Natura Mater is currently an indispensable link in the ecological transition of the construction sector, to which the Brussels-Capital Region is strongly committed. Natura Mater advises professionals, property developers, project managers and architects on the use of natural materials and construction techniques. A market with enormous potential, also abroad!
Once upon a time… there was an architect who wanted to build an ecological and sustainable house. Designing the house was the easy part. But the search for suitable building materials, expertise and suitable craftsmen was another matter. Jeremy Boomer finally succeeded in realizing his dream home. This was the starting point of Natura Mater, an innovative project on ecological transition in the Brussels construction sector.
His goal: to create a platform or structure where building professionals can go for training, advice and materials for sustainable construction.
“On the one hand, there is the political ambition to invest massively in the renovation of buildings, ideally in an ecologically responsible way. But on the other hand, most building materials contain pollutants or plastics.”
Jeremy Boomer
Barely 2% of the building materials used in Brussels are of natural origin. It was high time to gear the supply to the strongly growing demand for sustainable building.
Sustainable building as an export product
After a stint in the greenlab incubator of hub.brussels, Jeremy and his four business partners took the plunge.
They exchanged their steady jobs for the Natura Mater start-up, which is fully focused on the future. Jeremy Boomer explains the work of Natura Mater: “We are the direct link between building sites and manufacturers of building materials. Our job is to overcome as many obstacles as possible that stand in the way of sustainable construction. We inform building owners and politicians, brief contractors on sustainable materials and construction techniques, we make technical analyses and cost estimates for property developers or architects, etc.”
Thanks to a macro vision on sustainable construction, they can identify – in a timely manner – technical challenges linked to sustainable construction.
Natura Mater always looks for a concrete answer for bottlenecks, for example in cooperation with public institutions such as Actiris. In time, this pioneering start-up could become the cement of the sustainable construction sector in Europe, with an extensive network of specialized professionals, construction firms, architects and producers of sustainable building materials. There is already strong interest from France, Germany, Denmark, Portugal and Romania. The foundation has been laid; the central location of Brussels is an extra asset in this constructive story!
