Totally Local

Climate extremes, resource scarcity and a growing need for connection call for a different way of thinking about how cities are designed. At the same time, urban areas depend on resources, energy and food from outside their boundaries for many basic necessities. Sweco therefore wanted to explore how a city could become more self-sufficient and what role local solutions could play in this.

What does a self-sufficient city look like, and how can we take steps towards one within five years?

Each of the designers focused on an essential part of the urban infrastructure: food, energy and water. At the heart of the project was the question of how local solutions can contribute to health, biodiversity and social cohesion.

Sweco and Dutch Design Foundation selected Bram de Vos, Floris Schoonderbeek and Tjeerd Veenhoven. Each designer focused on a different aspect of the self-sufficient city: Bram de Vos on energy, Floris Schoonderbeek on food and Tjeerd Veenhoven on water.

Throughout the project, Sweco and the designers met every two weeks to further develop the ideas. In October 2022, the three concepts were presented during Dutch Design Week.

Circlefarming
Floris Schoonderbeek developed a circular farming system in which different crops are grown in circular strips. A rotating arm, the Compass, supports soil cultivation and enables efficient use of the available space.

The Material Energy Transition
Bram de Vos explored how energy could be generated and stored locally, with greater attention to the origin and availability of materials. At De Wielewaal estate in Eindhoven, this resulted in a proposal combining, among other things, a wooden wind turbine, local energy storage and alternative solar panels.

Rainwater Storage
Tjeerd Veenhoven developed a 3D-printed ceramic façade panel that collects rainwater during heavy rainfall and then slowly releases it through evaporation. The system can help reduce waterlogging while also providing cooling during hot periods.

Throughout the project, Sweco and the designers sought a balance between the freedom to experiment and the need for structure within the process. For Sweco, this meant that the outcome was not predetermined, while the designers were given the space to approach the challenges from outside existing frameworks.

After Dutch Design Week, Sweco made development funding available, allowing the designers to continue working independently on their concepts. Circlefarming was further developed and applied on a smaller scale, the potential applications of the rainwater storage system were explored further, and Bram de Vos carried the insights from his research into his ongoing design practice.