100% green and sustainable living? It’s possible!
Regen Villages
In Almere, just 20 minutes away from Amsterdam, a fully circular, self-sustainable village has been a few years in the making. According to the latest news, construction on the first homes should start somewhere in 2019. The village, which will house about 100 homes, is the idea of tech-entrepreneur James Ehrlich, and will be able to grow its own food using innovative aquaponics, aeroponics, and urban farming techniques. Energy will be generated using geothermal energy, solar panels, wind energy and biogas. The town’s future residents are part of the lucky few, because over 3,100 families already applied to be part of this first ecovillage. But no worries, if this first project goes well, many more ReGen villages are set to pop up all over Europe and the rest of the world.
http://www.regenvillages.com/
Tiny Houses
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about the tiny house movement. People building tiny little wooden houses from scratch, often somewhere at the edge of a forest, to live a quiet and simple life. It sounds amazing- less stuff and so close to nature – but what’s so sustainable about a tiny house? First of all, most tiny houses are built using recycled materials. The houses use far less energy than usual; almost nothing compared to a regular single family home. Because the houses are so small, people are forced to cut down on their belongings and are less tempted to buy unnecessary, wasteful goods. Plus, many tiny houses, because of their remote location, are already self-sustainable in terms of energy and waste management. If you think you’re up for the challenge, find a Tiny House movement in your country for more information on how to go about building one.
https://www.tinyhousenederland.nl/
CHIBB Rotterdam
The Concept House on the Heijplaat in Rotterdam is an idea and test space run by SUS Ateliers, a series of courses that are part of the Sustainable Building Department of Rotterdam University. The courses focus on developing real-life, innovative and sustainable buildings in order to teach students how to build the cities of the future. The Concept House looks like a greenhouse from the outside, but it’s a real family home from the inside. From 2015 until the summer of 2018, stylist Helly Scholten and her family lived inside the greenhouse home to thoroughly test the concept. The house is made from recycled wood and glass, has a vegetable rooftop garden, and the abundance of plants both inside and out provide cooling and fresh air. Besides the fact that it’s an fascinating test ground for sustainable living, the house is also just gorgeous. You can find many beautiful images of the home on Helly’s Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/greenhouse_living/?hl=en