De Bron Free Primary School

The school of the future is modular and circular

Few schools are built future-proof. Will the number of pupils in the school double within 10 years? Or are energy regulations and thus insulation standards tightening? Then schools often have to incur large costs to renovate. Free primary school De Bron in Wellen therefore went for a circular and affordable approach for its new building project, thanks to a modular roof system and recycled PUR insulation boards.

Dismountable and reusable roof

Together with architects from CLVR, and main contractors Schoofs and V&B Dakwerken, the school board chose CPE's BossCover Circular System. That system mechanically anchors roof components into the substrate and fastens them together with a click system. This avoids the use of polluting glue and makes it easy to dismantle the components. Does the school want to build an extra storey on top or add insulation later? Then it can take the roof off and reinstall it afterwards. Or give it a second life elsewhere.

Saved from the incinerator

The roof insulation consists of recovered PUR insulation boards. These came from a demolished roof on an OVAM building in Mechelen, and were ready for a trip to the incinerator. Yet the boards were still perfectly usable. For instance, they were only 22 years old, and thus not yet in half of their lifespan. Moreover, Buildwise, the building industry's innovation centre, was able to show that they had a lambda value of around 0.0261 W/m²K. Any value below 0.030 W/m²K indicates that a material conducts little heat, and thus insulates qualitatively.

Today, the new roof has a surface area of 284 m². That's just bigger than a tennis court. Choosing recycled PUR insulation boards in this case is not only good for the environment, but also for the school's wallet.