Today was our ninth day in the Netherlands, and I got up at 7:30. Fortunately, the pancake machine was working again at the hotel, so I enjoyed pancakes, sliced meat and cheese, a boiled egg, and a latte for breakfast. We then walked to Rotterdam central station and took the train to TU Delft. The Delft University of Technology is one of the leading technical universities in Europe, and it is often ranked as one of the best schools for architecture and engineering in the world.
After arriving at TU Delft, we toured the Green Village. The Green Village is a field lab to test sustainable living innovations to see if they work, and how they could be made large scale. The innovations often come from the university or local startups, and their main themes are housing and heating. They have permission to break the local building regulations, and they often do so to investigate how regulations could be changed to promote sustainable construction.
While at the Green Village, we saw many specific sustainability innovations. Early in our tour, we saw a support structure called the No No House. This structure was designed and built with the specific intention to reduce nitrogen emissions as much as possible in construction. This structure used natural materials, and it was even covered in a titanium dioxide coating to absorb nitrogen from the air. We then saw the heat square, where they test different materials for sidewalks. Ideally, water should permeate the surface while staying close to the top, since it provides a cooling effect when it evaporates from the ground. We also saw a special type of structure to greatly reduce the weight of a tree from 2 tons to 300 kg, which makes it possible to put trees on the roof of a building.
Later throughout the tour we saw a bridge made from interlocking stones to avoid the need for concrete, and even a new type of brick. These bricks were made from plastic and sand, and they were secured top to bottom with tightened metal cords. This allows for structures to be built without concrete. I think this is a great idea since it could give old plastic a new life while reducing concrete use, which has high emissions. I really enjoyed seeing the Green Village, and I thought it was a neat launchpad for new sustainability developments to quickly get off the ground. I also liked how they had flexibility to work around building regulations, so they could suggest improvements to make the building code more sustainable.
After visiting the Green Village, we had lunch at a restaurant at TU Delft. I learned that they have no buffet style dining halls, and you must purchase each food item separately. I think this would benefit sustainability by reducing food waste, since students are likely less willing to throw out food that they specifically paid for. After lunch we completed the Climate Fresk workshop, which gave us the opportunity to visualize the individual causes and effects of climate change. I found the activity to be very informative, and I think it did a good job of showing how all of the pieces of climate change come together.
We then headed back to Rotterdam, where I had a Salmon Poke bowl for dinner. The bowl was very good, and I also went to a local market with some friends to get stroopwafels. I got a chocolate stroopwafel, and it was great. I really enjoyed my day today, and I look forward to visiting the Delta Works tomorrow!
