction projects without modification, while 25 percent of the elements can be recycled at a high value. Because the building blocks fall together in a specific way, no auxiliary steel structures or in-situ concrete are needed, significantly reducing CO2 emissions.
The concept fits seamlessly with Willy Naessens“ mission to build a better future for future generations. That starts with circular concrete construction with the main spearheads: a positive environmental impact and reduced waste and CO2 and nitrogen emissions. Because industrial buildings built with The Circle® have a lower ecological footprint than regular concrete construction systems, it helps achieve sustainability goals such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ”On our way to a sustainable future, we are thus constantly taking steps,“ says Koremans. ”Because every step is necessary to get to the other side."
Willy Naessens has developed an innovative 3D tool that allows a final design to be on the table within two hours, including a real-time indication of the total investment, which can compete with traditional construction. All specifications, dimensions and costs are transparent per component. This enables a very fast realization of industrial buildings.
Working with fixed grid sizes of 24×12 meters makes it possible to efficiently produce the precast concrete elements, which are often available in stock. This reduces preparation time by several months compared to traditional construction methods. Moreover, when a logistics building no longer fulfills its original function after about 25 years, the concrete modules can easily be disassembled and reused elsewhere. Thus, a significant part of the construction process can be skipped and time, material and (environmental) costs are saved.
For now, the leading construction company is focusing The Circle® primarily on logistics property, due to the large number of regular customers in that market. In Belgium, a first building has already been realized according to The Circle® concept: a 40,000 m² logistics complex for Intervest is made up of one hundred circular building blocks. In the Netherlands too, a growing number of parties are joining The Circle® and the number of requests for application of this circular solution in logistics premises is increasing.
