Borris

The week on Texel was truly a unique experience. The diverse research methods and interaction with local people gave the plans a completely new boost. I learned some good lessons about group dynamics and the role of the engineer.   The social dynamics in the whole group changed in the first few days from a plan-focused perspective to a more people-focused perspective. Especially the idea of our…

The Zelfpluktuin on Texel is a farm that grows soft fruits that are harvested by the consumers themselves. This 20 year old initiative is a rather popular attraction for both tourists and local inhabitants. The direct connection of producer with its customers eliminates overhead costs, such as trading and transport, that would make the business less profitable. The local consumption makes the…

7.1 Initial Plans After coming to Texel we proposed our plan to improve Texel and make it self – sustainable and self – sufficient. A part of our plan was to propose a movable dyke which could retract in and out to allow sea water to enter in. This would make the land a floodplain that could have been used as a saline agricultural research laboratory. This proposal would involve making a certain…

A transition will take place in the agricultural sector. In order to keep the sector should profitable more income should be generated, without harming the environment.Action should be taken with respect to the landscape. Locally produced food and organic farming are the two main focus points. The agriculture should shift from bulk products to more high-end products, like delicacies.  3.1      …

The entire sustainability map of Texel can be identified from different perspectives. In this chapter everything will be with respect and from the perspective of the Food and More sub – system (SS). All of the points mentioned below are possible expectations and possibility of these to be successful outcomes completely depends on the feasibility of the concept.   6.1 Materials and Waste…

Soon we will be going to Texel. We will search for new information and we will probably present our ideas to the local people. Although our ideas are made with the best intentions and although we try to fit the people and the context, it is still possible to make big mistakes. Miscommunication could be one of the main causes of this. Why? The island is a completely different part of the…

The first step in achieving change is by changing the mind – set of people. Any change that effects culture, traditions and religious beliefs even slightly is resented. Change can start by inspiring people. Change that gives a monetary benefit is an added incentive. Having a positive outlook is also a bonus in achieving change. This is a difficult process to achieve if not planned out properly

Hoe is het idee van Saline agriculture ontstaan? Om de mensheid te kunnen voorzien van voedsel is steeds meer landbouwareaal nodig. In de onlangs verschenen documentaire ‘Vlees, wat kost het ons?’ wordt duidelijk gemaakt dat het geschikt maken van land als landbouwgebied ten koste gaat van de natuur. Daarnaast is wereldwijd te zien dat verzilting van landbouwareaal een probleem wordt. De…

Uit je eigen stad, Rotterdam Wat is het concept achter Uit je eigen stad? Samen Bas de Groot en Johan Bosman heeft Huibert de Leede in 2012 het initiatief uit je eigen stad gerealiseerd. Uit je eigen stad is een stadsboerderij gevestigd aan het Rotterdamse Marconiplein. Op twee hectare grond en in een grote loods worden groente, fruit en paddenstoelen verbouwd. Daarnaast worden er kippen gehouden…

Mankind produces a lot of waste. A lot of is comes from the built environment. Recycling used materials requires responsibility of the people, because a lot of the materials are not biodegradable. They have to be kept carefully in the technocycle to be able to be reused and to prevent harm to the environment.   Buildings contain all different kinds of materials of which some can be very…

Were to make the changes? 

  The subsystem ‘Food and More’ encompasses everything to do with types of food, the distribution of this food and the effects these actions have on the ecosystem. 4.1 Present scenario Presently, Texel earns its maximum revenue from the food sector with a turnover of about 30 million Euros. This is due to the fact that there has been considerable field enlargement and land consolidation since the…

In my column of week two I already wrote a bit about context. The column was about the importance of community based research preliminary to sustainable transformation. The made-to-measure scenario that I wrote about takes a sustainable technology as starting point. The technology is then modified to fit the environment. The other approach investigates the local context and searches for…

  The geography of an island is very determining for the community living on it. Island communities are generally very tight, due to the separation from the mainland. On the island of Texel people feel having a different identity than the people from the mainland. This community sense can be advantageous with implementing new sustainable technologies. An important incentive for people to become…

2.1 The current sociotechnical sub-system and its functions The sub system agriculture has a productive aspect, i.e. farms and a consumptive aspect, such as restaurants, hotels and deli shops. The producing category consists of dairy farms, sheep farms, agriculture, horticulture and flower bulb production. The production is for the islands own use, but also for export, since products from Texel…

“…sensitivity to local context and the local embeddedness of the project were key aspects determining the immediate successfulness of the project…” (Raven et al, 2008)   Taking into account the local context when trying to implement something new seems pretty obvious for an architect. However this is not always the case for other disciplines that affect our surroundings. New sustainable…

‘Food and More’ is the sub system that is researched in this chapter. Food is a very wide domain of research in which two main divisions can be made. The first division is the production side. We will investigate what role food production plays in the socio-technical system of Texel. The other side is consumption. The people on the island need to feed themselves and we are investigating what…

“Never walk with empty hands!” This is what we all probably heard during our childhood when helping our parents with the household. It is a general principle to prevent wasting energy and effort, but often neglected in the ‘real’ world. It may happen that transport vehicles travel large distances without being fully loaded and thus consuming energy for solely the transportation of the vehicle…