Almere: Leader of the green revolution?

Back in 2006, when the documentary ‘Afval is voedsel’ (‘Waste Equals Food’) was broadcast, a programme about the Cradle to Cradle philosophy of Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart, alderman Adri Duivesteijn was sitting on the edge of his chair. According to the Cradle to Cradle philosophy, waste is not a problem for nature, but food for growth.

McDonough says “the combination of Michael’s knowledge with mine leads not only to products, but also to designing buildings and cities that contribute positively to their environment. You can let a building take on a positive role: let it purify the air, contribute to the biosphere and supply energy and clean water, etc. In a building made for living, the people who work and live there feel better.”

Adri Duivesteijn had found the answer to how the city of Almere could grow from 185,000 to 350,000 residents in a responsible way. This increase in scale requires building 60,000 additional houses and providing 100,000 jobs, but also raises questions such as ‘where will the energy supply come from?’ and ‘how can a balance between city and nature be maintained?’ Duivesteijn dared to asked McDonough and Braungart to help him devise a plan for Almere.

Water, energy and living in Almere

In 2009 Almere will no longer be the only Dutch city trying to do something with C2C. However, it is the first city that has adopted this philosophy as a guiding principle. By establishing the Almere Principles (see below), the city council has kept its resolution of contributing to its environment in the broadest sense of the word.

So Mariëlle Verhoef and I took the train to Almere to see whether we could already find traces of C2C and the Seven Almere Principles. Is this ambitious city already setting an example in the Netherlands?

Principle 1: Cultivate diversity

This first principle mainly regards the residents and users of the city of Almere; it is not just about encouraging biodiversity. Almere wants to offer space to various professional groups and social groups as well as different age groups and families. It also wants to make room for schools, offices, shops, parks, recreational areas and companies, all mixed in together.

The city of Almere has long had a reputation as a commuter town, but this stage seems to be over now. Fair is fair, the variety of remarkable, modern and beautiful buildings is quite big. Locations with various functions are all next to each other: a school next to a sports hall, a new residential area next to the woods and a bank office next to a shop. This balance looks good.

Photo: Mariëlle Verhoef.

However, we cannot really see the C2C interpretation of this. We do see many new buildings in an interesting urban structure, but are they also built to contribute positively to the environment? We were not able to answer this question.

Principle 2: Connect place and context

According to Alex van Oost, strategic advisor for the city of Almere, the integration of the A6 motorway is one of the most interesting examples of the second principle. Rijkswaterstaat (Dutch Ministry of Transportation and Water Management) came with a plan full of paved roads to keep Almere accessible, while Almere made an effort to construct this plan so that the Kromslootpark could be kept. Even though a motorway was built, this place contributes to the Weerwater zone. “Mobility was not the only consideration,” Van Oost explains.

This image is taken from a presentation by Alex van Oost.

Another smart example of the combination of city and circumstances were the ‘wadis’ in the Homeruskwartier (Almere Poort): shallow ditches with grass in which surface water is collected. We believe that this is a small step towards a more C2C approach of this principle since you could probably (?) couple an ecological water purification system to it.

Principle 3: Combine city and nature

We feel that this principle is not very difficult for Almere. Since 1976 the city has been called the ‘blue-green’ city due to the many green spaces and strong connections with water. Of course, it remains a focal point. Designers are currently being invited to design buildings that make the lives of other species easier. That is starting to sound much more like C2C! However, we did not find any examples of this.

Principle 4: Anticipate change

Principle 4 is probably the most visually noticeable principle of them all. In the city you can find many places where consciously nothing is being done now, places which have not yet expressly be chocked full with offices or houses so that at crucial locations there is space for future needs, also in the city centre. The vacant lots seem empty, useless and messy, although much thought was put into why there are there.

Involving local residents was indeed a focal point. When you own a house that has a view of a vacant lot, it makes you wonder. That is why at parcel 2f7 for example (the vacant area around museum De Paviljoens), a festival was held with artists, local residents and companies. One of the results of this festival is de Poort (see photo), which suddenly gives the location its own character. When we asked a local about it he responded enthusiastically, “Isn’t it nice to see? It’s made from paper and stuff!”

Poort at parcel 2f7. Photo: Mariëlle Verhoef.

What part of these parcels is actually Cradle to Cradle we cannot really tell. The areas seem passive. There is sand, grass, weeds, a wayward shopping cart and some discarded soda cans. Maybe a temporary building or an ecosystem that contributes in a positive way would be more of an actual destination for such a location?

Photo: Mariëlle Verhoef.

Principle 5: Continue innovation

As an example of the fifth principle, the Cascadepark in Almere Poort is usually mentioned. The area is apparently a test ground for top quality real estate, although the project has just started. A critical look at the construction activities now taking place there made us wonder about how much is really being done here according to C2C. It all looked pretty ordinary. We saw construction materials we have known for years and work methods we are familiar with. According to Alex van Oost, the first designs for new buildings have just come in. What is now being built is apparently still ‘old school’.

Construction materials near Cascadepark. Photo: Mariëlle Verhoef.

Principle 6: Design healthy systems

According to Van Oost, the Zoneiland Almere in the South of Noorderplassen West is a good example of this sixth principle. On this island (which is now just a heap of sand), a location with 7000 m² of solar collectors will be built, which will be coupled to the city’s heating system. The design is famous because for the first time in the Netherlands houses will be heated collectively with solar energy generated on site.

Deze afbeelding komt uit een presentatie van Alex van Oost.

We are sceptical about this: are we not yet able to generate a surplus of solar energy in such a neighbourhood so that we can also supply energy to the nearby neighbourhood, for example? And why does this serve as an example of a healthy system? What about houses that supply clean air to the neighbourhood or schools that have a healthy indoor climate because they are built and made up of C2C products?

Principle 7: Empower people to make the city

This last point was expressly added upon request of Adri Duivesteijn because in the end, the residents need to make this happen in the city. Individual building, which Almere makes possible on a large scale  (1,000 parcels a year, for 25 years), is unique in the Netherlands. Way before Almere got into C2C, complete eco-neighbourhoods were built (i.e. at the Buitenkans) which residents are proud of.

When we then look in the brochures or on the ‘ikbouwmijnhuisinalmere’ project website (‘I am building my house in Almere’) (since 2006), we then discover specific building demands such as the maximum building height and the distance from the building line, and there is also still something to be read about saving energy and water. But still today there is nothing about how people can apply C2C in the building of their house or how the city will support people who want to reach C2C goals.

Even in the latest issue of the ‘Bouwen & Wonen Almere’ magazine, aimed at everyone involved in building new houses, we did not find a single word about C2C objectives. And the magazine is distributed by the city itself. The communication department has quite a bit of work to do!

In five years

After a day of walking around and travelling by bus through Almere, we are not that enthusiastic about what we saw. However, maybe we are a bit too impatient. Although the Almere Principles were established in 2007, they were only presented officially in 2008. It takes a long time before this kind of system works at all levels, and ‘not yet’ does not means ‘wrong’.

Here as well we quote Michael Braungart: “It is not bad that everything is not yet working perfectly. It is more important to focus on the things you want to do and determine where you want to be in about five years and make decisions based on this.”

We’ll be back!

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