De Ceuvel

(see also this post)
De Ceuvel is situated in the former industrial area of Buiksloterham and is one of the pioneers in the transformation of this polluted zone into a sustainable residential area. Consequently, in the area around de Ceuvel many sustainable projects are now being realized, amongst which many DIY buildings, sustainable living on the water (Schoonschip), Waternet's bio-refinery, compost toilets, heat exchanger, solar energy (De Ceuvel is equipped with over 150 Photovoltaïc (PV) panels that generate energy from the sun), upcycling (De Ceuvel has been built largely out of recycled materials), aquaponics greenhouse, Café de Ceuvel is currently building the world’s very first Biogas Boat. This boat has the ability to convert organic waste into biogas that will be used to cook with in the restaurant. In this way, de Ceuvel reduce its waste production, contributing to an increasingly sustainable circular economy.

The former industrial plot is a thriving community of entrepreneurs and artists, where all involved have lent a hand to build Amsterdam’s first circular office park. The plot hosts creative workspaces, a podium, a sustainable café, spaces (recycled boats) to rent, and in the near future - a floating bed & breakfast.

Contributed by: Dana Barale, Cristina, David, Fernando 

Waste-to-Energy Facility in Malmö, Sweden

Malmö in the south of Sweden is one of the leading cities in the world for sustainability. By 2020 Malmö hopes to be climate neutral and by 2030 have all government services running with 100% of renewable energy. This is significantly higher than the European Union’s target for Sweden which is only 49% of renewable energy by 2020. The city hopes to hit these targets by a number of lifestyle and systemic changes.
These include a waste-to-energy facility in the city. This facility turns waste from 500,000 citizens into electricity and heat energy. In 2008 it expanded to become the largest plant in Northern Europe. The capacity of the plant is 630,000 tons of waste annually and it produces 1.4 TWh of heat and 0.3 TWh of power a year. It also has one of the most energy-efficient incineration plants in Europe. The plant has very high environmental standards with very low emissions, for example, it includes a number of wet flue gas treatments which helps reduce harmful gases being released into the atmosphere. The plant supplies power to the national grid and heat to the district heating system of Malmö, this covers 60% of the city’s heat demands.
Therefore Malmö is investing in its future with this major industry integrating into the fabric of the urban environment which helps locally with environmental issues of waste, electricity and heating.

Contributed by: Claire Wilkinson

Agro Food Parks

"GXN, a branch of danish architecture firm 3XN, has teamed up with William Mcdonough to develop a masterplan for the ‘agro food park’ (AFP) near aarhus, denmark. referred to by the designers as the ‘silicon valley of agriculture’, the project aims to create a geographic hub for farming innovation."

See more farming innovation in Designboom.

Partial contribution by: Jimena Salaverry, Claudia Hervias, Adriana Montante

Recycling in Helsingborg

(Slightly off-topic)
HELSINGBORG - SWEDEN Over the last forty years, Sweden has carried out a recycling revolution, less than one per cent of the domestic waste from Sweden ends up in a landfill. The rest is recycled in different ways.
The issue of waste recycling in large cities and agglomerations is an important issue. The cities produce a considerable amount of waste. What can we do with it? Sweden, a pioneer in this field, offers a very beneficial alternative for cities.
 Urban:
- Recycling stations are not more than 300 meters from a residential area.
- Incineration plants emit 99.9% of non-toxic smoke from carbon dioxide and water.
- Garbage facilities directly connected to a recycling station.
- Reduction of small recycling stations.
Social:
- Swedes separate all recyclable waste in their homes and deposit it in special containers in their apartment block or in recycling stations.
- Enterprises join forces like H & M: accepts clothing used in exchange for coupons; Optibag: has developed a machine that can separate bags of colorful waste, Waste and Recycling Association CEO, Avfall Sverige, ...
Economic :
- Half of all household waste is burnt and turned into energy.
- Waste is therefore reused, recycled or composted.
 Politics:
- Government agency encourages producers to manufacture products that last longer, offering a tax deduction on repairs.
- Garbage trucks and communal vehicles use biogas produced by waste.
Used as much as possible waste for reuse, recycling, composting, energy production, here is a challenge that the city of Helsingborg has raised. The recycling of our waste is a question that arises in all the big cities, we produce a large amount of waste in the cities and then what do we do? Where to store them? Where to transport them? What to do with? Here is an example of a city that has benefited from this waste through urban, social, political and economic interventions.

Contributed by: Antonio, Dao, Joe

Amsterdam Productive City

Circular Cities
Designing post industrial Amsterdam

ENG issuu link here 
The case of Buiksloterham Buiksloterham is an archetypal post-industrial neighborhood, not far from the city center of Amsterdam. The city board and many other parties have the ambition to develop this area into a Circular neighborhood. The context - a former industrial area - leads to a number of specific challenges in terms of circularity. What are the lessons learned from the projects Buiksloterham so far? And how can this be rolled out to other post-industrial areas?









Circular Buiksloterham.
Transitioning Amsterdam to a Circular City

ENG issuu link here
Cities are the future. There are many reasons to rethink their development and management. The Circular Economy provides one useful perspective for rethinking urban development, but it can be an abstract concept that remains difficult to apply. The vision and actionplan presented in this report for the transformation of Buiksloterham provides a tangible interpretation of the Circular Economy for a part of Amsterdam.
Buiksloterham.nl 









...and meanwhile in Rotterdam...
the productive city 
Development Perspectives for a Regional Manufacturing Economy.

NAi Booksellers
More and more cities are refocusing on the manufacturing economy, encouraged by the transition to a circular economy, the emergence of smart technology, and the need for socially inclusive cities. To Rotterdam, a port city with a rich industrial history, this is a development that offers welcome opportunities.

As part of the 7th edition of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam, IABR–2016–THE NEXT ECONOMY, the city of Rotterdam and the IABR have established Atelier Rotterdam: The Productive City.
The Atelier has conducted research by design to identify the opportunities for the future of the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague from the perspective of the next manufacturing economy.
What value can the manufacturing economy add to the city and the region? Is it possible to improve its links with existing large-scale industry? And will this allow Rotterdam to profit more from the huge material flows that will continue to traverse the port and the city in the future?

The Atelier presents seven spatial development perspectives on the scale of the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague. They do not constitute an all-encompassing strategy, but a range of strategic and prototypical interventions that strengthen the regional manufacturing economy and thus contribute to an economically strong and socially inclusive urban region.

See also a summary of the atelier in Marco Broekman's website.