We spoke with Ken De Cooman, co-founder of BC architects & studies & materials, about why the transition requires more than new materials. In the interview, he shares why collaboration across disciplines, hands-on experimentation and a willingness to challenge established ways of working are essential if we want to transform the construction sector.
At the Bio-based Building Materials conference on 26–27 August, Ken De Cooman will present how BC architects & studies & materials combines architecture, material production and research in a hybrid practice that aims to create bio-regional, circular and low-tech buildings with lasting impact.
Read the interview with Ken De Cooman below.
Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us a bit about what you do?
My name is Ken De Cooman, and I’m one of the four co-founders of BC architects & studies & materials. Today, I’m the delegated director of BC Materials, where I lead the company while also focusing on research and development.
What first sparked your interest in bio-based building materials, and what continues to drive your work today?
My interest in bio-based building materials, along with geo-based materials such as earth, fibres, wood and bamboo, began while I was still studying architecture. Through a self-initiated project in Africa, I discovered the potential of local, short-chain materials and the value they can bring to construction.
I later lived and worked in several African countries, including Ethiopia, Burundi and Morocco. In many ways, that’s where I learned the principles that continue to shape our work today.
What we are trying to do in Europe is apply those lessons within a different construction context: an integrated approach where knowledge isn’t divided into isolated silos, but shared across everyone involved in a project. That collaboration is, in my view, the only way to realise truly innovative architecture, and it continues to drive my work today.
Where do you see the biggest opportunities—and the biggest challenges—for bio-based materials in the construction industry?
For me, the greatest opportunity lies in the way bio-based and geo-based materials encourage us to rethink our relationship with both nature and time. Over the past 100 to 150 years, industrialisation has led us towards the idea that buildings and materials can be fully controlled, often without considering their long-term impact.
Bio-based materials invite us to think differently. They remind us that buildings are part of natural cycles of growth, harvesting, use and reuse. Instead of asking only how we build, we should also ask what happens to materials when a building reaches the end of its life. This cyclical way of thinking has the potential to transform the construction sector into one that is more thoughtful, more resilient and better equipped to address today’s environmental challenges.
What do you think it will take for bio-based materials to move beyond pilot projects and become part of mainstream construction?
I often talk about construction culture. It’s not enough to certify bio-based materials and expect the industry to adopt them overnight. Construction is an inherently complex process involving many stakeholders, each carrying different responsibilities and risks. That’s also why innovation takes time.
What we need is education across the entire value chain, from architects and engineers to contractors, insurers and craftspeople. More importantly, we need a cultural shift where this knowledge becomes part of everyday practice. Only then will bio-based materials become part of mainstream construction.
Is there a project you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of? We’d love to hear the story behind it and what makes it stand out.
I’m particularly proud of a project in the south of France called Lot 8, developed for our client Atelier Luma. It was a collaboration between BC architects & studies & materials and Assemble from the UK, and it became an incredibly rich collaborative process.
The project was recently selected as a finalist for the 2026 EU Mies Awards, which is especially meaningful because it demonstrates that architecture built with unconventional materials can also be recognised at the highest level.
For the project, we developed local rammed earth using quarry waste, produced compressed earth blocks, and created thermopressed sunflower panels made from agricultural waste. We also reused damaged roof tiles by cutting them into pieces and incorporating them into a terrazzo lime floor.
What makes the project special is that the material research happened alongside the architectural design. There was a constant dialogue between designing spaces and developing new materials.
We describe this approach as the architecture of prototyping. Rather than defining every detail in advance, we allow research and experimentation to shape the architectural language throughout the design process.
The result is a building that reflects a true collaboration between architects, engineers, craftspeople, contractors, insurers and local producers. I’m proud that it resonates with both believers and sceptics alike, because it reconnects architecture with the ecosystems it is part of.
If you could leave conference participants with one key insight or piece of advice, what would it be?
I would encourage everyone to step outside their own area of expertise. Learn by doing—but also unlearn by doing.
Our education gives us valuable knowledge, but innovation requires us to question established ways of working. We need to collaborate with craftspeople, farmers and material producers. We need to work with the materials ourselves, understand how they behave and experience what it takes to build with them. Only then can we develop a new construction culture that truly responds to the challenges we face today.
What will you be speaking about at the conference, and what do you hope the audience will take away from your session?
At the conference, I’ll present the Lot 8 project from both an architectural and a material development perspective. I’ll explore how hybrid practices can help bridge the gap between pilot projects and mainstream construction, and how underused waste streams can become valuable resources within a circular economy. Ultimately, I hope to show how bio-based and geo-based architecture, through its connection to time, material cycles and local resources, offers a meaningful path towards a more circular construction sector.
Want to hear more about how architecture, material development and hands-on experimentation can drive the transition towards a more circular construction sector?
Join Ken De Cooman at the Bio-based Building Materials conference on 26–27 August, where he will share how BC architects & studies & materials is challenging conventional construction through research, prototyping and the use of bio-based and natural building materials.
