Facade elements made of biobased polyester resins and coffee grounds

Imagine a coffee kiosk that not only sells coffee, but is also made of it. This is not the fantasy of an overzealous barista, but a serious innovation project in which waste streams such as coffee grounds and leather are given a second life as facade material.

Together with NPSP, architect and product developer Gert Jan Scholte is developing, testing, evaluating, and optimizing a modular facade element based on a fully bio-based polyester resin, enriched with coffee grounds and leather as natural fillers. The project focuses on making this material suitable for circular exterior applications in construction.

The panels are designed for a lifespan of at least fifty years and are resistant to prolonged exposure to rain, wind, and sun. They are produced via hot press/compression molding — a technique in which heat and pressure create strong, dimensionally stable components.

Scholte used the BioBased Circular STCB scheme for the development of the first prototypes and the execution of extensive field tests of these bio-based facade panels. These tests examined, among other things, workability, mechanical performance, material thickness, weather resistance, aging, and fastening methods. Based on these results, Scholte has taken a significant step forward in making circular facade elements for sustainable construction projects market-ready.