A Hard Transformation

Transforming Hard Infrastructure to create a sustainable future through the use of green, connected and smart solutions

Student report (2022)

Authors

C. van Duuren Architecture and the Built Environment
D.J. Watchorn Architecture and the Built Environment
D. XIANG Architecture and the Built Environment
K. ZHOU Architecture and the Built Environment
M.A.E. Giesen Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

Alex Wandl Environmental Technology and Design - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 1)
C.E.L. Newton Spatial Planning and Strategy - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 2)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2022 Casper van Duuren, Dan Watchorn, DANYI XIANG, KE ZHOU, Mayke Giesen
More Info
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Published Date

06-04-2022

Language

English

Reuse Rights

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

Humans are consuming resources at a rate that the natural world can not sustain. Nations around the world are grappling with large amounts of possible interventions that can stop or at least delay the battle against environmental degradation. While we may not notice it, hard infrastructure (energy, transportation, water management and communications), have a outsized effect on the negative impact that humans have on the natural environment. It is a representation of the backbone of modern society that can both enable, and disable, our ability to transition to a more sustainable future. Directly linked to this our loss of connection with nature. Infrastructure is a critical piece of the puzzle that is the creating of a sustainable future. Thats why this project will focus on using hard infrastructure to enable us to live within the planetary boundaries in the context of South Holland in the Netherlands. An inventory of the existing infrastructure network is completed to understand the scope of the problem. Subsequently, a literature review, analysis of similar case studies and industry research was completed to understand potential solutions. Then, using the existing natural structure as a backbone, a series of green, connected and smart interventions are proposed. These interventions occur on provincial, municipal and local scales and work together to enable the human sphere and the ecosphere to exist in symbiosis.
The following is a proposal on how to achieve a sustainable, innovative, just, accessible and resilient South Holland by the year 2060 through a reimagining of the hard infrastructure system.