Interviews Accommodate community

Interviews

While preparing to visit Texel and setting up our team’s strategy, in addition to the literature review, interviews were also taken. Two types of candidates were chosen; a (former) inhabitant of Texel, to introduce us to the everyday life of the islanders and give us an insight on what is going on there, and a graduation student on sustainable accommodation to suggest and provide solutions on the problems that the accommodation sector confronts. The main idea of these interviews was that people, according to their field of expertise, would be asked to either remember sustainable practices and actions already taking place on the island or speculate on future use and solutions of the sub-system of accommodation. Their comments and suggestions were taken into account while organizing and planning the system of improving the accommodation sector.

As mentioned above, the first interviewer was a (former) inhabitant of Texel, Lars Hammer. Lars is a student in TU Delft, on the track of Building Technology. He used to live there since 1992 and he stills visits it occasionally. His brief description of the island, both the built and the natural environment, gave us an insight of how the island looks like today. One interesting observation concerning accommodation would be that he is both mentioning the normal villages and the bungalow parks, even if he mentions that the Texelaars never visit the second ones. By his answers, tourism seems to be an important sector, bringing money and a good income to the islanders.  Common materials are used for the construction sector (wood, clay, stone) and the overall feeling is that the built environment matches the rest of the Netherlands. What seems to be rather interesting and gave us a lot of inspiration for our own proposal, is his remarks for the empty bungalow parks and the feeling of abandonees during winter time.

The very first thought of him when mentioning “sustainability” is about energy: green energy, biodiesel and electric cars. Moreover, he mentions discounts for buying sustainable products that can improve the houses and the accommodation on the island in general (PV-cells, thicker windows, spare lamps). The far more interesting thing is that as an inhabitant of Texel he cannot recall any sustainable activities during the past years (before he left the island in 2007) but the collection of plastics.

As far as the community is concerned, tension between the different villages, should give cause of concern. The proposed system should not make the situation worse but, on the contrary, increase the feeling of community and unity on the whole island. The direction that the municipality took with the “Sustainable Texel” is already helping towards that direction anyway. For people to get involve though, profit, or at least some kind of reward, should be introduced.

Water, especially for drinking purposes, is one of the main current needs of the island. In the same time, many natural resources (especially wind energy, but also solar energy and biofuel) are also available and could be used. Projects that already became true have mostly to do with small interventions though, like small vertical wind generators at roundabouts and spots for charging electric cars. This points out that the inhabitants are not that open to huge interventions that may conflict with the (natural beauty of the) environment. Trying out sustainable techniques and methods already applied to other municipalities could also be a starting point. When it comes to accommodation more specifically, an important change would be, according to Lars, to start with the heating systems. Nowadays, a lot of people still burn wood, a conspicuous environmentally damaging technique. Moreover, the public transportation system could turn more “green”, which would also be an immediate good advertisement for the tourist sector, since tourists are using the public meand of transport all the time.

People leaving in Texel are really open to sustainability, since they grew up around nature. Giving them an extra reason (like discounts or money refunds) in participating in sustainable practices would also help in realizing the goal of the sustainable Texel. A good incentive and positive advertisement during festivals people will make them aware and maybe convince them to participate on activities towards sustainability. Of course, changing habits is going to be difficult, and that’s why money refunds or discounts should be introduced. Innovative solutions should also be introduced, although they are going to cost a lot; and this is one of the biggest challenges of sustainable Texel. A uniform solution for the whole island could also prove difficult because of the spatial conformation of the villages.

The second interviewer was a master student at the University of Twente, Remco van der Kolk. Remco lives currently in Utrecht and graduates at the company Superlight 2030 (part of architectural bureau Bilt). It is a company that is busy with designing structures as products where it is possible to dismantle and adjust the building during its use. It was a good opportunity to see his views and gain interesting insights about the problems and opportunities that lie within housing the tourists in their sustainable buildings. The main benefits of the building is that it is much more an industrialization of the building, where contractors and other actors can be skipped.

He is not that familiar with Texel, but he does remember it as a unique place for the Netherlands. He knows the surroundings because he has been there on a nature based holiday. When he described the island, it has been asked how he views the island and where there might be opportunities. He mentioned from the beginning on that the rhythm of the island should be embraced. There is a lot of low buildings in the area so there are even great opportunities to place solar cells. Besides the scale of the island, it should be possible to integrate the community with a smart energy grid. Because this is a synergy of systems, it might get islanders even more involved into their energy.

Their sustainable building can almost be completely self-sufficient and only has to be connected to the water grid. Their system is mainly based on energy and the main things in this is the isolation of it. He suggest that if the buildings have to be adjusted that the focus should be on material and energy, and that the surplus of the energy should be stored on a smart way. For the future, he suggests that this should be done through hydrogen cells.

He thinks that it is important to show people how much energy there goes into building a house. For example, a brick has already a lot of energy in it, and to degrade it to down-cycling is just very inefficient. Buildings should be built with wood, maybe especially on Texel if it will be planned in a right way. He thinks that people are more occupied in sustainability with supermarkets for example, and less with the building materials that are used in housing.  To get people more involved into this kind of things he suggest group pressure. It should currently be the right time to go with the flow of sustainability because it becomes booming.

Their way of buildings doesn’t affect the landscape, the only thing needed are strong poles in the ground. The only big impact might be the transport energy costs. Because Texel hasn’t the materials around, everything has to be shipped to it. Besides this, he questions if the local people are willing to adjust everything towards this sustainability. It might still be too expensive, which he sees as the main driver.

He thinks mainly that we should focus on a self-sustainable island. The community has to be proud on their island so that they can show how good they are. Especially farmers should be involved, because they have a great impact on the total solution.

 

 

Interview 1

Name: Lars Hammer

Occupation: Student BT

Date and Time: 24.11.2015/ 15:00pm

 

Opening Questions

• Tell me about your relationship with Texel. (How many years did you use to live there, where on the island specifically, do you still have relatives staying there, how often do you visit the island nowadays? etc.)

 

I moved to Den Burg on Texel at the age of 3, in 1992. And have spent there all my youth and teenage years until I started studying in Delft (2009). My parents, of course, stayed on Texel and they still live there. In the beginning I visited Texel more than now. It differs a lot now; sometimes I don’t go to there for 4/5 months and sometimes once every 5 weeks.

 

• Can
you
briefly
describe
the
island (both the built and the natural environment)?

 

The Island is known for its nice nature, and that is also the main reason the tourists are coming there. The dunes and the woods is what I like the best. But it is also really nice to go with the boat to the “wadden sea” or “north sea”.  I myself lived in the biggest village with around 6000 inhabitants. The other villages are a lot smaller and most houses are dating from the 1800/1900s. They do have all a nice small church in the middle.

 

• When we are talking about “accommodate community” can you please name the first images that come into you mind? (Type of buildings, facilities, clustering of businesses etc.)

 

Hmm with accommodate community I have to think about the many bungalow parks on Texel l as well as the normal villages. The bungalow parks are all small villages on their own, and actually the Texelaars are never going there. They are small houses on a street with in the center a shop and swimming pool and such.

 

• Are you aware of any businesses associated with the accommodation sector (not at the close limits of tourism or the building industry)?

 

Yeah almost all businesses are associated with the accommodation sector. I myself worked a long time in a Seal Center which basically was dependent on this sector, the accommodation makes it possible for tourists to come and these are the ones who spend money. I also know food shops, Team Building Companies, Sport organizations, catamaran schools, and almost all horeca are completely dependent on this. There are also several Architects on Texel, who focus more and more on sustainable buildings. We have our own building contractors and such.

 

• Is there something specific or unique about accommodation in Texel?

 

I am not so sure, but it’s of course unique that you are on an island. After 21:00 you cannot leave the island, which must add to the vacation feeling. But specifically about the accommodation I wouldn’t know. I think it’s comparable to accommodation all over the Netherlands. The older houses however are all made from wood/clay/stone combination.

 

• What about the touristic places? Are they functioning all year long, are there any “ghost towns” (abandoned and empty for some months throughout the year), what about the facilities that these places provide/have or the infrastructure (ex. roads, bridges) around the island?

 

It is indeed a lot emptier in the winter months on Texel, in these times most of the bungalow parks are empty, and there is nobody in the villages and on the beaches, except for a few texelaars. Most museums are open all year long though. We have one town on Texel which is De Koog. This town is surrounded by the tourist accommodation and is indeed a ghost town in the winter! Same goes for the beach pavilions. In the winter they all will be broken down to be built up again around March.

 

 

Sustainability

 

• Do you know any sustainable activities taking place in Texel?

 

Yes, we have Texel energy, which is an energy company which only generates green energy. I know the boat to and from Texel is powered by biodiesel. And there are many initiatives for electric cars. Other than that the municipality sometimes promotes the buying of sustainable products and gives discounts on these! Products like pv-cells thicker windows, sparelamps.

 

• Do you have any experiences with community activities related to sustainability that you can share?

 

There is a collection of plastics (I don’t know if this is in the rest of the Netherlands). So we always do that. At the moment I can’t think of any other sustainable experience. My parents did buy however some things with this municipality discount.

 

• If yes, as an inhabitant have you ever taken place in any of them? (Smaller to bigger scale) Follow up with: Of all of these activities you were involved, which one did you like the most? What did you like about it?

 

I never took place in one specific one.

 

• If not, why?

 

Texel actually came really determined to become a sustainable island i think around 2007. This was when I was still at high school, and soon after this I left to study on the main-land.

 

Community Development

• What do you think “community” means; especially for Texel?

With community I have to think about the Texelaars, but not as much the tourists. But on Texel this community is also a bit divided by the different villages. There is actually a bit of a tension between each village. Every village thinks they are the best. However we all feel one when we compare ourselves to mainland.  I think the community facilitates the needs of the tourists. But also is responsible for the tourists.

 

• What role does developing the sense of community can play for a sustainable accommodation system?

 

I think the direction the municipality went with a sustainable Texel is also really helping with the sense of community. And many Texelaars are proud of this. And to focus on this sense of community in order to gain proponents for sustainable projects could really help. Next to that I don’t think the sense of community could help.

 

• How the community is going to be involved? Do you think that they will be interested in taking part into this overall project?

 

So yeah I think the community will be interested in taking part into this project. But there should also be an incentive for them. Like the discounts for good products, because i think only interest is not enough. Maybe not in a particular monetary way, but if they can get some advantage of this sustainable project they will be more than willing to help.

 

 

Programming

• What are some of the current needs of the island?

 

I am not sure about the needs, but I do know that all the drinking water is coming from the mainland, and this already caused some problems. I think a few years ago this pipeline broke and we were all without drinking water. Other than that we of course use a lot of energy at texel and especially in the summer months.

 

• What resources would you use to help our goal?

 

Wind energy, but finding a good spot on the island will prove difficult. There are a lot of opponents to this. But also the creation of biofuel, solar energy, could help a lot. There is a lot of sheep on Texel so maybe that can somehow be used. I think one farmer collected cowshit in order to generate electricity for his farm. Other things could be tidal wave energy or waste heat burning.

 

• Tell us about a project you already seen coming true.

 

At the moment I do know about this Texel Energy company, as well as a lot of small vertical wind generators at roundabouts. As well as creating a good place for electric cars. Almost everywhere you can charge your car.

 

• Are you aware of any strategic plan towards sustainability that already takes place in the island?

 

Other than the ones I mentioned before I don’t. Especially not from the last few years.

 

• How will innovation help to develop a more sustainable system (for accommodate the community- islanders and tourists)?

 

I think innovation will be of course very important. Texel should be actually the first municipality to try out new innovative techniques as an example for other municipalities in the Netherlands. A try-out.

 

• How would you go about building a sustainable accommodation system on your island? What do you think should be changed first?

 

Hmm.. I do know a lot of people are still burning wood just to heat their house, so they should prohibit that. It is really polluting. Other than that, maybe start changing the public transport into a more green solution, which is immediately a good advertisement to the tourist. Who use public transport all the time?

 

Ability/commitment

• How “open” do you think the inhabitants of Texel are towards sustainability?

 

I think the inhabitants are really open to sustainability, since we all grew up around nature. But i do think they must also feel a personal advantage in sustainability, lower electricity prices, faster travelling for example, lowering of taxes.

 

• How much time do you feel the residents will like to spend on activities towards sustainability during a typical week? Follow up with: What if it’s part of their jobs? (since we’re talking about accommodation)

 

Oh I really wouldn’t know a lot of people are of course at work and would rather just sit at home behind the television. But with a good incentive and positive advertisement during festivals people would be willing to work a bit into this.

 

• What are some lifestyle changes you think they will be willing to make? Follow up with: Do you think that they will easily give some things up?

 

Some lifestyle changes they could make would maybe not buy too much unsustainable stuff; as long as it’s not too much work people will be willing to give maybe some things up. Everybody always takes the car, but if there is a cheaper and better solution they‘ll do that of course.

 

• Do you know of any other activities/commitments they have planned for next year/years in Texel?

No.

 

• Are you aware of any specific laws or regulations that can influence our goal?

 

Hmm not sure actually, I do know almost everything is regulated so building something could prove difficult. There is also a lot of national park there where you also cannot build.

 

• Knowing Texel, what part of the change towards becoming a sustainable island will be the biggest challenge? Follow up with: How do you think we can overcome that?

I think the hardest part of a sustainable island. I think innovation will be more important to create this sustainable island then to change the lifestyle of the Texel people itself. With innovative change the most difficult challenges will be implementing, and buying these innovative solutions.

 

• What do you think are the challenges of working in Texel?

 

Maybe to create a Texel wide solution, since there are great distances between every village and to create an uniform solution could prove difficult

 

• Any suggestions?

 

• By your experience, where do you think we should focus on?

 

Hmm.. I think focusing on transport could be the most interesting. People are dependent on their car, and to bike everything is actually a bit too much. And I also think it would be a good advertisement for tourists and such. At the moment for example we have TukTuks on Texel, but these are really polluting. But not only that, there is of course also a lot of ships on Texel, which are greatly polluting. Maybe some biodiesel solution could be nice.

 

 

 

 

Interview

Name: Anomynous

Occupation: Student BT

Date and Time: 02.12.2015/ 22:00pm

 

Opening Questions (Ask these first to make the candidate feel comfortable):

• Tell me about your relationship with Texel. (How many years did you use to live there, where on the island specifically, do you still have relatives staying there, how often do you visit the island nowadays? etc.)

 

I have been once on a holiday to Texel with the whole family. Besides this I don’t go too often to Texel, but when I will be there it will be purely based on the possibility of being there at a low price. What I do remember the most of this holiday is that I have been kiting a lot because there was so much wind. The place on which we were was a camping, it seemed to be the right way to do so because of the size of the family.

 

• Can
 you
 briefly 
describe 
the 
island (and what is the main reason to go to the island)?

 

I went there with the boat, because it is so easily reachable this way. This is quiet unique for the Netherlands to have islands this close. As a said before, I was still relatively young, but it was a doable adventure. The island really crated the camping feeling, and we did sail and even went out karting. We were stimulated to be active on the island. The main reason to go to the island nowadays might be to

 

 Met de boot naar toe, zeilen en gekart. Campinggevoel. Ik zou er nu niet snel naartoe gaan, misschien alleen om tot rust te komen

 

• When we are talking about “accommodate community” can you please name the first images that come into you mind? (Type of buildings, facilities, clustering of businesses etc.)

Ander ritme, maar omdat de energie clusters heel anders zijn. Dat ritme verschil zou je moeten omarmen. Nu is dat nog niet nodig, dus dan kan je een smart grid omarmen. In plaats van tegen gaan omarmen. Veel hetzelfde, laagbouw, veel mogelijkheden voor zonnecellen. Dus juist veel op elkaar lijken. Een systeem dat veel op elkaar mag en moet ljiken, en alles uitdelen. Community, want eilanders voelen zich vast betrokken.

 

• Is there something specific or unique about accommodation and Bilt?

Totaaloplossing voor duurzame woningbouw, maar ook vakantiehuizen. Helemaal zelfvoorzienend gaan ze worden, nog een doel. Alleen verbonden aan het waternet. Maar in een park zou dat heel anders worden. Lego achtige bouw, blokken bouw, makkelijk in en uit elkaar te halen. Materiaal kan worden hergebruikt. Energie begint bij goede isolatie, dat is de basis. Energie die je wel gebruikt doen we gewoon met zonnecellen. En we hebben ook accu’s om deze energie om te verdelen over de dag. Duurzaamheid bouw is twee koppen, materiaal en energie. Hoe deze hergebruikt of gebruikt kunnen worden. Afval is ook een goede ontwerprichting die goed georganiseerd kan worden op het eiland.

 

• What is the reason why this company is started?

De huidige bouw is achterhaald. Het gaat nu naar de architect, daarna naar de constructeur, daarna aannemer daarna gemeente, heel omslachtig. De reden waarom we zijn gestart is dat het functioneler is. Sneller om dingen neer te zetten. Vaak misscommunicatie, het botst heel vaak. Vanuit irratiatie is dit bedrijf opgezet. Industralisatie van de bouw.

 

Sustainability

 

• Do see a future in these projects sustainable activities?

Bewustwording is een belangrijk punt, maar ook de winst. Mensen hebben geen idee hoeveel energie er zit in een baksteen, en vaak als het word neergezet dan word het gewoon weggegooid. Het wordt gedowncycled. Metselwerk kan je niets meer mee. Het voelt veel te natuurlijk, maar dat is het niet. Dus de manier hoe wij het aanpakken met platen is veel efficienter. Hout is veel handiger. Vooral op eilanden zoals texel. Hout is juist heel erg duurzaam als het goed geplant word.

 

• Do you have any experiences with community activities related to sustainability that you can share?

Smartgrids heb ik wel mee gewerkt in projecten. Veel colleges over gehad, en echt de opkomende technology. Het is de oplossing van energie vraag en aanbod. Waterstofeconomie; je kan heel efficient zonne energie opslaan. Het is nog in ontwikkeling, maar over een tijdje wel beschikbaar. Gewoon met zonneergie kan je hiervoor gebruiken, en is ook makkeljik te gebruiken in een auto.

 

Community Development

• What do you think “sustainable community” means?

Ik denk vooral aan mensen die zich bewust zijn, en heel erg aan biologische supermarken. Oppervlakkige info waarbij mensen denken dat ze heel duurzaam en bewust zijn. Maar dit kan vaak tegenvallen. Gemeenschap zelf die een mening heeft.

 

• What role does developing the sense of community can play for a sustainable accommodation system?

Groepsdruk is de oplossing volgens mij. De controlerende functie zou het verschil kunnen maken naar mijn gevoel. People Planet Profit, dan pas is het duurzaam. Dus verder zou er ook wel omzet gedraaid moeten worden om de interesse te blijven wekken.

 

 

• How the community is going to be involved? Do you think that they will be interested in taking part into this overall project?

Ik denk dat mensen er tegenwoordig goed voor gaan. Dit is het moment om in te haken. Er zijn huizen die al helemaal zelfvoorzienend zijn. Het is een uitdaging, maar nog niet onmogelijk. Om net nog de vroege markt in te stappen. Waar we naartoe willen is dat duurzaam gewoon normaal en vanzelfsprekend is. Toekomstmuziek, zo ver is het nog lang niet.

 

 

Programming

• What resources would you use to help our goal?

Er is geen perfecte oplossing, om de bouw goed te doen. Het is veel te complex, teveel mensen eromheen. Zoveel tegenstrijdigheden. Stabieliteit, isolatie en alles wat eromheen goed is is lastig te realiseren. Duurzaam opslaan van energie zou heel veel helpen. Techniek is er nog niet.

 

• Tell us about a project you already seen coming true.

Zelfvoorzienende huizen zijn er al wel. Maar deze zijn op de oude manier gebouwd. Dus energie zijn ze zelf wel goed, maar op zich slecht gebouwd.  Energieverbruik afvlakken dat koelkasten energie bewust bezig reageren.

 

• How would you go about building a sustainable accommodation system on your island? What do you think should be changed first?

Als je onze dingen neer zet, gaan we alleen een paar palen in de grond zetten. Als het huis er heeft gestaan dan zie je daar bijna niets aan. Als we zelfvoorzienend zijn dan dan hebben we alleen nog water nodig. Maar in de toekomst zou dat anders kunenn zijn. Nadeel is dat alle materialen er naartoe gesleept moeten worden. Infrastructuur is daardoor relatief belangrijk. In een halve dag zou je in de toekomst de inrichting van het huis kunnen vervangen. Custimized vakantiewoningen.

 

Ability/commitment

• How “open” do you think the inhabitants of Texel are towards sustainability?

Op dit moment boeit duurzaamheid mensen niet. Het moet nu vooral interestant zijn om geld ervoor te vangen. Zodra het energie duurzaam en aanpasbaar is zou ik er wel geld in zien. Nu nog veel te duur.

 

• How much time do you feel the residents will like to spend on activities towards sustainability during a typical week? Follow up with: What if it’s part of their jobs? (since we’re talking about accommodation)

Oh I really wouldn’t know, a lot of people are of course at work and would rather just sit at home behind the television. But with a good incentive and positive advertisement during festivals people would be willing to work a bit into this.

 

• By your experience, where do you think we should focus on?

Selfsustainable island. Community gaan worden, ga trots worden als eiland. Dan kunnen ze uitstralen hoe goed ze zijn. Boeren moeten er in betrokken worden, daken, afval, mest. Het idee kan bijdragen aan een sustainable island.