Next port of call: Holcim Innovation Center and Head Office
Since joining Team Holcim-PRB, co-skippers Nicolas Lunven and Rosalin Kuiper have been busy not only getting to know their new 60-foot Open monohull, but also how Holcim is driving the circular transition on land and at sea. To dive right into this mission and meet the teams making it happen, Nicolas and Rosalin visited the Holcim Innovation Hub in Lyon, France, followed by a visit to the Head Office in Zug, Switzerland.
At the Holcim Innovation Hub Nicolas and Rosalin got the full immersive tour that showcases Holcim’s sustainable and circular building solutions and met some of the brightest minds working at the R&D center. The Airium team met the skippers with a sailboat made out of Airum that floated on water, which they will bring back to base. Nicolas and Rosalin also tried their hand at 3D concrete printing – Nicolas got an A+ for achievement, Rosalin got an A+ for effort!
Not only was I inspired by the solutions and innovations that I saw here at the Innovation Hub, but also by the passion of the people working here. Everyone I met is driven by a passion to make the world a better place and be the change they want to see. And on a personal note, it was very cool to find out about all the solutions out there because I’m renovating my own house and now I know how I can do it in the most sustainable way possible with all the smart building solutions already available today.
After lunch at the new event space at Innovation Hub, the duo made a very short trip to La Petit Craz to see the new advanced crushing system, a game-changer in circular construction, that upcycles up to 100% of construction demolition materials (CDM) into new building solutions, in action. In other words, GO CIRCULAR on land!
Holcim is really in a race to become the fastest and the best when it comes to the circular economy, and seeing things like this advanced crushing and processing technology makes me believe that we will win it! It was very impressive to understand how demolition materials can be reused to build new buildings.
Another day, another country! After a good night’s sleep in the fresh mountain air of Switzerland, Nicolas and Rosalin arrived at Holcim Head Office in the idyllic town of Zug. The day was full of meetings with the team behind the GO CIRCULAR campaign, as well as a meet and greet with the wider Holcim family. It proved to be a mutually inspiring exchange that further boosted the unstoppable, winning spirit of GO CIRCULAR.
Until now the building sector has been having quite a significant impact on the environment. But I was left feeling optimistic about what I saw over our two-day visit to Lyon and Zug – all the people behind Holcim that are ambassadors for decarbonizing the sector, all the initiatives Holcim has going on to spread this message. And this is something Nico and myself are also doing at sea with the GO CIRCULAR campaign as ambassadors for the ocean, so I think it’s a perfect fit.
Over the two eventful days, the skippers got a better understanding of Holcim and the parallels between working on the boat and the work that is done in the Innovation Hub and Head Office – always pushing for the best. Now, the Team Holcim-PRB skippers are back in Port-la-Forêt, absorbing all this new information to weave it into the GO CIRCULAR campaign and take these important messages with them everywhere they go.
