Rooftop Composting using the WºRM31_low Worm Hotel

Vermi Composting at a Great Height. 

View from the 30th floor at the office building of
Nauta Dutilh at the center of Rotterdam

Rooftop Worm Hotel at the Office.

Worm Hotel at Fluor - Hoofddorp

Especially for the office of international law firm Nauta Dutilh at Rotterdam and the office of global engineering and construction company Fluor at Hoofddorp we designed the WºRM31_low. 

The WºRM31_low.

Is a worm hotel with 1400 Liters of composting capacity that can be placed at rooftop terraces. To be able to compost a vast amount of green waste at the rooftop terraces of both office buildings, we had to distribute the total weight over a larger surface. 

The internal height of the composting chamber is reduced, but by creating a larger surface inside, the amount of green waste that can be composted in the worm hotel is not reduced. 

This worm hotel is designed as a Continuous Flow System (CFS).

Garden on top of the worm hotel with light weight substrates.

The worm hotel designs of Compostier all have a garden over the full surface of the furniture. In this way the worm hotel is adding green space to any location where it is placed. The garden boxes can be used to grow edible herbs to use in the kitchen or for herbal teas. 

To minimise the total weight of the worm hotel we are choosing special substrates designed for a green roof. These substrates allow for waterretention without adding too much weight to the total weight of the furniture. 

One of the substrate we use is FytoCell from Resins Agro. 

The environmentally friendly foam-like material can absorb 60% water of its own volume. The weight is substantially less then normal rooftop substrates: 1000 L of the FytoCell only weighs 60 kg. The foam can be used as a hydroculture, but we mixed it in with other rooftop substrates and covered it with a thin layer of substrate and coco husks. The coco husks cover helps to avoid evaporation of the moisture in the garden boxes. 

To avoid that rainwater fills up the garden boxes each garden box has an overflow. 

The WºRM31_low at the rooftop terrace of Fluor.
In the background you can see the HRBS table
with fresh & locally grown herbs for herbal teas. 

Modiwood® A sustainable alternative for hardwood. 

For the worm hotel of Nauta Dutilh at Rotterdam we chose ModiWood as a material for the outside of the furniture. ModiWood is thermally modified pinewood. The treatment gives the pinewood a good outdoor resistance and makes it possible to use it outdoors without the use of paint or other chemical treatments. 

Another advantage of using ModiWood is the weight of the material. ModiWood is much lighter than hardwood.

WºRM31_low at the workshop at the HEMbrugterrein at Zaandam.
This model was made using ModiwWood. 

The Compostier Worm Hotel - a natural system solution for local & circular use of green waste.

We designed the worm hotel to introduce a non-tech & natural solution for green waste. The furniture uses only natural systems to break down the organic material into a rich fertiliser for the soil. By studying and learning from nature we were able to design a vermicomposter that is durable, practical & looks great, but most of all produces the most wonderful & alive soil. 

Woodchips & cardboard as a basis in the worm hotel. 

Autumn leaves as a bedding & cover material.

Its been a great year! 

Over the past year we have been able to realise many great projects. We want to thank everyone that supported us. Best wishes to all and a great start of the new year!

We wish you a Merry Christmas & a Green 2020!