research : urban ecology networks

Nathalie Waelbroeck: Urban Ecology Networks A collection of reports on general research, site visits, and literary reviews.

ARCH 496: National Networks of the Netherlands Ute Poerschke Fall 2014

Nathalie Waelbroeck: Urban Ecology Networks ii

Table of Contents

Nathalie Waelbroeck: Urban Ecology Networks ............................................................................................... 1

Introduction. ............................................................................................................................... 1

Article Reports. .......................................................................................................................... 2

Website: The Hague University. www.thehagueuniversity.com ..................................................................... 2

Website: The Government of the Netherlands. www.government.nl ............................................................ 2

Website: The Landscape Management of the Netherlands. www.landschapsbeheer.nl/ ............................ 13

Website: Climate and Energy Packet Speech by Minister Timmermans. www.government.nl .................... 13

Website: Plan of Action Energy Saving in Built Environment Report. www.government.nl ........................ 14

Website: Water Management in the Netherlands. www.rijkswaterstaat.nl ................................................. 16

Website: 25 Million Euros for Research into Energy from Plants and Algae. www.news.leiden.edu ........... 21

Website: Renewable Energy in the Netherlands. www.government.nl ........................................................ 22

Website: National Geographic: Wind Energy. education.nationalgeographic.com ...................................... 22

Website: Wind Energy Foundation. www.windenergyfoundation.org ......................................................... 23

Website: Exploiting Wind Power in Holland. news.bbc.co.uk ........................................................................ 24

Website: Dutch Fall out of Love with Windmills. www.reuters.com ............................................................. 25

Website: Wind Power is Dying. www.frontpagemag.com ............................................................................. 26

Site Visits. ................................................................................................................................. 27

Site Visit: Hoorn. ............................................................................................................................................... 27

Site Visit: Zaanse Schans. .................................................................................................................................. 29

Site Visit: Rotterdam. ........................................................................................................................................ 32

Site Visit: Zuid Kennemerland. ......................................................................................................................... 35

Site Visit: Leiden. ............................................................................................................................................... 38

Site Visit: The Hague. ........................................................................................................................................ 41

Site Visit: Delft. .................................................................................................................................................. 44

Site Visit: History of Amsterdam. ..................................................................................................................... 47

Site Visit: Amsterdam: Northwest. ................................................................................................................... 48

Site Visit: Amsterdam: Southwest. .................................................................................................................. 49

Site Visit: Amsterdam Central. ........................................................................................................................... 51

Nathalie Waelbroeck: Urban Ecology Networks iii

Site Visit: Travel in Between. ............................................................................................................................ 54

Book Reports. .......................................................................................................................... 56

Book Report: EcoEdge Charlesworth: Urgent Design Challenges in Building Sustainable Cities. ................ 56

Book Report: Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design: 3 (Future City). ........................................................ 62

Book Report: Delta Urbanism: The Netherlands. ............................................................................................ 67

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 73

nathalie waelbroeck

ARCH 496: National Networks of the Netherlands Ute Poerschke

Fall 2014

Nathalie Waelbroeck: Urban Ecology Networks 1

Nathalie Waelbroeck: Urban Ecology Networks Introduction.

Human beings have been living with and at odds with nature for the last 200,000 years. As humanity has claimed lands, they have molded and intertwined their fate with that of nature. While human intelligence has been deemed to be superior, it has also failed to understand the cooperative necessity between humans and ecology. In some cases, lands have been tampered with so much and for so long that there is no real saying what the “pristine” condition would resemble. Yet many environmental movements have focused on the return of nature to a historically pristine condition. Why should humans pretend to leave no footprint on the Earth when even the smallest organism has played a historical role in the development of the Earth, as we know it to exist today?

The Netherlands is one of these lands that have been modified since the prehistoric age. Throughout time, the low-‐lying lands have been controlled, manipulated and morphed into a system that is admired by the world at large. However, how has the Netherlands succeeded, and how have they failed? How can their experiences enlighten the future development and a rising global tide?

While there is much to learn from the Netherlands, it is important to acknowledge that the historical context is just as unique as the physical conception. Lessons taken from the Netherlands need to be re-‐evaluated, re-‐contextualized and re-‐designed to match the new social and physical conditions.

The purpose of this report is to study the present, past and future environmental trends and how they impact ecology and human society. This has been done in three sections. First I have read informational articles providing background on the Netherlands and important ecological strategies. Second, I have visited sites in the Netherlands in order to acquire personal insight on the physical construct and how it affects ecological and social aspects. Finally, I have read three books that provide background on ecological architecture and its impacts. These books have provided extra insight on how in-‐tune the Netherlands is on the concept of ecological architecture and master planning.

Nathalie Waelbroeck: Urban Ecology Networks Fall 2014: 2

Article Reports.

Website: The Hague University. www.thehagueuniversity.com The Netherlands is hugely impacted by its geography. Not only is the Netherlands one of the most densely populated countries in the world (16.5 million in 41,785 square kilometers), but also about 60% of the population lives below sea level. Due to this, the Netherlands has an intricately planned and organized system of dikes, dams, channels, and canals to protect the

low-‐lying land (figure 1). While historically windmills helped regulate water levels, electric pumping stations have taken priority. In addition to canals and channels, the Netherlands includes three rivers, which empty out into the North Sea (Rijn, Maas and Schelde). These rivers have provided a profitable farming industry, utilizing over a quarter of Dutch land. The southeast marshlands grow fruit; the north maintains the livestock, cheese and butter; the west grows potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar, beets, tomatoes, onions, flowers, and vegetables.

Figure 1 :http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/05/05/geography-‐in-‐the-‐news-‐polder-‐salvation/

Conclusion: While each area of the Netherlands is distinctive in local cultures, products and geography, it is important to note that they all share one thing in common, water. The windmills and houseboats are two architectural solutions to water management in the Netherlands, but since then, there has been no innovative architectural advancement in connecting the architecture of the Netherlands with the water.

Website: The Government of the Netherlands. www.government.nl

Environment: The central government bases 80% of their environment protection legislation based on EU legislation. This includes the 20-‐20-‐20 challenge (figure 2), which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, decrease energy consumption by 20% and increase renewable energy by 20% from 1990 levels. The Dutch government is responsible for setting guidelines for national waste management, emissions and discharges of harmful substances and construction of major infrastructure (ex: oil refineries, nuclear power plants, chemical plants, roads, railways, oil and gas pipelines, etc).


Figure 2: http://www.daikinme.com/vrv-‐iv/variable_refrigerant_termperature/light_seasonal.jsp

The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment is responsible for developing policy in the national context, while the provincial government sets up changes in zoning guidelines, regulates emissions from road transport, grants environmental permits, and regulates wind energy parks. The Municipal governments then prepare local regulations and enforce all policies. On the other hand, the Water Boards runs separately from the national government and is responsible for maintaining the quality of water and safeguarding the country against flooding.

NATIONAL PROVINCIAL MUNICIPAL WATERBOARD 1. Developing policy in the national context

1. zoning guidelines, 2. regulates emissions from road transport,

3. grants environmental permits,

4. regulates wind energy parks

1. prepare local regulations

2. enforce all policies

1. maintaining the quality of water

2. safeguarding the country against flooding

The Netherlands has decided to reduce emissions in the transport, housing, agriculture and waste sectors by 16% and increase renewable energy to 14%. This will be done by reducing energy consumption, using more renewable energy, and emissions trading.

There is a predicted 9 billion people by 2050, creating an increase in demand for raw materials by 4 times in the next 40 years. In order to prevent shortage, the Flagship resource Efficiency and EU Raw Materials Initiative (20-‐20-‐20) are calling for a more intelligent use of resources, use of low-‐carbon economy products, and the promotion of recycling.

Nature and Biodiversity: The central government sets the framework and goals, while the provincial authorities fill in the details and implement the policy. The National Ecological Network (NEN) and the Natura 2000 are designed to protect nature areas. These include the Waddenzee, the Southwestern


Delta region, the Ijsselmeer region, the North Sea, the coast and the major rivers. In addition, the government provides financial encouragement for individuals and companies to adopt green practices. For example, farmers who utilize sustainable farming methods can receive remuneration from the government under the SNL grant scheme. Whereas, the government offers tax breaks to private estate owners who open their property to the public. The savings are intended to help pay for maintenance.

There are 20 nationally protected landscapes, covering some 1,000 hectares with rare or protected plants and animals (figure 3). The government is planning to simplify legislation by combining several acts into one. This will ensure that any activities or projects that could cause damage to protected areas be reviewed and approved via permit. This single act will also protect “flora and fauna”, “forestry” and protect against invasive species.

Figure 3: http://maps.eea.europa.eu/EEABasicViewer/v3/index.html?appid=07661dc8a5bc446fafcfe918c91a1b1b&webmap=bf553d7ea5a246708c834e029699f900&embed=false

The government is also providing 1.5 million euros a year for the next 4 years with the plans of designing more urban green roofs, increasing ecological noise barriers along motorways, setting up community gardens and local nature areas, and expanding green space besides rivers to protect against flooding.

Energy: The Dutch energy industry is responsible for 6% of the Dutch GDP amounting to 26 billion euros/year and 100,000 jobs/year. The Netherlands is the largest importer and exporter of oil and oil products in the world and has a highly developed gas industry (figure 4). The EU as a whole has aimed to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020, the Netherlands has already made a target to cut 80-‐95% of CO2 emissions by 2050. They will do this by pursuing renewable energy, mixing green and grey (nuclear energy) energy, and constructing energy neutral buildings by 2020.


By 2025 the Netherlands wants to become the middleman for oil and gas in Europe. This requires “intensifying energy relations” with Russia, China, Brazil and the USA. In addition, a well-‐designed system of international pipelines and storage center at the port of Rotterdam need to be strengthened. A similar principal is to be applied to electricity, where high voltage lines link to Norway, Britain and soon Denmark.

Figure 4: http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/Oil&GasSecurityNL2012.pdf

Currently sustainable energy, defined as green and gray energy, only partakes in 4% of Dutch demand (figure 5), but the government is hoping to increase that number to 14% by 2020. This will be accomplished through the promotion of electric cars, biofuels, wind, geothermal, and solar (figure 6). Bio-‐energy

currently accounts for 62% of sustainable energy. In addition, the percentage of bio-‐fuel in petrol is to increase to 10% by 2020.

Figure 5: http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-‐data.cfm?fips=NL


Figure 6: http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-‐data.cfm?fips=NL

Wind energy is highly encouraged in the Netherlands. The government has a goal of 6000 megawatts capacity by 2020. There are 2000 onshore turbines (figure 7) providing 4% of electricity demands. The largest wind farms are located at Flevoland and Noordoostpolder, the last of which supplies electricity for 400,000 households (1 million people). Off shore wind energy is still too expensive to be properly exploited, but some 100+ turbines exist at Egmond aan Zee and Prinses Amalia Windfarm.

Figure 7: https://deepresource.wordpress.com/category/wind/


There is only one operational Nuclear Power Plant in the Netherlands, and it expected to be replaced by another before 2033. There is surprisingly no permanent underground storage facility for radioactive waste in Europe.

The Government tries to encourage green energy through the Green Deal, where people can get funding for local sustainable projects. 59+ Green Deal projects have been approved.

Spatial Planning and Infrastructure: Spatial Planning and Infrastructure in the Netherlands includes residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural, transport, and infrastructure development. Several Acts help manage national planning, including the Spatial Planning Act (WRO) and the Environmental and Planning Act (Omgevingswet). The first uses land-‐use plans to dictate where, what, why and how big construction works can be. In this act, municipalities are responsible for the spatial planning policy and its implementation, while the government is responsible for elements that affect the nation as a whole. Finally Provinces are responsible for landscape management, urbanization and preservation of green

space. On the other hand, the Environment and Planning Act merges 15 environmental laws, making it simpler for citizens and companies to fill out digital permit applications. The Act also improves the links between different projects and activities, making it possible for companies to conduct fewer studies, as reports can be made available online for longer and certain research criteria will be removed entirely.

The government has decided to “improve the standard of mobility” in certain hubs around the cities. For both railway (figure 8) and waterway (figure 9) networks there will be longer opening times for rush-‐hour lanes, the use of intelligent transport systems, more trains, more reliability, and

expansion of bicycle storage at stations. In addition, the government hopes to create more flexible

Figure 8: http://de.academic.ru/dic.nsf/dewiki/869842

Figure 9: http://www.hausboot-‐boeckl.de/holland/hausbootcharter_holland_2012.gif


working hours so that rush hour is more widespread throughout the day. This applies to national and international networks.

The Netherlands hopes to maintain a competitive standard of living, which will attract international companies, entrepreneurs and international knowledge workers. This includes the transportation networks, space to work and live, education, culture green space recreational facilities, energy supply, natural resources, underground (tunnels and pipelines) infrastructure, soil decontamination, and groundwater protection.

Water Management: The “Top Team”, a group consisting of a scientist, a top official, an innovative entrepreneur from the SME sector, and a standard bearer from the sector, directs Water Management. Together, they make recommendations to the cabinet on measures for companies, scientist and the government. The High Water Protection Program works to improve weak points in dams, dikes, and coastline along the Netherlands.

Water quality in the Netherlands has been improving throughout the years, but there are still problems in cadmium concentrations, sewage overflows, run-‐off, and old soil pollution leakage. Clean water is an issue in the Netherlands as the average consumer uses 126 litres of water/capita/day (figure 10). Both the Drinking Water Act and the Drinking Water Decree ensure that there is enough supply for demand, the quality remains good, and affordable.

Figure 10: http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalreports/softdrinkssectorreport/waterfootprint.aspx


Technology is a big part of the program, which includes:

Delta Technology (figure 11), which encourages eco-‐engineering works, specifically in risk based protection from high water through prevention, spatial planning, and sound disaster management. The Netherlands has an intensive knowledge on technical requirements for urban delta areas, which can be applied internationally.

Figure 11: http://vulgaire.com/delta-‐works/

Figure 12: http://dutcharbitrationassociation.nl/arbitration-‐in-‐the-‐netherlands/the-‐netherlands-‐as-‐reowned-‐seat-‐of-‐arbitration/rotterdam-‐world-‐class-‐port

Marine Technology (figure 12) is important as the Netherlands has a diverse fleet of sea-‐going vessels, the largest inland navigation fleet and the highest port capacity in Europe. The Netherlands invests in technology for sea renewable energy and offshore mining. In addition, they work to maintain environmentally friendly fleets. This involves increasing fuel efficiency, reducing emissions and materials, reducing noise reduction (above and below water). Ports are also being changed, as they are now being constructed offshore for safety purposes.

Water technology is based around the purification of industrial and drinking water, as well as water re-‐use. The purification industry is worth 50-‐60 billion euros/year. This means that efficiency is key, especially in crop irrigation and water energy production.

The Delta Program (figure 13) aims to prevent flooding, supply adequate freshwater, and anticipate potential disasters. There are five Delta decisions that declare Netherlands’ priority. This includes water safety, freshwater strategy (to prevent shortage), spatial adaptation (new water-‐robust spatial development), Ijsselmeer region discharge into the Wadden Sea, and Rhine-‐Meuse Delta flood

Figure 13: http://www.futureofthegulfcoast.org/galveston2011/DrWilliamMerrellBRRCGalveston.pdf


defense.

There are five main water innovation technologies that the Netherlands is currently working on. The Sewage Treatment granular sludge (figure 14), which is a Nereda technology that utilizes a group of micro-‐organisms that form compact sludge granules, which quickly sink to the bottom. This results in an energy savings of 20%, is four times faster than traditional technology and requires less space. The Sand Motor (figure 15) covers a surface area of 128 hectares, which is a mass of sand that has been sprayed off the coast of South Holland and Ter Jeijde in 2011. The wind, waves and sea gradually shifts this sand towards the shore, creating new beaches and dunes, that naturally defend the coast line against flooding and creates some 100 hectares of wildlife, and recreation space. This will allow the Randstad to maintain their natural landscape and farmland economy, which is currently being threatened by a growing industrial and business economy. This method not only saves money (no more importation of sand), but it also minimizes ocean floor biodiversity disturbance. Scheveningen has also combined the dyke and boulevard so that they could both enlarge the beach and protect against flooding. On the other hand, water distribution technologies at Hondsbroeksche Pleij at Westervoort, near Arnhem (figure 16) are changing the riverside landscape. The river has been widened in order to tolerate larger discharges; a flood control barrier divides the water between the Rhine and the Ijssel evenly. Finally, A ‘rubber dam’ located in the Balgstuw Ramspol (figure 17) protects the hinterland of the Ijssel from flooding. This rubber dam, when inflated, blocks water from crossing into lower-‐lying lands without visually impairing the landscape.

Figure 14: http://www.dutchwatersector.com/news-‐events/news/5282-‐nereda-‐s-‐revolutionary-‐aerobic-‐granular-‐biomass-‐exceeds-‐expectations-‐at-‐first-‐full-‐scale-‐wwtp-‐epe.html


Figure 15: http://www.seacityresearchnet.com/archives/tag/sand-‐engine

Figure 16: http://www.ruimtevoorderivier.nl/projecten/gelderland/dijkverlegging-‐hondsbroeksche-‐pleij/


Figure 17: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/8997144/Pictures-‐of-‐the-‐day-‐6-‐January-‐2012.html?image=12

Conclusion: This source indicates that the Netherlands has a strong existing infrastructure. They not only consider local planning needs, but national and even international planning needs. They understand that a system that affects one town just as easily affects the system of connected towns. This interconnected way of thinking is due, in part, to the complex and threatening natural system of the Netherlands. The Dutch made strong attempts to control nature in a way that maintains and amplifies the beauty of their ecological and social sustainability. There is something gratifying about living among water. Residential areas are cozy and community oriented, providing parks and canals filled with boats for strolls around the neighborhood. On the other hand, the cities are accessible, diverse and pleasant to walk around. However, modern society has caused trouble for the ecosystem. The Netherlands is still facing the consequences of past pollution, let alone working to halt and reverse unsustainable behavior. The government has made some bold statements and goals, and as their deadlines approach, the clearer it becomes that their ambition will not be rewarded. They have postponed many of their international and national goals and money is beginning to run out.


Website: The Landscape Management of the Netherlands. www.landschapsbeheer.nl/ This article is about the Landscape Management of the Netherlands, which is an alliance of 12 provincial landscape management organizations (figure 18) who work with individuals, organizations, companies and the government in order to support projects and lobbying by supporting volunteers, providing tools, advising on small-‐scale landscape design and management planning, encouraging and supporting landowners and regional governing bodies, implementing provincial projects and providing knowledge.

Figure 18: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands

Conclusion: This group impacts area development plans and links landscape and energy sectors with wellbeing and health sectors. This group links the architecture and master planning benefits and shows how the Netherlands has a strong planning system that improves the sustainability of the environment and society.

Website: Climate and Energy Packet Speech by Minister Timmermans. www.government.nl This is a speech given by minister Timmermans at the EU policy seminar in 2008 at Clingendael. At the seminar, minister Timmermans is encouraging the EU to begin taking the climate change battle seriously. He attempts to make the EU the standard for future climate change policy and action. While the general population would complain about a lot of the financial consequences of climate change regulations, Timmermans tells policy makers to ignore backlash because the long-‐term economic result would be for the best. While the European commission has set some “extremely ambitious” goals, each country has the obligation to at least try. The Netherlands for example has been interested in exploiting wind energy, but onshore is intrusive and offshore is too expensive. These challenges will force the Netherlands to consider and research a lot of alternative options.

Conclusion: It is important for the Netherlands to not only look at alternative water energy, but also incorporate some of these technologies in smaller scale architectural manners. There is a tendency to think of big and large-‐scale, intrusive developments, when the technology could also be integrated in smaller, but equally impactful ways. Wind turbines and solar panels on building facades will not be enough to offset all energy demands, but it would allow for smaller spending in large scale developments like offshore wind farms. In addition, it would tie


back to the vernacular Dutch architecture. For example, people used to live in the windmills, why not apply a similar concept now? Homes could utilize the canals for small-‐scale water energy technologies and consider alternative wind and even solar powered technologies as well. A new architectural standard should be developed to allow homes to become more energy independent and therefore decrease demand on the grid for experimentation on green and grey energy.

Website: Plan of Action Energy Saving in Built Environment Report. www.government.nl This article focuses on residential energy consumption and the Netherlands’ work in reducing this consumption. Overall, the built environment contributes to 30% of the total energy consumption of the Netherlands. As of the 2000s, energy prices have more than doubled and living conditions have barely improved (figure 19). This means that people are spending more on living expenses with 0 benefits. The government hopes to offset these negative factors by

changing heating behavior (1 degree= 50 euros) and increasing insulating properties of homes (20-‐30% savings).

Figure 19: http://www.rwsleefomgeving.nl/onderwerpen/lokaal_klimaatbeleid/nieuws/content/energiearmoede/

A budget of 120 million euros was released for the Ministry of Housing, Spatial planning and the Environment. This

allowed 50,000+ property owners to receive subsidies for customized energy savings advice, 7,000 houses earned More with Less credit, and 100,000 houses received subsidies on new insulated glass. Schools received a similar budget, 165 million euros, for the Scheme for improvement of Interior Climate of Primary Education Buildings, 2009. This has largely affected housing corporations, as they are receiving incentives for providing more energy efficient homes (figure 20). The Innovation Program Energiesprong is looking for a 50% reduction in energy consumption by 2030 through the techniques mentioned below. Overall, these funds have created an economic boost for the construction industry.

Figure 20: http://www.megahome.nl/nieuws/brief-‐winter-‐nieuwsbrief-‐2011.html


Behavioral changes can significantly reduce cooling and heating costs; this will be measured and analyzed with the implementation of the smart meter. By providing a report 6 times a year, users can see how they can continuously reduce energy costs in their homes rather easily. In addition, energy saving products will need to make their products more user friendly, making it easier and faster for users to implement energy saving systems.

However, buildings themselves must also become more energy efficient. Block by block takes advantage of a large-‐scale approach, allowing the government to look for funding from larger institutional investors. In addition, the Government Building Agency is working to fit all buildings over 500 m2 in size with a 2013 energy label. From 2015 all buildings over 250m2 in size will be asked to fit the 2013 energy label. The intention is that by 2018, the Netherlands will realize net 0 buildings (figure 21). The Environmental Management Act obliges housing companies to implement energy saving devices whose costs can be recuperated within 5 years, including the rental sector. This amounts to some 2.3 million homes. As of 2011, the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) for newly constructed properties have been sharpened from

.8 to .6. The Lente-‐akkoord asks for a 25% energy improvement by 2011 and a 50% energy improvement by 2015 (according to 2007 data).

Figure 21: http://www.megahome.nl/nieuws/brief-‐winter-‐nieuwsbrief-‐2011.html

To encourage progress in the private sectors, the government is applying several money saving techniques and subsidies. The maximum rental price for properties will be linked to the energy label of the property. Companies and private renters that look into energy conservation strategies are eligible for an investment tax deduction from the EIA, assuming that the property improves by at least two label steps or to energy label B.

Conclusion: The Netherlands has taken an active stance in minimizing the energy consumption in the housing sector. However, many of the subsidies and incentive acts have since been terminated due to financial concerns. Slowly the government is trying to minimize subsidies, while continuing to encourage the private and innovation sector. It seems like the goal is to create a behavioral change that then increases the demand for energy efficient housing, further encouraging innovation and progress for private companies regardless of dwindling funds and subsidies.


Website: Water Management in the Netherlands. www.rijkswaterstaat.nl The Netherlands has been manipulating their landscape since before the Common Era. People in the North would erect artificial dwelling mounds called terps to protect against the water. Then, in the Middle Ages, dikes and mills were used to drain peat bogs (figure 22). In the southwest, peat bogs were excavated for their salt deposits. Unfortunately this caused peat bogs to oxidize and fill with seawater during floods like the St. Elisabeth Flood of 1421. In the early 17th century, the Netherlands started draining the salt-‐water lakes. By then, 90% of the Rhine’s water was being discharged through the Waal to the sea. In order to redistribute the water flow, the Pannerdensch Kanaal was dug in 1707. Starting in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Netherlands took it a step further by taking an active role in the redistribution of river water and water management. Although the canals constructed during this time where impressive, it wasn’t until the Zuiderzee Project and the Delta Project that the Netherlands acquired international acclaim for their water management tactics. In these projects, massive amounts of land were re-‐claimed in the Flevoland region and highly efficient and impressive technology was developed for flood prevention in the Southwest. Overall water boards were set up as early as 1232, making it the oldest form of democratic government in the Netherlands.

Figure 22: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2YJ7C_amsterdam-‐trads-‐dikes-‐and-‐polders?guid=1b46e515-‐77b8-‐4cde-‐9d10-‐133ead2ab7ef

The Netherlands has manipulated natural and manmade water management tools such as dunes, dams, dikes, and the Delta Project (figure 23). Unfortunately, these systems, even when all of the gates and weirs are left open, create barriers that impede the natural system from moving freely as it normally would. For this reason, there are safety and flood concerns. The Netherlands protects each town and region to a certain standard, depending on population and damage costs. Slowly the Netherlands is focusing its energy on flood procedures instead of flood prevention.


Figure 23: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2YJ7C_amsterdam-‐trads-‐dikes-‐and-‐polders?guid=1b46e515-‐77b8-‐4cde-‐9d10-‐133ead2ab7ef:

The Netherlands is concerned of flooding caused by rain and waterlogging. Polder zones are in particular danger of flooding and waterlogging. The Netherlands rescues priority zones by allowing floods to happen in other lower-‐priority zones. For example grasslands can be flooded once every 10 years, while built-‐up areas cannot be flooded more than once every 100 years (figure 24). On the other hand, droughts affect the Netherlands in the usual way. Plants wither, ships

cannot be properly loaded, power stations have limited cooling water, and salinization becomes a threat. In cases of drought, priorities lie as so (1) safety and the prevention of irreversible damage, stability of flood defense structures, settling of peat bogs and moorland, nature (2) utilities, drinking and power supply (3) small-‐scale high quality use, irrigation, process water (4) shipping, agriculture, nature, industry, water recreation, lake fishing.

In addition to flooding, the Netherlands has an internal salinization problem caused by the land reclamation. As soils are drained of their water, brackish groundwater from deep in the soil has begun to rise (figure 25). In some points this salt water even penetrates through to the surface and continues to contaminate freshwater. This damage is irreversible and affects agriculture, shellfish fishing, drinking water companies, energy companies and industry. Cooling systems can be modified to use salt water, but it is an expensive system that includes water treatment.

Figure 24: http://0.static.wix.com/media/67b584_fcbe6daa1cf3a23c9ab7765c574475b6.jpg_1024


International water pollution problems are also on the radar. From agricultural run-‐off, wastewater overflow, antibiotics, medicines, hormones, heavy metals, PCBs, PAHs, and eutrophication are all concerns. Bio-‐accumulation has severely impacted organisms and the food chain.

Water in the Netherlands is stored in the Ijsselmeer Lake so that it can be used as needed for drinking water, irrigation, shipping, and prevention of saline intrusion of ground and fresh water. The Netherlands addresses its water management in 9 sections. (1) The rivers and accompanying canals (2) Ijsselmeer area (3) Southwestern Delta (4) smaller regional waterways on high and low lying areas (5) absorption vs. precipitation run down (6) narrow summer dikes and apposed to wide winter dikes (7) polders (8) streams between components (9) interconnectedness.

The rivers and canals are controlled by the weir at Driel, which controls how much water the Rhine discharges into the Ijssel; the sluice gates at Aflsuitdijk regulates the water level in the Ijsselmeer; the Haringvilet and Volkerak sluice gates control discharge into the sea. The Meuse water level is controlled by seven weirs at the Borgharen, Linne, Roermond, Belfeld, Sambeek, Grave and Lith. Shipping is important along the Meuse and the Julianakanaal, which requires coordination of water level on both sides to ensure the water level and flow remains at an acceptable level. The Netherlands is obligated to discharge a minimum of 10m3/s through Maastricht, in return Belgium has to redirect 2 m3/s + the excess water flow from Maastricht. The Rhine splits several times, allowing for control of water flow on the Rhine. The first bifurcation point is at Pannerdensche Kop, where the river splits into the Waal and the Pannendersch Kanaal. Next the Ijssel branches off from the Neder Rijn near Arnhem. The Amsterdam Rijnkanaal and the Noordzeekanaal are important shipping connections between IJmond, Amstedam and Germany. These systems drain into the North Sea at Ijmuiden. When the sea level is low, water flows through the discharge sluices, and when the sea level is high,

Figure 25: https://publicwiki.deltares.nl/display/FRESHSALT/Home


the Ijmuiden pumping station, the largest in Europe, is turned on. The Ijsselmeer functions as a buffer absorbing or discharging water as needed. Excess water is discharges into the Wadden Sea through sluice gates at Den Oever and Kornwerderzand. Water from the lake are passed through Muiden and Zeeburg, which flushes the Vecht and Amsterdam canals. The Southwestern Delta is a complex system of fresh and saltwater waterways that are regulated by the Harngvliet sluice gates (figure 26). The Niewe Waterweg can discharge as much as 1,500 m3/s for as long as possible. The goal is to counteract saltwater intrusion and prevent salinization by maintaining a minimum water level on the inner part of the Haringvliet sluice gates. Unfortunately, these gates when closed block migratory species, and therefore must be left open occasionally to maintain a more natural system. There is an expansive amount of smaller regional systems that allow the Netherlands to expand during seasons of high discharge. The regional systems fill with water during high discharge seasons, and during drought seasons, the main systems can flood into the regional systems for support.

Figure 26: http://www.mare-‐project.eu/news-‐and-‐events

Climate change is of concern in the Netherlands, as winters will become wetter (5-‐10% extra river discharge) with heavier periods of rainfall. While the number of rainy days in the summer is expected to decrease, rainstorms are expected to be much more intense (still a 20% decrease in river discharge) (figure 27). Sea level will also continue to rise. Salinization is a serious concern in Groningen and settling in Flevoland due to extraction of natural gas. Tectonic tilting will cause a rise in the South East.


Figure 27: http://www.pbl.nl/en/publications/the-‐effects-‐of-‐climate-‐change-‐in-‐the-‐netherlands-‐2012

The Netherlands expects to counteract to these future problems by continuing to expand on the waterway system. As demand for electricity will increase, more power stations will be built. There is general concern that flooding and waterlogging will become a problem if water storage solutions are not created. In addition, there is a reasonable chance that the Rhine will exceed the allowable discharge rate of 18,000 m3/s between 2040 and 2045.

Conclusion: Transportation infrastructure along waterways can provide interesting architectural solutions to environmental and social problems. The windmills have always created a picturesque landscape, but do water-‐pumping stations add or subtract to the aesthetic value of the landscape? What about the offices that measure and control the river flow, are they also designed to be functional, or are they designed to minimize visual impact


on the surrounding nature. In addition, with increasing transportation along the water ways and increasing regional infrastructure, built structures will continue to be impacted by approaching water. How can the architecture not only be pleasing, but include systems that help water management and energy collection.

Website: 25 Million Euros for Research into Energy from Plants and Algae. www.news.leiden.edu In 2009 the Netherlands provided 25 million euros for the program called ‘Towards Biosolar Cells’. The program has three main goals (1) “to increase the photosynthetic efficiency of plants...” allowing for increased biomass production. (2) Research the use of algae as a direct source for butanol (biofuel). (3) Create an artificial leaf, or solar collector, that supplies fuel instead of electricity. As the sun supplies as much energy in one hour as the world consumes in one year, the Netherlands hopes that this system can yield large gains in the future (figure 28). In total there are 6 universities and 30 private companies involved in the research.

Figure 28: http://www.designboom.com/technology/bio-‐solar-‐power-‐from-‐grass-‐clippings/

Conclusion: Although the Netherlands has plenty of open land available for this kind of research and integration, the architectural solution is ignored. How could this artificial leaf product be applied to building facades? What are its qualities as an architectural tool and how can it be applied to modify behavioral changes in society?


Website: Renewable Energy in the Netherlands. www.government.nl By 2011 the Netherlands was refocusing its power on reaching the 14% renewable energy goal for 2020. Instead of relying on government funding, the SDE+ (the new subsidy system of the Netherlands) relies on promoting competition within the private sector. Companies must meet or exceed standards for certain requirements depending on what kind of energy they are producing. For example waste incineration plants had to satisfy 6.2 ct/kWh in order to qualify for financial benefits. On the other hand onshore wind had to satisfy 9.2 ct/kWh. Renewable energy projects that cannot meet these expectations can also compete under the free category, where renewable energy technologies must compete in order to increase their chances for funding.

Conclusion: This is a great method of improving the cause. The government does not have to spend as much money promoting green energy, while still increasing the incentive to privately fund the green energy projects. However, this incentive will not influence architecture in the Netherlands.

Website: National Geographic: Wind Energy. education.nationalgeographic.com This article is a good introduction to wind energy. Modern wind turbines function the same as the 14th century Dutch wind turbines that were used to pump water out of low-‐lying land. The only difference is that modern wind turbines generate electricity (figure 29), while old, Dutch wind turbines are utilized directly into grinding grain or pumping water (figure 30). The other difference is the scale and efficiency. Modern wind turbines stand 200-‐300 ft tall and spin at 10-‐20 rotations per minute. Turbines are also limited to the speed of the wind (between 8-‐55 miles/hour) and the blades turn to face the wind automatically (as opposed to manually in the past). Although wind energy itself is cheap, wind is not always reliable in speed or direction. While offshore wind is the most predictable, it is also the most expensive to start up.

Figure 29: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/wind-‐energy/?ar_a=1

Figure 30: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/wind-‐energy/?ar_a=1


Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) can be installed on the roof of buildings and have the main rotor and generator located near the ground, making maintenance easier and cheaper.

Conclusion: While there is a certain beauty to horizontal wind turbines, this typology can be used architecturally in a more rural setting. The horizontal wind turbines have lost their vernacular appeal to the Dutch people, despite the technical similarities. They are seen as an engineering tool, not as an architectural and social tool, as they used to be seen in the past. Although modern wind turbines don’t need an in-‐house technician, perhaps the windmill can be repurposed to fit some functional purpose. In addition, dense urban settings call for the use of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines. Even if these turbines only power a fraction of the energy needs for the building, people can more directly see the impact of wind turbines on their society. Altogether, these wind turbines would accumulate a significant energy production.

Website: Wind Energy Foundation. www.windenergyfoundation.org This article focuses on the variety of scales in wind energy. Many people feel dissociated from the wind turbine due to its massive scale and height; however, wind turbines only make sense at a great height. As wind speed doubles, energy production increases eightfold (figure 31). Another concern is areas with great wind energy capacity tend to be too isolated from “demand centers” to be efficiently or economically used. Wind turbines can be used at a variety of scales, from a small 1-‐100 kilowatt net-‐metered system to a large wind farm operated by an energy company. However, small wind energy systems can be connected to the grid and function the community as a whole.

Figure 31: http://www.macalester.edu/maccares/turbine.htm


Conclusion: One of the reasons that wind energy has lost its vernacular appeal is that the modern wind turbine looks like a culturally dead instrument designed by a large corporation with no national ties that then take over the landscape in the form of a wind farm. There is no human scale to them anymore, at least when utilized in such large wind farms. However, it is inefficient for a company to buy some land or pay rent to a farmer in order to place a quantity of wind turbines on farms. Wind turbines should be independently owned. If every home had a VAWT on their roof, owners would feel a different psychological relationship to the wind turbine than if there were 1,000 towering wind turbines a block away. In addition, cities in the Netherlands used to have a handful of windmills around the perimeter, which functioned as a city marker and location for food and services that affected the people directly. Scale is an interesting subject. Instead of quantity and size of the wind turbines as a form of scale, ownership and land typology should be used as a form of scale. You have residential wind turbines, city turbines (for schools, public buildings, restaurants, etc), rural turbines (for pumping of water and farms), all of which connected to the grid, so that no energy was ever wasted. What percentage of a city’s energy needs would be met by this standard and how would the community’s perspective on the subject change?

Website: Exploiting Wind Power in Holland. news.bbc.co.uk This article raises some of the Netherland’s concerns about investing in wind energy, leading to a decrease in wind energy investment (figure 32). 100 years ago there were 10,000 mills. Today only 1,000 exist and of those only 2/3 are still in use. The Head of Renewable Energy Division at Nuon is frustrated by the lack of initiative and energy, “we have plans to build more than 500 megawatts of wind farms, but we have had the plans for more than 10 years.” Some suggest that the Netherlands doesn’t have enough space to fit wind turbines. Not only is the Netherlands a small country, but it is also densely populated with empty land utilized for industrial and agricultural uses.

Figure 32: http://www.thewindpower.net/country-‐datasheet-‐10-‐netherlands.php


Conclusion: The Netherlands cannot dedicate plots of land to wind farms, but it can include them in existing structures. There is no reason why wind turbines cannot share the land with industrial or agricultural sites. Even cities can incorporate the wind turbines into their structure. While there have been some architects who have taken the initiative to incorporate wind technology in their designs. Wind turbines have lost their architectural qualities and presently stand-‐alone as tall hollow towers. Architects should be challenged to change this view and to turn wind turbines into an architectural tool, instead of an engineering tool.

Website: Dutch Fall out of Love with Windmills. www.reuters.com This article discusses the Dutch history with modern wind turbines and in particular the relationship between onshore and offshore wind farms. The first offshore wind turbines were built in 2006. These 36 turbines provided enough energy for 100,000 households. However since then, news have not been good. The Dutch government has stated that offshore wind energy has too high of an initial cost for the government to guarantee funding and subsidies for all start ups. In one year, the government provided subsidies worth 4.5 billion euros for wind energy. The new budget plans on spending 1.5 billion euros in aid/year for renewable energy in general. Instead of supporting all renewable energy sources, technologies and companies have to fight and compete for funding. This shows and creates a decreasing interest in wind energy in the Netherlands. It has now become almost impossible to fund new wind energy projects, as the initial cost is too high for just one or even a few investors to fund (figure 33). Even those projects that do find funding such as in Urk, entrepreneurial farmers, are having issues making the plans come to life due to local backlash. These farmers want to build the country’s largest onshore wind farm in Urk, capable of supplying energy for 900,000 people with 86 turbines. However, after 20 years of local lawsuit proceedings, the completion date has been predicted for 2014, with potential delays still possible.

Figure 33: http://www.duurzaamvastgoed.com/windenergie-‐goedkoper-‐dan-‐energie-‐uit-‐kolen-‐en-‐uranium


Conclusion: Conflicting sources state that this wind park in Urk called Windpark Noordoostpolder has not yet been completed or is completed, but online information has not been updated yet. On the other hand, it is interesting to see what the reaction to this wind farm will be and how a farm this large impacts the land at the ground plane. Is it a pretty park landscape where people can walk around and enjoy a day outside? Is it an isolated private property that socially kills valuable waterfront property? Is there interest in developing that land, or will it maintain its status as a wasteland?

Website: Wind Power is Dying. www.frontpagemag.com This article talks about the discouraging facts of wind energy in particular the economic myths of wind energy. Although many renewable energies claim that the initial cost will be offset by long-‐term savings and increasing job opportunities, this article claims that wind energy is deceitful in this claim. Because wind not stable or predictable enough to guarantee a constant stream of energy, many nations would have to build back up gas plants for when the wind fails. That means that when a country backs wind energy, they must also construct gas-‐powered plants for back up.

The Center for Political Studies has found that a wind farm in Texas will cost $400 million in the next 2 years. This farm will create one job for every $1.6 million of capital investment (250 jobs). Of those jobs, 90% will be transferred from other technology industries, leaving only 10% empty positions (25 jobs). In addition, the study claims that Denmark has a GDP $270 million lower than it would have if it weren’t for wind subsidies.

All in all, the article claims that wind energy does not offset enough energy demand, cannot be constructed without subsidies, does not create significant job increase, and actually damages the finances of countries. The Netherlands, who depended on wind energy, became the first country to abandon their 20-‐20-‐20 goal for domestic power by renewables.

Conclusion: This article most definitely does not paint a pretty picture for wind energy in general. But if not wind, then what? Are wind farms financially unsuitable, or are smaller scale projects more realistic? Perhaps wind farms focus on an extreme dependence on wind energy, when society should be searching for a mixed and integrated renewable energy system. To think that one energy technology would replace all others is a bit naïve. It creates competition between renewable energy sources instead of creating competition between renewable energy and non-‐renewable energy.


Site Visits.

Site Visit: Hoorn.

Figure 1: http://freebeemap.nl/haalPlaat.php?cat=plattegrond&id=17&w=900

Hoorn is a rural town in North Holland that lies on the shore of the Ijsselmeer. As one of the six bases of the Dutch East India Company, Hoorn was very wealthy and powerful at the height of the Golden Age. After the Dutch East India Company left, Hoorn turned to fishing. Presently the harbor has seen an increase in interest for water sports and also serves as a stop for many old sailing ships hoping to attract clients. Hoorn now has 71,000 inhabitants of 80 different nationalities.


Figure 2: Personal photograph.

Upon arrival at Hoorn, I wanted to see the coast. I wanted to see the condition between the town and the water, and I wanted to see how the Ijsselmeer was used, and what was on the other side (figure 2). Knowing that there was a large wind farm on the other side, I wanted to see just how intrusive the wind turbines were on the horizon. Although they were a bit more visible than in figure 2, I still found the experience similar. Unless I was trying to look at them, they were relatively discrete. What I found to be more intrusive were the rods popping out from the water. There were many and they covered a huge zone of the Ijsselmeer at this particular location. I assume they belong to the fishing industry of Hoorn.



Riding my bike along the coast, I found it interesting to see how the boating industry affected my journey up Hoorn. The hundreds of sail masts seemed both charming and frightening at the same time (figure 3). Never had I seen so many sailboats parked so close together. While some spaces succeeded, others failed to impress. In the successful situation, a memorial lined the water and provided plenty of sitting space and objects for interaction (figure 5). One could sit alone and read, or play with the kids as they explored the items. In the failing situation, there was no more than one or two benches for sitting (figure 3). In addition, the sidewalk was narrow, forcing people to squeeze by each other as they passed. In addition, the topography sloped down on both sides of the sidewalk forcing you to walk through quickly. In this case, I felt like the attention was drawn to the boats and I was an afterthought in the design.




I finally hit the first sign of the town after the coast turned in and transformed into a canal. I saw a row of canal houses facing the water, but they didn’t seem any different than the houses just a street or so back from the water edge. They had more open space on the street and sidewalks, which attracted a higher pedestrian traffic, but apart that it’s charm was irrefutably beautiful (figure 4). After looping around, I bumped into a park that very quickly separated me from the actual town of Hoorn. While the park seemed very charming at first, I was immediately turned onto another long, narrow stretch of bike lane, which inspired my return back into the town of Hoorn. On the return, I was able to capture an image that properly displayed the division between the nature of the park and the civilization of the town (figure 6).

Site Visit: Zaanse Schans.

Figure 7: http://europaenfotos.com/amsterdam/thumb-‐plano-‐zaanse-‐schans.jpg

Although Zaanse Schans is now mostly a museum town with a series of picturesque windmills, in its history it contained not only 600 active windmills, but was also Europe’s oldest industrial area. However, these windmills were not used just for pumping water. The creative local entrepreneurs of the Dutch Golden Age designed their windmills to produce a varied assortment of goods, which could then be sent off for international trade. As an industrial community involved in international trade, this town became very prosperous in the 18th and


19th centuries. However, the people of this town were not cold-‐hearted competitors, but community friendly. They shared technology and even created a “fire contract”, which protected windmills and their owners from fire damage. Products and services included wood sawing, paper, ground spices, oil for food, oil for paint, dye, fabric, flower, cocoa powder, etc. In addition, the proximity to Amsterdam, the materials produced, and its location close to water allowed this community to play a major role in shipbuilding and whaling. In total there were 26 shipyards, which constructed 100-‐150 ships per year.


The main point of this visit was to understand how windmills interacted with their physical environment in a more historical setting. Zaanse Schans contains the best-‐preserved windmills and town in the Netherlands and they attract millions of tourists every year. As seen in figure 8, windmills were always in series, something that is no longer seen in the present day. Each windmill served a different industrial function, which demonstrates the differing windmill technology. These windmills are not meant to hide in the background, the bright colors and larger size stand out in the landscape. Yet they are not considered ugly like modern day wind turbines.




The farmland behind the remaining windmills is significantly lower than the water level of the Zaan and brilliantly demonstrates the irrigation and flood control system. As seen in the figures above, small channels of water scatter the farmland, all connected eventually to a windmill (or in the present day a pumping station). As specified in the water management packet in the Research Report, this farmland has a lower risk consequence in times of flooding, and is therefore allowed to flood from time to time. This is seen a little bit in figure 10 and 11, one can see shimmers of reflection throughout.



Another great example of water management techniques in the Netherlands is the terracing separating low-‐lying areas from higher areas. At the windmills, the land closest to the water is highest, and the land to the right (away from the water) is lower (figure 12). The higher land creates a barrier that keeps water out. The windmills pump water from the low-‐lying region up into the Zaan river at the higher level. This is also seen further out in the farmlands north of Zaanse Schans (figure 11), where the land is higher on the right than on the left of the road.


Site Visit: Rotterdam.

Figure 13: http://www.orangesmile.com/destinations/img/rotterdam-‐map-‐big.jpg

Rotterdam first became a major port after the construction of the canal connecting to the Schie in 1340. During the 17th century Indian trade boosted the Dutch’s international trading, Rotterdam expanded its harbors and improved it connection to the Meuse. This move allowed Rotterdam to take second place as the second merchant city of the Netherlands. Unfortunately, Napoleon’s French occupation of the city, between 1795 and 1815, crippled Rotterdam’s trade industry. Rotterdam quickly recovered and built the current New Waterway canal, which granted larger ships access to the port. Between 1892 and 1898, the construction of a traffic bridge across the Meuse only opened the river’s south bank and allowed for an expansion of harbor facilities westward. Soon after, between 1906 and 1930, the Waal Harbor


was constructed, the largest dredged harbor in the world. Overall, Rotterdam’s various rises and falls proves its longevity as a major trading HUB of Europe.

Rotterdam is not only the home for one of Europe’s major ports, but it is also the second largest city of the Netherlands. Rotterdam is connected to the North Sea via the New Waterway canal, and is also along the New Meuse, a tributary of the Rhine River. The port is “at the heart” of to London, Paris, German Ruhr districts, allowing it to be the middle man of north eastern Europe. Because of its ideal geographical and urban-‐industrial location, Rotterdam and Europoort (the outpour of Rotterdam) are responsible for the largest quantities and varieties of products in the world. Tens of thousands of river barges help transport goods from Rotterdam into inland Europe. However, one of the most important imports and exports are crude oil and petroleum products. Rotterdam has several large oil refineries and pipelines transport crude oil, refinery products, ethylene natural gas, and naphtha to Amsterdam, Limburg, Zeeland, Antwerp and Germany.



Rotterdam is known as one of the most modern Dutch cities in the Netherlands. Due to its heavy industrial function as well as the significant reconstruction post World War II, Rotterdam is the trade and architectural capital of the Netherlands. As seen in the figures above and below, the storage and shipping capacity of Rotterdam is monumental is scale. From a small cruise boat tourists are awed by the mere scale of all of the storage facilities, warehouses and machinery. And yet, as explained by the tour guide, Rotterdam is still just the third largest port in the world. On the other hand, Rotterdam also has one of the most intricate Vessel traffic services, where staff members can track all incoming and outgoing boats, regardless of scale, on a satellite map from Rotterdam to the ocean. These workers ensure that all ships are properly monitored for unloading, loading and service needs. Note that in figure 15, a windmill is spotted alone amongst the warehouses.




Figure 18 demonstrates the architectural side of Rotterdam, where architects felt free to

design modern buildings, rare in the Netherlands. While these buildings and bridges might seem interesting at first glance, contextually they ignore their surroundings. The top right

Figure 18: Personal photographs.


image shows the ideal view, but looking at the bottom right and left image, the negative space is very poorly planned and not people friendly. As prime waterside property, these spaces should be properly designed for users to enjoy. Unfortunately due to the industrial effects on the city, the water front property is reserved for industrial uses and less so human related.

Site Visit: Zuid Kennemerland.

Figure 19: http://www.mappery.com/maps/Nationaal-‐Park-‐Zuid-‐Kennemerland-‐Map.mediumthumb.gif


Zuid Kennemerland is a 3,8000 acre National Park in the Netherlands containing a variety of habitats from forests to sand dunes and beaches. The park stretches from Ijmuiden to Zandvoort and Haarlem and contains over 100 species of birds, stags, deer, rabbits, butterflies, Dutch wild horses (koniks), Dutch bison, and European bison. The many viewpoints, bird watching points, and picnic tables make this a great place for short, long hikes or biking. Historically one can see traces of the Great Olmen, the zeedorpenlandschap, estates, and World War II bunkers, roads and tanks. This site also shows traces of water extraction and Dutch water management techniques.


Zuid Kennemerland has maintained the most natural form of the Dutch coastline, allowing me to get the most authentic glimpse of the natural Dutch water management system. Upon entering the park, I hit a narrow strip of European style forest filled with trees and pinecones. Not soon later I began to observe a higher quantity of hills and clearings until I hit a wide spread of land (figure 20). This new landscape contained sporadic clusters of tall trees located mostly at the tops of hills. The sandy soil seemed sandy and depending on its location and closeness to hills and shade went from very dry to very wet.




The figuress above show scattered low hills, which is deceptive of the actual conditions, more clearly seen from the image below, taken from the top of a sand dune right at the beach’s edge. The hilly terrain seems to go as far as the eye can see, with the occasional pool of water.




These three figures show how quickly the terrain goes from below sea level, hilly and grassy, to sandy and flat. The beach is separated from the rest of the park by large sand dunes. Figure 24 shows more clearly a pool of water trapped by the hills around it.


Site Visit: Leiden.

Figure 26: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Blaeu_1652_-‐_Leiden.jpg

Leiden is an important intersection between the waterways and roads of Holland. Since the Golden Age, this town has attracted scientists, artists and industry. Due to the international textile industry, Leiden was the largest city in Holland by the end of the 15th century. Unfortunately the 16th century led to the persecution of Protestants in the city and Spanish conquest, where the people suffered of disease and starvation. The new Golden age led to a mass migration to Leiden in 1577. The Calvinist migrants were experienced in textiles and business. These two combinations allowed Leiden to recover with new products, techniques, capital and labor. Through continuous expansion, Leiden constructed a new network of canals in 1659 and by 1670 the city has some 60,000 inhabitants. Unfortunately, Leiden slowly crashed again creating unemployment and migration out of the city. Tension only increased as Napoleon arrived and in 1807 the explosion of a ship (who was carrying gunpowder) destroyed homes and killed 160 people. The city didn’t begin to recover until 1815, where the industry expanded to include metal, printing and canning. After one more, short, decline now Leiden can claim a low unemployment rate, a highly educated population and multiple museums and monuments.




Leiden was a great place to start looking at how old city master planning incorporated windmills canals and services for the population. I had already begun to observe how windmills surrounded the cities of the Netherlands. In all cases, a canal and various windmills surrounded the older section of the city. As seen in figure 27, Leiden followed the same pattern. The canal then led branched off into the city to facilitate transportation within the city. The windmills circling Leiden were not used for water pumping, but for grain production for the population. In response, Leiden built a large hilltop, where the people could evacuate to during flooding (figure 28).



In Figures 29-‐31 one can see how the intersecting canals affected the atmosphere of the town. The streets seem wider, more open and fresh. Air is brought into the city and it allows for higher traffic flows and serves as a gathering space. People are more likely to stop and sit or stroll with friends. In figure 29, the intersection of several canals at the city center is used as a main gathering space, where numerous cafes, restaurants and bars are filled with clients enjoying a day out. The other branches, as seen below, are not as crowded, but nonetheless attract restaurants and pedestrians.



One thing to note is that the canals sometimes blocked access to desirable areas. For example, figure 32, the canal limits the city from access to a beautiful park on the other side. Although one can cross a bridge, it is still not easily accessible. Another thing to note is the risk of algal bloom in non-‐circulating bodies of water. In figure 33 one can see the effects of a closed pond at the Leiden University greenhouse, whereas the canal on the right is free of algal bloom. Figure 32: Personal

photograph. Figure 33: Personal photograph.


Site Visit: The Hague.

Figure 34: http://euro-‐map.com/karty-‐niderlandov/gaaga/podrobnaya-‐karta-‐gaagi-‐s-‐dostoprimechatelnostyami.jpg

The Hague was founded in the 13th century and is known as the seat for the Dutch government and the home of the Dutch royals. Following suit, the Hague is UN’s fourth city after New York, Geneva and Vienna with 115 embassies and consulates and 160 international organizations. This has led to international immigration causing the demand for 6 international schools, 64 hotels, 850 restaurants, pubs and cafes, 45 museums, and 3,000 companies. The 500,000 people of the Hague are supported by 5 train stations, 11 kilometers of coastline, 3 kilometers of wharf frontage and Scheveningen Harbor, 400 hectares of forest, 111,000 trees alongside roads. Overall one third of the city is green space.




Once again The Hague is surrounded by a main canal (figure 35) and intersected by other branches of the canal to ease transportation of goods into the city. Compared to Leiden, The Hague is much larger and therefore has more branches of canals that lead into the city, but don’t loop entirely through. Unlike Leiden, gathering spaces are not all focused around water, but nonetheless the main, central gathering space is still water based. A lake next to the Ministry of General Affairs (figure 36) indicates the center of The Hague. On the other side, a park with benches and sculptures serve as the gathering space.




While The Hague has an urban appeal, the closer to the coast you get, the more green space there is. Figure 37 shows the west canal boundary signifying this change the hardscape on the left side becomes grass on the right side. Before accessing the beach and Scheveningen, one must cross the Scheveningse Bosjes via tram, bike, or even foot. At the boardwalk, the severe drop from the urban level to the sandy beach helps protect the beach width and the city from flooding.





The boardwalk provides a flood-‐control and social service as hundreds of restaurants, bars, museums, playgrounds and even fairs line both sides of the boardwalk for as far as the eye can see. I find this form of architecture to be more engaging than canal houses as they allow people to sit and look at the water. In some cases even mini aquariums educate kids on the ocean. Although there is no physical interaction with the water, there is still a response to the presence of the ocean. However, I do not like the form of the architecture.

Site Visit: Delft.

Figure 42: http://www.orangesmile.com/destinations/img/delft-‐map-‐big.jpg


Earl Willem II founded Delft in 1246. Fortunately, Delft has not had many expansions or declines since its foundation, except for a fire in 1536, which destroyed some 200 homes. By 1602, Delft had become a center for arts and sciences as the Dutch East India Company established a branch in Delft. Products such as spices, coffee, tea and Chinese porcelain passed through Delft, which inspired Delftware porcelain products. In 1842 the Netherlands fell behind in the industrial race and cause the foundation of the Royal Academy of Civil Engineers. To this day, companies and institutions like DSM Gist, the Dutch Normalization Institute, the Dutch Measuring Institute, Exact Software, and Delft Instruments have come to Delft to collaborate with the university and students. The university is now famous for its hydraulic engineering attracting international students and UNESCO IHE.

The historical part of Delft is smaller than both Leiden and The Hague. Unfortunately a large street has since replaced the southwest canal, so I was unable to experience the original entry condition. Despite the narrow street conditions, cobblestones and stone construction indicating a boundary cross has taken place, psychologically I felt less pleased. The big road was disruptive and chaotic instead of peaceful and protective. It was not until I hit the second canal that I felt like I had truly hit the historic Delft. The lateral canals acted as major thoroughfare and defined the lateral circulation pattern. As a pedestrian I was able to determine my location and distance from the main square by measuring my distance from the canals and monuments. The main square formed a public gathering space away from the canals, taking a more political or formal turn. On the other hand, the restaurants around the canals casual public gathering spaces for the average user to enjoy. However, as seen in figure 46, an algal bloom problem exists among the more separated canals, with poorer water circulation flow.

Figure 43: http://www.gnesta.se/download/18.6cc22741439b1fb1633f0e/1394027600029/GNESTA+CENTRUM+140225_arkitektförslag+A.pdf

Figure 44: http://www.b92.net/putovanja/destinacije/evropa.php?yyyy=2009&mm=12&dd=29&nav_category=807&nav_id=400918


Site Visit: History of Amsterdam.

Figure 47: http://www.mapaplan.com/travel-‐map/amsterdam-‐netherlands-‐top-‐tourist-‐attractions-‐printable-‐street-‐plan/high-‐resolution/amsterdam-‐top-‐tourist-‐attractions-‐map-‐20-‐Accommodation-‐main-‐concert-‐venues-‐must-‐do-‐hot-‐spots-‐geographical-‐map-‐high-‐resolution.jpg

Although Amsterdam was not officially founded until 1300, it had been developed by a handful of “Amstelledammers” who saw the opportunity to charge toll for the passing of beer and herring traders along the Eastern Sea Trade of the Baltics. These individuals eventually became shipbuilders and brewers. In 1323 Amsteldam (Amsterdam) became the sole importers of beer from Hamburg. Amsteldam earned its income not just through beer trade, but herring. Many wealthy merchant Jews fled to Amsterdam after the conquest of Antwerp by the Spaniards at the end of the 15th century. This influx of money helped fund trips to India, which set the foundations for the start of the Dutch East India Company in 1602. Amsterdam was heavily involved with the Dutch East India Company boosting the economy and starting the Golden Age. This brought on two large expansions where architecture and urban master planning were deliberated for the first time. This brought about the ring canals and the Jordaan district.

At the start of the 17th century, Amsterdam hit another evolution as the number of artists and art dealers exploded, leading Amsterdam into a cultural realm. Unfortunately, the end of the 17th century was not as kind and a brief moment of decline and poverty hit the city. After the


construction of the North Sea Canal in 1876, Amsterdam was linked to the sea, opening up trade with the Dutch East Indies. Trade products such as spices and South African diamonds brought Amsterdam a new era of wealth, which led to the construction of “monumental, architectural masterpieces.” Despite holding a neutral World War I stance, Amsterdam was hit with violence as the population revolted against a shortage of food and inflow of potatoes for soldiers. This continued into the depression of 1934 when violent protests criticized the government’s decrease in unemployment benefits. Starvation returned to Amsterdam during World War II, which led to the persecution of the Jews and the removal of 10% of its inhabitants.

After the war, Amsterdam’s population faced serious change. Original Dutch living in Amsterdam left for Purmerend, Hoorn and Almere, while Surinamese, Turkish and Moroccan immigrants moved in. This new international Amsterdam can boast 780,000 residents from 180 different countries.

Site Visit: Amsterdam: Northwest. My expeditions to northwest Amsterdam was mostly due to commute in and out of work from Zaandam. Instead of taking the train, I biked a total of 22 km both ways and traversed through the banks of the IJ to the ferry. All along my journey I could see wind turbines.




The three figures above depict some of the different conditions I experienced crossing the ferry. In all cases, the first two figures, the river is unblocked. While one could argue that in figure 48, the wind turbines are ugly and intrusive, the reality is that the weather conditions play a larger role. When compared to figure 49, the wind turbines are nearly invisible next to the sunset. On the other hand, figure 50 shows how other larger and more intrusive elements compare. While in figure 51, the sailboats are indistinguishable from the wind turbines and the wind turbine in figure 52 is picturesque, at least in my eyes.




Site Visit: Amsterdam: Southwest. My expedition to Amsterdam southwest was designed to visit the remaining windmill open to the public for viewing. The bike ride there was dominated by the typical, yet successful modern street typology of the Netherlands. The canal is flanked by some grass space, a pedestrian sidewalk, a bike path, and a vehicular road all flanked by trees (figure 53). This allowed for a pleasant bike ride to the windmill.




Figure 56 shows what the land below the wind tower resembled. With the water leading to the water pumping windmill, and a level change between the left and right side. The mill pumps water from the left side, up to a strip of land (not seen in image) at the same level as the right side.






The windmills functioned as both water pumping stations and homes for the staff that performed the maintenance and labor for the windmill. Although this man was poorly paid, he was a highly respected member of the community. He not only prevented the town from flooding, but he also served as a messenger. The windmills wings, when not in function, were oriented and covered in such as way as to indicate a message. For example, weddings, deaths, and even war messages were made visible for the community to read openly. In addition, the windmill supplied flour for locals. These uses are no longer visible or direct functions of the modern wind turbine. Perhaps the modern response to the wind turbine would change if the benefits were made more visible and direct.



Site Visit: Amsterdam Central. On one of my first days in Amsterdam I was lucky enough to share a boat cruise with my father. On that night I experienced one of the first charms of the city. The water emanates a serene and beautiful quality. The lit buildings and bridges reflect and glow along the water’s surface. Another thing I remarked was how the older interior section of Amsterdam was darker, the buildings were closer together, the general scale much smaller, and rather separate from the water. On the outer part, more modern part of the city was brighter, the buildings more scattered, larger in scale and more interactive with the water; even appearing to float on top of the surface of the water.



Generally the canals in Amsterdam are a crucial element in the social element of the city. Many restaurants and bars line the canals, opening tables outside where people can sit and enjoy the good weather and atmosphere. During events, the water’s edge is crowded with millions of people waiting for floats, in the shape of boats, to pass by. This chaos could only be possible with the existence of canals, where people could crowd on the sidewalks, bridges, and even boats and houseboats.


Figure 62: Personal photographs


Site Visit: Travel in Between.





My travel in between was just as enriching as the individual cities I visited. The transformation of the Netherlands itself at a national scale is fascinating. The country seems to be laid out in dense nodes of human presence. Cars and bikes use the roads and of the two I have a more memorable interaction with other bikers. From time to time a farmhouse would pop up, but they seemed miniscule in significance when compared to the beautiful green vastness ahead of me. I continued to see the terraced landscape of the Netherlands, houseboats located in seemingly random locations. The small scale resembling a miniature American Suburban Street just more green and overgrown. The smaller water channels truly put in perspective the amount of surface water in the Netherlands. It is hard to imagine the impact on the landscape with their removal. On the other hand, this explains the salinization problem of the Netherlands. Normally water saturated soil, is now dry, sucking up saline ground water deep below. Overall I found a lot of smaller, but dense, towns along the road. Each one distinctly separated from the environment by a bridge, canal or general density. It began to feel as if each stop was a new stop in my journey. I developed a view of a nodal Netherlands, where splotches of society pop up among the landscape. I also bumped into several modern buildings, most very green and low impact on the landscape. In one image above, one could almost bike or drive by without seeing a thing. The green roof sloped down to connect to the ground on all sides, except where the entry existed. Besides the carved entry and tall sculpture announcing the building on the street, the building was perfectly integrated. This low impact construction emphasizes the nodal theory, where buildings outside these gated human densities were expected to be invisible.


Book Reports.

Book Report: EcoEdge Charlesworth: Urgent Design Challenges in Building Sustainable Cities.

Part I: Urban Design and a Sustainable City. This section of the book focuses on how urban design strategies should change, what they should study, and how they should be applied. Generally, urban centers will become hotter, dryer, they will be threatened by stronger storms, cyclones and flooding, coastal centers will be affected the most as rising sea levels will force population displacement. Unfortunately, politicians who have the power to implement sustainable strategies chose not to because of its difficulty and instead prioritize other social problems.

Urban design faces some challenges, for one, it is difficult to design an urban center, as that means understanding the unpredictable, human factor and how that relates to their physical spaces. While historically, cities had a “symbiotic relationship” with the population and its growth, twentieth century urban designers focused on strict inflexible designs. After this failure, urban designers are focusing on designing a city as a “complex ‘ecosystem’”. Urban designers question how they can change behavioral norms and habits, how they can convince people to live in a denser condition.

It is important to value the city as an evolving system, urban design is about “managing the chaos”. In order to make cities sustainable, the very foundations and infrastructures will have to be re-‐evaluated. The problems are not just technological, but typological. One major problem is the material palette of the city. For example, concrete, bitumen and stone are needed for pedestrian and wheeled accessibility, but they cause water-‐run off and urban heat island problems.

Water became an important hygienic element of urban life, but now individuals use several hundred liters of water a day for benefits like hydrotherapy, gardening, which impact health and air quality. The re-‐use of grey water and black water in addition to rainwater collection strategies are critical. They need to be financially encouraged by the government for the watering of gardens, parks, etc.

Modern cities consume up to 100 times more energy than the basic rate for metabolism. Buildings themselves account for 40% of the energy use of a city. Energy intensive systems like artificial air treatment systems have increased, but a more organic system with breezes and warm patches provide psychological breaks for users.


Modern action programs rely on creating a “climate proof” design, with sustainable water systems, public green spaces, pedestrian and bicycle friendly infrastructure, and public transportation systems. However, many sustainability plans are failing due to failing economic conditions of cities. Including high unemployment, high poverty, high crime, high immigration, and high discrimination. In these cases, money is focused on improving safety, reducing crime, improving language education, reducing school drop-‐outs, increasing civic participation, and decreasing poverty and unemployment. Urban design needs to tackle these issues by “shaping interactions between” residents, teachers, employers, housing corporations, youth workers, and police.

The Dutch Factor:

The population of the Netherlands began to feel intense dissatisfaction as early as the 1990s, regardless of record-‐low unemployment levels. Part of this is attributed to the sudden spike of refugee immigration from Somalia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia. The issues pointed out earlier became a problem in the Netherlands as communication and dialogue between all members of society was nonexistent. The primary focus switched from urban renovation to shaping social interactions.

This led to the Ajax soccer grounds in Amsterdam, which created a sense of identity through soccer history and the community, while implementing sustainability strategies like rainwater harvesting, vegetation, pedestrian and bike friendly infrastructure, off street parking, and cogeneration heating for the community.

The traffic artery tunnel project in Maastricht rectified the problems caused by the dividing, noisy and polluting freeway. The final project had to meet certain criteria, including environmental conditions, walkability, cyclabiliy, traffic safety, public space, urban space, architecture.

The restoration of the Dapperbuurt in Amsterdam focuses on modernizing the sustainability needs of the region. This historical zone has architectural structures with small, culturally irrelevant, poorly insulated qualities. The restoration aims to properly insulate, expand and open up public space for the community. By increasing the quantity of cultural centers, youth hostels, neighborhood cinemas and restaurants, economic conditions can be improved. Unfortunately, the results were not as successful as hoped, showing that “neighborhood renovation is no ‘cure all’ for a multicultural society”.

Successful urban sustainability strategies:

1. Must be drafted with the involvement of all members of the community 2. All concerns brought up must be addressed.


3. Energy, climate and air pollution need to be linked with safety, education, work and income elements.

4. Identify the primary design challenge and address it. 5. Build from local, historical identities.

Urban Density:

Urban infrastructures are expected to accommodate 70% of the world’s population by 2050. In certain places like Australia, cities already accommodate 80% of the population. Melbourne has adapted to this population density by concentrating housing near free public transportation services. Sprawl is an expensive way to solve the problem. Building 1000 houses outside the boundaries of Australian cities will cost AU$300 million more than building housing on top of existing infrastructures within the city limits. Because people live further away from their work place, transportation has become a problem. Public transportation has increased 60% of the last fiver years and the government has to financially encourage off-‐peak travel.

Sustainability practices can be improved through (1) designing at the neighborhood scale; (2) use the governments examples to reduce property needs, improve business performance and reduce energy usage; (3) encourage holistic, interdisciplinary planning; (4) get expert consultants input. It is important to (1) build a sense of community; (2) locate developments that can benefit from high connectivity; (3) tackle climate change; (4) create places of character.

The province of Gauteng in South Africa only covers 1.7% of the country’s surface area, yet it houses 20% of the country’s population. Although it does not lie on a major water source, this region instead focuses on “weaving” the urban forests and nature conservancies. This region is known for a competitive fast pace and dangerous environment, which keep people on edge and alert. The key to designing in this context is to accept the complexity and unpredictable nature; even by designing in context, the results may not turn out as expected. This is a socio-‐ecological design intervention. The goal is to design a system of niches that fit diverse patterns and can therefore counteract various external shocks through adaptive responses and interactions. The continuous interaction and responses allow for a flexible feedback system that can help increase the resilience of the city. This accepts that change is inevitable and provides a system that allows for re-‐equilibration after change. This design concept relies on the interconnectedness of systems, the strength of feedback and diversity.

Part II: Infrastructure and a Sustainable City. There are three dimensions of city infrastructures including (1) the hidden service infrastructure (2) the recycled and renovated infrastructure (3) the planned socio-‐technical and political-‐economic infrastructure. The hidden service infrastructure incorporates the


sewage, plumbing, electrical, etc. systems. The recycled and renovated infrastructure eliminates the energy consumption of new architectural constructions, maintains the city skylines, character and urban heritage, while increasing material life.

Ironically, climate change problems have arisen from the urban lifestyle and the constructs of the human physical environment, but the urban environment is also the answer to the problem. This has to do with the limits and efficiency of the mass-‐transit system. There are five main problems in urban design. (1) Cities are dynamic and static; the population and programs of cities change quickly, but the physical and institutional arrangements do not. (2) It is important to plan with future problems in mind, even if it is impossible to predict if the problem and proposed solution are appropriate in the future. (3) Stability is not static in nature; stability requires flexibility and ability to change back to a stable, and potentially different, condition. (4) While there is a sense of urgency to develop and apply strategies, the process takes time and care. (5) Social and cultural infrastructures must evolve with the physical infrastructure.

The concept of ‘ecopolis’ is based around designing an ecological system before designing a city. In this way a designer can create a functioning ecological system that can better support the human population. This involves abiotic elements, producers, consumers, and micro consumers.


In this perspective, “urbanization is the effective replacement of natural ecosystems by an artificial system”. In fact, cities already qualify as a living system. The book suggests that the city is metaphorically representative of an organism, where people represent the living mater responsible for the chemical processes.

People have increased the speed at which climate change occurs. The environment and other species cannot keep up with this timeframe. The human influence in nature is currently destructive, however, urban designers believe that the built environment can become constructive. In the end, cities are a “new ecological reality”.

It is important to keep in mind that architecture is just one step of the process. A city of sustainable buildings can still lead to an unsustainable city.

In China, suburbs are seen as an efficient replacement of low-‐density housing communities. The suburbs must be located properly as efficiency and the reaches of public transportation limit success. While China’s fast building development has allowed for spacious and green design strategies to be implemented, the large quantities of urban spaces and building setbacks decrease overall density while ignoring pedestrian needs.

Part III: Architecture and a Sustainable City. Architects are responsible for 3% of customhouses, 8% of housing and 9% other forms of direct influence on housing developments. Urban designers are interested in the boundary conditions of cities and how the buildings individually form either a stark or blurred boundary line.

Zoning is also a major problem, where segregated zoning layouts create public transportation problems. Instead, by creating banded zones, in a horizontal and vertical direction, one can create the flexibility and mixed use system that is efficient. In this way, residences can be located close to office, leisure, green and commercial spaces, while still maintaining the benefits of an organized zoning plan. This system also allows for the local treatment of organic waste and water, which can be easily reincorporated into the system. In addition, the zoning bands will provide a natural density gradient, increasing the diversity and sustainable components of the city.


“Successful, liveable cities consist mostly of apparently homogenous fabric with no identified author-‐buildings that accommodate all forms of activity, from living quarters to local businesses, bars and cafes, linked by the network of streets and open spaces that make up the public realm. In this kind of city it is impossible to view buildings as isolated objects, only as a set of unfolding spaces”. In spirit with this idea, simple structures allow for buildings to become adaptable, and adaptable building are sustainable as they become easier to recycle and expand on as the city context evolves.

In the end, it is important to include:

“

• Planning systems that encourage developers to avoid demographic and economic forecasting and, instead, create flexible urban fabrics;

• Economic models that balance commercial interests with social benefits; • Enhanced and interlinked public realms; • Permeable city fabrics of converted buildings and new pattern-‐book architecture that

can be easily colonized and adapted by their users.

”

One thing to consider is the prefab construction technique as it allows for fast, cheap and high quality construction.


Book Report: Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design: 3 (Future City).

Part I: Ecology, Design, and Social Contexts: Disciplinary Voices and History. Ecology Of The City As A Bridge To Urban Design

This chapter discusses the important strategy differentiation within generations. While in the past, cities were constructed using strict and rigid design techniques; modern urban design looks at the city as an organic function. The ecology within cities look at natural systems that can be implemented in forested parks and vacant lots. While the organisms of an ecosystem are important, urban ecosystems highlight landscape function as a critical factor and initiate the direct relationship between the landscapes and its various organisms.

Similar to the study of natural ecology, one needs to determine of scale of study, which can vary in gradation from microscopic, human, and regional. Others define the study of urban ecology based on the spatial heterogeneity or homogeneity and how they impact the ecological systems. Once a city or region is broken down into patches, one can look at how the land’s characteristics impact the individual patch, or the network of patches. These characteristics might include the open or closed nature of the patch and its ability to foster or inhibit colonization by different species, in the process revealing the biological stresses.

As in natural ecology, urban ecosystems have layered levels of complexity and components. These include, organisms, physical conditions and entities, and the interactions between them. In another, the biological, social, physical, and built components are studied. The relationship between (1) species and their products, (2) social institutions and norms, (3) soils, waters, topography, and air, and (4) buildings and infrastructure, respectively.

“Cities and other urban ecosystems are jointly biological, social, built, and geomorphic.”

In the initial site analysis stage, urban landscapes are studied according to “influences and interaction of policies, designs, lifestyles, and the locational distribution of households, firms, and social groups” in addition to “biological diversity, environmental justice, safety and vulnerability, zoning, and legacies of past infrastructure or social structure”. After which, the data is represented in various descriptive models like, maps and GIS layers in relation to space or time.

The image above shows some more characteristics taken into consideration and the classifications they fall under.


Organisms are heterogeneously distributed in time and space. Organisms interact with each other at various scales. Organisms, even within a given species, differ from one another. Ecological systems are contingent, that is they are sensitive to their initial conditions and to randomness. Environmental conditions are heterogeneous. Resources are finite and heterogeneous. All organisms are subject to mortality factors. Ecological processes have evolutionary causes.

It is always important to keep in mind that scales within and outside of the ecosystem vary, always

connect to each other in a critical way. That is why it is important to look at the impact of the building on its neighborhood, the neighborhood on the region, the region on the city, the city on the watershed, etc.

“Models are explanations of structures and processes in the material world. They identify the parts of the system of interest, the interactions among the parts, the limits of the interactions, the spatial and temporal boundaries of the system, and the kinds of outcomes that can result from the interactions.”

Urban ecological design emphasized the diversity of problems and solutions to any particular problem. The goal is not to come up with the single most perfect solution, but to explore different options and their impacts. Some problems on a landscape may relate to the movement of energy, matter and information and their impacts include the distribution and abundance of organisms, the interactions among organisms, and the interactions between.

However, ecological structures and processes are constantly changing, and providing a flexible landscape that can respond to these changes is critical. Landscapes are open to changes from energy, material, information exchange and processes that arise outside their boundaries. These kinds of changes in the ecosystem are called disturbances and they are important regulators of the system. While an ecosystem strives to maintain stability and equilibrium, the route that it takes to achieve it is never predictable and often times leads to a different condition than was originally present.

Human interactions with the ecosystem have led to extreme disturbances. While humans understand that the availability of resources is limited, some justify the abuse as an important form of natural selection. This perspective has justified the “unbridled competition in human society”, while the models and data of natural and urban ecologists show a different trend. Organisms are the key to natural development, a linear process that cannot be bypassed by


human manipulation. Just as natural ecosystems value diversity, urban ecosystem research is looking at the impacts of “identity, spatial heterogeneity and dynamics of vegetated patches within an urban system, and the interaction between biotic composition, heterogeneity, and fluxes”. In the end, urban ecology studies the relationship between the social and biophysical worlds and their effects and feedback loops.

Kevin Lynch ( 1981 ) spoke of three urban models: (1) the cosmological city, (2) the city as machine, and (3) the organic city. The complex modern cities are also classified as metropolis, megalopolis, hypercity and metacity with varying sizes, densities and quantity of urban centers.

Part II: Shared Conceptual Understanding: Four Themes for Bridging Ecology and Urban Design. Eco-‐Engineering for Water: From Soft to Hard and Back

Cities have generally been constructed close to or on water sources. These cities have rich histories with many cycles of evolution and re-‐identification. Many of these cities had to evolve with the rhythm of the water source, but as climate change and rising sea levels become more of a problem many of these cities are starting to realize that they stopped looking at the river as design parameter. The increase of impermeable surfaces in the city has become a large problem, as seen in road construction and engineered levees. In addition the removal of mangrove forests and other habitats expose cities to stronger weather events. Urban design needs to adapt to potential risks, involving the reconstruction of landscapes and settlements for flexible systems.

The unnatural water run-‐of patterns and slowing groundwater recharge rates have negatively impacted the hydrological cycle. In urban centers run-‐off water is a problem. Historically, urban centers would collect and redirect water out of the urban center as quickly as possible. However modern systems protect the local ecology and water cycle by doing a better job of “detention, retention and recharge”. For many cities, this has allowed for the redevelopment of harbors and river front property into recreational and commercial spaces.

Cities have historically been founded near, if not on, water sources like rivers, oceans and lakes. For this reason, hydrological engineering has always played an important role in the development of urban centers. While some of these tools are antiquated, others can help reshape the future of waterside cities.

Asian Factor:

In one case, the rice paddy constructs of the Asias have provided for the development and growth of the nearby civilizations. These technologies focused on erosion and sedimentation


to determine the location of seasonal watercourses. The network of roads, canals, dams and reservoirs spatially defined villages of the region.

On the other hand, the Han Dynasty (206 BCE) was one of the first civilizations to acknowledge the scientific study of “wind and waters”.

Feng shui studied how water could provide for cleanliness, minerals, food, transportation, communication, and protection (from spirits and winds). However, feng shui did not dedicate its study purely to water. It also examined the relationship between these elements and topography, vegetation, and solar orientation.

Irrigation canals and dikes were constructed to support intensive agricultural needs. Soon maintenance requirements led to the development of a central government. This central government not only ensured the

survival of the water irrigation infrastructure, but the progression of water engineering for flood control and drinking.

Three water city typologies were identified including water-‐within-‐city, city-‐in-‐water, and yin-‐yang city. Architectural strategies within cities, like step-‐wells allowed for the maximum efficiency in rainwater collection. These structures were not only functional, but also later gained religious significance.

The Dutch Factor:

In the Netherlands, the extensive man-‐made conditions have proven to be potentially detrimental to the ecological system. For this reason Beveren near the bank of the Scheldt and the mudflats of Saeftinghe are intending to return the Proper Polder and Doel Polder back to natural conditions. Dykes have been dismantled in order to allow the Scheldt a more natural flow and new dykes have been built in nearby area to protect human settlements. The resulting landscapes will include “a submerged landscape of mudflats and salt marshes, a


controlled tidal area and a semi-‐polder with reservoirs”. The surrounding neighborhoods will focus on ecotourism as a source of revenue.

The embankments are atypical riverfront typologies designed to protect the city from floodwaters as well as mark a boundary line between the villages and the quayside. The “quays as keys” can provide surplus water storage of 5 meters high and 100 meters wide and 6.7 kilometers long.

French Factor:

Agence Ter has developed a rainwater collection system and public park. By creating an artificial river arm, Agence Ter has created an outlet for floodwater and stormwater to go. In this case, excess water can come from three possible sources, including, “rainwater from the ground and roofs from privately owned plots; rainwater from public pedestrian areas; and rainwater from asphalt roads.” The rainwater from roofs and pedestrian areas are brought into the park through open channels and the rainwater from roads is brought into the park through closed drainpipes.


The surrounding neighborhood is elevated 1.6 meters above the ground plane, allowing the park to be visible from above as a park or pond. The park topography and elements allow for various water storage needs that transforms the physical condition. The park may include ponds or marshes.

Book Report: Delta Urbanism: The Netherlands.

Part I: Understanding the Dutch Delta. The Dynamics of the Dutch Delta.

The Delta lowlands as we know today was formed through a slow evolution of the general Dutch landscape as early as the Holocene. This involved the evolution of the impacts of the sea, precipitation, meltwater, sedimentation, streams, channels, and the bog. The general trend is that the landscape transformed from a saline and nutrient rich (eutrophic) system to a freshwater and nutrient poor (oligotrophic) system.

During the Pleistocene glacial period the sea level was 100 m lower than it was today, allowing modern day England to be a part of the EU continent. In addition the Meuse, Rhine and Thames ran in a reversed direction. However, as the glacial ice began to melt, the weight pressure on the tectonic plate released over Scandinavia, causing the Netherlands to sink, as seen in the image above. As channels and cracks emerged on the glacier, meltwater brought and deposited sediment into the channels.

During the Weichselian era, the Pleistocene deposits began to emerge above the surface, creating basins. Four large dry basins emerged in the North, called the Boorne, Hunze, Fivel, and Eems-‐Dollard (image below). There was also the Ijssel Vecht basin, with large deep valleys, the Rhine-‐ Meuse delta and river valley, and the Scheldt basin. As the sea level rose, these basins were filled with water and marine and fluvial sediments. Once the sea level rise began to slow, beach walls appeared as waves, tides, and wind moved sand towards the coasts. These beach walls eventually closed the basins from the ocean and instead shallow freshwater lagoons and rivers governed the territory. Eventually fens and bogs formed and rivers breached the beachwalls, allowing rivers to flow into the ocean. On the other hand, Northern Netherlands maintained open to the sea, as the ocean floor had more extreme topographic


conditions, which were difficult to fill with sediment. In addition, the wind and current did not drag sand to the Northern coast so much as the Western coast. Eventually Young Dunes that were 30-‐50 meters tall replaced the old sand dunes.

Meltwater broadened the rivers, creating a broad, braided river system of meandering fluvial belts, forming into the Rhine-‐Meuse Delta. The land around these rivers became floodplains as high water flows broke the natural levees and deposited sandy clay over the river plains (image below). During these flooding events, sand from the riverbed was deposited over vegetation on the river dunes evolving the landscape ecology of the Netherlands throughout the eras.

As time progressed, the climate became warmer and moister, causing more vegetation growth and the spread of fens and bogs upland. Drainage capabilities decreased also increasing the spread of the bogs. Trees drowned and peat moss took over, eventually growing to 4 ft high. This took place between 2100 and 1250 BCE. The peat moors spread and blended with the coastal wetlands therefore creating one big bog called the Holland Peat Moor. The rivers leading into the ocean were the only elements that could divide this dense vegetation. During the Early Roman Times, the Peat Moor continued to expand, which prevented water drainage and created impassible barriers throughout the landscape. However this Peat Moor was sensitive to change and easily died with sea transgression. Between 2000 years ago and the Middle Ages, the rising sea level caused more sea transgressions, killing the Peat Moor, increasing erosion and increasing sediment deposits. As the bog lands began to subside, sea transgression increased and formed a cycle that was uninterrupted until the newly formed basins were filled with seawater once more.

Human influences as early as 800 BCE began to modify the natural system. Canals and ditches allowed the sea to penetrate deeper into the land, causing the landscape to develop into the mudflats of Zeeland, coastal Flanders, northwest Brabant, Middelzee and Lauwerszee regions. Dikes blocked seawater from penetrating the coastline, increasing the stress in the system and causing major floods that would surpass the dikes. Once this water broke through, the polder lands and peat bogs would subside and die at an extremely fast rate. Irrigation systems in these areas had to be constantly modified to keep up with the evolving landscape.

Draining, Dredging, Reclaiming: The Technology of Making a Dry, Safe, and Sustainable Delta Landscape.

The Dutch landscape can be divided into three parts including the tidal Inlets and estuaries of the south, the uninterrupted dunes of the Holland coast, and the Wadden Sea area and barrier islands. Each section has been modified as needed to prevent flooding of over 1/3 of the Dutch territory. Several evolutions of the water management infrastructures incorporated


technology, environmental, cultural and socio economic interests. Today the new conceptual strategy is to get the system to work with nature instead of against it.

Prehistoric societies developed on flat ground, where in 500 BCE they began to build terpen (dwelling mounds) to protect them from the water (image below). In the southwest, the Netherlands was known for peat lands that were drowned out then subsided due to manmade canal and channel constructions. These manmade constructions breached the water table, therefore drowning the peat lands and causing subsidence. Other peat lands were destroyed by the deposition of sands and sediment caused by river flooding. The remaining peat land was burned for fuel. The disappearance of the peat lands brought about erosion that has molded the landscape in the southwest and north to its modern coastal shape.

The southwestern inlets have sea inlets give storm surges a pathway deeper into the mainland, causing more erosion and land loss. Human interaction is to blame for this geographical change and weakness in the Netherlands. In the 13th century, humans decided to build dikes in order to rectify this weakness in the coastline and protect further development inland. A system of canals and dikes were important for the drainage and maintenance of reclaimed land. There is a system of responsibilities divided among individual, community and regional territories. This system ensured that the canals and dikes were properly maintained, did not overflow out into neighboring communities and were constantly evolved to changing technologies. From this point on the system became more technologically advanced and allowed for urban density to increase. Technologies such as the outlet sluices allowed for barriers that did not restrict drainage requirements.

Between the 13th and 17th centuries, the closed water management system caused larger flooding episodes caused by breaches in the dikes. This forced the constant reinforcement and modification of the system that only worsened the water tension in the system. As water was barred from re-‐entering the sea, the floods became more and more tragic and dangerous as water levels reached further inland and became deeper. Dams in the 14th century caused the river systems to redirect, increasing problems in other regions and causing waterlogging problems (image below). In the 16th century windmills were introduced to help pump waterlogged lands. Unfortunately this caused the lands to subside further, forcing the infrastructure to continually expand. B the 16th century land loss was brought to a stop and land reclamation projects began to increase the surface area of the Netherlands. Water boards were incorporated into the government.

Increased technology allowed them to reclaim more land. One important example is the use of the steam engine to reclaim land out of Rotterdam (1776-‐1787) and Mijdrecht (1793). However, storm surges were still a major problem and occurred every 15 to 75 years. The trade economy of the Netherlands gave them access to new technologies and resources and as the population


increased both urban and agricultural lands were in high demand. The increasing value of land made the economic investment in the water management system economically viable. Allowing for research maintenance and evolution of the system.

The 19th and 20th centuries saw a lot of impressive land reclamation projects. These include the Haarlemmermeer in 1852, the Wilheminapolder in 1809, the Noord-‐Holland polders of Koegras in 1817, the Anna Paulowna in 1835. Between 1833 and 1911 the Netherlands reclaimed 350,000 hectares of land for agriculture. Although the water management system became more successful at flood prevention, surges were still occurring. Some people began to believe that flood risk strategies had to be implemented. Regardless a system of channels was created to improve drainage and navigation abilities. This included the construction of the Nieuwe Waterweg in 1868 and the Noordzeekanaal in 1876. However, two storm surges in 1916 and 1953 led to the development of two new projects that were larger than anything that had ever been attempted before.

The Zuiderzee Project led to the closure of the Zuiderzee lagoon and included the reclamation of 220,000 hectares of land. The Afsluitdijk dam closed the IJsselmeer in 1932, the Wieringermeerpolder was drained in 1930, the Noordoostpolder was drained in 1942, and Flevoland was reclaimed after World War II. The Markerwaard polder is next on the list; however, people are reassessing its necessity and value.

The Delta Project was started after a major flood in 1953 that led to the death of 1835 people. The solution was to close all sea inlets that proved to be a weakness to the Dutch coastal storm surge defense. This excluded the Nieuwe Waterweg and the Westerschelde, which provided access to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. For the first time the project was designed based on prediction systems for the rise in sea level, severity of storms, and costs (construction and destruction) for each particular area. This allowed for a very calculated and precise dike height to be determined for each area of the Netherlands.

However due to the strength of the Dutch economy and the population’s interest in ecological preservation, the Delta project was modified to create a more integrated approach to water management. One where the tidal flats and salt marshes of the Eastern Scheldt could be preserved. A flexible gateway allowed for the area to be closed or opened depending on the conditions of the day. This became a standard for future water management projects.

Overall, water management now has a three part strategy (1) retention (2) buffering (3) drainage. In addition, the three part strategy for the coast is (1) unhindered transport for sand (2) buffering sand with nourishments (3) retention of sand by hard structures. The Netherlands is concerned with the increasing dangers for low-‐lying lands due to climate change. A new panel has been assembled with the top national and international scientists to help predict the sea rise and river discharge changes in the coming future. The results estimate


that a 1 meter increase in the sea level will increase the likelihood of floods that are 4 meters high by 40x. The sea level is expected to rise by 1 meter by 2100 and 4 meters by 2200. For this reason, all spatial planning processes are now legally required to include water managers in the design team.

The Making of Dutch Delta Landscapes.

“A polder is a particular spatial, topographic entity-‐ that is to say, a landscape with a coherent topographical pattern, generally surrounded by dikes or embankments, which define the space.” This suggests that the polder landscape is protected from external water systems, while maintaining an artificially controlled system itself. Dutch polders developed through a series of evolutions dependent on the surrounding context. Various technologies advanced the development of the polders including dams, gated culverts, trenches, drainage ditches, and ring dikes. The Netherlands now contains more than 4,000 polders, mostly below sea level and consist an urban fabric.

Polders in the coastal landscape were first developed through the damming of creeks along the edges. Erosion that occurred in the area after the Roman era caused many to move. The southwest region was not repopulated until the seventh century, where people stuck to the more elevated creek ridges. Agriculture was set up in patches that were oriented differently depending on the position and orientation of the streams. The dikes were weakened by the creation of holes for salt mining. Storm surges broke at these weak points and destroyed over 100 villages and reclaimed large portions of land, whose square footage was recuperated through the reclamation of island wetlands elsewhere (image below). Dikes, creek patterns, gully patterns and deposits of sediments have brought about regular block structures that sometimes morph into long rectangular parcels.

Polders in the river landscape were first developed by settlements located on the top ridges of river dunes. This Roman civilization was very successful and managed a complex agricultural system including crop rotation and dung as fertilizer. The settlements were long, but narrow and bridged the land between agricultural land and meadowland. The floodplains were parceled, a pattern that is visible in the modern day. Dikes were built around these villages, transporting water westward (downriver) via canals and gravity. Eventually floodgates were developed in this region and dams allowed for land reclamation projects. This infrastructure caused the poldered areas to subside, while sediment built up in the area around it; this caused the topography to reverse. The polders follow the shape of the river and contain a variety of pattern differentiated by the river, levees, and basins. The narrowing of the river bed have caused major flooding problems in the area well into the present day, leading to the development of higher dike walls and inundation polders around the river (image below).


Polders in the peat landscape were more difficult to create and manage. Unlike other polders, these were not seriously developed until the eighth century. At this time, the polders were used for agricultural purposes by nearby river polder settlements. As the polders could only be accessed through polder rivers, the landscape had to be modified slowly through time. Landscape at the high points was slowly drained, instigating the death of the peat and allowing for agricultural development. As the land subsided dikes, canals and gates were developed to keep the water out. Unfortunately the land became swampier the more it subsided, and so each plot was eventually converted for grazing purposes. This evolution of peat lands is occurring to this day. In the westernmost peat bogs, the evolution of the polder was quicker and more organized. A series of dams, dikes and canals were built around the peat bog and windmills were then used to pump the water out. Because the system was no longer dependent on gravity as a natural drainage technique, the land was drained faster. Unfortunately this also meant that land subsidence was more extreme and the dikes and embankments had to be constructed to protect the reclaimed land. Many eroded or cut down areas of the peat bog filled with water to create lakes. This lake dominated landscape became a flood hazard for nearby villages and were eventually drained. The landscape here is more random and disorganized with rectangular, trapezoidal and even parallelogram parcels.

Polders in the lakebed formed after seawater flooded northern Holland. The seawater killed the peat bog in the area and replaced it with water. Dikes and canals protected the remaining islands of dry land. During the reclamation efforts, windmills pumped out water from the lakes. Unfortunately windmills could only pump water up 1-‐1.5 meters. Instead of pumping the water directly out, the landscape had to be stepped and a series of windmills would help pump the water out in a series of steps. Eventually the windmills were replaced with the steam engine pump, then the diesel engine pump, and then finally electric pumps. The development of the landscape is generally orthogonal and standardized. Each plot had a road along the short edge with a farm somewhere along that road, drainage ditches framed the long borders and a canal closed the plot in the back, sending water to the windmill for pumping.

After the water is pumped out of the polder, a system of waterways brings the water out and behind the dike walls. This system of waterways is maintained with the same techniques as the individual polders, but at a larger scale.


Conclusion

This semester and process has led to an in-‐depth understanding of not just the Netherlands, but the basic principles of ecological design. While the first two sections provided information on the Dutch environmental systems, the last section deviated a bit into ecological design.

The Netherlands has kept up with European standards in environmental sustainability, but like many countries has struggled to maintain focus and persistence. The government first started by pumping a lot of money into the 20-‐20-‐20 challenge and ensuing environmental concerns. They were dedicated in the energy battle, but began to lose faith in the abilities of wind turbines. As money began to run low, the government focused on incentivizing companies to personally invest in the environmental cause. While the Netherlands takes sustainability seriously due to its critical relationship with the rising sea level, expanding the gas and oil networks is economically viable, but not environmentally viable. Nevertheless, the Netherlands has the technical and educational background to not only help its own country, but many others around the globe.

Throughout the various site visits, the Netherlands truly shined. While it is arguable how much humanity has had a role in forming the countryside in the past, the national master planning depicts a nodal condition. The boundary lines between urban construct and natural land are quite defined, allowing a cyclist to experience natural, rural and urban patches along the way from one city to another. In addition, one can notice the difference between the historical windmills and the modern turbines and their relationship to the physical environment. It becomes clear how the historical windmills maintain their charismatic charm to this very day, marking cities and topography changes throughout the land. They have an ability to connect the modern day journey to the historical and geographical context of the Netherlands. On the other hand, the modern wind turbines appear aggressive in use and function. There is no correlation to their location with city boundaries, topographical changes, or historical conditions. They appear dropped in space and time; a blunt reminder of the necessity of sustainability and threat of impeding water.

The final book studies put into perspective the work that the Netherlands was doing in comparison with other theories and physical solutions scattered throughout the world. With this perspective in mind, it seems like the Netherlands is truly caught in a difficult transition. The Netherlands is calculated, controlled and manipulative in its water management strategies. Although there is a clear attempt to increase the flexibility of the system, the Netherlands has a long time to go before they find a good balance between control and cooperation. On the other hand, the Netherlands finds itself in a unique position, one that cannot be resolved by simply following the strategies utilized in the books above. The


Netherlands is 60% below sea level. It is difficult to imagine a natural solution to this unnatural condition.


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research : urban ecology networks

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