Spring Studio has completed an innovative sustainable interior design project for the World Heritage Centre Wadden Sea in Lauwersoog, the Netherlands, utilizing locally sourced biomaterials including hemp and crushed seashells. The project demonstrates cutting-edge eco-friendly design principles by incorporating approximately 70 percent bio-based materials throughout the interior spaces.
The World Heritage Centre Wadden Sea (WEC) serves as a multifunctional hub that combines research, education, and wildlife care activities. The facility is housed in a building designed by renowned Danish architecture firm Dorte Mandrup. Spring Studio was selected for the interior design project after the client saw their previous work on the De Graanrepubliek restaurant, where they successfully transformed a former locomotive shed into a sustainable food and drinks venue using environmentally conscious artisans.
For this project, Spring Studio collaborated with sustainable materials specialist HuisVeendam to design the entrance, restaurant, shop, and lobby areas. The design team focused on utilizing specially developed biomaterials and regional craftsmanship wherever possible. According to the designers, their project aimed "to reflect the rhythm and richness of the Wadden landscape, using organic forms, tactile materials and sustainably sourced, locally made furnishings."
The reception desk features a distinctive curving surface that combines potato starch-based plaster with crushed shells, which are also incorporated into the biolaminate countertop. Restaurant benches were crafted from untreated oak sourced from trees that had been felled by the local council. The furniture assembly utilized traditional joinery techniques, with cushions fixed in place using ropes to ensure complete disassembly and recycling capability.
Throughout the interior, locally harvested coastal grasses were processed by HuisVeendam into biolaminates and used as inlays in tabletops. Cabinets in the building's shop and library were constructed from untreated solid birch panels that are fully demountable for future recycling. The pendant lights represent another innovative biomaterial application, created by molding a composite material that combines potato starch with locally sourced jute from the province of Groningen.
Acoustic panels installed on walls and ceilings showcase the project's commitment to waste reduction, being created using recycled denim jeans and reused cotton sheets from hospitals and hotels. These materials were bonded together using potato-starch glue, maintaining the bio-based material philosophy throughout. The design team also developed unique artwork for the reception area featuring a chain of algae-based sequins dyed with natural pigments.
Most materials used throughout the building were produced on a small scale specifically for this project, allowing for exceptional quality control at every stage of the process. This approach enabled the designers to maintain high standards while supporting local craftspeople and sustainable production methods. Spring Studio claims that the interior demonstrates how innovative, eco-friendly architecture using local, bio-based materials and craftsmanship can establish new standards for sustainability in the design industry.
"We believe in inspiring more people to see the beauty and potential of what's already around them," said representatives from Spring Studio. "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." The project has been longlisted for the 2025 Dezeen Awards in the sustainable interior category, competing alongside other innovative projects including an Aesop store in London featuring walls made from bars of soap and a material lab in Bengaluru built using salvaged waste materials.
