Stone-Ideas.com 
In the main article https://www.stone-ideas.com/113722/mvrdv-valley-mountainous-landscape-amsterdam/ we described the architectural vision of MVRDV for the “Valley“ project in Amsterdam. Stone waste from the quarry and from the construction site itself was used for the facade cladding. Peter Becker from Stone-Ideas.com spoke with Jan Knikker, Partner Strategy/Development at MVRDV:
Stone-Ideas.com: When, by whom and when was the decision taken to use stone waste?
Jan Knikker, MVRDV: When we visited the quarry outside of Barcelona (the famous quarry that also works for the Sagrada Familia) we saw some amazing stone slabs with crystal formations in them. The quarrier explained that these were disqualified tiles and ready for the cement factory because of the faults. As we liked the faults, we decided to buy all those slabs, and as now each and every tile of our building has a mistake, they are standard, and hence you don’t see it. Aesthetically, the building has turned more interesting and yes, also a bit more robust and rustic.
Stone-Ideas.com: How about the waste from the construction site?
Jan Knikker, MVRDV: Another way to save stone was to use also the cut-offs from installation. As we worked with a computer model, finding a new space for each cut-off was possible. The reason for doing this was first financial, and in the end, it was also a great way to reduce waste.The quirky shape of the many cantilevers allowed to reuse also the weirder shaped cut-offs.
Stone-Ideas.com: But how to organize that?
Jan Knikker, MVRDV: We’ve made a script in Rhino software and worked with four cut-tile sizes. This made it easy to record all sizes and match them with the pieces that were needed elsewhere.
Stone-Ideas.com: Using the waste meant a lot of manual and organizational work, correct?
Jan Knikker, MVRDV: Yes indeed, but all in the quarry. We saved a lot of on-site work because the stone was delivered in hundreds of wooden crates per façade section.
Stone-Ideas.com: How about the costs – wasn’t using the waste more expensive than using newly quarried stone?
Jan Knikker, MVRDV: No. The general price for the pieces with damage was much lower than that for the perfect tiles.