City App floats at Xpeditie Blauwestad
The Communication App functioned as internet school and café in the temporary city “Xpeditie Blauwestad” in Groningen, the Netherlands
City App on its location at Xpeditie Blauwestad
Children using the City App
Vingt mille lieux sur les mers
By Frederic Joignot
Le Monde
Vinght mille lieux sur les mers: Comment les architectes voient la vie sur l’eau
Projet “Citadel” d’appartements, agence Waterstudio (Hollande). Il s’agit de construire dans des polders ouverts des habitations flottantes adaptées à la montée des eaux. C’est une “citadelle” parce qu’il s’agit “du dernier rempart contre la mer”, disent les architectes.
Un vieux rêve de l’humanité est de se réfugier sur une île pour y refaire sa vie, voire le monde, inventer une société meilleure, expérimenter des voies nouvelles pour l’humanité. C’est sur une île que Thomas More situait Utopia (1516), sa société idéale, au cœur d’une île encore que Tommaso Campanella imaginait la Cité du Soleil (1602) ou Sir Francis Bacon La Nouvelle Atlantide(1624), menée par les philosophes. Aujourd’hui, ces utopies insulaires sont rattrapées par la réalité terrestre : construire des cités écologiques sur des îles nouvelles est devenu un mouvement architectural. Né dans l’urgence de la menace environnementale, ce courant qui a gagné l’urbanisme interpelle, depuis dix ans, économistes, institutions internationales et gouvernements.
Ce mouvement a un drapeau – bleu, couleur des océans – et un pays pionnier : les Pays-Bas. Elu en 2007 parmi les personnes les plus influentes de l’année par le magazine Time, l’architecte Koen Olthuis, cofondateur de l’agence Waterstudio, à Ryswick, est l’un de ses praticiens et théoriciens. Il signe ses mails Green is good, blue is better (« le vert [le souci écologique], c’est bien, le bleu, c’est mieux ») et avance plusieurs arguments pour expliquer pourquoi construire sur les mers est une idée d’avenir : « D’ici 2050, 70 % de la population mondiale vivra dans des zones urbanisées. Or, les trois quarts des plus grandes villes sont situées en bord de mer, alors que le niveau des océans s’élève. Cette situation nous oblige à repenser radicalement la façon dont nous vivons avec l’eau. » Car, rappelle-t-il, les cités géantes du XXIe siècle sont mal en point : « La préoccupation “verte” qui saisit aujourd’hui architectes et urbanistes ne suffira pas à résoudre les graves problèmes environnementaux des villes. Comment allons-nous affronter les problèmes de surpopulation ? De pollution ? Résister à la montée des eaux ? » Sa réponse : en bâtissant des quartiers flottants, de nouvelles îles, en aménageant des plans d’eau pour un urbanisme amphibie. « La mer est notre nouvelle frontière », affirme l’architecte, détournant la formule de John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Car si l’espace manque sur terre, la mer est immense – et inhabitée.
Waterstudio n’est pas la seule agence néerlandaise à développer cette vision « bleue ». Plusieurs cabinets d’architecture et entreprises expertes, reconnues internationalement, bâtissent déjà sur l’eau. Il faut rappeler qu’aux Pays-Bas, contrée où l’on compte 3 500 polders et des villes sillonnées de canaux, s’adapter et résister aux assauts de la mer et aux inondations est une activité séculaire indispensable : en 1953, une violente tempête a causé près de 2 000 morts et provoqué l’évacuation de 100 000 personnes. Ce savoir-faire est devenu symbolique de la lutte de l’homme face à une nature menaçante, perturbée par le changement climatique. Désormais, « le monde est un polder », écrivait le biologiste Jared Diamond dans Effondrement. Comment les sociétés décident de leur disparition ou de leur survie (Gallimard, 2006).
Sauf que les polders, ces terres artificiellement gagnées sur l’eau, ne suffisent plus. Waterstudio a notamment conçu des maisons flottantes à IJburg, un quartier expérimental au sud-est d’Amsterdam. D’autres projets maritimes sont en cours. En 2009, l’agence a dessiné le projet Citadel, une cité flottante de 60 appartements installée dans un polder délibérément ouvert aux eaux. « Nous l’appelons Citadel, car ce sera la dernière ligne de défense contre la mer », explique Koen Olthuis, pour qui ce projet « montre clairement les possibilités infinies de la construction sur l’eau »
Au pays des polders, le fait de bâtir des immeubles flottants offre un complet renversement de perspective : « Nous cherchons à nous adapter à la mer, à l’accompagner, plutôt que lutter avec elle », explique l’architecte. Quand les habitations flottent, nul besoin de pomper l’eau, de renforcer en permanence les digues. Un nouvel urbanisme s’invente, où des quartiers entiers, jardins et maisons, reposent sur l’eau, parfois ancrés au sol, parfois mobiles. Une telle conception, avance l’architecte, va bouleverser toutes nos habitudes urbaines. Elle nous oblige à revoir « notre vision statique des villes » : la terre habitée ne sera plus tout entière « ferme ». Elle nous engage à repenser notre « exigence du sec » sur des territoires protégés par les digues, pour vivre sur l’eau. Elle annonce la multiplication d’habitats flottants et amphibies sur les zones côtières.
« Une ville plus mouvante, plus dynamique, se dessine. Certains habitats et services se déplaceront. L’urbanisme, la vie citadine vont en être transformés », conclut Koen Olthuis. Il n’est pas le seul à le penser. Du 26 au 29 août, signe des temps bleus à venir, se tiendra à Bangkok Icaade 2015, la première conférence internationale sur l’architecture amphibie. A Lagos, au Nigeria, l’architecte Kunlé Adeyemi a conçu une école flottante pour les enfants du bidonville de Makoko, sur la lagune. Posée sur des barils, équipée de panneaux solaires, elle a été inaugurée en février 2013. Kunlé Adeyemi prévoit de bâtir une flottille de maisons sur le même principe.
Les architectes de l’agence DeltaSync, à Delft, aux Pays-Bas, ont synthétisé ces idées dans un manifeste architectural et économique : « Blue Revolution ». Si les terres viennent à manquer, écrivent-ils, « où irons-nous ? Dans le désert ? Les ressources en eau manquent. Dans l’espace ? C’est toujours trop cher. Reste l’océan ». Notre planète de rechange est là. Car 71 % de la surface terrestre est maritime. Le texte continue : « Ce siècle verra l’émergence sur l’océan de nouvelles cités durables (…). Elles contribueront à offrir un haut standard de vie à la population, tout en protégeant les écosystèmes. Un rêve ? Non, la réponse au principal défi du XXIe siècle. »
L’agence DeltaSync, qui a construit en 2010 un pavillon flottant dans le port de Rotterdam, conseille le gouvernement néerlandais sur ses projets d’aménagement urbain, travaille sur la flottabilité et la stabilité de l’architecture aquatique. Elle développe avec l’université des sciences appliquées Inholland un projet de parc sur l’eau dans le port du Rhin, à Rotterdam : imaginez un petit archipel abritant un marché, une piscine, des restaurants, un centre de sport, une salle de concert. L’idée pourrait être reprise dans plusieurs villes néerlandaises, dans les ports ou sur des polders ouverts.
Un autre projet conçu pour un bassin portuaire est le Sea Tree, l’arbre de mer. Conçu par Waterstudio, encore dans les cartons, il révèle une autre dimension de l’architecture bleue : son exigence écologique. Il s’agit d’une haute structure en terrasses, entièrement végétalisée, construite selon les principes de la technologie offshore. Chaque grande ville côtière pourrait en installer. Ces arbres maritimes géants pourraient aider à lutter contre l’épuisement environnemental des grandes cités : ils comporteront des potagers verticaux et des terrasses plantées pour nourrir les citadins, ils capteront le CO2, ils abriteront quantité d’animaux utiles – oiseaux, abeilles, chauves-souris insectivores – qui rayonneront sur la côte et la ville proche. A Manhattan, à Singapour, les municipalités réfléchissent sérieusement à en installer, assure-t-on à Waterstudio.
On retrouve, dans ce projet de tour portuaire, plusieurs des idées-forces du courant dit de l’« architecture écologique », en plein essor. C’est un autre volet stratégique de la construction « bleue » : récupérer et consolider les principes de la construction « verte ». Autrement dit, s’appuyer sur les énergies durables (éolien, solaire, chauffage passif, géothermie), végétaliser les terrasses et les toits, intégrer les immeubles à l’écosystème local, s’inspirer des formes naturelles. L’architecte malaisien Ken Yeang, l’un des théoriciens de cette écoarchitecture, auteur de The Green Skyscraper (« Le gratte-ciel vert », non traduit, Prestel, 1999), a poussé cette réflexion très loin : selon lui, un immeuble doit être conçu dès l’origine comme un « système vivant construit », afin de pouvoir entrer « en symbiose » avec son environnement : sobre en énergie, recyclable, bioclimatique, l’habitat doit participer du cycle naturel, réintégrer la biosphère et dépolluer, tel un arbre colossal.
Pour bâtir cette cité aquatique, il faudra d’abord concevoir des grands caissons flottants de différents formats qui s’emboîteront jusqu’à former des îlots constructibles. Les premières unités doivent être mises en chantier cette année. Les commanditaires ont hâte de les tester : la pollution des grandes villes chinoises est telle que les autorités envisagent de construire rapidement à l’écart des zones atteintes. Sur l’eau, en face des cités enfumées. Demain, ces cités pourraient abriter une partie de la population littorale, désengorger les mégapoles, être économes en énergie, alléger la dégradation environnementale
Que répondent les architectes « bleus » à ces critiques et à ces risques d’une pollution aggravée ? Ils soulignent qu’ils ne veulent pas construire des îles artificielles, mais flottantes, qui n’altéreront pas les fonds marins. Et ils avancent un nouvel argument de poids : au XXIe siècle, l’humanité (9,6 milliards d’habitants attendus en 2050) va rencontrer de graves problèmes de terre arable, d’épuisement des stocks halieutiques et d’alimentation – toutes choses qui inquiètent beaucoup l’Organisation des Nations unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture (FAO). A Londres, pour les concepteurs de la Floating City, la cause est entendue : seule une future « colonisation » des mers permettra d’arrêter la conquête des terres par la ville. Ils écrivent : « La biologie terrestre a été soumise depuis longtemps à une exploitation si intensive que les terres encore inexploitées doivent être préservées de l’urbanisation. De nouvelles colonies maritimes devront être planifiées au XXIe siècle. »
C’est sur cette problématique de la disparition et de l’épuisement des sols, associée à une crise alimentaire, que les défenseurs de l’urbanisme marin rejoignent un autre volet de la « révolution bleue » : la croissance exponentielle de l’aquaculture mondiale depuis vingt ans. En 2008, selon un rapport de la FAO, l’aquaculture a fourni 46 % des poissons à l’échelle mondiale. Il s’agissait à 87 % de poissons d’eau douce, mais l’aquaculture marine est en progression constante, ainsi que l’algoculture et la conchyliculture (élevage des mollusques marins). Cela se comprend : la pèche industrielle menaçant d’épuiser les stocks de nombreux poissons, l’aquaculture apparaît comme une réponse viable pour nourrir les populations, même si elle rencontre de sérieux problèmes de gestion durable.
Or, les architectes bleus avancent que l’avenir de l’aquaculture maritime passera par l’édification de fermes et de bassins nourriciers à proximité des cités côtières. C’est l’idée qui est derrière un projet de l’agence DeltaSync, « Floating food cities will save the world » (« les villes alimentaires flottantes sauveront le monde »), développé par l’ingénieur Rutger de Graaf. Imaginant une nouvelle forme d’économie circulaire, il explique que la construction de récifs artificiels accueillant poissons et crustacés, de bassins d’aquaculture aquaponique recyclant les éléments nutritifs apportés par les déchets des villes flottantes, et d’îles agricoles permettra de nourrir les populations urbaines côtières. Selon lui, il suffirait que 1 % des mers soient consacrées à l’aquaculture pour nourrir l’humanité – le reste des eaux devant être sanctuarisé. Une étude de faisabilité accompagne ces projets
Les partisans de l’architecture « bleue » avancent enfin qu’elle devrait permettre d’éviter un des drames possibles du changement climatique : la submersion de nombreuses îles du fait de la montée des eaux. Le gouvernement des Maldives y croit, qui a lancé en 2010 un programme de constructions sur l’eau afin d’accueillir les populations menacées et de sauver le tourisme : des projets de villages amarrés mais aussi d’îlots de plaisance, d’hôtels et de golfs flottants sont à l’étude. Ces réalisations pionnières, encore très élitistes − « Les riches paient pour les prototypes qui serviront à tous », explique Koen Olthuis –, sont étudiées de près par les Etats insulaires d’Océanie, qui ont lancé en juillet 2014, lors du 45e Forum des îles du Pacifique, un appel de détresse aux pays industrialisés.
Ils ont rappelé que l’archipel de Kiribati, où vivent 110 000 personnes, risque de devenir inhabitable en 2030 – même si certains scientifiques assurent que les atolls vont s’élever avec les mers. Les autorités ont d’ores et déjà acquis 2 400 hectares dans les îles Fidji pour les reloger. Le président de la République des Kiribati, Anote Tong, a aussi évoqué la possibilité de construire une « île flottante » pour les futurs réfugiés climatiques. Or, deux projets de ce type existent dans les cartons des architectes bleus. Le premier, un ensemble de trois îlots végétalisés, agricoles, supportant une tour d’habitation géante, est étudié par le constructeur japonais Shimizu Corp.
Thailand tests floating homes in region grappling with floods
By Alisa Tang
Thomson Reuters Foundation
March.2015
In this picture provided by Site-Specific Co Ltd, the 2.8 million baht ($86,000) amphibious house, designed and built by the architecture firm Site-Specific Co Ltd for Thailand’s National Housing Authority (NHA) rises up 85cm after architects and NHA staff fill a manmade test hole underneath the house with water during a trial run in Ban Sang village of Ayutthaya province September 7, 2013. REUTERS/Site-Specific Co Ltd/Handout via Reuters
AYUTTHAYA, Thailand (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Nestled among hundreds of identical white and brown two-storey homes crammed in this neighborhood for factory workers is a house with a trick – one not immediately apparent from its green-painted drywall and grey shade panels.
Hidden under the house and its wraparound porch are steel pontoons filled with Styrofoam. These can lift the structure three meters off the ground if this area, two hours north of Bangkok, floods as it did in 2011 when two-thirds of the country was inundated, affecting a fifth of its 67 million people.
The 2.8 million baht ($86,000) amphibious house in Ban Sang village is one way architects, developers and governments around the world are brainstorming solutions as climate change brews storms, floods and rising sea levels that threaten communities in low-lying coastal cities.
“We can try to build walls to keep the water out, but that might not be a sustainable permanent solution,” said architect Chuta Sinthuphan of Site-Specific Co. Ltd, the firm that designed and built the house for Thailand’s National Housing Authority.
“It’s better not to fight nature, but to work with nature, and amphibious architecture is one answer,” said Chuta, who is organizing the first international conference on amphibious architecture in Bangkok in late August.
Asia is the region most affected by disasters, with 714,000 deaths from natural disasters between 2004 and 2013 – more than triple the previous decade – and economic losses topping $560 billion, according to the United Nations.
Some 2.1 billion people live in the region’s fast-growing cities and towns, and many of these urban areas are located in vulnerable low-lying coastal areas and river deltas, with the poorest and most marginalized communities often waterlogged year-round.
For Thailand, which endures annual floods during its monsoon season, the worsening flood risks became clear in 2011 as panicked Bangkok residents rushed to sandbag and build retaining walls to keep their homes from flooding.
Vast parts of the capital – which is normally protected from the seasonal floods – were hit, as were factories at enormous industrial estates in nearby provinces such as Ayutthaya. Damage and losses reached $50 billion, according to the World Bank.
And the situation is worsening. A 2013 World Bank-OECD study forecast average global flood losses multiplying from $6 billion per year in 2005 to $52 billion a year by 2050.
FLOATING HOUSE
In Thailand, as across the region, more and more construction projects are returning to using traditional structures to deal with floods, such as stilts and buildings on barges or rafts.
Bangkok is now taking bids for the construction of a 300-bed hospital for the elderly that will be built four meters above the ground, supported by a structure set on flood-prone land near shrimp and sea-salt farms in the city’s southernmost district on the Gulf of Thailand, said Supachai Tantikom, an advisor to the governor.
For Thailand’s National Housing Authority (NHA) – a state enterprise that focuses on low-income housing – the 2011 floods reshaped the agency’s goals, and led to experiments in coping with more extreme weather.
The amphibious house, built over a manmade hole that can be flooded, was completed and tested in September 2013. The home rose 85 cm (2.8 feet) as the large dugout space under the house was filled with water.
In August, construction is set to begin on another flood-resistant project – a 3 million baht ($93,000) floating one-storey house on a lake near Bangkok’s main international airport.
“Right now we’re testing this in order to understand the parameters. Who knows? Maybe in the future there might be even more flooding… and we would need to have permanent housing like this,” said Thepa Chansiri, director of the NHA’s department of research and development.
The 100 square meter (1,000 square foot) floating house will be anchored to the lakeshore, complete with electricity and flexible-pipe plumbing.
Like the amphibious house, the floating house is an experiment for the NHA to understand what construction materials work best and how fast such housing could be built in the event of floods and displacement.
FLOATING CITIES?
The projects in Thailand are a throwback to an era when Bangkok was known as the Venice of the East, with canals that crisscrossed the city serving as key transportation routes. At that time, most residents lived on water or land that was regularly inundated.
“One of the best projects I’ve seen to cope with climate-related disasters is Bangkok in 1850. The city was 90 percent on water – living on barges on water,” said Koen Olthuis, founder of Waterstudio, a Dutch architecture and urban planning firm.
“There was no flood risk, there was no damage. The water came, the houses moved up and down,” he said by telephone from the Netherlands.
Olthuis started Waterstudio in 2003 because he was frustrated that the Dutch were building on land in a flood-prone country surrounded by water, while people who lived in houseboats on the water in Amsterdam “never had to worry about flooding”.
His firm now trains people from around the world in techniques they can adapt for their countries. It balances high-end projects in Dubai and the Maldives with work in slums in countries such as Bangladesh, Uganda and Indonesia.
One common solution for vulnerable communities has been to relocate them to higher ground outside urban areas – but many people work in the city and do not want to move.
Olthuis says the solution is to expand cities onto the water.
Waterstudio has designed a shipping container that floats on a simple frame containing 15,000 plastic bottles. The structure can be used as a school, bakery or Internet cafe.
Waterstudio’s aim is to test these containers in Bangladesh slums, giving communities flood-safe floating public structures that would not take up land, interfere with municipal rules or threaten landowners who don’t want permanent new slums.
“Many cities worldwide have sold their land to developers… and now when we go to them, we say, ‘You don’t have land anymore, but you have water,’” Olthuis said. “If your community is affected by water, the safest place to be is on the water.”
Reporting by Alisa Tang, editing by Laurie Goering
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Portrait: Waterstudio.nl, The Netherlands
Archi-News, February 2015
Facing the city planning and climate changing challenges, the Dutch office Waterstudio.nl chooses to work principally towards flexible strategies and large scale floating architecture projects proposing sustainable solutions.
In the Netherlands, one quarter of the country being under sea level, the architects are considering the ways to rethink the built environment. Koen Olthuis (*1971) is one of them. Founder of Waterstudio, he studied architecture and industrial design at the Delft Technology University. As per his words, we treat our cities as if they were static and we don’t stop erecting fixed urban elements, which after 50 years become obsolete and useless. But the to-morrow’s city is dynamic, hybrid, flexible and environment friendly, a moving town, which reinvents itself constantly. The architect’s work is more precise in order to especially respond to the pressing needs of climatic changes. Koen Olthuis proposes to live on the water, with the water. The first town created in this spirit is under construction between The Hague and Rotterdam. Called « The New Water », this 1200 house urban development takes place in the polder zone, intentionally filled with water after a few centuries of artificial draining.
Strict rules limit the volume authorized above sea level. This constraint gives life to a rather sophisticated design and to interesting spatial solutions, particularly a naturally lighted basement, large glass surfaces, parts with wood and a white Corian® curved frame running along the façade. First one of the 6 buildings foreseen in this project, Citadel is also, with its 60 luxury apartments, the first floating building in Europe. Easy to reach from the side by a floating road, the building is composed of 180 modular elements, placed on concrete foundations. The norms are identical to those of a house on dry land. Another element of the New Water project’s first part: the Waterfront villa has a concrete base with a boathouse and a swimming pool. Three U-shaped volumes enable to optimize the viewpoints at each level. Corian® is used as the main covering material.
Waterstudio develops a revolutionary concept for the cruise ships terminal. A sculptural triangular floating construction (700 x 700 m) situated outside the bank, disposes of more than 160 000sqm of conference halls, cinemas, shopping areas, spas, restaurants, hotels, etc. The triangular ring raises at one place to create a smaller interior harbour. Covered with aluminium panels and partly with photovoltaic cells, the structure anchors itself to the seabed by cables with shock absorbers, enabling a vertical flexibility, whilst ensuring horizontal stability. Modern, light and transparent, the De Hoef villa shows in a concrete way that floating architecture has now reached the same level as its land counterpart. Realized with a steel frame, the construction is an amphibian structure, floating on water but surrounded by land on three sides. The choice of this type of structure results from the fact that « normal » houses are not allowed in this peat landscape.
With the project See Tree, Waterstudio proposes a new concept for the high-density urban green points. With many layers of trees, this floating structure, unattainable for man, uses the petrol offshore platforms’ technology. It would be the first 100% floating object designed and built for flora and fauna.
At the other end of the world, Koen Olthuis undertakes a huge project: design a floating town in the Maldives. The masterplan proposes a solution to the dramatic situation created by the rising sea level. These floating developments, especially, have a real positive impact on the poor communities living near the coast. The architect reminds that the most exposed cities are Mumbai, Dhaka and Calcutta because of their huge populations threatened by the water level increase. In these cities, millions of people live in dense slums along the water and are vulnerable to floods especially during the rainy season. “With the City Apps, based on standard maritime containers, we want to use the technical knowledge coming from our floating projects for the wealthy people.” They can be compared to Smartphone with applications adapted to different needs, such as a special programme for slums. In view of their flexibility and small size, the City Apps use the space available on water and are very convenient to be used as residences or schools, for instance.
The objective is to reach 10 000 containers in 5 years, rented in the whole world. “The importance given to slums has opened new opportunities and has put me in touch with many interesting and influential people who understand the necessity for the architects to use their influence and creativity to change the lives of millions of human beings, underlines also Koen Olthuis”.
His approach to improve the coastal towns throughout the world with these floating urban components is a real challenge. « It is just as if we had discovered a small part of the water potential to make the cities more resilient, sure and flexible. I believe that our projects and those of many architects, who use the floating technology as a tool, will open new norms for the cities ».
Koen Olthuis, Hong Kong design week
By Today’s living
BODW
February.2015
The business of Design Week (BODW), organized by the Hong Kong Design Centre, has been a key event for the local design community since 2002. BODW 2014 saw the arrival of leading designers from Sweden and all over the world,, carrying with them invaluable insights from the fields of architecture, fashion, technology and culture. Today’s Living talked with six of the design heavyweights present at this year’s event, namely Anna Hessle, Erik Nissen Johanson, Koen Olthuis, Lisa Lindstrom, Thomas Eriksson and Marcus Engman. In this issue, we introduce you to three of these interior and architectural leaders, all of whom are masters of their industry.
Ankie Stam: Met drijvende city apps kunnen we functies aan de grote steden toevoegen
By Nicole Verstrepen
Kmo Insider
Innovatie
February.2.2015
In de media wordt de Nederlandse architect en industrieel ontwerper Koen Olthuis wel eens de ‘Drijvende’ in plaats van de ‘Vliegende Hollander’ genoemd. Hij specialiseerde zich in wat hij ‘City Apps’ noemt, drijvende componenten die je als het ware in en uit de stad kan pluggen al naargelang de behoefte. Olthuis gebruikt het water of de rivier in de stad als bouwgrond voor nieuwe functies. “Zo bied ik wereldwijd mogelijkheden om flexibel om te springen met klimaatveranderingen en urbanisatie”, stelt hij. Op kmo-connected diende hij zich te laten vervangen door zijn medewerkster Ankie Stam omdat hij zelf in Dubai was voor de bespreking van een nieuw project. Ja, zijn projecten zijn erg leuk voor mensen die centen hebben, maar ze bieden ook uitkomst voor ‘s werelds arme sloppenwijken.
Met de presentatie toonde Ankie Stam hoe we onze steden kunnen verbeteren.
Ankie Stam: “Woningen bouwen die vijftig tot zeventig jaar moeten meegaan is een statische gedachte. Vandaag verandert onze wereld veel sneller. Er zijn sociale veranderingen, met gezinnen die snel van samenstelling veranderen en veel eenoudergezinnen, maar ook politieke veranderingen met het vallen van de Berlijnse muur bijvoorbeeld, wat een impact heeft gehad op de stad. Maar de veranderingen die op dit moment de grootste druk leggen op onze steden zijn de klimaatveranderingen en de urbanisatie. Het is nodig dat steden zich aanpassen en flexibeler worden.”
Volgens Koen Olthuis is het fout om te denken dat de stad volgebouwd is.
Ankie Stam: “Honderd jaar geleden dachten we ook dat de stad vol was tot Otis de lift uitvond. In een keer konden we in de lucht bouwen. In de lucht kunnen wij vandaag geen ruimte meer vinden, maar wel in het water. De grote wereldsteden bestaan voor een groot gedeelte uit water. Met funderingen van piepschuim en beton kunnen we grote platformen maken, hele stadsdelen of, city apps, zoals bijvoorbeeld een drijvende parkeertoren. Deze drijvende functies kan je in en uit de stad pluggen al naargelang de behoefte.”
De deelnemers aan kmo-connected kregen vervolgens verschillende ontwerpen van Koen Olthuis en zijn architectenbedrijf waterstudio.nl te zien.
Een cruiseterminal voor Dubai
Voor Dubai heeft Koen Olthuis een cruiseterminal ontworpen.
Ankie Stam: “We hadden de cruiseterminal eerst getekend op 300x300x300 meter, maar toen we bij onze klant kwamen, stonden we na vijf minuten terug buiten. Of we hem op 700x700x700 meter konden ontwerpen. Dit vormde voor de ingenieurs geen probleem, integendeel, want hoe groter je iets maakt op water, hoe stabieler het wordt. Dubai heeft veel kust, meer geen plek waar cruiseschepen kunnen aanmeren. We hebben via de punt een binnenhaven gecreëerd, waarin kleine schepen liggen die de mensen van de cruiseschepen aan land brengen.”
Een internetschooltje voor de sloppenwijk
Koen Olthuis heeft ook city apps bedacht voor sloppenwijken.
Ankie Stam: “Deze city apps, die gebaseerd zijn op standaard zeecontainers, kunnen een belangrijke meerwaarde voor sloppenwijken betekenen als dokterspost, gemeenschapskeuken, internetschooltje,… Vaak zijn sloppenwijken zeer dicht bevolkt en is er geen ruimte over, maar wanneer een sloppenwijk langs een stroom of rivier ligt, bieden de city apps mogelijkheden. Zo hebben we een internetschooltje ontwerpen waar via tablets en schermen leerkrachten vanop afstand les kunnen geven. Deze city apps hebben een fundering bestaande uit gebruikte PET-flessen, ondersteund door een stalen framework. Ze worden in Nederland gebouwd en vervolgens naar de sloppenwijk getransporteerd.”
Drijvend hotel en conferentiecentrum Greenstar,
In januari 2014 tekende Koen Olthuis Greenstar, een drijvend hotel met 800 kamers en conferentiecentrum voor tot 2000 deelnemers op de Malediven.
Ankie Stam: “Hotels hebben over het algemeen om de vijf jaar een opknapbeurt nodig. Dit hotel bestaat uit vijf ‘benen’, maar we creëerden een zesde, zodat er steeds een reserve-exemplaar in het draaidok ligt. Wanneer een poot moet opgeknapt worden, wordt die weggehaald en naar het draaidok gebracht en kan de reservepoot ingeplugd worden zodat het hotel steeds op volle kracht kan werken. Zo één poot kan je vergelijken met een cruiseschip. Een mooi voorbeeld van plug and play.”
Het Greenstar Hotel en Conferentiecentrum ontwierp Koen Olthuis in opdracht van Dutch Docklands, wereldleider in drijvende floating concepten en infrastructuur (FLOAT = Flexible Land On Aquatic Territory). Dutch Docklands is met de regering van de Malediven een joint-venture aangegaan voor een ambitieus masterplan met meer dan 800 hectares aan drijvende projecten, waaronder het Greenstar hotel, 43 drijvende privé-eilandjes in archipelvorm, een drijvend golfterrein waarbij je in tunnels onder water van de ene hole naar de andere wandelt,…
Wat vond u van deze spreker?
Nick Veldeman, Waagnatie Expo & Events
“Ik vond het een fantastische uiteenzetting. Ik heb mij voorgenomen om Koen Olthuis te contacteren, want ik heb al heel lang een idee om iets drijvends op de Schelde te doen en Waterstudio is de firma die dat gaat kunnen realiseren.”
Virginie Frémat, CMS DeBacker
“Het was ongelooflijk om te zien wat er allemaal mogelijk is op architecturaal vlak. Ik had mij nooit kunnen inbeelden dat zulke City Apps bestonden, en blijkbaar worden ze effectief al uitgewerkt. Zeker in die sloppenwijken is dat maatschappelijk gezien schitterend.”
Andrea Sitteur, PostsNL België
“De uiteenzetting was fantastisch en heel inspirerend. Of ik zelf zou investeren in een woning op het water? Voor die sloppenwijken zou ik wel willen doneren, maar puur voor mezelf en de fun? Neen, ik ben niet zo’n fan van water.”
Toby Wauters, Ritmo Interim
“Er is in Antwerpen weinig plaats voor gezinnen. We zouden misschien op de Schelde ook zoiets kunnen doen. De luxueuze toepassingen lijken mij nice to have, maar voor de sloppenwijken, zijn het oplossingen waarbij je met relatief weinig budget veel mensen kan helpen.”
Karel Geerts, Herber Watson N.V.
“Land winnen op het water is voor een stuk de corebusiness van Nederland. De projecten in Dubai draaien om geld en prestige, maar voor de oplossingen voor de sloppenwijken moet ook geld zijn. Waar gaat dat vandaan komen? Het is in elk geval mooi.”
Long for a sea change? Buy a house boat
By Alina Dizik
BBC
September.28.2014
When Soren Terkelsen moved to a houseboat with his wife and two young children seven years ago, he wasn’t prepared for a front-row seat of Copenhagen’s winter storms.
“All of a sudden the ship turns into a steel thing that you cannot control,” said the 44-year-old. “We were completely new to this and had a lot of surprises.”
For Terkelsen, taking care of the M/S Arno, a 50-year-old boat that was refurbished into a family home, wasn’t immediately intuitive. In fact, there was much to learn about the new lifestyle.
The boat requires a new coat of paint with the rust scraped off every few years, the septic tank needs to be emptied regularly and there are mooring restrictions that dictate where he can keep the vessel.
Still, living close to the city without the chaos, while enjoying the serenity unique to waterside living—like watching geese and other water birds fly past — is hugely rewarding, he said.
“I really love it,” said Terkelsen, who recently started Copenhagen Boats, a boat-rental business.
For those who’ve long dreamed of living on the water, owning a houseboat is within reach. Many refurbished boats are on the market in waterfront cities including Seattle, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Copenhagen. And, new luxury communities are in various stages of development in Dubai, the Maldives and Miami. Houseboat prices can run from $200,000 into the millions, depending on the location and the level of luxury.
Architects say homes that float on the water can rise and fall with the tides, keeping buyers safe from flooding and rising water levels due to climate change. “It’s a unique lifestyle,” said Rick Miner, a Seattle-based real estate broker who specializes in floating homes and has lived in one for 23 years.
How to find it
After 25 years spent working in the hospitality industry in Vancouver, Canada, Ben de Vries knew he wanted to return to Holland and live in one of Amsterdam’s famous houseboats. But finding a boat wasn’t easy.
In cities like Amsterdam, licensed boats docked within city limits can be difficult to find because there are so few lots along the city’s waterways. After a long search, de Vries bought an old boat in 2001 for €120,000 ($92,850), which didn’t quite fit his idea of a dream houseboat because it was cramped and in need of an upgrade.
But, the old boat was well worth the price, he said, as the purchase included the valuable docking space license, or ligplaats, which in Amsterdam is sold together with the boat. Places to moor the boat in this Dutch city are fixed and cannot be changed to a different location, similar to purchased land. De Vries eventually purchased a new boat for €110,000 ($85,115) to put in the same space.
The hassle was worth it. While some houseboat communities on the city’s most popular canals can be loud, De Vries says he lives in a quieter part of the city and enjoys the diversity of his houseboat community. “They are usually interesting people that live on houseboats,” he said.
He also loves being close to nature. “I see big fish swimming around,” he said. “You’re more exposed to the elements.”
Due to limited docking space, competition for house boats is fierce in most markets, according to Koen Olthuis, founder of Waterstudio, an architecture firm in Deft, Holland that specializes on over-water projects.
Miner says that only six or seven boat properties per year are available for sale in Seattle and range from $700,000 to $1 million. By comparison, in Amsterdam, with an estimated 2,500 houseboats, there are more properties for sale and small older boats can sell for €200,000 ($154,750).
Finding a houseboat on your own can be difficult, so it is advisable to find a real-estate agent that specialises in houseboat sales. In the Maldives, for instance, Christie’s is selling 185 new floating villas, which start at $1 million and are in the first phase of completion, said Olthuis, who helped create the project.
Fees and maintenance
If you’re thinking of taking the plunge, there are some financial considerations to take into account.
The newest floating homes are built on a hollow concrete barge that can be towed to other locations but can’t be moved independently. But, because many floating homes and houseboats aren’t equipped with the engines, mechanics or navigation systems of boats, upkeep costs can be lower than a fully functioning water vessel of a similar size.
Monthly upkeep of your houseboat can cost from $200 to $600 for mooring fees and maintenance. Most owners pay monthly homeowner dues that cover water, sewer and dock maintenance. Those who own their docking spot, don’t pay a monthly mooring fee.
Houseboat owners are required to pay personal property taxes similar to home ownership on land. And, many houseboat communities also provide parking for homeowners as part of the monthly dues. But, in some areas, the saltwater can eat away at the floating home and require expensive upkeep well into the thousands of dollars, so budgeting for longer term, one-off or occasional expenses is also a good idea. When getting a mortgage, insurance in a must and is only slightly higher than homeowners insurance on land, mostly due to more possible weather damage. In the US, houseboat insurance averages about $1,500 annually.
Life on the water
If you think a houseboat will provide solitude, think again. Floating homes have their own neighbourhoods and provide a sense of community with other owners because they are rarely moved from one place to the next.
People “don’t realize how similar it is to normal housing,” said Olthuis, whose firm focuses entirely on overwater properties. “People still think it’s something futuristic.”
However, some of the comforts of home differ and require some adjustment. For one, bringing groceries or items back to the boat is often an acquired skill because you need to walk along a jetty. Odd jobs around your houseboat will also be different to those on land. A septic tank filled with used water needs to be properly emptied and cables that attach the boat to land must be checked frequently to prevent a boat coming loose during high winds.
Decorating is also a unique consideration. Some regular furniture can be an odd fit into the houseboat’s curved rooms, says Terkelsen, which means furnishing it could be more interesting — but more expensive — than a house on land. Some companies including the US-based Bradd and Hall specialize in furniture in marine settings.
How to finance it
Financing a home on the water is different than purchasing a home on land.
In the US, smaller banks located near houseboat communities such as those in the Northwest will help buyers get a mortgage, but most homes are bought for cash, said Miner. With a mortgage, most boat purchases require a 20% down payment, he said. Such mortgages require special inspections that can cost up to $800 and involve a dive survey of the outside part of the home, which is a cost covered by the buyer and should be factored into closing costs.
In Amsterdam, to close on sale, boats need to be examined in a shipyard outside of the water. Not all banks around the world offer houseboat mortgages. Instead, buyers may need to take out a secured loan, which is similar to a mortgage and gives more favourable terms because the borrower pledges collateral for the loan.
An added return
With so many curious travellers, one perk to owning a houseboat is that they are easy to rent out.
This year, Terkelsen and his family moved back on land to start renting out their Copenhagen houseboat online. Bookings are already filled for the next three months, providing a healthy income stream.
Renting out a room on his Amsterdam boat also helps De Vries offset the extra expense of living on the water, while allowing him to share his love of the water with travellers. Guests enjoy the novelty of booking a room at Ben’s Boat and Breakfastand being only 10 minutes away from the center of town, said De Vries who rents one of his bedroom suites for €95 ($123) per night.
“It’s a rewarding business,” he said.
Architects Envision The Future Of Nature Preservation, And It’s Beautiful
By Katherine Brooks
Huffington Post
September.18.2014
“The waterfront no longer places a limitation on city expansion, in fact it is the new frontier!”
So begins the description for “Sea Tree,” a futuristic nature reserve imagined by Netherlands-based architecture firm, Waterstudio. The wild design, still in the rendering phase, would bring floating steel structures to the shores of urban centers. And inside those steel towers, would be vegetated layers of habitable space, meant for both flora and fauna to flourish in spaces where land and wildlife is scarce.
According to Waterstudio, Sea Tree would be built using the “latest offshore technology,” similar to that used in building oil storage towers in the open ocean. But instead of housing oil, the towers would play home to plant and animal species, working to reduce CO2 emissions along the way.
“Large oil companies will have the opportunity to give back by using their own intellectual property and resources to donate Sea Trees to a community in need,” Waterstudio wrote in a statement to HuffPost, “showing their concern and interest in preserving the distressed wildlife.” It’s a utopian endeavor, sure, but it offers already over-populated metropolises a chance to conserve wildlife within city limits.
The design, inspired by a project in Holland in which ecologists asked the firm to design a green oasis that could not be disturbed by humans, is meant for any waterfront, from riverbanks to sea shores. The height and depth of the structures would be custom constructed according to their specific locations, and would be anchored to the seabed with cables. The birds, bees, bats, and other small animals seeking refuge on a Sea Tree would be left untouched by humans, as would the plant life.
“Most of the innovation on land has been done already,” Koen Olthuis, Waterstudio lead designer and co-founder, explained to The Creator’s Project. “The truly innovative possibilities are found on water… The idea is that we cover the tower with fertile soil and then simply take our hands off of it and let nature do its thing. That’s the exciting part: to see what kind of effect such a green enclave will have.”
When asked when we could expect Sea Tree to become a reality, Ankie Stam at Waterstudio responded to HuffPost: “We’re now in the process of [finalizing] location (with city councils) and finance (with oil companies), for which we have several options. When this is completed we can start construction.”
Waterstudio sent us a selection of images that show the possibilities of Sea Tree. Let us know your thoughts in the comments. And for other floating architectural feats, check out Cristian Ehrmantraut’s prototype for a floating platform that filters the ocean and absorbs plastic.
Koen Olthuis speaks on BODW Hong Kong
His speech was very well received at Asia’s largest and leading annual event on design, innovations and brand
Koen Olthuis speaks on BODW Hong Kong
Click here for the website
Koen’s speech in the Culture and the City Session was very well received.
Business of Design Week (BODW) is a flagship event organised by Hong Kong Design Centre since 2002. Each year, BODW brings to Hong Kong some of the world’s most outstanding design masters and influential business figures to inspire the regional audience on creative thinking and design management. In addition, it also provides a valuable platform for participants to network, exchange ideas and explore business cooperation. Today, BODW enjoys the reputation as Asia’s leading annual event on design, innovation and brands.
Could floating shipping containers help sort out the world’s slums?
By Barbara Speed
Written by Citymetric
August.14.2014
“What if a city was as flexible as a shuffle puzzle?” Koen Olthuis asked in his 2012 TEDx talk. He was referring to those games in which you move squares around until you make a picture. At the time, his audience probably didn’t realise he was serious.
But using moveable little boxes to meet a city’s needs were exactly what Olthuis was proposing. His talk was on the subject of the “Floating City Apps” developed by his architectural firm, the Netherlands-based Waterstudio. (You may remember them from their plans for a floating golf course in the Maldives. Or maybe you saw their designs for a snowflake-shaped hotel off the coast of Norway.)
These mobile buildings would float on bodies of water at the edges of cities. They could also be moved around according to a city’s needs, and could fulfil a range of different functions. Some would be educational, with internet access and computers; others could act as bakeries, housing, healthcare centres, or floating mats of solar panels.
In June, the first piece of Olthuis’ shuffle puzzle was completed: an educational suite which will double up as an internet cafe in the evenings, all powered by solar panels on its roof. It’s been built inside a shipping container, to makes it easy to transport; a base constructed from thousands of plastic bottles collected by slum residents will be added once it reaches its destination.
It’s due to be shipped out to a slum in Manila in the autumn. Here’s the architect’s mock-up of the city app in situ.
Olthuis’ interest in water-based construction was inspired partly by his home country: around half the Netherlands lies below sea level, and massive amounts of water are pumped away daily to keep the country high and dry. But it’s not the low countries that could benefit most from this kind of architecture: it’s the rapidly growing and slum-packed cities of the developing world, and wet slums – those edging onto bodies of water, and so at risk of rising sea levels – were forefront in Olthuis’ mind when he came up with the idea:
“They’re some of the hardest areas to help, because they’re so close to the water,” he says. “People are unwilling to invest in development that could flood, or just wash away.” His hope is that these City Apps could help change that: the units they would rise with sea levels if an area floods, and could be moved elsewhere if necessary. This first app was funded by the prize money from the 2012 Architecture and Sea Level Rise Award, the studio and other sponsors; in future, the studio is hoping to build them then lease them out to NGOs and development agencies for a low monthly cost.
There’s a case for helping the world’s 1.1bn slum dwellers to more permanent settlements, rather than just improving the slums, of course. But in Olthuis’ view, “slums aren’t going to go away, so the only thing we can do is upgrade their prosperity”. There are a few creases to iron out first, though – at the moment, the studio may have to pay tax on transporting the Manila app, and are meeting with embassies to try and avoid this “real waste of money”.
While the city app will be run by a local organisation once in Manila, Olthuis is keen to stay involved. “The most important thing is that we can measure the app’s effects, and check how it’s working.” He wants to build hundreds, even thousands, more apps for different purposes around the world: 90 per cent of the world’s largest cities border a body of water, whether it be river, lake, or sea, so the project’s applications could stretch far beyond wet slums. Because of their floating foundations, the apps are relatively stable, though they may not work so well in waters prone to violent waves.
For Olthuis, floating architecture offers a way to use the dead space off the coasts of cities. It also offers flexibility, as units can be moved to a different location, or even another city, as the needs of the surrounding area change – just as you can change the apps on your phone.