Ricehouse, from brick rice: here’s how circular construction can be

This article on Tiziana Monterisi and her recehouse is part of the special reportage with some virtuous examples of young entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, published in the number 28/29 of Vanity Fair, on newsstands until July 15th.

Architect and “ecological native”, Tiziana Monterisi built a company – and a life – on a radical intuition: transform rice waste into building materials. A challenge that took the first steps in 2008 and then became concrete in 2016, when with her partner Alessio Colombo, geologist, he founded Ricehousewhich today is a benefit company with 17 employees, 2.8 million turnover and important customers such as Terna, Eni and Autogrill.

Ricehouse takes what normally burns – pula, lolla, straw – and transforms it into insulators, plaster, panels, furnishings and accessories. It is a real revolution, so much so that, in 2022, he won the golden compass with the Rh120 panel.

Ricehouse, which today is a winning model and a virtuous example of circular economy, has requested courage, passion, commitment and perseverance: «For 10 years more than building we have disclosed the culture of natural materials. At one point we had to take note that that project was not taking off ». But Tiziana did not give up and today Ricehouse became a reference, so much so that she is the protagonist at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of Venice, where her materials were chosen for three pavilions: those of the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan, and the air of air at the Arsenal Cork.

The interview with Tiziana Monterisi, founder of Ricehouse

How did you receive a ricehouse and how has your business evolved over the years?
“Everything starts from a personal experience: as a recent graduate architect, I was fascinated by natural materials. I have tried for a long time to introduce them to the building market, thanks also to the support of my partner Alessio, who then worked in the Piedmont region. We have even started a construction company together with Michelangelo Pistoletto, to build “new living life bodies”, but in 2015, after years of disclosure and a few construction sites, we understood that it was time to change. And so, in 2016, he was born receiver, as an innovative startup and benefit companies. At the beginning it was just an idea: we wanted to sell the know-how of the rice house to those who already built. But in 2018 we decided to produce directly. So we came out at the Klimahouse Fair with three plasters and insulating products based on rice straw. From there, everything started ».

You also had a path with several prizes. How important were they to open the road and make you know?
«Fundamental. They gave us visibility but also access to high level consultancy – from McKinsey to Bain – which otherwise we could not have afforded. Winning B Heroes in 2020 allowed us to obtain an equity investment of 150,000 euros, open to new members and transform the startup into a real company ».

And what is receipted today?
«A structured reality, with 17 employees, a board of directors and members participating in strategic decisions, even if we are still the majority members. Until 2020 we had a turnover below 200,000 euros. Then there was the turning point: the following year we closed with 1 and a half million, today the 2024 budget marks 2.8 million. A growth that also means structuring: today Ricehouse has a design unit, one of product, an area dedicated to open innovation, administration, communication. He is a company in all respects ».

But what exactly does you offer receipped?
«It depends on the customer: there are those who buy only the material from us, who the tailor -made architectural project. And then there are the turnkey customers, who rely on us from the beginning to the end, to have a house made of rice. It is an open system, where even those who already have their designer can simply use our materials, for example to isolate an existing house ».

Also because you constantly invent new materials: do you also make “tailor -made”?
«A decisive piece in growth was the development of research and development projects applied in collaboration with great industrial realities. We collaborate with companies that need materials that do not exist today on the market. They finance research, we develop the product. A concrete example is the partnership with Autogrill: they wanted sustainable furnishings made with their coffee waste. A difficult material, because organic: in a few days the coffee molds, but we have managed to develop a patented mixture, the RH Geo, with which today tables and tiles that you can see in many motorways in Italy and in Europe are made: from Malpensa to Palermo, from Eindhoven to Lyon. Another emblematic case is the collaboration with San Miro, a Brianza company that produces handles for pots: during the blockade of the Suez channel they contacted us because they were looking for an alternative to the boothing, raw material and expensive. In a year of joint research we have developed an insulating material based on rice lolla, which we provide them as raw material today. Thanks to the open innovation we are entering the world of design, but remaining faithful to our values: sustainability, use of vegetable waste, controlled supply chain ».

In short, invented raw materials with which you can really change the world of construction …
«Rice is a cereal that feeds the world, present on all continents. And in Italy we are lucky enough to be the first European producers, with a concentration between Biella and Pavia. We have a quantity of waste such as to “redo Italy” every year “.

Over the years you have also studied other natural materials …
«Sugher, wool, hemp. But nobody had the ability to climb like the lolla of rice. To really change the world of construction, raw materials available in large quantities are needed. Otherwise we remain in a niche ».

But do the houses made with rice -based materials resist everything?
«The structure remains traditional – in wood, steel or cement – but we prefer wood and steel for their lightness and therefore for seismic resistance. We make everything that is not structural with our materials. These homes are designed to be healthy and low energy impact: they do not have the gas, there is no heating or the air conditioner. With a good orientation and a little photovoltaic they remain from 18 to 25 degrees, with constant humidity. We live well, without exorbitant bills ».

What is the critical point for a startup?
«It is not the beginning, but the jump: to move from the project to the structured company. When you arrive at 2 million turnover you are a company, no longer an idea. You have to find the right resources, pay the professionals well, build a managerial structure. It’s not easy: many startups wrecked just at that moment. In Italy, often for a startup 10,000, 40,000, perhaps 100,000 euros, and immediately pretend results. Instead in America, investors come to put billions, despite knowing that maybe a startup is fine and one hundred not, but focus on that unicorn that sooner or later she will repay everything. There is a completely different approach to risk. “

What role should the state have to support new companies?
“Certainly not what he has today. Once 50% of the search expenses could be downloaded: it meant that if a startup was made up of four graduates, the salaries returned to tax credit. Now you download 5%. It is ridiculous. Today there are practically no public tools to support startups. And not even for those who, like us, is a benefit company. When I wanted to insert in the statute that we were a benefit company, the accountant said to me: “You are just complicating your life”. No tax advantage, but if anything an aggravation. It is not that it asks for advantages, but at least I would not like to be penalized. Today we are a srl who wants to make profit ethically. Is it possible? Yes and fortunately our budgets show it. “

Have you also adopted concrete choices for the well -being of your employees?
«Yes, in the office, for example, we all eat together, we took on a cook who cooks seasonal foods in a healthy way. It is a gesture that has to deal with taking care, with corporate culture. I could have spent less with the meal vouchers, but I wanted to create a context of well -being, creating a group spirit ».

What does it mean to be a woman in a sector like construction?
«It means that for 20 years I was the only woman sitting at the tables. And you have to be competent, you can’t afford the slightest mistake. The world of construction is still very male: women are in design, interior, but not many in construction sites or as works directors. Yet our female gaze can bring a lot ».

Her university formation served in her work or could she have done a more “lighter” course?
«It served me very much. The University gave me a view. I think of a teacher like Anna Mangiarotti, who 30 years ago already talked about dry steel constructions, when nobody did it. Then I made a master’s degree in bioecological architecture that really opened a world to me. That’s where I decided that, if I had to be an architect, I didn’t want to be part of the problem but the solution. Today an architect is an conductor: he must not know everything, but he has to know the tools and make them play together. Creativity is 2% of the work, the rest is management: budgets, construction sites, supplies, contracts. And on all this it serves competence ».

Your biggest project?
«Without a doubt the project in Milan, in via Franco Russoli, where we have redeveloped four popular towers owned by Aler. We have improved energy efficiency with prefabricated coats installed without scaffolding, with tenants inside. But above all we worked with them and with them we came to constitute the “Cultivate the city” association. We made vegetable gardens on the roofs, to cultivate vegetables and relationships. With them we have done many activities and now all the tenants, often over 70, actively participate in dance therapy, theater, dance therapy courses. They feel part of a community and this for me is the true success of a project ».