'the District of Tomorrow'
The District
project 1 2008 winner
The award winning students design for the first project, a passivhouse (and 0-energy), with a solar roof 'bending' to the sun. Nearly completed, opening 23 September 2011.
project 2- 2009 winner
the District of Tomorrow - le Quartier de Demain - das Viertel von Morgen
The exposition/office building, had to meet 0-energy requirements and 50 pct of materials of renewable origin. Besides, the building will house the service centre for the district: where cars are rented out, a central laundryshop is foreseen and the office of the district's local energy company. And as well, since land is scarce, to use the roof as optimal as possible to change from a consumptive building toward a productive building. With greenhouses on the roof, a combination of food production energy production and water collection ca be made. In fact the consumed land by the building is given back as a productive roof. (0-land use) . This winner was selected by a international ( euregional) jury, and is now detailled for construction next year. ( in the end it will be 0-energy, the total mass is only 590 kg/m2 and 51 % is coming from "renewable" materials) Pictures show some details and facts about the building.
"eco/nnect", by Leroy Merks & Roel Derkx
Going international
The District of Tomorrow has attracted international attention:
- A russian district of Tomorrow is under development, in the city of Wyksa. Students from Nizhny Novgorod university diesigned the winning first house.
- Universities and authorities in Beijing and Singapore have asked support to develop teir own District.
- The Design atelier at Zuyd universty has become international and changed to the english language: Russian and german studemts have joined, and more expected to come.
- A EU project has been awarded to develop education modules for master students and professionals, based on the design process of the District of tomorrow buildings. 15 universities throughout Europe are involved.
New project: Existing District for Tomorrow.
In September a similar process is launched for an existing district, to prepare a transition towards environmental neutral situation, and after defining the concept Masterplan, has been developed for the district, students will re-design parts of the area next year. More to follow.
New: Existing district of Tomorrow
Solar Loading station
Construction site at Avantis, Science and Business park, in Heerlen, near German border.
On the right: The plan for the District, 4 buildings and terrain. Right below the building now under construction.
we have installed a a grid connected PV powered loading station for the elctric car. Its the first in the Netherlands!
Research institute RiBuilT
As a result of co-operation between faculties and professors, and with external partners, we have launched a research institute, focussing at the transition for 0-impact buildings and Built Environments: RiBuilT, research instutute for Built Environments of Tomorrow. The Institute wil support -with research- the Distcict, and other projects aiming at high ambition
levels.
Website: www.ribuilt.eu
The District of Tomorrow has been nominated for the EU Sustainable energy Award 2010. During the energy Week in Brussels it became second place.
Eu award nominated:
The District of Tomorrow acts as a demonstartion site for the transition we have to make towards Sustainable Built Environments. The ambitions are high: a 0-impact Built environment and buildings. Which was also the theme ofthe International conference organised in 2010. See for more background on ambitions, the conference and 0-impact apprach, the website www.ribuilt.eu.
the illustration shows a rough indication of ambitions for the buildings.
ambitions & indicators
Activities
Project 3 will be a exergy optimised building, to house elderly people. The winning design is now further detailed for final design and construction next year. Design:
project 3 2010 winner
Project 4 is a (near) 0-materials building, 82 % made of renewable materials (but final design will be higher even) , and producing more energy as needed to operate . Resources wi be grown in the garden behind the building. It will be known as the MAXergy building, The winning buidlin is designed by Ruby Willems and Ilse Schoenmakers.
project 4 2011 winner
Four buildings, each year one and each more ambitious then the previous one : energy producing, and up to 100% made of renewable and recycled materials, partly grown in the garden. The (small) district itself, should be 0-energy as well, and produce and clean its own water. Together developing a 0-impact district, and a learning and research environment for the students, market stakeholders and the region together.
Its a project initiated by Zuyd University and coordinated by RiBuilT, the Research Institute Built environment of Tomorrow. Its part of a Transition programme for the region, to cope with climate change, fossil fuels depletion and resource scarcity. It becomes very special due to the fact that Students design the projects ( the winning design form the University graduation project) And is costructed by pupils of construction schools.
The professional market is involved by helping constructing the projects, and research for innovative products and management . The whole area is seen as an open innovation platform, where market stakeholders, education and local government can kick of a transition towards a more sustainable region.
ALL PICTURES: Click to enlarge
The District going Inernational: Researchers and students from Finland, Russia, China, Spain , and Nepal are doing internships and research at the District.
international participation
Sustainable Cafe: every month there is a network meeting with presentations: Every second tuesday of the month: Next oppertunity is April 10, on biobased materials for building 4 , 1530 to 1730 in the Knik house in the District of tomorrow.
See www.dewijkvanmorgen.nl for details !
pictures are from the first Cafe in the new house
The District of tomorrow, a project by RiBuiT/Zuyd University, celebrated the opening of the first house: " Bend towards the sun" . The Building will apply for the Passivhaus certificate, and is a 0-energy house as well. The partial integration of the solar roof has been successful . Construction of building 2 has started, a expo/office building, with agriculture roof and greenhouses.
During the opening festivities a initiative was launched to create a transition-board, that will coordinate initiatives like the district of tomorrow, towards a common agreed direction in the region.
We are now housed in building 1!
This February we have installed two Urban windturbines, Raywaver type. The masts have a amorphous PV banner around it, and are equipped with LED streetlighting as well. The Turbines are connected to the new installed smart grid , just as the first house and future buildings will be. Now we are in the phase of installing all monitoring and steering equippement.
Wind tubines and smart grid
The Exisiting District of tomorrow, a sister project of the District of Tomorrow , has been launched and the first test house is ready: its a demonstration of a 0-energy house renovation: In Three days the renovation is completed: First day the front facade replaced by two prefab , facade high panels, second day the back facade and third day the roof. The inhabitants can stay in their house during the process. After evaluation of the test house, and applying improvements, from April on 150 houses will be renovated to passive and 0-energy standards.
We now have our own 2 real scale testing facilities: a new and a renovated house!
0-energy renovation demo house!
Sustainable Building Support centre
Wanted! BIOBASED products
For Building 4 ( MAXergy) in the District of Tomorrow, we are searching renewable materials or biobased products . So far 82% of the building's weight has been designed in biobased materials ( or is based on products from biobased and regrowable resources, like the basic wood construction) To try to bring this to 100%, or as close as possible, we are looking for alternatives and innovations for all parts!
Building 4 will be 100% renewable materials, biobased, and 0-material…
Currently we are detailing the fourth building called MAXergy house. This will be made of 100% renewable materials, or biobased. In the basis it's a wooden structure building, for student start up companies and small workshop facilities. The basic materials are all from renewable material, but in many details and finishing's we are searching for alternatives. In design or by new biobased products. See the call on the right. Besides this has to become the first 0-materialbuilding in the world, by producing its own materials on site. For this reason we are developing a garden behind the building where the material will be regrown on a 50 years return basis. This is following our own developed Embodied land calculation method. This method will soon be published as open source, some background is already available in the papers in the Theory section.
building 4, MAXergy house, detailed
On the last sustainable Café, a agreement was signed between Zuyd University and Waterschapsbedrijf Limburg, WBL ( Watertreatment company Limburg) to jointly develop the water neutral system for the District of Tomorrow. The WBL has developed a future strategy for water treatment, and will use the District of Tomorrow as the research and testing area. More to follow when details are settled.
New partner for watermanagement
