Cocon Sint-Niklaas

Circular hub of the future

The city of Sint-Niklaas is breathing new life into an old neglected industrial site. With Cocon, they transformed no less than 8,000 square meters into a workshop for innovation, where start-ups, established companies and social initiatives work together. The focus is on circularity: both in the materials used and in the form of a regional knowledge center for the Waasland region.

Circular, social and creative: that is Cocon in Sint-Niklaas. The Nobels-Peelman sites were transformed into a circular hub. The building itself is a paragon of circular construction. Instead of completely flattening the building, the choice was made to keep the good structure and strip the rest and give it a new use. In this way, you construct a building that can also easily be given a new function in the future.

The team actively searched for recuperation materials and materials that would otherwise end up in landfills: from insulation to steel profiles. The ventilation system, for example, comes from the GZA Hospital in Antwerp. The Sint-Niklaas aluminum company Veranco used surplus aluminum profiles for the windows, doors, roof domes and winter garden. It is the first project in Belgium where windows are made from profiles from waste streams assembled in different colors.

Inside the building is space for entrepreneurs who are themselves active in the circular sector, such as companies working with discarded and reusable materials. Knowledge and best practices are exchanged during inspiration and networking sessions. The BAAS project (which guides start-ups in starting their own business) and the training and orientation center of the OCMW will also have a place there. There is also cooperation with Kringwinkel Azalee, which is located on the same premises. Finally, Operating Collective is in charge of operating this vibrant circular incubator.