Natura Mater

Where low-carbon construction plays out, followed as it happens.

Projects followed over time, materials documented and a watch on the sector. We write about what we observe in the field, project after project.

Florent Timmermans, from Gramitherm, leads the visit through the former workshop of the Auvelais factory
Sector watch8 Oct 2026
Biobased supply chains: Belgium is more than ready

Belgium is more than ready for the transition in construction, and it is not talked about enough.

Steel sections removed and gathered on site, before sorting and reinstatement
On site16 Sep 2026
Campus Odoo: deconstruction as a source of materials

In Louvain-la-Neuve, the renovation of the Odoo campus looks first to the existing building for its materials: the steel, the bricks and the glazed partitions are dismantled to be reused in the project.

Training session around samples at the Materatek: participants standing round a table covered with boards, trays and colour charts
Field notes16 Sep 2026
The Master Class: eight modules around a table of samples

Natura Mater teaches its Master Class in eight modules, from an overview of low-impact materials to the regulatory framework.

The main room, the SKULT sign on the wall and the earth bench running beneath the tables
Projects16 Sep 2026
SKULT Studios, two biobased finishes in a commercial interior

In Brussels, SKULT Studios brings a Pilates studio and a café together under one roof.

The living room opening onto the forest through a corner window, with exposed CLT ceiling and column and a built-in bench beneath the sill
Projects24 Feb 2026
Biobased materials and indoor comfort for this single-family house in Beersel

In Beersel, this single-family house illustrates a coherent approach to sustainable construction, in which the choice of materials helps both to reduce environmental impact and to improve indoor comfort.

View from the interior under construction towards the courtyard, with the secondary building clad in expanded cork at the back
Material focus28 Jan 2026
Expanded cork as cladding, in the service of material sufficiency

At a time when buildings still too often tend towards an accumulation of technical systems, some projects take the opposite approach.

Close-up of recycled cork granules made by grinding bottle corks
Material focus10 Dec 2025
Recycork · loose-fill cork in a floor build-up

Granules of recycled cork stoppers, laid as loose fill with no supporting structure: circular utopia or genuine technical advance?

A grass-fibre board seen in section, resting on a grid, against the light
Material focus15 Jul 2024
Gramitherm, a Belgian biobased insulation

For 15 years, Gramitherm has been developing an insulation material made from grass residues.