Blue Habitats

About

Built around a closed loop.

Blue Habitats started from a single observation: the material that turbines discard into landfill is exactly the material that coasts need for structural habitat. We close that loop — from Rotterdam, working globally.

The origin

Rotterdam, 2014. A blade. A basin.

Waterstudio had been designing on water for more than a decade when the first Dutch offshore wind decommissioning conversations began. The question was simple: what happens to the blades?

The answer, at the time, was landfill. The composite material had no good end-of-life route.

The insight that became Blue Habitats was that the blade’s structural properties are the same properties that make a good floating breakwater. No conversion needed. The geometry is the habitat.

Foto: vroeg conceptmodel of eerste prototype
Portret · min. 900 × 1040 px
The team

Two organisations. One conviction.

Foto: Waterstudio team / project
min. 900 × 960 px
Architecture · Floating Systems · Engineering

Waterstudio

Rotterdam, NL · Est. 2004

20+ years designing on water. Waterstudio has pioneered floating built environment design across more than 30 countries. Permitting, structural engineering, and floating-systems expertise.

Founder Koen Olthuis PhD has been the driving creative force behind the blade-to-habitat concept since 2014.

Operator · Habitat Product · Monitoring

Blue Habitats B.V.

Rotterdam, NL · Est. 2021 · B Corp™

Blue Habitats productises the blade-to-habitat process. We own the commercial relationships with wind farm operators, the fabrication process in Dutch ports, the deployment operations, and the five-year monitoring programme at every site.

We are the operator, the partner, and the data custodian. Every monitoring dataset is ours to deliver — openly — to the host authority.

Foto: Blue Habitats team / pilot deployment
min. 900 × 960 px
How we work

Three commitments. Non-negotiable.

/ 01
Open data

All monitoring data delivered openly to the host authority. Published under CC-BY. The science behind what we do is verifiable, citable, and available for peer review.

/ 02
Co-designed ecology

Habitat designed in from day one by marine ecologists — not bolted on after engineering. Every site has a baseline survey. Every outcome is measured against it.

/ 03
Structural integrity

DNV-aligned structural review on every module. 25-year design life. Rated for 5m surge. Specified to municipal procurement standards.

Press & publications

In the conversation.

NRC · Duurzaamheid
Windmolenwiekken als kunstmatig rif: het tweede leven van duurzame energie
March 2025
Read article ↗
Dezeen · Architecture
Waterstudio turns retired wind turbine blades into floating marine habitats
January 2025
Read article ↗
WindEurope · Circular Economy
Blade reuse case study: Blue Habitats and the Rotterdam Port pilot
November 2024
Read article ↗
De Ingenieur · Technologie
Composiet hergebruik op zee: structureel zonder slijpen
September 2024
Read article ↗
Wageningen UR · Field Report
Year 1 biodiversity monitoring: Maashaven floating wetland
April 2025
Read article ↗
Press enquiries

For press interviews, imagery, and background briefings, contact us directly.

press@bluehabitats.nl →
Ready to work together?
A pilot starts with a 30-minute site conversation. Feasibility memo within ten days.
Start a pilot →
In partnership withRijkswaterstaatPort of RotterdamDeltaresWageningen URB Corp™DNV