Today brought us to the campus of TU Delft, a Dutch university with a focus on sustainability. From walking around the campus’ Green Village we were able to identify many spots where both students and local groups could brainstorm and workshop different sustainable techniques in construction and infrastructure. One of the most prominent examples we saw was a bridge created by a group of students which used curved blocks in order to help stabilize the weight of the stones on the bridge in place of using concrete or cement to tack the stones together. This is very sustainable because not only is concrete generally not considered a sustainable source, but the lack of concrete would allow those in more rural areas such as farmers to deconstruct, move, and reconstruct an entire bridge relatively easily. Another solution we looked at was the use of green roofs on the tops of houses in order to decrease excessive heat and necessary cooling. One of my favorite creations that we studied was a building made out of dark gray building blocks constructed of natural waste, plastic waste and other natural materials. They are as strong and sturdy as bricks without the use of excessive concrete. 

After touring the Green Village and eating lunch in one of the many dining halls on campus, we completed a workshop to study how human actions have wide reaching effects on environmental concerns. We looked at spots where sustainability could be implemented to decrease the amount of environmental degradation that is present in our world, on the personal, professional, and governmental levels. This workshop was another good reminder of how much our actions affect the environment, both directly and indirectly. It was also a way for us to look at how we are truly responsible for cleaning up our environment, and how inaction will cause much worse damages down the road.