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You may ask yourself the question; what is architectural sustainability? Lets put it this way, since it
is really unwise to act un-sustainably (why should you want to do that?), it is logical to act sustain-
ably as it is a natural way of doing things. So, if you are a competent architect, your buildings are
by denition sustainable. It depends on your skills as an architect whether you are able to make it
Architecture too!
When we elaborate on sustainable architecture, we focus on these two words, Architecture and Sus-
tainable. Architecture exposes beauty, it shows the right proportions. Its a kind of woooah.
We acknowledge the fact that Sustainable development is dened as development that meets
the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs (WCED, Our Common Future, 1987
1
). Following this denition we may conclude that Sus-
tainable Architecture is architecture that does not pass on environmental or social problems onto
others. Neither in time to the next generations - nor in spatial dimensions to places elsewhere
on the earth. The Dutch term for this is het voorkomen van afwenteling.
During the introduction lectures of the Delft Lectures on Architectural Sustainability several times
students gave their opinion whether on the buildings shown were deemed sustainable and/or
whether they were in their opinion Architecture. In this they were free to interpret what the deni-
tions of these terms are.
Its amazing to nd that within half an hour many students completely changed their minds after
some additional information about the buildings was given.
For instance, given a very Architectural petrol station
2
it was as a sort of logical result that it wasnt
going to be very sustainable. Nevertheless knowing the petrol station is LEED certied
3
, and after a
summary of the building characteristics was given, many students changed opinions.
Figure 1: Students response (n=184) on the rst sight (upper bar in right picture) and after a short explanation
(lower bar in right picture).
!
Sustainable architecture clearly isnt related to any special kind of design. Looking at Architecture as
a layman you cant tell if a building is sustainable. As a professional you should at least be able to
make an educated guess.
1 Our Common Future is also known as the Brundtland Report. The United Nations World Commission on Environ-
ment and Development (WCED) published the report in 1987.
2 Helios House, Petrol Station in Los Angeles. Architect: Ofce dA. Source picture: Flickr.supergiball - Ofce dA -
Helios House 1.
3 LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally-recognized green building certica-
tion system. Developed by the US Green Building Council.
4 College with response cards on September 8, 2011. Number of students 184 (MSc2 faculty of Architecture Delft
University of Technology).
6
At Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture we also refer to this as smart architec-
ture. Smart architecture is always sustainable, because it simply isnt smart to make architecture
unsustainable. Nevertheless not all sustainable architecture is by denition smart. Smart in this
concept equals innovative, inspiring, intelligent, optimistic and integral.
With the implementation of the Delft Lectures on Architectural Sustainability we want to state that
sustainable design has priority in architecture. We hope the seminars will contribute to the debate,
show the fast developments in this broad eld and will be able to bring a focus on innovation.
Students shouldnt only be taught intellectual knowledge, but they should be stimulated to develop
their own vocabulary on sustainable architecture as well.
Peter G. Teeuw MSc PDEng
Climate Design and Sustainability, TU Delft, August 2014
7
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The construction industry is changing. Much of what until recently has been considered as normal,
is under discussion. The increasing demand for sustainability is an integral part of this change. We
are not talking about a temporarily sustainability hype but about a fundamental change of thinking
and doing with profound implications, for all parties involved.
Anke van Hal
The context of the construction industry is changing dramatically. Old and traditional ways of work
seem increasingly insufcient to reect the new questions that arise. For example; the rapidly in-
creasing focus on existing buildings, -both ofces and houses-, a shift of focus to inll areas, shrink-
ing city phenomena in the border areas and the scarcity of energy and materials,. The feeling of
vulnerability is increasing. Everything seems to be related. And there are more changes; There is
a new call for transparency and an increased need for cooperation, a changing role of the client,
an increasing demand for a service instead of a product, new procurement forms such as DBFMO
and sustainable procurement, Europes inuence and ambitions and the regulations of the countries
around us,..
Those who agree with me that the context of the construction industry is changing radically and
that an increasing demand for sustainability is part of this change, can only conclude that there is a
strong need for new sustainable business models. Models that not only take into consideration the
interests of people here and now but also those of people there and later and the interests of the
environment in general. Sustainability is no longer only a case of feeling responsible (Corporate so-
cial responsibility - CSR), but also a case of taking care of business interests. We seem to move to a
situation in which taking care of the environment can enhance the benets of businesses. Explicitly
can, for bringing the win-win theory into practice is not easy. It requires a big change in the every-
day way of working.
The word sustainable is in the building practice often equated with expensive. This is obvious;
adding sustainable measures to what you always did results in extra costs. However, if sustainable
measures help to solve problems or reach personal goals, then the situation is different. Then these
measures become something people want which creates a totally different dynamic. Striving for a
merger of interests, I call this way of working.
But as I said, this way of working is not easy. The procedure requires knowledge of human be-
haviour (what do people really want?). If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have
said faster horses., Henry Ford, the inventor of cars, once said.
However, knowledge of human behaviour alone is not enough. There is much more knowledge
needed on the quality of sustainability measures (what existing needs do these measures meet?).
And more economic knowledge too (how can we make sustainability measures affordable?). Work-
ing from a merger of interests requires a lot of creativity. Finding other solutions than the standard
ones is easier in cooperation with other people. Therefore, cooperation is also a crucial condition for
who wants to work with this approach. There is also a lot of courage needed for bringing new ideas
into practice. On paper there are many beautiful and creative plans. Bringing them into practice is a
totally different story. But it happens. There are many parties active in the Netherlands who take up
the challenge with nding creative solutions for complex problems and who are trying, in collabora-
tion with others, to nd new (and sustainable) ways to respond to urgent questions.
8
The Wallis block in Rotterdam is a ne example of the merger of interests. The municipality gave
away houses in an impoverished neighbourhood for free and also invested in the renovation of the
foundation. The new residents, together with an architect, transformed these houses in a beautiful
housing block that positively affects the whole neighbourhood and that also meet high-level sustain-
able requirements. This is the story of a true win-win situation, but on forehand of course nobody
knew if the approach would be a success.
And this is just one example. There are many more. As said, not everyone is suitable for this ap-
proach. You need creative people who are capable of far-reaching cooperation and who dare to
do unusual things (with all the risks it involves). However, there is an urgent need for sustainable
responses to the new questions that arise. Whoever nds an answer rst has a beautiful business
model. This is a time of change.
This is a summary and translation of the article Anders denken, anders doen, Building Business, by
Anke van Hal, March 2011
9
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Paris Hilton at the music magazine BPMs green party at the Los Angeles Avalon nightclub, quoted
from Paris becomes a bunny-hugger (Tonight, 2007)
We are all keen to participate, but we are not sure if we know what sustainability actually is.
(Quote from a discussion on sustainability at the NAi)
When the Bruntland commission presented their report in 1987, a general denition of the term sus-
tainable was provided:
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromis-
ing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
10
The concept is clear, but as soon as you start applying it, you may nd yourself in a engaging but
confusing debate. The denition is broad and can be applied to purely ecological as well as social
and economic aspects and of course these three can easily contradict each other.
As this gives space to a lot of different focuses, the discussion is often held with almost religious
passion. Green actually seems to have all the key ingredients of religion. There are saints and evil
sinners. There are believers and non-believers. There are crimes, confessions and absolution. And
there are multiple streams, sects and movements. Eating beef is a green sin, as is driving an SUV
or taking long haul ights. But the ancient system of buying absolution works here too: you can buy
yourself out of your sins with carbon offsets. Green leaders like Al Gore attract large crowds with
their speeches, not unlike religious conventions.
This is disconcerting. We need an un-dogmatic debate, progressive innovation and rational politics.
And instead of belief, we need evidence.
11
As this gives space to a lot of different focuses, the discussion is
often held with almost religious passion. Green actually seems to
have all the key ingredients of religion. T here are saints and evil
sinners. T here are believers and non-believers. T here are crimes,
confessions and absolution. And there are multiple streams,
sects and movements. E ating beef is a green sin, as is driving an
SUV or taking long haul ights. But the ancient system of buying
absolution works here too: you can buy yourself out of your sins
with carbon offsets. Green leaders like Al Gore attract large crowds
with their speeches, not unlike religious conventions.
T his is disconcer ting. We need an undogmatic debate, progressive
innovation and rational politics. And instead of belief, we need
evidence.
Green is a complex topic and it seems difcult to deter mine what
really matters in the green debate. As a consequence, Green is in
danger to become pure marketing, Green-washing that makes
use of the cur rent interest in Green for selling products. W e see
the results all around us: whatever you can do, there seems to
be a greener way of doing it. T here are green skates, sustainable
pizzas and environmentally friendly toothbr ushes. You can even
buy eco friendly vodka and help saving the planet one glass
at a time. I n 2006 T he Sunday T imes repor ted that even British
arms manufacturer BAE systems saw the necessity to promote
themselves as Green by introducing environmentally friendly
weapons including reduced lead bullets and rockets with fewer
toxins. T his may not have been the brightest moment of company
PR, but it shows that if Green remains vague, it is in danger of
turning into a temporar y hype, which becomes arbitrar y in the
future.
Green is a complex topic and it seems difcult to determine what really matters in the green
debate. As a consequence, Green is in danger of becoming pure marketing, Green-washing that
makes use of the current interest in Green for selling products. We see the results all around us:
whatever you can do, there seems to be a greener way of doing it. There are green skates, sus-
tainable pizzas and environmentally friendly toothbrushes. You can even buy eco friendly vodka and
help saving the planet one glass at a time. In 2006 The Sunday Times reported that even British
arms manufacturer BAE systems saw the necessity to promote themselves as Green by introducing
environmentally friendly weapons including reduced lead bullets and rockets with fewer toxins.
This may not have been the brightest moment of company PR, but it shows that if Green remains
vague, it is in danger of turning into a temporary hype, which becomes arbitrary in the future.
To escape this green vagueness and abuse, we make a plea for a more rational, quantiable and
measurable approach to Green. As one step in that direction, we describe the concept of the Green
City Calculator, a software tool that can be used for the evaluation and design of sustainable cities
or regions. The focus is less on newly built eco-cities but on extending and adjusting existing cities.
Once installed, the tool could evaluate the impact of a projected urban development and compare
this to alternative designs. It could compare the environmental benets of an investment in public
transport to one in the insulation of the existing building stock and thus support decision making
on an urban level. It would allow shifting the focus from sustainable building design to sustainable
urban planning on a large scale. Teaming up with the engineering rms Arup and DGMR and the
Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientic Research (TNO), The Why Factory recently started
working on a pilot version of this software tool.
12
This rational calculator approach could lead to new, different proposals and green designs. It could
lead to less visible but effective strategies as energy networks and other ways to make use of
synergetic effects in the city. It should leave space for experiments and support research in new
technologies of energy generation, waste management and food production. It would result into a
different scale in Green, away from an emphasis of reduction towards new, larger structures. And it
could lead to a new aesthetic in Green design that goes beyond bio-mimicry and dares to compete
with the beauty of nature.
Ulf Hackauf The Why Factory
October 2011
13
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Sustainable development is at the centre of research at the TU Delft. The urgency has been there
for decades and the appeal came from all directions (society, the former rector of this university
1

and from students). All support sustainable development (is there an alternative?), but it is not
priority to all. My experience from planning Poptahof in 1998 up to the quality team of IJburg today:
sustainability is the common ground in a multi-actor process, but at the end of the day it isnt per-
ceived as urgent [Dorst & Duijvestein, 2004]. Our society isnt sustainable and there is a long way
to go. My vision on what is going wrong starts with the by far most quoted citation for sustainable
development: a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs [Brundtland, 1987]. In itself societally so correct,
but scientically insufcient. It is political denition that cannot be operationalized. Sustainable de-
velopment is a wicked concept with a multi-dimensional complexity that cant be explained unam-
biguously [Du Plessis, 2009]. So the denition leads to the badly needed common ground in a multi
actor process, but interpretations are diverse and are simplications of reality. As an example here
is a quote from an alderman of Rotterdam: If you look at the denition of Bundtland, a lot of things
can be translated into energy and raw materials, and you can translate energy into carbon dioxide
emissions.
2
This is a shocking simplication, and on the other hand it is the empirical way of de-
constructing reality into comprehensible (measurable) bits and pieces. Another alderman may come
up with another interpretation. So in fact: sustainable development as a concept involves different
worldviews. This can be explained through the history of sustainable development in which differ-
ent elds of science have added different elements over time. Therefore these different movements
have developed a range of problematic statements that are all included in the goals of sustainable
development. This is a logical development because of the fact that the combination of disciplines
prevents negative side effects of any specic intervention that should bring us closer to a sustain-
able future. There are many relevant disciplines - for this paper I will name three important ones:
The Ecological discipline
According to Rousseau (his confessions at the end of the 18
th
century), unspoilt nature disappeared
because man began to see himself as the owner of the land and its natural resources [Riley, 2001].
It would be another 150 years before this relationship between man and his habitat would be de-
scribed as an ecological construct [Boardman, 1978].

And as long as 50 years ago, in 1962, a wider
public realized that this impaired relationship would result in an environmental crisis [Carson, 1962].
According to this world view, the biggest threat is the rapid decline of biodiversity.
This philosophy is included in the tradition of the section Urban Landscapes. Van Leeuwens rela-
tional theory was an inspiration for Prof De Jong, Prof Duijvestein and Prof Sijmons. The approach
has a historical link (through cybernetics and systems thinking) with the work of todays visiting
professor of the chair, Juval Portugali.
1 An engineer should know the basic principles and implications of sustainable development and should be able
to incorporate this in their work. It is a new element of the qualication prole of our graduates. - 2004
Prof. dr. ir. J.T.F. Fokkema, Rector Magnicus
2 "##$%&'() *$ +', -%./0$11 2"3&4%5.( 6.%*'#'7.*'$(8 9:3*:%4 .(& ;(<'%$(54(* .(& #'<'3 4()4(44%= >? @>@?A?A8 Bww.
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14
The Environmental discipline
Climate change due to human activity is a discovery from the 19
th
century
1
. Resource depletion
has been a constraint for every city development in history. However the total impact of the (mis)
behaviour of humankind became world news with the Club of Rome report The Limits to Growth
[Meadows et al 1972]. The focus here is on the process (or ow) components of urbanisation such
as energy, water, trafc, materials, and food.
2
By taking climate change and one ow at a time,
sustainable development becomes measurable and explainable (the Al Gore view). Clear goals make
this a well-used philosophy for engineers and designers
3
. Here climate change is the biggest threat.
Just as in the rst type of discipline this is an approach that has its history in our faculty starting
with ecodevice (Van Wirdum and Van Leeuwen) and driestappenstrategie (Duijvestein e.a.) until
REAP (van den Dobbelsteen e.a.). For this chair the urban metabolism will be one of the fundamen-
tal principles.
The Anthropocentric discipline
Within sustainable development the UN conference in Rio de Janeiro1992 shifted attention from
technological issues to the well-being of people: Human beings are at the centre of concerns for
sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature
[UN, 1992]. This concept made man both a means and an end, since his commitment is crucial for
achieving sustainable development.
This approach is more subjective and qualitative than its predecessors. It presents us with problems
that cannot be solved using engineering alone, as appears to be the case with efforts to reduce CO
2

emissions by x per cent over y number of years. And only part of this idea is related to the built
up environment. The primary goal here is health. In recent years this goal has been modied into
happiness
4
.
From the second half of the 19
th
century on, the welfare of people has been a driver of urbanism.
Taeke de Jong emphasised health as the goal of environmental technology.
Each of these worldviews is a way of looking at reality
5
and can help us on the path to a sustainable
built up environment. But if a researcher is trapped within one vision there may be a negative effect
on others. High density as the sustainable city form is an example of this. Of course there are more
approaches, like prosperity or permanence
6
.
We should not disqualify any one discipline, because they all have different relations in time and
space. An ecosystem based approach
7
starts at a specic scale and looks for resilience (time based).
And an environmental approach starts with the global problems of the future, and gives context to
the present-day by extrapolating backwards. Social sustainability (the anthropocentric approach)
starts in the here and now and looks for durable needs in relation to elsewhere and the future. Sus-
tainable design is a combination of disciplines - a necessary package deal to prevent us from trade
off effects
8
.
1 Svante Arrhenius discovered in 1896 the relation between carbon dioxide emissions and global warming
[Masling, 2004].
2 This goes back to Patrick Geddes (19 century) and Abel Wolman, 1965.
3 Winy Maas: I am a child of the Club of Rome (Indesem workshop 2007).
4 The 2
nd
of April this year there was a UN conference on Happiness and Well Being: Dening a New Economic
Paradigm. This shift has a Dutch origin in the work of Prof. Veenhoven [1997].
5 Foucault would relate the so called discourse to different realities, but I dont follow a post-modern line of rea-
soning and believe in a Platonic way in the existence of one reality.
6 Permanence or durability is an urbanism approach based on the historical layers of the city and the fact that
intervention are long-lasting.
7 The ecosystem as an object becomes a designers concept.
8 In Dutch: afwenteling
15
References:
Boardman, P. (1978) The Worlds of Patrick Geddes: Biologist, Town Planner, Re-educator,
Peace-warrior. London/Boston: Routledge.
Brundtland, G.H. (1987). Our Common Future The world commission on Environment and
Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Carson, R. (1962) Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifin.
Dorst, M.J. van & Duijvestein, C.A.J. (2004). Concepts of sustainable development - The
2004 International Sustainable Development research conference Conference proceedings
29-30 march University of Manchester, UK.
Du Plessis, C (2009) Urban Sustainability science as a new paradigm for planning in Dob-
belsteen, A. Van den, M.J. van Dorst, A. Van Timmeren (eds). Smart Building in a Changing
Climate. Amsterdam: Techne Press.
Maslin, M. (2004) Global Warming, a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Meadows, D.H. et al. (1972) The Limits to Growth. New York: Universe books.
Riley, P.T. (ed. 2001) The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press.
Rittel, H.W.J. and Webber, M.M. (1973) Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning in Policy
Sciences, 4, pp. 155-169.
United Nations (1972) Report of the United Nations conference on environment and develop-
ment, Rio de Janeiro. New York: United Nations department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Veenhoven, R. (1997) Advances in understanding happiness in Revue Qu b coise Psycholo-
gie, vol 18, pp.29-74.
dr.ir. Machiel van Dorst, 16
th
of April 2012
16
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A methodological approach to design
So far, the solutions I presented apply for a large scale, from region to the neighbourhood. In this
chapter I will return to the core focus of our Section of Climate Design buildings and show how
the methods and approaches presented until now are also functional for the design process of build-
ings.

! Smart: intelligent, related to natural intelligence (natural generic cognitive ability to reason pro-
cesses) or artihcial intelligence (perfect imitation of behaviour by a computer) [Timmeren 2001|
! Smart architecture: sustainable design intelligently interacting with the environment [Hinte et al.
2003|
! Bioclimatic design: the passive low-energy design approach that makes use of the ambient
energies of the climate of locality (incl. the latitude and the ecosystem) to create conditions for
comfort for the users of the building [Yeang 1999|
! Smart 8 bioclimatic design: a design approach that deploys local characteristics intelligently
into the sustainable design of buildings and urban plans [my own dehnition|
A key term in the academic material of Climate Design & Sustainability, with the basis formed by
Building Physics and the innovative technology of Building Services, is smart & bioclimatic design.
This is a design approach taught to students of the Faculty of Architecture, which combines the
common sense of bioclimatic design with the smart use of technology in architecture.
Veg.itecture, Ken Yeangs plan for an urban structure based on vegetation [Llewelyn Davies Yeang].
Bioclimatics is a traditional architectural stream from an era when people experienced the limits to
materials, water and energy and acted accordingly, making full use of the available opportunities on
site. Every region in the world used to design according to bioclimatics, for another approach would
mean complete squandering of resources. Ken Yeang has personally reintroduced and popularised
bioclimatic architecture, and he is still unsurpassed in his bioclimatic and ecological approach to
skyscrapers in particular [e.g. Yeang 2006].
Backyard management or global stewardship
Trade and globalism have detached human beings from any sense of constraints, which may have
been acceptable in the past two hundred years of abundance. However, with the disappearance of
rainforests, the depletion of fossil fuel and certain metals, as well as the uncontrolled production
and shift of hazardous waste to developing countries or the environment, it is time to take control
18
again. This could be done in two ways.
First way: solve as much as possible in our own backyard. Not that I oppose global trade, on
the contrary, but thrown back to our own possibilities and limitations, we will learn better to
become sustainable. Moreover, if we manage to resolve our own problems at home, we can
help others who have little means to do so.
Second way: take shared responsibility for all countries in the world where we draw resourc-
es from. This would come down to global stewardship. If we translated most of the ethics
and social, economical and environmental quality regulations at home to these countries of
resource origins, it would be a much better world already. That this is possible is demon-
strated by the successful Fair Trade and Max Havelaar brands for food and Forest Stew-
ardship Council for timber. Quintessential however is the uncompromised choice for these
products only.

Smart & bioclimatic design as we teach it not only I but also my valued colleague Arjan van Tim-
meren, for instance follows a clear line of reasoning:
1. Starting-points
2. Local characteristics
3. Boundary conditions
4. Smart design
I will explain the steps below.
Adaptive thermal comfort: people accept higher temperatures indoors (Tbin) when outdoor temperatures are high
(Te). The purple line follows the most energy-efcient climate settings
[Linden et al. 2006].
Formulating starting-points
Smart & bioclimatic design commences with desired conditions, quality requirements or (energy)
performance scores. This comes down to the people element of sustainability essential needs of
humans and added quality to their lives: safety, human health, comfort, convenience, happiness,
beauty and fun. Specically for the area of climate design it relates to comfort (light, heat, humid-
ity, acoustics and air quality) and the acknowledgement of individual control on it. An example of
this is the model of adaptive thermal comfort by Linden et al. [2006], which gives the acceptance
margins of a comfortable indoor climate in relationship with the outdoor temperature. This model is
very suited for energy-saving when we design our climate systems close to the lower boundaries in
19
winter and higher boundaries in summer, instead of holding the middle, as a result of which still a
lot of users feel too cold in summer and too warm in winter.
Studying the local characteristics
This step you have already encountered in the previous chapters, for instance as part of the method
of energy potential mapping. In our eld, local characteristics relate to features that can inuence
the climate design or energy use of a building: the local climate, seasonal and diurnal differences,
weather conditions, the underground and surroundings, either natural or anthropogenic interven-
tions: no building stands alone.
Dening boundary conditions
This step needs to lead to an underlayment plan or a set of boundaries for the design. These are
based on the local characteristics studied in the previous step. They may be translated to rules of
thumb for the orientation, rough shape of the building, roof type or faade detailing, to give a few
examples.
Smart design
This is the creative and fun part of smart & bioclimatic design, using the preparative work as the
toolbox and playing eld for the real stuff: architectural design and architectural engineering.
Case study of the Dutch chancellery
To demonstrate the approach of smart & bioclimatic design I will show some outcomes of a prepar-
ative study we did for the new Dutch chancellery in Canberra some years ago, about which we pub-
lished an international paper [Dobbelsteen et al. 2008]. This was an interesting case for us, because
it concerned a different climate zone and the ndings would be used by the architect who was to be
selected to make the design. I will discuss a few issues.
A rst issue we raised with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was about the starting-points of the build-
ing design, not just the brief yet also wishes related to the use of energy, water and material. It
was here that we could discuss the adaptive thermal comfort idea to reduce the energy demand in
summer and winter even before we started.
Without the need to travel we proceeded with the analysis of local circumstances. For Australia Can-
berra has a relatively mild climate, almost continental and on average only 2 degrees warmer than
the Netherlands, but with big differences between day and night as well as between summer and
winter. So moderating the indoor temperature through deployment of building mass or the under-
ground would be desirable.
Located at a southern latitude relatively close to the Equator, in summer the sun reaches a height
of approximately 82
o
(to the north!), so almost vertical. Therefore we studied all possible faade
elevations and proposed rudimentary obstructive element positions to avoid irradiation, as well as a
suspended tropical roof to keep the solar heat at bay and reect most of it.
Different solutions for different faade elevations.
Another interesting typical feature was the predominant wind from the north-west, bringing in hot
air from the desert during daytime and freezing cold at night. This wind therefore had to be ob-
20
structed. The building site had no tree coverage in that direction, but the old chancellery building
from the 1950s was exactly positioned against this wind direction. So we proposed to preserve the
old building and use it as a windscreen and its cellar as rainwater storage. For, as you probably
know, lack of water is Australias climate menace.
All ndings from the analysis we translated into a crude underlayment plan, with sketches present-
ing alternative solutions to solve specic climate and energy problems.
!"#
%&'(%)"")*+
!"#
%&'(%)"")*+
Urban underlayment plan for the Dutch chancellery in Canberra.
From here on the architect, Rudy Uytenhaak, would have to nish the assignment, which he did,
making a proper architectural expression a smart design of the local boundary condition sketch-
es. His design of the new Dutch chancellery was round and therefore lacked the strictly different fa-
cades we had sketched, proposing a beautiful gradient in the solar obstructive elements. Uytenhaak
also did something we had strongly discouraged: design an atrium. He however provided it with a
rotating sloped roof, which could keep out all undesired sunshine, generate power and which gave
the building a stark architectural expression.
Design for the new Dutch chancellery [Rudy Uytenhaak Architectenbureau].
21
Three types of roofs that should be compulsory from now on
Dutch roofs are stupid: if they are sloped they do not produce energy nor function as a rainwater
collector; if they are at they do neither and have black tar foil which heats up to 80
o
C in summer.
As far as I am concerned, only three types of roofs are allowed from now on:
The Green Roof: rainwater buffer, temperature moderator, micro-climate improver, passive
cooler and moisturiser, park landscape for people
The Energy Roof: power and/or heat generator, rainwater collector, solar reector, active
cooler
The Greenhouse Roof: power generator and heat collector, rainwater collector, passive cool-
er, CO
2
sequesterer, urban agricultivator, winter garden and home restaurant
Ill discuss the Greenhouse Roof further on.
We do not stand alone
Rudy Uytenhaak is not the only Dutch architect who successfully integrates sustainability into his
designs. I am glad to notice that the market is lling up with architects who dare to take the step to
design sustainably, without the obsolete perception that this accent would only diminish the archi-
tectural quality but rather seeing it as a necessity and extra challenge and potential for a new type
of architecture. So, many follow this track now. I cannot mention all of these architects I regard,
but I want to highlight a few of them who have always had sustainability on their banner.
Bjarne Mastenbroeks Villa Fals in Switzerland [SeARCH].
Last year SeARCH was elected Dutch architect of the year, and an important reason was the original
vision of its main architect, Bjarne Mastenbroek, on sustainability and the passionate way he uses it
22
in excellent architecture. In that sense he has much in common with Hiltrud Ptz and Pierre Bleuz
of opMAAT.
Design of the carbon-neutral Zuidkas building [Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter].

Two different architects with a ceaseless drive to design energy-neutral or even -delivering buildings
are Thomas Rau and Paul de Ruiter. Paul de Ruiters architecture is far from what grumpy architects
refer to as ecological buildings and he succeeds in combining a modern architectural expression
with a top performance in sustainability.
The original design of Villa Flora [Kristinsson Architects & Engineers].
Among the older and wiser yet not less energetic architects is for me the godfather of sustainable
architecture, Jn Kristinsson. Retired already nine years ago he is unstoppable in conceiving innova-
tive techniques to be applied in holistic sustainable buildings. Jns design for the Villa Flora in Venlo
would be I dare say the greenest modern building in the world, as it closes every cycle of ener-
gy, water and materials. Except for two things: Dutch law does not allow drinking water decentrally
made from precipitation, and the waste water treatment produces somewhat too much nitrogen. I
suggest to him he add a nettle farm to his building and this too will be solved
The fun of exploring new directions for design
The exemplary architects mentioned above hopefully convey the fun of working on sustainable
building design, while taking into account fundamental or even enhanced quality levels and using
local circumstances optimally.
23
At present I see several new areas for further development of urbanism and architecture into the di-
rection of becoming fully sustainable. In the very rst chapter, I already presented the four themes
of our research programme of Green Building Innovation. I hope that the need for three of these
is obvious after having read the booklet up till here: closing cycles, carbon neutrality and climate
adaptation. Here I will explain the fourth one, E-novation, as well as other challenging topics for the
area of Climate Design.
The greenhouse as an asset
In Kristinssons Villa Flora the greenhouse is an essential asset. In an earlier study he had found
that one hectare of modern, smart greenhouse (using ne-wire heat exchangers and heat and cold
storage in the underground) is a solar collector that could provide heating for 7 to 8 ha of new
ultra-low-temperature-heated houses. This area is based on average Dutch urban plans, the Vinex
density. If we were to combine greenhouses with apartment blocks, I calculated that every 3 to 4
stories of apartments could be served by one layer of modern greenhouse (presumably on top).
Sketch for a building solving four problems at once: water storage, housing development,
food production and energy-neutrality (idea for the Dutch Westland).
This simple ratio based on heat supply and demand has additional advantages: the greenhouse
could be used for locally grown food (urban agriculture) and these plants could absorb the CO
2
-lled
exhaust from the apartments. Furthermore, the greenhouse roof would simplify rainwater collection
for use by the plants or in the apartments. As you know, buffering rainwater becomes more urgent
in cities.
Fossil-free developments
The importance of greenhouses became perfectly clear when I had to work on a region free of fossil
fuel, together with planners, architects and technologists. Groningen was again one example to be
elaborated, and we found that, with assumed energy savings of 50%, we had to create 250 km
2
of
photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines together. The only spot where we could nd sufcient land
for this was the ecologically and economically depleted area of the Veenkolonin (peat colonies).
Planning 250 km
2
of modern horticulture that uses excessive carbon dioxide and has a closed heat
balance, with PV on the south side of the shed roof and wind turbines between the greenhouses,
we could solve the biggest part of the assignment. In addition, the facility would produce high-qual-
ity food and organic material, making it very productive and viable.
24
Groningen Fossil Free: the province as it provides its own energy by non-fossil sources. The yellow-green patches
to the south-east consists of modern greenhouses providing most of the energy, in addition to food and material,
whereas it also serves as a carbon sink [image by Kasper Klap].
Technologies unlimited
As part of the Delft University of Technology of course I want to contribute to the development of
new technology for the built environment. The SREX and REAP cases urge for new techniques of
heat and cold exchange without excessive use of infrastructure. Also on the building level in the
area of energy and climate, new technical improvements can still be made for the building envelope
or building services. In that respect I think the tendency toward adaptive and responsive techniques
is promising and should be enhanced towards intelligent interaction of building and surroundings,
for which the gentle art of biomimetic architecture as taught by Leeds professor Greg Keeffe [e.g.
Keeffe 2010] provides a thorough basis.
Energy and comfort in buildings: theory, plan and reality
Many plans are well-intended but turn out to perform worse than anticipated. Things go wrong
during the design, construction and operation stage, which we need to understand in order to
avoid:
How correct are energy calculations?
What goes wrong in practice (the design, construction or operation stage)?
What can we do about this?
Do people behave differently than anticipated?
What are the behavioural mechanisms behind this?
How can we design sustainable buildings that forgive mistakes or that t user behaviour?
25

Sketch of the Breathing Window principle [Kristinsson Architects & Engineers]
and folder page of its market introduction [Brink Climate Systems].
Forgive me for mentioning him again, but Jn Kristinsson is one of the very few architect-inven-
tors who come up with new ideas and techniques every year. Among the latest are the Smart Skin
and the Air Mover, an inventive passive ventilator he developed with his equally smart brother.
The Breathing Window, which he invented in the late 1990s, is nally going to be launched on the
market. The principle is simple: fresh air is let in through a ne-wire heat exchanger where exhaust
air exchanges its waste heat by an efciency of 90%, thus providing ventilation and basic heating
simultaneously. It is a perfect solution for buildings with limited oor heights, where suspended
ceilings are undesired and for renovation projects, which brings me to E-novation.
E-novation, the assignment of the coming decades
Education at the Faculty of Architecture may predominantly concern new buildings and new urban
developments but after the coming 15-20 years a decisive period for sustainable development
90% of the built environment will consist of exactly the same elements as we have now. So we may
design brilliant sustainable buildings, which we can, but the real challenge lies in the improvement
of the existing stock, where as discussed at least 50% of energy savings need to be accom-
plished.
During my doctoral research I developed a model to compare decisions regarding renovation
of an existing building versus demolition and reconstruction, taking into account the age of
a building and its expected service life after intervention. For students I used the old faculty
building of Architecture as a case. I had better not done that, because it turned out that the
building should either be completely stripped and sustainably renovated, or demolished and
replaced by a sustainable new one. Surprisingly for students, this case showed that preserv-
ing old poor-quality buildings not always is the best solution. As you probably know this very
building burned down in 2008, the year of comparison reference in class
26
I use the term of E-novation to describe energy renovation innovation. It is an assignment much
more complicated than designing a new building, as not all measures are possible, requiring inge-
nuity to signicantly improve the energy performance. Close as close can be, we will work on the
sustainable renovation of the present building of the Faculty of Architecture, BK City. It is a perfect
example of the complexity of an old majestic building where unlimited intervention is not possible or
allowed. Within the coming years the BK City Slim project will have to make BK City the paragon of
E-novation, probably presenting a collection of strategies instead of just one solution:
Standard solutions (post-insulation, replacing windows, upgrading building services)
Technical approach (LTHfHTC hoors and walls, heat recovery, heat pumps, heat and cold
storage)
Local approach (cabins in large spaces, local heatingfcooling, wrap up internally)
!nnovations (Breathing Windows, heat-radiating furniture, greenhouse over the building)
No savings - sustainable generation (Pv and wind turbines here or elsewhere, green power,
geothermal heat)
Relevant research for E-novation
E-novation will bring a myriad of issues to be studied for optimal results:
Comparing different types of renovation for different buildings
Developing new solutions for roofs, facades and oors
Developing new technology for climatisation
Studying physical aspects of building renovation
Measuring comfort before and after intervention
Assessing energy performance before and after intervention
Determining the sustainability performance achieved
Surveying user behaviour and experience
References
Dobbelsteen A. van den, Gommans L. 8 Roggema R.; `Smart vernacular Planning - Sustain-
able regional design based on local potentials and optimal deployment of the energy chain',
in: Proceedings SB08; Nelbourne, 2008
Hinte E. van, Neelen N., vink J. 8 vollaard P.; Smart Architecture; 010 Publishers, Rotter-
dam, 2003
Keeffe G.P.; Neans, Neans, Neans - Adventures in the Technoscape vol.1; NSA Press, Nan-
chester, 2008
Timmeren A. van; High-tech, low-tech, no-tech - Architectonische interpretaties van duur-
zaam bouwen (versie 2.01) (in Dutch); Publikatieburo Bouwkunde, Delft, 1998
Yeang K.; Ecodesign: A Nanual for Ecological Design; John Wiley 8 Sons, 2006
Yeang K.; The Green Skyscraper - The Basis for Designing Sustainable !ntensive Buildings;
Prestel, Nnchen, Germany, 1999
27
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SustunuIc SustunuIt n ucItcctuc und uIun dcsgn
Sustainable development can be understood as the transition strategy for handling the needs
of the present without compromising the well being of future generations.
Since to 1950s the subject of sustainability and the need to reduce global ecological overshoot has
been at the center of debate on all fronts: social, economic and environmental. Within this context,
sustainability in my view is overarching environmental technology and design (and its Triad focus
people, technology and design), and without doubt one of the main tasks at hand for the world
we live in. Dened as a process or transition strategy rather than an end in itself, sustainability
has not yet been identied with a unied theory or approach. Sustainability aiming architectural
or urban solutions, that address to continuing transformation, economic-technical innovation and
changing tasks in the public sector, should be strongly linked to the use(rs), with optional help of
technology.
Sustainable development is a moving target: knowledge, technologies, and skills are still being
developed every day. In fact, sustainability often relies in the management of transitionsa shift
to doing things differentlythat tends to be specic to each site, rather than a constant recipe or
one size ts all type solution. This is why it is necessary to include the knowledge and innovations
of environmental technology and design and especially the role adaptation to (disruptive) change
(resilience) and complexity related to this. For sustainable (urban) development is mainly depending
on peoples mind.
One of the big debates in environmental urban development and design today concerns policy and
strategic responses. Both public and private sectors look for operational strategies that can be im-
plemented in the development and retrot of sustainable urban areas. As a result, powerful market
players working together with governments are emerging as the new leaders in this debate. One
way of addressing the complexity of the task at hand, often used these days, is through certication
standards. Certication programs can cover most of the aspects of urban (property-) development,
including setting targets for site decontamination, use of recycled materials, browneld redevelop-
ment, provision of public transport, options to discourage fossil transport use, energy consumption
and efciency in buildings, water recycling and waste management. There is however a certain risk
attached to this development. Urban and architectural sustainability should be more: plans will have
to be tied together in an integrated approach with surrounding projects as a total concept within a
structure supporting exible and continuous processes of change.
Within the research tradition of environmental technology, the attention for water and energy
saving has always been obvious, because of reduction in demand, enhancement of efciency and
renewable sources since the second energy crisis (in 1973). There is however a strong segregation
between the various participants, as there is between the various disciplines, concerning solutions
for matters including generation of renewable energy (wind versus sun), sustainable water man-
agement and the development of the necessary water concepts and waste/material management.
In the rst few years after the energy crisis, the energy policy is also strongly characterized by insti-
tutional fragmentation. Until now, most research projects on environment related ows of energy,
water, waste, nutrients and materials do not make any attempt to rise above the compartmentalized
policy domains. Many well-meant initiatives stick in thematic and effect-oriented solutions without
reaching a certain degree of integration or added value of environmental measures. The corre-
sponding infrastructure is often restricted to transport infrastructure with its own status, dominant
parties involved and path-dependent policy.
At the same time, few people in society deny the necessity to preserve or enhance the environment
or our living surroundings, to distribute wealth and welfare, to offer all people scope to develop
themselves and more awareness (the equity principle within Sustainable Development). However,
the emphasis on the restriction of the environmental load will soon lead to resistance. Public support
is lacking at times when this has consequences that cannot immediately be capitalized within the
current economic models. Most people like progress, fewer like changes Boisseleau stated. There-
fore, the emphasis should be on conducting a transformation process, and perhaps on expanding
environmental space. Critical to the implementation of this option of expanding the environmental
28
space, or better: of integrated resource management in the urban living environment from the per-
spective of Urban Metabolism (see for: the UM research group and graduation lab at the Urbanism
department), is knowledge dissemination of low exergy solutions including strong feedback systems
constructive feedback loops between the different physical scales (building, site, neighbourhood,
city-region, et cetera).
The basis of taking the beforementioned perspective as a guiding principle lies in the interaction
between integrated ecosystems and ecosystems in which the created technical system performs:
A sustainable built environment will not be completely reached until the ows of materials can be
closed and the cycle can be managed and sustained without too many manoeuvres and losses of
energy and other materials. And at all times alternatives should be offered. Within this approach,
sustainable development of a building or an area had better not follow the ready-made plan, but
should be embedded into a structure of exible and continuous processes of change. It should be
open to corrections and capable of continuously absorbing changes. Starting from the ambition of
sustainable development, an integrated development of areas assumes a simultaneous change in
the material/physical, social and symbolic domains. In this, the building and perseverance of rela-
tionships based on mutual trust between the participants is considered the social capital in the area.
Spatial conditions with respect to the built environment are often linked to Vitruviuss Utilitas,
Firmitas, Venustas. Most people are inclined to call suitability for building open to objectication,
usability less so and beauty actually not. Nevertheless in my view there is an important role for
environmental design.
Aesthetic quality, as part of spatial quality appears to be hard to dene objectively. Nevertheless, it
may be considered one of the criteria for lasting success of a designed urban area and its individual
buildings, and as far as visible for the systems applied: There is a fundamental difference between
(environmental technology based) systems that do their job as anonymously and invisibly as pos-
sible (like the current ush-and-forget systems), and integral systems that are visible and obvious
parts of the daily living environment. For positive reasons, we must nd positive incentives for the
installation of an alternative solution.
Aesthetic quality in any case links up with two out of the nine fundamental needs, and it may help
support environment assurance, a prerequisite on the way to ecological building following the prin-
ciple of conditionality to any sustainable future: any form of sustainable architecture is dependent
on the presence of a sustainable user. At the same time design specication always comprises a
demarcation according to scale. In this way, stratication in the design decisions and environmental
allocation comes into being, through which decisions at a higher scale level hold as a framework for
designs at a lower scale level. At a higher scale level, however, the design problems that will come
up at lower scale levels should also be taken into account. Each scale level has its specic, often
limited, absorption capacity or scope. The options for tting environmental technologies into the liv-
ing environment are determined by the nuisance expected (and related social acceptance), available
environmental and spatial capacity and, as a consequence, these are the critical factors. The ca-
pacity is closely related to the various essential systems (energy, water, food, green spaces and/or
light/space) and networks tting into the living environment, and in particular solutions with respect
to the emerging necessity of resilience to disruptive change
There is no doubt that architects, urban planners and engineers will have a very important role
toward the realization of a resilient and sustainable society within our towns and cities. Sadly, many
professionals in the eld usually come up with limited solutions for singular problems with static
forces. Let it be known that this epoch is now defunct. The importance of dynamic approaches,
community building and self-organization will be paramount to creating a more self-reliant society
that thinks globally but acts locally. Apart from our buildings and infrastructure, resilience, adapt-
ability and transformability need to be incorporated into the modern idiom.
The task of transitioning to a society that ensures the welfare of future generations against the in-
numerable consequences of anthropogenic climate change while not compromising earths biological
systems will be the greatest challenge our species will face in its history. This can cannot be kicked
down the road any further. What is to be done? While decentralizing technologies are becoming in-
creasingly available and transition towns continue to pop up worldwide, proliferation of the sustain-
able urbanism approach has stagnated. We are reaching a crossroads as a species and it is up to us
to choose between two distinct paths. Our current path is one of provincial economic, political and
29
social policies motivated by greed and short-term gains. Unfettered, machine-enhanced free-market
capitalism and globalization has permitted the global elite to manifest the largest income inequality
gap since the great depression, where the top 1 percent of earners own 46 percent of global assets.
Urbanization and resource depletion has pushed countries and corperations to scramble for the re-
maining parcels of farmland, water supplies and natural resources to feed the Randian beast whose
vision of society has reduced humans, animals and nature to mere liabilities against quarterly prot
margins. Does the virtue of selshness really dene us as a species? Or is it a product of society
that values the vast accumulation of capital over our collective needs?
The alternative path, based on symbiosis and reciprocity, is a biologically oriented, resource-based
society that revitalizes local economies, encourages polycentric development of urban metabolisms
and vindicates the sanctity of city and country, whose relationship has dened our civilization thus
far. We must foster a new ethos that values community, self-organization and the empowerment of
the individual at a both local and global scales. The menagerie of polies that dene modern society
must look beyond connectivity based solely on technology, transportation and trade toward their
surrounding hinterlands, their rural communities and the bounds of the natural environment, pro-
moting a dynamic equilibrium that will transform our cities to ReciproCities.
Though commonly used to gauge our success as a species, technological progress might not be
our saving grace. The pathological drive to increase the efciency and efcacy of technology might
obfuscate considerations of historical precedence, pragmatic knowledge and techniques used by
classical and ancient societies to cope with shifts environmental conditions. The task of transitioning
to a post-scarcity society that maintains some semblance of normalcy will require an interdisciplin-
ary approach that includes our nest engineers, physicists, doctors, designers, community organiz-
ers, artists, farmers, teachers and above all, individuals and communities.1
It is up to you!
Prof.dr.ir. Arjan van Timmeren, August 2014
1 Quote from the book: ReciproCities: A dynamic equilibrium (A.van Timmeren, TU Delft, 2013).
30
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SustunuIt u Iudng us u soucc o cncg
Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter
In 1992 Paul de Ruiter started his PhD here in Delft at the department of Building Technology with
his thesis The Chameleon Skin. In this thesis he rst acknowledged the ambition for buildings as
a source of energy. In 1994 he founded Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter, and this notion has ever
since been the guiding line in our work.
Buildings can literally be energy sources, as they can be the carriers of sustainable energy produc-
tion. Solar panels, fermentation and bio mass power plants, long term earth storage for heating and
cooling, and to a lesser extent wind energy these are all building based systems. Buildings start to
act as both energy users and producers, exchanging energy through the electricity grid with other
buildings and sustainable power plants. The grid starts acting as the YouTube for energy users
are also producers.
But before we start thinking about alternative energy production, buildings are also the means to
reduce the demand for energy signicantly through their skin. We design faades according to
their orientation, the way they face the sun, to the weather outside and to whats going on inside
this means we are designing along with the climate and not against it. This is what we call climate
design.
The energy a building uses is to a large extent the energy for cooling/heating and electricity. But
also the materials that a building is made of cost a certain amount of energy when manufactured
and assembled on site. The embodied energy of a building, as we could call it, has to be related to
the buildings life cycle in terms of long-term exibility (for instance the structure) and short-term
renewability or recyclability (nishes and interior).
Finally, a building is made to enhance the quality of life. This means we should build healthy build-
ings, with great indoor air quality, lots of daylight, vegetation, and well-organized orientation and
circulation. But a building is not a standalone object- it has its place in the complex social network
of a city. Buildings should create opportunities, be inclusive without being unguarded, and they
should be well connected with and have a positive inuence on their surroundings this is what we
call human energy.
How these different aspects of energy end up being represented in the building depends also on
the client and the project organisation. If a building is designed for the market by a developer,
there can be a sustainable ambition, but this ambition is often translated into something short term
and nance based. But as proven sustainable real estate generates more return on investment,
ambitions now get enhanced by sustainability certicates such as LEED and BREEAM. These labels
demand a minimum level of sustainability on all aspects of a building, from energy to water to
materials to indoor environment quality and health. If this is combined with the scenario where the
developer will also be the owner of the building after completion, the ambition of sustainability rises
with the prot to be made over energy saving. And nally, if the owner has also in mind to offer a
full service sustainable experience to his guests, then all is in the right place for designing some-
thing special. We happened to be so lucky in this project: Hotel Amstelkwartier.
Hotel Amstelkwartier Amsterdam: Sustainable luxury
Hotel Amstelkwartier (Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter and Mulderblauw Architecten) will be a
highly sustainable four-star-plus hotel on the Amstel riverbanks near Amstel Station. A new resi-
31
dential and working area will be developed here in the coming years. It is a project with many and
diverse conditions, such as a strictly dened building envelope, its slightly odd position on a former
brown eld next to a railway track, the big ambition for energy-saving, sustainability and to obtain
the LEED Platinum certicate (the highest possible LEED score), the demands of the hotel brand,
and, especially, the high standard and unique experience that the hotel has to offer to its guests.
Part of this unique experience is the beautiful view over Amsterdam ideally combined with a dra-
matic Dutch sky and light. So we decided to give all the hotel rooms big oor-to-ceiling windows.
However, climate wise, hotels tend to overheat very easily on a sunny day, and at the same time
they lose their warmth quickly overnight. In order to maintain the right indoor climate at all times,
most hotels have their cooling or heating services running permanently, even if the hotel guest is
out and the more glass in the faade, the more cooling and heating is required.
We decided that we need the big windows and a precise climate system to be at the disposal of the
hotel guest at any time, but that we dont need those when the hotel guest is out and most hotel
guests are out during the larger part of the day. So ideally, we want to switch off the heating and
cooling entirely when the guest is gone, and switch it back on just before he walks in again. There-
fore we designed insulated sliding panels that move in front of the glass when the guest is out,
so the indoor temperature of the room remains the same. The key card meanwhile keeps track of
our guest, and when he gets into the elevator downstairs, his room wakes up from its hibernating
state, and the sliding panels open up to present him with the view when he enters the room. This
reduces the energy demand for heating with 65% and for cooling with 99%.
So in fact the faade has not been designed as a whole it has been designed for one room, based
on an indoor experience, comfort and the reduction of energy demand. But the total appearance
of it is rather special: as the shutters open and close in response to the circumstances, the faade
changes constantly as well. In addition, we made sure that the faade as a whole keeps a notion of
abstraction and verticality, with the opening and closing panels as variables in a consistent rhythm.
Apart from hotel room the hotel houses a number of public functions. The ground oor is entirely
reserved for a restaurant/bar, the mezzanine houses the specialty restaurant and the hotel lobby,
the rst oor is a combination of conference and meeting concepts and on the top oor there will
be a large multifunctional club space. Especially the lower oors will also be articulated as very wel-
coming, transparent, lively areas that mark the hotels presence and attract people from the nearby
housing areas as well as from the rest of Amsterdam.
Altogether, the hotel with its 24h liveliness will appear to the city as a dynamic volume with an ev-
er-changing variety of lighting, transparency and colour under an overlay of an abstract consistent
faade structure. The fact that the building rst and foremost shows itself as a strongly shaped vol-
ume, and secondly reveals the activity inside through variations in the faade, enhances the experi-
ence of the approach of the hotel from the view from the high way all the way into the entrance
hall. It will form a singular shape in the citys skyline, and a new pivoting point between the city
centre, the river Amstel and the entrance of the city by car or railway.
Sustainable design requires a certain level of integral thinking. The traditional building process
phases of sketch design, preliminary design and technical engineering merge into each other,
as detailed technical questions become relevant already at the beginning for instance here the
faade and services concept are so much interrelated that we had to be certain of its performance
in detail already in the very beginning, or the design would have to change altogether as well. This
way of working requires close interaction with the technical and structural engineers, and a certain
willingness in the whole team to try out new ideas and innovations. The architect has, apart from
his specic expertise in conceptual thinking and aesthetics, to take up the role of the coordinator
and initiator in this team as the architect is the particular person to have the overview of all the
different aspects of the building as well as their correspondence with the architectural concept and
ambition.
Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter Hotel Amstelkwartier August 2014
32
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SustunuIt us dcsgn ctcon
The term sustainability is liable to ination. The meaning must be renewed constantly. Most of the
time sustainability is coupled with a low energy performance coefcient. This indeed is essential but
the term should be reviewed more widely and include several components that cooperate integrally.
Before the instructing party and the architect lay the task to nd a balance in the various aspects on
which an integral sustainable design can arise.
Components integral sustainability
Social and psychological component (righteousness and lovable, satisfaction of all senses)
Policy component (statement of requirement, basis for renewal)
Energy component (Trias Energetica)
Technical components and materialisation (industrial exible building, locally available material,
with respect to the environment, CO 2 neutrally produced and transported, possibility of recy-
cling, cradle to cradle)
Economic component (payback period, maintenance, exibility, reuse)
Integral design proces
Sustainability = integrated quality and buildings without weakness
The main starting point for the new chancellery in Canberra is the realisation of a maximally sustain-
able building. In order to realise this, a integrated design method (parallel) must be applied instead
of the more traditional serial method. From the beginning the different consultants are involved at
and have inuence on the design decisions. The installations
advisor, structural advisor and architect search for the integrated optimum. When this method is
applied, where every party pays attention to the sustainable aspects within its eld, the result will
be a considered an integrated design. Within this integrated working method the architect must
comply himself/herself in its role. Instead of the seemingly free role that he or she normally has at
the beginning of the design process the design now is co designed with the consultants. This way
the architect, beside his or her role as creative designer, acquires extra responsibility for managing
the design group.
Integral sustainable
We build to achieve optimally durable environments, with a vision on the balance between in-
vestments in energy and material and their output in use, comfort and management concerning
the aimed life cycles. We make spaces to provide appropriate (micro-) climate, where the sensual
(physical) qualities of the space, with regard to air, acoustics, temperature and lighting are comfort-
able and therefore well measured and regulated.
It is unfortunately still inevitable that building burdens the (macro)environment. But how can the
architect ensure that the environmental tax of a design is restricted to a minimum or the building
even helps the environment?
Possibly integrated quality is a more precise term than sustainable building. Integration indicates a
dynamic combination of the different aspects that inuences the complete design and construction
process. An optimal cooperation of the situation, climate control and installation, with respect to the
required raw materials in all its aspects (material, energy and the factor time/economy), and the
value and sustainability over the short and long term.
Situation
The location and the shape of a building have a direct inuence on the mobility and accessibility
for users and visitors. The construction mass is a vital fact when it comes to construction (costs),
management and demolition of a building. Buildings with a favourable factor offer, beside functional
immediacy, short course lines and a limited seizure on the ground an important thermal advantage.
Per m3 build volume the building has a small facade surface. Location and building shape inuence
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internal climate, the demands for heating and cooling and their mutual relation. Also the orientation
of facade and roof towards the sun and wind directions and their open/dense proportion inuence
the internal climate, the installations and on the eventual energy usage substantially.
Climate control by design
Integral architecture creates an optimal physical climate. To all requirements stated are answered,
but above all it is a climate that optimises possibilities to cooperate, communicate and concentrate.
This becomes visible in the quality of the lighting, audible in the quality of the acoustics of the
spaces, tangibly in the control of the temperature and quality of air (humidity and air speed). We
strive thereby for the maximum restriction of the energy usage and subsequently an installation low
building, with maximum usage of the natural sources.
Daylight
Optimum use of daylight limits the use of electricity and will increase the comfort of the user. The
variety in quality of daylight works stimulating. It is important to prevent heating as a result of
insolation. Comfort, installations and building design must be coordinated optimally by applying for
example presence detection in combination with daylight regulation.
Acoustics
The quantity and nature of sound strongly inuence the perception and the comfort of the space.
Too much sound leads to stress by the users accompanied by fatigue and concentration loss. Sound
absorption, reection and echo time are optimized by the space proportions and shape in consisten-
cy with the interior (furnishing and material choice).
Temperature
The comfortableness of a space can be inuenced positively by means of a good regulation of
radiation. This can be realised by the primary use of natural heat, using the absorption and deliv-
ery of heat by the building. This can be extended by an articial system of thermal mass combined
with thermal storage underground where heat or coolness can be retrieved. This ensures a constant
comfort with low external energy use and therefore restriction of CO2 expel.
Ventilation
Comfort asks for a good regulation of air humidity, speed and the prevention of cold air down-
draught nearby windows, preferably with natural, self-regulating ventilation and application of
night ventilation. Where the climate and/or the occupancy demand mechanical ventilation it will be
equipped with a heat recovery system.
Raw materials and materialization
Innovation and creativity, but also tradition are vital here. Natural, smart and self-evident materials
are most appropriate. Assessments are for example if natural building materials are available and
how much energy is used with production, transport and processing. Was by requiring or producing
these materials the natural environment damaged and if so, was this damage repaired? On what
period maintenance gets a role? Does the appearance of the materials change nicely in time? What
is the lifespan of a material and what is its value after use. Can they still function in some way for
something else (cradle to cradle)? Can the construction process be accelerated? Is it possible to
apply the method of industrial, exible deconstruct able building (IFD building)? Can we work with
prefabricated elements and dry assembly instead of the more traditional wet building methods?
How do we create chances to anticipate on the dynamic demands of the users? The building could
possibly be created and demolished by using the same assembly techniques.
Time
How much building, ground and raw materials (energy + material) are required and what life
cycle is therefore the perspective? Sustainable building represents a way of constructing in which
the negative consequences for the environment and health as a result of building and the built
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surroundings are restricted to minimum. You can also wonder whether you should build or build
temporary structures. The multi-purpose nature and intensity of use can also result in a lower
performance of the building. It is possible to construct a building that is exible in use and after use
remains exible, deconstructable en represents a residual value. With a capital-extensive investment
it is reusable, or possible to renovate or adapt existing construction. Sustainable building assumes
that unexpected weak links in the quality of the building dont occur so that the projected lifespan is
ensured.
ir. Rudy Uytenhaak
35
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HoIustncss
Self-analysing the works of ONL and Hyperbody there are a number of strategies that all are rele-
vant in the context of the discussion on sustainable architecture. Most of these strategies are relat-
ed to innovative design concepts, digital design methods, digital production methods, construction
methods and new concepts for a continuous operation. Generally speaking all our innovations are
based on swarm behaviour, based on simple rules leading to a pleasantly rich complexity that is by
denition robust. The innovations cover the complete DBFMO [Design Build Finance Maintain Oper-
ate] spectrum.
Design
Multiple use of the earth. In the design concept all the most important gains are achieved. we start
by combining different functions in one location, as opposed to modernist function division. The
Cockpit is both acoustic barrier and a commercial building. The combination was proposed by the
designer, not by the authorities. The authorities accepted the view of the architect.
Building body. We consider buildings as integrated bodies with logic body plans. The body plan is by
denition three dimensional, not evolved from plans and sections. Plans and section are derivatives
from the 3d model. No modications may be made in the plans, only in the 3d BIM.
Compact shapes. Our designs are usually very compact, that is maximizing the m3 proportional to
their enveloping surface, therewith saving on operational energy costs, and leaving more budget to
the facade structures. Compact shapes have rounded corners that streamline the climate, leading to
less wind acceleration, and less cooling / heat losses.
Networked structures. Our designs are based on robust structural concepts, where the structure and
the cladding are synchronized in diagrid tessellations. Diagrid structures are more efcient in distrib-
uting gravity forces and use less kilos for the same performance. Diagrid structures are very rigid
and stable in themselves. When one or more nodes of the structures fail the forces are led effective-
ly around the problematic area, the structure does not collapse.
No secondary structures. A typical ONL innovation is the merge of the primary structure and the
cladding system. Structure and skin are fully synchronized, there is no such thing as a second-
ary structure. This innovative design concept features a denser structure combined with generally
speaking larger cladding components. Leaving out the secondary structure has proven to be very
cost-effective, less material, less details, less work on site.
Local climates. Just like the structure and the skin are fully parameterized into one single design
system, also the climatic conditions are ideally synchronized in the same ne-grained robust con-
cept, meaning that the user can customize their local climates based on a mild generic climate. In
essence this means that apart from the central devices also the skin is active in many ways, taking
advantage from changing sun and wind conditions.

Integration of experts. In the design process ONL has developed a method of linking the experts
together in a actuating swarm of experts. They exchange data almost in real time as to inform the
other party about their knowledge. The experts are linked in such way that they can contribute to
the best of their knowledge. They use their own software, and exchange only those data that are
strictly necessary to inform the other parties.
protoBIM
The protocols how to link the experts in the early design stage is described in the protoBIM strat-
egy, which is further developed in fall 2011 in a BIR practice project. Basically it comes down to
a distributed robust BIM, which is different from a standardized central BIM server a is promoted
by Autodesk Revit for example or other proprietary software systems. The ideal set-up is to link all
players inBIM evolves to an exact model as controlled by the architect from which exact data can
36
be extracted for the CNC production. This requires that the designer [ONL, Hyperbody] incorporates
the le to factory strategy in the early design concept, it can not be added later without redesigning
the complete design, leading to loss of energy and essential concepts getting lost in translation. De-
sign embedded le to factory production is highly efcient, since no data get lost, all data are trans-
mitted as integer correct data. File to factory design is not an illusion as traditional design methods
are, nor a shadow reality, it is the building.
Just there, then, that and thus. There must be an unbroken and evolving digital chain from ear-
ly design concept to the usage phase of the built structure. In all phases the team effort must be
directed towards the extended just in time paradigm. This can only be realized when the informa-
tion transfer is maintained on its most elementary level, based on simple rules and minimal data
exchange, and only true and integer data.
No waste on building site. Having prepared the design into the parametric specications, in the as-
sembly phase there will be no waste at the building site. A dry montage system guarantees that no
waste material pollutes the built environment.
No scaffolding. File to factory customization and dry montage systems are erected without scaffold-
ing, the connected pieces form the stabile structure in all phases of the montage.
Build only once. Design as to avoid building twice or three times to get to your result. Avoid moulds
that are thrown away, moulds are only acceptable if they are programmable, and used many times.
Design as to refrain from scaffolding. The structure must be designed such as to be strong and sta-
bile in all phases of the building process.
Finance
Function overlap. Combining functions into one structure is a key factor for evolutionary success.
Robustness builds on mixed, which is the converse of the monofunctionality.
BIM. At the later part of the unbroken chain that builds up the evolving Building Information Model
the integrity of the model must be maintained and used for living its life. The designer designs the
rules of the game of life, the users and the building components play the game of life. By playing
the game some rules may be ne-tuned and eventually adjusted.
Maintain
Minimize number of details. Maintenance of the built structure is much easier when the building
system is coherent, and featuring as few details as possible. The problems with the maintenance
always occur where two systems are crashing into each other. Building the complete building in one
coherent system, leading in the extreme version to the One Building, One Detail strategy, is the
basis for controlled maintenance.
Tag all building components. In order to control the maintenance process each building component
and each piece of furniture must be tagged, it must have an identity that can be addressed. The
tagged components ideally contain miniature computers that communicate with each other as active
agents in real time, informing each other about their actual state.
Operate
Streaming data informs the building body. Only when data is continuously streaming the Building
Information Model is a Building In Motion as well. Only then the building can adapt itself via its
various components that contain actuators to changing circumstances and thus use available energy
in a] much more efcient way.
Behaviour based on actual information. The building displays behaviour, it responds effectively to
changing circumstances, both coming from the immediate environment as well as from the users.
There is only a barrier when you need one. In the ultimate version of Buildings In Motion the be-
haviour is only displayed when there is a need for it. There is only a door when someone wants
37
to enter the building. There is only a canopy when there is rain or sun that must be blocked, or
when one needs to be accompanied by a grand gesture when entering the building. There is only a
window when someone wants to look out or when sun needs to be brought into the building, etc.
You get the point, traditional buildings are static and do not respond in any way to changing needs
and circumstances. Programmable buildings do, and therefore they are the best possible path to a
robust technology for the built environment.
Kas Oosterhuis, August 2014
PICTURE 1: A2 COCKPIT
A2 COCKPIT IN SOUDBARRIER: MULTIPLE USE OF EARTH,
BUILDING BODY, COMPACT STREAMLINED SHAPE, NET-
WORKED STRUCTURE, NO SECONDARY STRUCTURES, NO
SCAFFOLDING, BUILD ONLY ONCE, MINIMIZE NUMBER OF
DETAILS
PICTURE 2: PROTOBIM
PROTOBIM: NON-HIERARCHICAL SWARM OF EXPERTS,
LEAN DATA-EXCHANGE, JUST THERE / THEN / THAT /
THUS
PICTURE 3 AND 4: FESTO HEADQUARTERS
FESTO HQ: INTERNET OF THINGS AND PEOPLE, STREAM-
ING DATA, USER PREFERENCE, LOCAL CLIMATES
38
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Timeless wisdom
Already in the time of Vitruvius man was aware of the climate as a design factor in construction. Vit-
ruvius wrote in his Ten Books about the importance of orientation, not only for buildings in various
climate regions, but also at the urban development level as it concerns the relationship between the
street patterns of a city and the wind direction.

Also the so-called vernacular construction, which was developed by peoples from diverse re-
gions of the world, has produced a vast amount of wisdom. Consider, for example, the various
roof shapes (a low ridge in cold areas so that snow remains in place as insulation or a high ridge in
temperate areas for the benet of efcient drainage). Climate consideration in design is, therefore,
not a new invention or task.
Memory Loss
In Joseph Paxtons Crystal Palace of 1851 giant ventilators appear for the rst time in a building
with the purpose of regulating the climate and increasing the pleasantness of the publics surround-
ings.
For the entire duration of the 19
th
century, technical inventions lead to radical modernization in
building; not only in the area of demand for new building types such as train stations, large the-
atres, congress centres, skyscrapers and the use of steel construction but particularly in installation
technique. In 1839 the rst forms of uid heating appear, discovered by Angier March Perkins in
the U.S. In 1845 the water tap is invented. In 1855 radiators are employed in Russia as heating for
the rst time; in 1876 there is the telephone; in 1879 the electric light; in 1885 the rst coal heater
for domestic use.
In 1902 air conditioning is used for the rst time on a large scale by Willis Carrier in a printing ofce
and from 1924 it breaks through into cinemas, theatres, public buildings and ofces.
These discoveries mark the beginning of a period of memory loss concerning the climate as design
factor in the work of urban developers and architects.
The climate in the buildings that modern architecture creates is completely disconnected to the
natural climate. The new techniques allow architects to create and maintain completely articial en-
vironments. Without these techniques cities such as Miami and Dubai could not exist on such scales
as they do today.
Climatic Autism
In modern architecture a building is a sovereign object with an autonomous climate. For the past
150 years we have not given consideration to orientation, dominating wind direction or seasonal
effects in our designs. The form of buildings, the type of faades, the use everything is permitted,
everything is possible with the help of technical installations. When it gets dark or even during the
day, electric lights are burning in the long ofce gardens; large glass surfaces pointing toward the
sun are no problem; excessive heat is cooled off; ventilating is mechanically regulated.
Of course, there are always architects in the periphery of the profession who have of extremely
manifest views on the inuence of climate on design. Every now and again a futuristic experiment
takes shape, but in the mainstream one could speak of a sort of climatic autism.
New Consciousness
The rst oil crisis and the report by the Club of Rome constitute a turning point. We realize that oil
reserves are not limitless and that raw materials are ultimately scarce.
39
A new consciousness is forming. The discussion concerning sustainability is reluctantly coming up to
speed. The obvious application of full-powered airco behind closed faades makes room for other
approaches.
In the 1970s consciousness gained stride. The emphasis lay on ecological aspects and environmen-
tal awareness. In the 1980s and 1990s energy efciency dominated the scene.
We are trying to limit the damage and all the while knowing that it will be insufcient. It now has to
be energy effective, C2C.
There is growing awareness that sustainability is greatly determined by the design itself. Again, this
is under discussion at all levels. Buildings and cities have to be designed intelligently with regard to
climate and local circumstances.
Sustainability is not only realized with smart technical novelties but it is an intrinsic quality. Unfortu-
nately much traditional knowledge has been lost.
Expanding
Sustainability is not a characteristic. Besides energetic aspects, the value of a building is mostly de-
termined by cultural, economic and social aspects. It is evident that the lifecycle of costs is strongly
determining for the success of a building; however, the cultural worth, the way in which a building
adjusts and behaves in the city and the social and ergonomic values determine its longevity.
Our clients are gradually becoming more aware of all of this. Requirements regarding sustainability
issues are more emphatically and precisely formulated in programmes. Attempts are being made to
make sustainability measurable. Buildings can receive sustainability labels based on such certica-
tion systems as BREEAM, Greencalc, etc. Users will increasingly require an A-label or comparable
quality.
With larger projects the Dutch Governmental Building Agency contracts out services for design,
construction, nancing and management. The DBFMO tender is becoming generally accepted. There
is no longer a large rift between design, investing and exploitation, but now exploitation advantages
such as energy savings and other sustainability interventions can make extra investment possible.
It has become increasingly more common that clients formulate greater ambitions in their housing
assignments with respect to sustainability.

This sustainability does not limit itself to requirements with regard to energy consumption. One uses
concepts such as circularity and alliance in relation to usage, building and region. Circularity con-
cerns self-sustaining systems, recycling. The world is a circular system but no longer an inexhaust-
ible source; long-term thinking is central. Alliance refers to social alliance and internal alliance in
organisations as a source of innovation.
Implementation
The developments are moving very gradually. The building regulation is constantly adapting. The
market is reacting sharply to sustainability. It is interesting to see how the gradual development is
visible in executed work. Taking our own oeuvre from the past 15 years, we see the developments
in the area of sustainability reected in those works. After all building practice teaches us that in-
vesting in sustainability will actually be fullled once it is demanded. Design and building processes
are extremely slow and inexible. The actual implementation of new ideas and techniques advances
very gradually.
Acceptance
Now that sustainability has such a broad public support, more freedom and support for logical de-
sign arguments from architects at the level of the design itself comes into practice. Even the simple
folk may now and then share their two cents. Clients are interested in more than just pretty pic-
tures.
This is a good development. The proposals not only relate to installations or technical facilities,
but to fundamental design choices such as orientation, typology, reuse, planning, excess, material
40
choices, etc. Nevertheless, in order to make intelligent proposals, we must recover our lost design
knowledge and freshen up our memory of what is intrinsically sustainable.
Ir. Kees Kaan
September 2011
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This text will not be required reading for the exam.
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The only way is up
We cant continue to live our lives the way we currently do. We need to change our modus operan-
di. We are obliged to hand over our planet to the next generations in a better condition than we
and our ancestors have caused it to be.
Neutral is, in this respect, not even enough anymore. The objective of moving up will need to be
embraced by many. Across many different disciplines. Without having to forsake on things we have
grown accustomed to. We need to deliver new ways of thinking to create a new way of living, tting
the 21st C whilst at the same time moving up in the way we make use of natures resources.
In creating and driving this change, architecture is an important inspirer and facilitator. It can deliv-
er the context and direction for new technology to be developed as well as ensure that the building
itself and the way it is constructed leaves a positive footprint. We see it as our role to actively act as
agents of change and drive the forefront of these developments.
A cooperative or a movement ?
The ambition is a big one and almost feels like a movement. Within FARO architects, I worked more
and more on the theme of sustainability, but after the building of Steigereiland 2.0 we felt we had
to organize it differently to be able to aim for the best. Therefore we created Upfrnt, But even Up-
frnt will not be able to do it on their own. We need other disciplines, expertise and energy to create
the acceleration our environment needs. Therefore, we have organized ourselves as cooperation.
True to the original intention:
Cooperation is how the components of a system work together to achieve the global properties. In
other words, individual components that appear to be selsh and independent work together to
create a highly complex, greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts system. To create awareness for Upfrnt
and more importantly for our vision, we want to institutionalize our thinking by creating a platform
for others to join and add their expertise. Only by connecting to a higher ambition, commercial and
ideological institutions will be able to join forces. It wont be easy, we will have to practice, practice
and practice.
The up movement in architecture
We want to show that we dont want to change things for the sake of changing things. We want to
respect the past, use it in the present to better the future. Therefore, we encompassed our thinking
in 5 principles that not only dene our work but also steer the input of others. We named it the up
school of architecture.
The principles which therefore dene our work and those of our associated partners:
We create
. 1 architecture with a positive effect on our environmental systems Neutral is not enough
anymore. We need to have a distinct positive effect if we want to hand over our planet in a
better shape to the next generations
. 2 societal value with inspired, Up-sustainable beauty, healthy and diverse architecture
. 3 buildings able to organically grow with their inhabitants and when their usefulness is
over, re-used or returned to their original elements
. 4 to deliver well-being to the world
. 5 and build a building like it is our own
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House 2.0 Steigereiland
Campingsites Staatsbosbeheer
Sustainable supermarket
High-rise building Cascade Almere
44
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One
To understand our attitude in the forces of today, the following is important to take into account.
We have a strong conviction that the recent nancial crisis also reveals a major but until now hidden
architectural crisis.
In the two past decades international architecture has serviced a world that asked for architectural
force and speed. In all possible ways this world has received what it asked for. For instance: take a
look at the Internet search-results for images of buildings and projects in Dubai, where the bubble
collapsed in spring 2009.
This architectural world (we mean the pre-crisis architectural world) shows a culture of dancing on
top of a volcano. In our view the architectural production of this culture can be less and less of an
example that can offer the world of today any grip.
The corresponding architecture is conceived from a tacit consensus about making ever increasing
complexities and ever increasing craziness in building-shapes. Certainly if shown side by side, this
production embodies a devaluation of architecture as we know it.
Confronted with this ination, architects struggle like madmen, in order to stay ahead of their rivals,
in order to obey the demand for distinction, for the new, for the experiment, for being unique and
authentic.
This struggle leads architects to a dead-end street.
Does no one grasp, that this demand for distinction contributes to an omnipresent domination, to
hollow gestures, to intimidation, to arrogance, to disdain for other artefacts?
This architecture leads to cities with buildings that shout: Me, me, me, the rest may choke, which
in itself is a conrmation of the stuck state of capitalism - the only ideology that is left.
In this architecture the emphasis on shape conceals an absence of content.
This is the architecture of speed, of greed.
To us this architecture evokes a perception of boredom, of exchangeability, presumably because its
polymorphousness doesnt relate to any vital meaning.
This is the crux of the present-day crisis in architecture.
And whats worse:
Because of the obsession with the present day, with shape, with outward appearance, with image,
with the surface, the essence of architecture has been hollowed out to a fraction of what it might
eventually be: a mirror to, a motor of, a binding agent to society.
An imagination of ideals.
And what is maybe even worse: the short-term attitude of this architecture of speed is anti-sus-
tainable.
Just now, in a time when general votes arise to adjust the short-time perspective, responsible for
the crisis and the bad prospects of the world, to strategies of sustainability, it is necessary as well to
adjust the failing architectural tendencies of yesterday and to restore the integrity of the architec-
tural discipline.
Two
Certainly some signs of an architectural shift are already discernable. To us it seems that this shift
comes from below, i.e. not from the establishment.
Without fully being able to claim that our ofce is part of this shift (indeed there still is no real
movement of sorts, at the most one can speak about shared irritations and attempts for change),
here we would like to state something more about ourselves.
In all sincerity you must accept from us that up until today we have never felt that our work-
ing-method or our message could be of any real importance for the time in which we live.
Recent developments have changed these feelings.
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Today we have been engaged in designing architecture for twenty years, with the utmost of con-
centration, of precision, one could say with a desire for slowness, necessary to make our work into
what it is.
Today, in our view, exactly this slowness as a basic attitude, as an intrinsic desire, as a requirement
for a rich and lively architecture, is a necessary attitude in bringing forward intelligent work.
We have stated the need for sustainability.
In our ofce we speak of the third wave of sustainability (the 1st one being in the 1970s, the 2nd in
the early 1990s, the 3rd is now). This issue leads to a confusion of tongues but the one clear thing
is that everyone wishes to take part in it.
Understandable...
Only for architects, sustainability is a rather unexplored topic. What we mean with this is that sus-
tainability for architects is synonymous with technique (reduction of CO2, saving of energy, water
and material, avoiding mobility, the closing of life-cycles.).
We dont want to deny the importance of these issues. Nevertheless, we would like to point in a
different direction: in the direction of architecture itself.
Strictly speaking two themes are important to us since our graduation (1986).
Both themes are concerned with endurance: we are interested in long-term issues. In our view both
urban and architectural durability ultimately enhance sustainability, by creating beloved spaces.
The theme outside of time points to strive for rootedness. This strive ows into establishing rela-
tionships between place and project. It also implies certain humility towards the context. We do not
always want to dominate other structures. We feel it is always a better goal to improve the context
as well - by doing the project. In our view this is the only way to make intelligible urbanism, an ur-
banism that becomes more valuable, that one may wish to preserve. Outside of time is in fact the
same as timelessness and in this case may as well be called urban sustainability.
The theme around you points to our desire to make an afrmation of man in his universe by mak-
ing a valuable counter form. This to us is a prerequisite for architecture.
This means an interest in space rather than shape and image. In many of our projects this fascina-
tion leads to spatially weighed, warm and often colourful interiors, that may invite to action but also
radiate calm in essential areas. Underlying thought: a great interior afrms greatness of being.
This thought we investigated further in our study Great Spaces, which will be published in a book
shortly.
In the buildings we analysed, the great interior spaces work for centuries, even if ideologies change
in the meantime. This phenomenon we call architectural sustainability.
The enumeration above suggests, that in our ofce we speak about sustainability on a daily basis.
That isnt exactly the case. This has got to do with vocabulary. And there are a lot of other topics
that need attention. Our working method and our preference for phenomena that are effective
through time, existed already before we started concentrating on the technical aspects of sustain-
ability in 1994. Strangely enough we have only begun speaking about our architectural working
method and fascinations in terms of sustainability since the start of the nancial crisis, in 2008.
Because of a desire for slowness and in analogy to Slow Food and Citta Slow one may label the
resulting architecture as slow architecture. This term however has a certain imperfection: just like
in the Slow Food movement the goal here isnt slowness itself but taste.
And this taste can be given by offering a wealth of experiences.
This wealth is of great importance to us. We do not believe in neutral architecture. Nor do we be-
lieve in minimalism, in an architecture of thrift, as an answer to this crisis.
To build less is a possibility, that is for certain.
To build worse, thinner or more minimal is mankind unworthy.
Kingma Roorda architecten BNA
2009/2010
46
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Introduction
For me sustainability has to do with balance, in fact active balancing. I am not an expert on sustain-
ability, I am a curious architect and associate-professor at TU-Delft faculty of architecture looking
for interesting ways to search. Like the inspector that investigates: to nd out who committed the
murder and, by bits and pieces, to lay down the complex puzzle. I am interested in use by people to
be conversed in spatial planning, reuse even more for its complexity and the interesting time-layers
of predecessors, a story of use in history, culture to be handled with care and understanding.
Thus I feel not an autonomous author, I feel like a co-author with time, and I feel also the responsi-
bility to bring further what is or was valuable and may be even place it into new perspectives. Thus,
make visible what was forgotten, use its potential with the means of today and tomorrow. To make
this into a success is a complex task that asks for a lot of knowledge one person can never have:
time for team-work to nd the balance in design between past and future in a cultural-driven way.
But not only! It should also be a balance for eco and societal drivers. Because building is about our
future and the challenges we meet today are huge. The complex balancing could be compared to
a sensitive neurolistic system which makes our body function: the result goes without saying. For a
thorough re-use applied sciences are needed for an integral approach. Very recently we constituted
a department (working title hyperBmit), which deals with technology driven design.
Technology should be explained in terms of underpinning the design task. I would prefer to de-
nition of technology to: the total of processes needed in knowledge and processes resulting in
products and services for societal needs. So we should leave the one-sided and hard technical side
and choose for the approach in which both alpha en beta processes are involved such as culture
and ecology.
Ecology for me has to do with balance, now still often neglected in the design process often dis-
turbed over the various scales, like f.i. on the urban scale where inner cities just remain as tourists
focus. Ecology is the science that cares about the balance between living organisms (people) and
their environment or the mutual relationship between biological and a-biological elements on differ-
ent levels of scale. This is a pretty subtle and even a nice metaphor for architecture, if you add at
least social and cultural aspects.
Main question: how can we be in control in the transformation processes, to weigh and balance the
social, cultural and ecological needs What are the incentives and constraints, what are the oppor-
tunities? I did an attempt for a theoretical framework on methodology in my book Discovering the
Assignment, which resulted in a model of thought. Looking for a rm methodology, this was the
outcome. Particularly open for debate and further research.
Case study: TPG-Building in the Hague, near Station Hollands Spoor.
My story is about the necessity of a sustainable redevelopment of (recent) industrial heritage. The
case study of today, The TPG-building, was designed in the late thirties, but not built before 1949
because of the Second World War.
A modern and brutal building in the city of The Hague anno 1949 was realized, a huge and mod-
ern building, an icon in the city (De Haagse Van Nelle). With its smooth forms and curving lines a
symbol of optimism and great dynamics synonym with its function: the heart of post-transport and
distribution, a centre of communication.
Started in 2007 the owner of the building is working on the redevelopment of the building, which
in this case is not such an easy task. A substantial part of the building should be transformed into
ofce-space, which is quite a challenge in these times of shrink.
The complexity of the task is even bigger since in 2009 the building was listed as Rijksmonument
/ een jong monument (a new monument). This means that the approach from a design point of
47
view, is one of even greater care and understanding to link the past, present and future.
And if we also add the urban plans of the municipality of The Hague, which means that the building
could or should be doubled in height, complexity starts to transform into a challenging and interest-
ing puzzle.
My contribution today (6-10-2011):
To understand and value the transformation of the DNA of the TPG-building and its Genius Loci
today, we need to look at it from several points of view. This understanding and value-assessment
is the condition for a sustainable redevelopment of the building in its future context. It may seem
strange that at the beginning of this decade, a relatively big redevelopment into ofce-space can be
done. I will explain to you why this is happening. How cultural-historic value will ride together with
real estate value, if there is a real sustainable development-plan. And with sustainable I mean all
the efforts that can be undertaken to do a t for purpose planning: social, economical, cultural and
technical. This means a thorough approach in the assignment and the design by architect(s) and
a good supportive team, to facilitate this building on its spot with good incentives for the next few
decades.
Abstract by associate professor Job Roos
Technical University of Delft
Faculty of Architecture, department r-MIT
A short number of facts
1. 1949: a new icon (De Haagse Van Nelle) is built in the urban environment of Hollands Spoor
(railway-station), The Haagse van Nelle.
2. 1989: a big transformation of the building itself, loss of cultural, spatial and material quality,
and loss of value of use; lack of sustainable development.
3. Over the past decades: big transformation of area, the building almost vanishes in the urban
vibe.
4. Today: an empty building, there is no prosperity in value of use without redevelopment.
5. 2007: Redevelopment starts. The Proposal is a mix in program of housing, high-end-ofces,
restaurant(s), retail and parking.
48
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HAKA cccc o]cc, un utcnutuc csoucc c]ccnc stutcg
Doepel Strijkers Architects in collaboration with Cor Luijten,
Rotterdam Public Works & Otto Friebel, Van Gansewinkel Group
Summary:
Urban living lab
In 2009, the HAKA building in the Merwe Vierhavens of Rotterdam was designated as a campus
for clean-tech activity, a Urban Living Lab for companies, institutions and authorities in the eld of
water and energy innovation.
Doepel Strijkers Architects was asked to develop a concept for the ground oor that illustrates how
the strategy of closing material cycles on a city scale can be translated into a concept for the interi-
or of a building. The ambition was to go further than just reducing the CO
2
footprint through the re-
use of materials. An alternative development was set in place by introducing the social component.
A team of ex-convicts in a reintegration program was used for the making of the objects. In so
doing, the project is more than just an example of how one can make an interior from waste, it cre-
ates added value through empowerment and education. The project is cost neutral compared to an
interior built from new materials, but the money is distributed differently. In the HAKA model, the
use of cheaper second-hand materials means that money can be invested in the social component.
The project demonstrates that the realization of an interior can have more environmental, social and
economic impact than traditional interior projects. It is a plea to all designers to generate alternative
models for development that give answer to the larger challenges that we face as a society.
Design for Flexible Use
The building was originally conceived as a machine, a physical translation of the production pro-
cesses for which it was designed. A central street separated the ofces to the east from the factory
spaces to the west. The logic of the original building formed the point of departure for the redevel-
opment. The rst phase is limited to the ground oor, with features that make the initial exploitation
possible. The central street is once again activated as the main entrance by opening it up with large
glass windows. Orange, vertical TL-lamps are visible from the road, clearly designating the point
of entry. The public area in the original factory part offers space to work, as well as meeting and
hospitality functions. A raised platform functions as a temporary ofce space for current tenants
and will be used as a restaurant in the next phase of the development. Tables around the platforms
double as ex working stations with Internet connection. The centrally located catering point func-
tions as a pantry for the companies on the platforms and as a kitchen and bar during events. This
pantry will be extended into a professional kitchen for a restaurant operator in the next phase of
development. To the east, the original ofce area is converted into an auditorium and temporary
exhibition space. A exible acoustic partition wall, constructed from 8 tons of clothing, ensures that
the space can be adapted to changing needs. The auditorium and exhibition space can function as
separate areas but mixed forms are also possible.
Recycled Materials
Both waste materials from demolition sites and waste products from production processes were
harvested, transported and processed in the HAKA building to form the new interior elements. The
design of the elements was dictated by a number of ecological criteria: sustainable demolition of
the objects with the social component, harvest materials close to site, limit the amount of materials
used, design the objects based on the intrinsic qualities of the materials, minimize the use of electric
tools and design for easy disassembly for future re-use.
In addition to these criteria, it was clear that the detailing of the objects should be kept simple con-
sidering that the workers were not professional carpenters. By designing simple repetitive elements,
a new affordable craftsmanship was made possible resulting in a design that demonstrates qualities
that are often too expensive in the conventional design process.
49
Sustainability Label
In collaboration with Otto Friebel from the van Gansewinkel Group and Cor Luijten from the Rot-
terdam Public Works, a sustainability label per object was developed. Equity, Economy and Ecolo-
gy form the basis for the label. The indicators for the label include the CO
2
footprint, material and
labour costs, and the number of man-hours spent per object. The conclusions show that this model
is effective in terms of C0
2
reduction, and material and labour costs. The average number of man-
hours spent to make the elements was however 3.5 times higher than a proffesional team would
have spent. It can be argued though, that the use of the social component is by denition sustain-
able, even if the consequence is an increased production time. A number of logistical aspects need
to be improved before the concept can be implemented on a larger scale. Doepel Strijkers is rening
this strategy and is currently futrther developing the toolbox of typical ofce elements for potential
wide scale implementation.
HAKA Design Ambitions
realize a mixed-use interior, exible enough to change in function in the future.
cluster collective functions to facilitate informal incounters.
involve end users in a co-creative process.
design for build by unskilled labour the social component.
reduce the co
2
footprint through reuse of local waste materials and products.
limit the number of kilometres travelled by harvesting materials close to site.
create an alternative nancial and development model to generate added value.
ensure that the project is cost neutral (compared to an interior built with new materials).
Design criteria
supply driven process available materials determine objects.
design objects based on the intrinsic qualities of the materials.
limit the amount of material used.
limit the amount of waste produced.
limit the use of technical handlings.
limit the use of xatives.
design simple details that can easliy be repeated by unskilled labour.
dont erase the history of the material.
design for disassembly in the future.
50
The building was originally conceived as a machine, a physical translation of the production pro-
cesses for which it was designed. A central street separated the ofces to the east from the factory
spaces to the west. The logic of the original design forms the point of departure for the redevel-
opment of the building. The rst phase is limited to the ground oor, with features that make the
initial exploitation possible.
The central street is once again activated as the main entrance by opening it up with large glass
windows. Because the building stood vacant for nearly twenty years, it is important to make a
strong gesture towards the street so that passers-by are engaged by the building and intrigued that
something is happening. A mix of orange and white TL-lamps are hung vertically generating rep-
etition of lines visible from the road. The entrance area is predominantly lled with orange lamps,
clearly designating the point of entry. A single orange line of lamps follows the path from the en-
trance to the outer ends of both wings of the building. The reception counter in the entrance hall
is composed out of two complementary volumes. The base is made out of roof slats (from Komu
in Vlaardingen) in a modular form, with open elements at the front to more closed elements at the
back. As the needs of the user change more of the open structure can be lled in to form additional
shelf space for books, marketing material or merchandising in a later phase. Hovering above the
base, in an almost surreal manner is a glass hood constructed from a second hand greenhouse
from the village Monster in the Westland. The tensile strength of aluminium and glass are exploit-
ed to create this weightless structure. The original HAKA logo is brought back to life and is given a
prominent position on the front of this element.

The public area in the original factory part offers space to work, as well as meeting and hospitality
functions. A raised platform functions as a temporary ofce space for current tenants and will be
used as a restaurant in the next phase of the development. The initial plan was to make the plat-
form from second hand doors but because these could not be extracted in time, due to squatters in
the building. An alternative was found in the form of large wooden panels from an old kiln factory in
Hengelo. At a distance of 187.4 km, these elements were by far the furthest of all materials used in
the project. The platforms comprise of a number of large stair-like elements with storage space to
the sides which doubles as a railing. Different ofces rent space on the platforms, the different lev-
els demarcate where one ofce begins and the other ends. The wireless Internet connection makes
exible working possible on the tables scattered around the platforms on the old concrete oor.
The centrally located catering point functions as a pantry for the companies on the platforms and
as a kitchen and bar during events. Like the hood of the reception counter, this is made from a
second hand greenhouse. Besides the appliances, the stainless steel kitchen units and tables are all
second hand. This pantry will be extended into a professional kitchen for a restaurant operator in
the next phase of development.
Beside the kitchen (behind the lift) is the meeting room, made out of 24 massive wooden doors
from a social housing project. The doors are simply hung in a timber frame made from struts. Each
door can be individually opened making it possible to enter or leave the space from any side.
51

To the east, the original ofce area is converted into an auditorium and temporary exhibition space.
A exible acoustic partition wall, constructed from 8 tons of clothing, ensures that the space can
be adapted to changing needs. The wall is composed out of 9 elements 0.7m wide, 2.5m long and
2.3m high. A wooden frame with sixty centimetre deep shelves supports the clothes. The frame
completely disappears from sight by allowing the clothes to protrude on all sides by ve centime-
tres. Wheels under each element make it possible to recongure the space with a minimum of ef-
fort. Because the clothes are organised in colour in a rainbow pattern, it is easy to recongure the
elements in their original composition by connecting the colours. The entire structure is impregnated
with a re retardant in order to comply with local re regulations.
52
The auditorium itself is composed out of two timber elements, a stage and rows of benches. The
stage has a rough timber frame and is clad in wooden roof slats. Two fold-up podiums are con-
cealed in the stage making exible use possible. If both are concealed the stage can be used for a
performance, with one folded up it is perfect for a lecture, and with two folded up it functions for a
debate. The benches are made out of timber struts in a simple generic form. The simple repetition
of the basic elements was easy for the unskilled labour to make and results in an intriguing image.
All of the wood for these elements came from the Komu in Vlaardingen.
Finally, the temporary exhibition area is composed out of two repetitive elements, the show blocks
and benches. Of all the elements realised in the HAKA, the show blocks are the simplest. By stack-
ing aluminium greenhouse frames a block is formed with a large pane of glass in the top layer and
one ten centimetres lower. In so doing, a display cabinet is created for exhibiting valuable items.
Larger objects can simply be placed on top of the block for exhibition. A number of simple benches
are scattered in the vicinity of the show blocks to allow people to linger as they take in the audio
visual projections on the walls of this area. The benches are simply constructed by connecting old
doors sawed through the middle. The exposed sawed edge is presented as a sitting surface and is a
literal cross section of social housing doors from the last hundred years.
HAKA label
The factor CO
2
, man-hours, material and labour costs are plotted per element. The dark line (fac-
tor 1.0) represents the neutral condition, where time, CO
2
or costs in the HAKA pilot are equal to a
comparable interior using new materials and professional contractors. The grey shaded area rep-
resents the actual condition. Nearly all the HAKA elements display the same pattern. This model of
development is favourable in terms of CO
2
reduction and costs. The number of man-hours spent on
average is 3.5 times as high than a traditional production process. The effect of the extra time spent
is not taken into account in the total cost. The longer building time results in a potential loss of in-
come from rent, in the HAKA case this is however negligible. From a sustainability point of view, the
additional man-hours deliver a positive contribution the reintegration process of the ex-detainees.
53
HAKA Average
The acoustic wall from the auditorium is excluded in the average calculation as if this were to be
made using new clothing; the CO2 reduction is so enormous that it misrepresents the whole.
Lessons learnt:
Aligning supply and demand
The biggest obstacle in the process was aligning supply and demand. The materials from dem-
olition objects did not always arrive to site on time, resulting in last minute changes in plans. In
certain instances this involved buying second-hand materials from the KOMU in Vlaardingen and
changing the design of the elements based on the substitute materials.
Additionally, the materials that could be harvested from the demolition object were not always ap-
propriate for simple construction into a new element. For example, a design was made for a meet-
ing room based on double glazed elements (Thermopane). The ambition to make the walls using
as little material in as pure form as possible resulted in a beautiful architectural solution that was
too complex for the unskilled labour to make. An additional obstacle was that it is more expensive
for the demolitionists to deliver the glass without the frame than to deliver it including frame. One
solution could have been to make a design using the product (glass and frame) 1:1. This idea was
however discarded as the pvc frame does not comply with the criteria of keeping pure (non-toxic)
materials in the material life cycle.
Logistical optimalisation
A traditional design to build process is character-
ised by linear phases in which the program of uses
is followed by a design phase, from sketch design
to working drawings. This is directly followed by
the tender process and selection of a builder. The
HAKA process is different to this because obtaining
materials from demolition sites implies a supply
driven process as opposed to a demand driven
one. This results in a design process in which the
linear phasing is replaced by an overlapping one.
Supply and demand are inter-connected and inu-
ence each other.
Material brokers
From a design and process point of view, scouting for materials on demolition sites is ineffective.
Buying second-hand products and materials from a material broker such as KOMU in Vlaardingen
is an ideal solution. However, the origin and history of materials from the KOMU are not traceable.
Should one want to evaluate projects using sustainability standards, a comprehensive database with
this information would have to be developed. This has major implications for all actors in the chain
and will only happen if policy in this regard were to be developed by national authorities.
The social component
The realization of projects with people who have a distance to the labour market has its conse-
quences. Their lack of knowledge and carpentry skills impacts directly on their effectiveness. The
design of the elements must be devised so that unskilled labour can build them without the pres-
ence of a professional. Simple, easy to reproduce elements with a high level of repetition and mini-
mum of technical handlings is the best option. The making of the objects has an educative element.
In a didactic manner knowledge of how to work with wood or other materials is transferred.
Working with a social component can be professionalized. Low wages make it attractive to work
with them, however, an organized form in which costs, planning and skills match the demand is
lacking. By organizing the implementation process in complementary teams where both technical
and social learning is central, some of the disadvantages this unskilled labour has compared to
professionals can be overcome. This requires re-training courses for administrators and supervisors
54
with a focus on social and technical skills.
Through evaluation and feedback between market and work providers with a social component,
and training and reinforcement in the tendering process of sustainable demolition objects, one can
accelerate the trial and error stage resulting in a professional socially sustainable alternative for
future construction projects.
Develop an economic model
If the ambition is to keep materials in the life cycle for longer, then it is conceivable that a new eco-
nomic model can be developed to achieve this for interior projects. Interiors have a relatively short
life span, ranging from a couple of years to maximally ten. In order to ensure that the materials in
a project nd their way back into the material chain, materials could be brought back to suppliers
after use, just as we do with printer cartridges. Such a rental or deposit model would make this
possible. The next step in this evolution could be manufacturer as opposed to industry related dem-
olition.
Design for disassembly
By taking disassembly into consideration, interior elements and products can be designed so that
they can easily be
directly reused or dismantled into pure materials for a second (or third) life. In so doing, one could
potentially recapture all materials, closing cycles so that waste does not exist.
Conclusions:
Overall Conclusions
The use of demolition materials for new furniture in the HAKA building is in terms of CO
2
and the
social component has proven to be appealing. Here the direct product reuse and short transport
distances are the big wins. By keeping the materials in the life cycle the use of primary resources is
reduced. It should be taken into account that for this pilot project, there is an imbalance between
man-hours, costs and CO
2
for some elements. For a complete comparison a more detailed calcula-
tion should be made as part of the Life Cycle Analysis / Life Cycle Cost.
This pilot however, unequivocally demonstrates that closing material cycles in this manner is a
sustainable strategy. The HAKA case study has provided valuable insights into the potentials of
coupling spatial development with a strong social component. By closing the material cycles and by
re-thinking the organisational model, the economic ow is redirected for the benet of the direct
environment. The HAKA model creates opportunities in terms of value creation on a building and
district scale.
The challenge now is to optimize the method and upscale it to the district scale. By testing the
toolbox in other locations the strategy can be rened. In order to achieve this, the concept must be
embracd by the market. Companies must be stimulated to adopt the strategy as part of their sus-
tainability agenda, only in this manner will the promising HAKA approach evolve into a stratey that
can be implemented on a large scale for other construction and renovation projects.
References
1_WWF in their Living Planet Report of 2010
2_ Tillie N., Dobbelsteen A. van den, Doepel D., Jager W. de, Joubert M. & Mayenburg D.; Towards
CO2 Neutral Urban Planning Introducing the Rotterdam Energy Approach & Planning (REAP); in
Journal of Green Building, vol 4, No. 3, 2009 (103-112)
3_ Doepel D., Dobbelsteen A. van den, Tillie N.; Sustainable Urban Forms REAP+, 2010
4 _ McDonough, W. & Braungart, M.; Cradle to Cradle - Remaking the Way We Make Things; North-
Point Press, 2002
Acknowledgement: The HAKA model forms part of a larger material concept, Recycle Campus, a
collaboration between deURBANISTEN, BVR and DOEPEL STRIJKERS.
55
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Today, the term sustainability seems to cover about all of human and economic activity. It is such
a broad used and misused term, that Id like to reduce its meaning before talking about it.
Sustainability is the capacity to endure
1
.
As architects, we might ask ourselves what it takes for the built environment we design to endure.
Trying to answer this question, Ive come to the conclusion that sustainability in architecture has a
quantitative, technical aspect, and a qualitative, emotional aspect to research.
The quantitative aspect is apologetic, it is about how much natural resources are to be used in
the creation and use of our designs. We are trying, like everybody else, to reduce our use and mix-
ing of raw materials. We try to reduce, because we cannot (re-)create. As we do not create them,
we apologize for using them by demonstrating to our clients that we use less of them then anybody
else, or at least, less then they expected.
This is the quantitative aspect. This is the aspect that engineers are focused on, because one can
calculate it.
The qualitative aspect considers the appropriateness of our constructions. If it is no longer tting,
or pleasing, or meaningful to anybody, it wont endure. No matter how sustainable a building is
erected or operated, if no activity is housed in it, and if nobody has any emotional attachment to it,
it will be destroyed, if not by men, in time by nature herself.
Appropriateness is to be dealt with by the architect, for it cannot be solely calculated, but includes
understanding of human nature.
I will speak of this qualitative aspect of sustainability in architecture.
To give our designs a better chance at survival, a better chance to endure, we focus on three
themes that are pivotal in our design process, these are meaning, beauty and context.
Buildings do not have intrinsic meaning, people give it this meaning. We understand that we
cannot explain our structures to everybody visiting. So, we strive for designing such spatial envi-
ronments that people need to and are able to discover for themselves. In this way each will do it
in their personal way, guided by their own interests, habits or whatever unconscious mechanisms.
Thus building a personal memory of the place, a unique map, which can be shared and compared
with that of others. As I believe one develops a self image by projecting themselves on others, it is
in the sharing and comparing that meaning is built.
It is mandatory to actively engage the idea of beauty in your work as an architect. For it is intui-
tive, it is the irrational, the poetic: the personal. It is beauty that concludes a design decision, and it
is beauty that enables people to get emotionally involved with a spatial environment. Beauty is only
achieved when it addresses all the senses: sight, touch, smell, sound, taste. These are the shortcuts
to our emotions, they allow no understanding, and therefore create very strong memories. Whatev-
er they may tell you: it is beauty that saves buildings from destruction.
Understanding context is the most important factor in designing architecture. As architects we
make only prototypes. We design buildings to be built one time, for one purpose, in one place.
Therefore architectural solutions cannot be universal. Universality springs from the idea that we are
all equal, but we are not. However repetitive the program might be, no place is the same, and no
moment is alike. Architecture is not autonomous, it is not art. We try very hard to make a design
become part of its surroundings, to become the context itself. No building is a solitary object, and
as stated earlier, buildings derive their meaning only from how they engage their environment.
To me, sustainable architecture is not the result of an analysis, and it does not t in an excel
sheet, at least not beforehand. Sustainable architecture is based on emotional choices and realised
through thorough understanding of its immediate environment and users.
Marten de Jong, Emma architects, October 10th 2013
1 according to Wikipedia
56
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A simple bungalow dating from 1967 on a hexagonal ground plan had been radically altered and
modicated through the years.
Although this had made the house bigger, it had also become increasingly inward-looking. The ex-
panding wings were steadily enclosing the heart of the house with the hall and living quarters, and
direct contact between the house and the magnicent surroundings was largely lost. The original
detailing and material form were consistently adhered to du- ring all previous interventions but the
result was now thoroughly outmoded and of a poor technical quality. The house has now been giv-
en its fourth look.
The principle guiding this most recent intervention being to create a
house that is much more sustainable and able to reinstate the lost relation- ship between it and the
landscape. There has been kept as close as possible to preserving the existing house, which gave
the rst step towards a sustainable end-result. Taking the existing structure as the basis, the outer
walls and roofs were modernized by adding insulation and replacing all windows and larger areas
of glazing. The walls in the central section of the house were removed to create a new living hall
looking out onto the surroundings on four sides. In addition, the physical bond between house and
landscape has been consolidated by an all-glass pavilion attached to the living hall that reaches out
to the brook owing past the house.
Dick van Gameren architecten
57
58