The Green Village: living lab for sustainability

Where the Architecture building stood until 2008, a sustainable village emerged three years ago. In it, TU Delft researchers, businesses and government bodies are testing sustainable technology in practice. 

The first buildings appeared here in 2017: an office, the sustainable home Prêt-à-Loger and the carport. But the most important facility was invisible: a loop with futuristic energy supplies, such as a hydrogen gas pipeline, a low-temperature heating network and a direct-current network. Some EUR 10 million have been invested in it and this attracts activity. 

An exemption from the Buildings Decree means that more is allowed here. The drawing shows The Green Village at the start of 2020: a snapshot in time, because the set-ups are temporary. When research has ended, they make room for the very latest innovations.

1. Energy network – futuristic loops offer hydrogen gas, low-temperature heating and direct current. 
2. Hyperloop – a test set-up by Hardt, scale 1:2. Relocates soon.
3. 1970s houses – three occupied houses fitted with various sustainability measures.
4. Charging square – energy-efficient cars can be charged with electricity or hydrogen or supply power back to the network.
5. Water street – various types of open paving designed to drain peak rainfall more effectively and temporarily store water.
6. Co Creation Centre – the glass building uses geothermal heat in aquifers around its foundation piles for a comfortable indoor climate. This will be the research area and meeting place.
7. MOR – Modular Office Renovation – this project is transforming energy-inefficient buildings into net-positive apartments.
8. Aquabattery – test set-up with a large but inexpensive battery that works with salt and freshwater.
9. Living Lab Sustainer Home – Is it fun living in a container? Students are trying it out.
10. THORB – living accommodation in modular units with a larger floor area than fits on a truck. 

Sometimes a company launches a project, and the research follows that. However, TU Delft research groups or start-ups are increasingly taking the initiative for test set-ups. All of the projects must reflect one of the research themes: a sustainable built environment, new energy systems, climate-adaptive cities or sustainable mobility.

“This is about more than just technology”, says marketing & co-creation manager Serge Santoo. “We‘re also testing the human and social aspects and their integration within laws and regulations.”