Back towards Rotterdam today, but we stopped a bit short, in Delft. It’s a popular tourist destination and is close to The Hague.
The Hague is actually where most of the embassies are (not in Amsterdam) and is best known as the home of “International Court of Justice” which is the judicial arm of the United Nations, as well as the International Criminal Court. So this is where if you had a president committing war crimes, for example, he would be tried. One can dream, at least.
Anyway, Delft.
Echo
This was our first stop of the day – it’s an “interfaculty” building for TU Delft (Delft University of Technology), and is designed to provide flexible teaching space. It is the most sustainable building on campus, and actually generates energy; the University’s goal is to be fully sustainable by 2030, so this is a huge step in that goal for them.
Walking/stairs continue to be emphasized- I never even saw the elevator banks.
The design of the building was intended to be flexible enough to accommodate a diversity of methods for teaching, as well as for different study styles.
It is a very compact building, with space/use maximized, but you don’t feel closed in or claustrophobic at all. That’s mostly accomplished because they prioritized access to light throughout – the glass has a low solar penetration factor, and there are awnings as well, since with more windows often comes more heat – and thus more cooling, so less sustainable. There is a plenum floor for air flow, great insulation, and solar panels that produce more energy than the building needs to operate. 90% of the furniture in the building is also reused.
Special attention was paid to sound mitigation throughout.
The building also has great “in between” spaces (the popular phrase in the US right now is “third spaces,” which is the same idea – un-programmed open spaces to do what you want). The largest lecture hall currently seats 700, but can be divided into three separate rooms within 15 minutes. There are movable wall systems throughout the project – so whereas a traditional build out is “permanent” with fixed walls, and classes have to fit into the space that exists, here the space that exists can expand or contract, depending on the needs of the class.
Everything is completely open – no badges to lock doors down, etc. When asked why there’s no security, their response was “We don’t need it. We’re not American.” They went on to talk about how they think it’s healthy for the public to also use the work spaces, to make sure the community is fully integrated.
Shoemaker Plantage
Next we went to a residential neighborhood across from the school. It’s a completely new residential neighborhood, and is considered an “urban park living” project. It’s a highly sustainable neighborhood, with around 700 new homes and a large centrally located park. About half of it has been built to date.
The homes include singe family as well as apartments and is intended to be net-zero.
They planted trees on the vacant site about 20 years ago (that’s when the project got started). Then, as areas in the development were finished, they transplanted the (now larger) trees. They need to be braced for three years for the trees to fully take root.
But this means that, though the buildings are only 0-4 years old, their trees are much larger. I thought it was a very interesting idea; our city likes to take out mature trees in road construction projects and replace with 1” trees and it annoys me.
Mark coincidentally sent me a photo today of what they’re doing in my neighborhood and it was perfect/worst timing ever.
Play Friendly Cities
Basically, similar to the US, more and more children are overweight and don’t exercise enough. Unlike the US, they’re trying to do something about it.
Studies (according to these people) say that outdoor play helps physical and mental health, and actually also helps motor, cognitive, and social skills. Based on that research, The Hague University of Applied Sciences and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences started a study on outdoor play in the area. They’re specifically focused on school children ages 6-12, and determining which factors increase enjoyment and duration of play. Once the study is concluded, they want to be able to provide tools for designing, programming, and managing cities that are intentionally “play-friendly.”
This includes traditional playgrounds, but it is more than that. They’re looking at what sidewalk width, for instance, best promotes play in a neighborhood. (They gave a special shout out to the crazy American suburbs that don’t even have sidewalks, and they laughed and laughed and laughed.)
Another meeting
I skipped group dinner again tonight, for the second half of last night’s meeting, and made my way back to Amsterdam alone.