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Better future / Sustainable projects

ReGen Village-concept of the future?

The idea

A village that completely sustains itself sounds like an utopian idea?

But it is not. In fact it is a revolutionary concept that combines already existing state-of-the-art technologies in an intelligent way to create a regenerative village which is absolutely independent of any regular supply. The US-american James Ehrlich and the danish architectural office Effekt have one vision that will become reality next year: the so called ReGen-Villages, which btw stands for regenerative, will create a place to live for a sustainable living village community who is self-sufficient in food, water, energy supply and waste disposal. With buildings which produce more energy than they waste, renewable energies, vertical greenhouses (see also article about “Plantcube”), water management systems, etc.

As of 2017 the first ReGen-Village with 25 residential houses on approximately 15.000 sqm will be opened in the Netherlands, close to Almere, to serve as the pilot project for more upcoming villages in Denmark, Norway and Germany. The differently sized homes will be arranged in a circle, whereas the animal farming, the greenhouses, Aquaponics (an area-conserving combination of fish farming and plant cultivation in a hydroponic), a playground, a park and a swimming pool will form the center of the village.

And how does it work?

Every single village is build the same way, in a combination of residential buildings, (vertical/heated) greenhouses, public/ scoial areas, animal farming and Aquaponics. Due to this structure the so far seperated sectors of “Living” and “Producing” are  becoming one in the ReGen-Villages.

The food supply is guaranteed through “usual” seasonal gardens as well as heated, vertical greenhouses which are installed directly around the private living spaces, and through animal farming and Aquaponics. And this Aquaponics mark the overlap between the system of food production and the system of waste disposal: the excrements of the fish serve as a fertiliser for the plants; and in turn the fishes are fed with fly larvae, which, like the animals of the farm, live on organic waste. Waste, which is not compostable, will be burned for gaining energy. Here as well, two circulatory systems, waste disposal and energy production overlap and are mutual dependent. Besides the burning of waste, solar and biogas systems will generate the necessary energy – with a storage possibility for electricity. Through collecting rainwater the water supply is assured. It will be used in an unfiltered way as irrigation and in filtered version as drinking water – with a storage possibility, too.

The founders of ReGen-Villages do not only want to enable sustainable living, independent of “usual” supply systems and major corporations, but also to achieve a harvest yield which is ten times higher than usual, using 90% less water and to lower the land usage many times over. Due to this vision our entire concept of living, consumption and supply will be turned upside down and will definitely be changed in a sustainable way.

And now?

The waiting list for the future residents of the pilot village in the Netherlands is already bursting at the seams which in combination with the various awards for the project show: the ReGen-Villages have a great potential. If you want to know more or even register yourself to the waiting list, click here. We are absolutely enthusiastic about this concept and are sure that the ReGen-Villages will change everything 🙂

 

(photo credit: EFFEKT)

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