For our Christmas Special of the Bao Podcast, we welcomed someone very special: Axel van der Donk! Axel is CTO and co-founder at Bao Living. We thought it would be fun to dedicate an episode to what we do here at Bao Living and the learnings of the past 5 years. So I invited my partner in crime Axel to discuss it together.

For episode 17 of the Bao Podcast, we had the honour to welcome Kristof De Jaeger. Kristof is the director of Inhout, a company specialising in timber frame construction. Here they focus on sustainable business using bio-ecological materials. Since 2020, they have also been making modular homes, under the name of Mobble. This is the result of a collaboration with the University of Ghent. These houses, 'Mobbles', are also made from sustainable materials (wood frame with bio-ecological insulation materials) and are flexible and adaptable according to the needs of the moment. We at Bao Living have already had the honour to work together with Mobble when they just started. We love the idea behind it and Kristof is one of the guests that have been on our list of podcast guests for a long time.

Özturk Taspinar works at KPMG as Digital Innovation Consultant and is very passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation and anything that’s digital such as AI, Blockchain, robotics et cetera. With the ever-growing PropTech industry that's closing the gap between construction and the digital world, he’s the perfect guest for our Bao Podcast to tell us more about this interesting industry.

For the last episode of this season, our guest is Margaux Lespagnard. Margaux is a PhD researcher at VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel - in architectural engineering. In her research, she aims to develop circular design guidance for architects when designing circular affordable housing. She does this under supervision of engineer-architects Niels De Temmerman and Waldo Galle. Her research obviously leans very closely to what we want to achieve at Bao Living, so we thought it would be interesting to have a conversation with her about this.

Johan is director of Madaster Belgium. This Dutch company developed a digital materials passport for buildings. This passport is a crucial link to make circular building possible. It’s a digital platform where users can list all the materials that are in a building. This information is enriched, among other things, with product data and commodity prices, and related to regulations and certification methods.

In the 13th episode of the Bao Podcast, we welcome Xavier Leclair. Xavier is founder and CEO of Slow Cabins. This is a Belgian company that allows guests to rent cabins placed in secret locations across the countryside, and has plans to soon expand the concept throughout Belgium and Europe. These Slow Cabins are temporary eco houses that are completely self-sufficient when it comes to water and electricity provisions. In a Slow Cabin there is no internet as well, which means that you can slow down and break free from the stress of everyday life.

In episode 12 of the Bao Podcast, we welcome Sven Grooten. Sven is one of the founders of B-architecten. Throughout the years, he started two spin-offs named B-bis and B-city. Today, B-architecten, B-bis, and B-city have grown into a combined office of more than 75 people. Each B-team has its particular focus and way of functioning, yet they all share a distinct innovative view on the variety of projects the B-platforms stand for.

For our podcast episode for the month of March, our guest is Jérôme Constant. Jérôme is managing partner at Rise PropTech Fund, a venture capital fund dedicated to Late-Seed and Series A startups active in the PropTech sector. They invest in companies that have the ambition and potential to change the construction & real estate industry in Europe. Recently, they made their first investment in the company LEKO Labs. For more information, please visit https://riseproptech.eu/.

After a short winter break, we’re back with a bang! For our tenth podcast episode, our guest is Jan Kriekels. Jan is the owner of Jaga Climate Designers, a radiator manufacturer using innovative heating and cooling technologies. Jaga employs over 600 people and operates in over 35 countries across the globe. Under his leadership, the company has won a great many international design and export awards. Among many other big projects, they are the company behind the innovative heating technology installed in the residence of Russian President Putin and at the Telefónica headquarters in Madrid. For more information, please visit https://www.jaga.com/benl/.

Hans is the founder and owner of Sustacon. With Sustacon, he advises Flemish family businesses on (among other things) strategy, organizational development, and sustainability. They are specialized in helping companies to work more sustainably in the construction sector, but they also advise companies in other industries. Besides his work at Sustacon, Hans is a part-time professor in Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics at the University of Antwerp. For more information, please visit https://www.sustacon.me/.