MELBOURNE AFLOAT

Melbourne Afloat is an interdisciplinary research project to research floating bluefield development for a new inner suburb in Melbourne. The aim is to develop floating islands and infrastructure for housing apartments in Port Phillipe Bay, centrally located within 4km of CBD and near public transport. MA is to elevate the housing crisis, with potentially thousands of new affordable homes at a desirable location. Moreover, bluefield development is a new urban typology that can contribute to a regenerative future. Key objectives are: Social objectives, regarding the housing crisis, human-centric urban planning (as opposed to car-centric) and inclusiveness. Circular objectives, with environmental-friendly, feasible and scalable business strategies relating to the circular economy. Environmental objectives, by building climate-adaptive, integrating ecological reefs, and function as a storm-surge barrier for current suburbs. Sustainable bluefield development is a new research topic addressing urgent and grand challenges with economic opportunity. This topic is new for Melbourne and only early emerging in the Netherlands, Maldives and Busan. Bart has demonstrated in practice and research to hold required capabilities regarding floating architecture, engineering, circular economy and multi-stakeholder collaboration. The research question for MA is: How can floating bluefields in Melbourne and beyond contribute to social, circular and environmental objectives, for a regenerative future?

HOLLAND PAVILLION TAICHUNG FLORA EXPO

The Netherlands defacto embassy erected a large pavilion at the Taichung flora expo 2018-2019. The pavilion came together from a collaboration of 46 organizations displaying their solutions towards a circular economy. Materials and products where recycled, reused, rented or even upcycled. That includes the steel framing, its foundation, all the wood, the pavements, furniture, elevator and even the lightings and paint. Moreover, as this was just a temporary building, all materials and products were looked after to give them a life after the exposition. Bart van Bueren asked as consultant on circular economy, and helped NTIO in selecting an architect through a design competition.

SOUTH BAY KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN

Four modern luxury urban homes, each of 6 floors and ~350m2.The ambition to make a green building was mostly literally interpreted as gardens and small trees on the balconies. The floorplan and structure were described by the plot and regulations. The façade features balconies and eaves to allow maximum view onto the harbor bay, yet shaded from year-round heat. To break with the highly urbanized context, the balconies have big green gardens. Construction is expected to start in 2025.

MAROM CREEK COUNTRY HOME RENOVATION

Renovating a 1987 rural-farm near Byron-Bay into an in-demand airBnB. The modernized interior beholds more than the eye sees. About 70% of the used materials are upcycled, as they were sourced from the tip and second-hand market-places. This circular economy design required a different approach from the conventional design process, as the design was driven by what materials and products where available, rather than endless catalogue options.
Wooden cabinets and a pergola were salved by redesign, repairs and a good paint-job. The kitchen and bathroom tiling came from various supplies of discarded subway-tiles. Mixing their different shades became a feature. As second phase, an outdoor living-room, with covered parking is planned and permaculture was planned.

Feasibility study Balance Island Bangladesh and Vietnam finished

Sweco, Imares, Waterarchitect and Deltares presented the outcomes to the water expert board in Ho Chi Minh City on April 2016. The concept to reduce salt intrusion in the river by means of manipulating sediments to create a Balance Island already won two awards previously. This concept received high stakeholder support in Bangladesh and Vietman. Only one location was modelled for calculation, the selected Co Chien branch from Mekong could benefit 4 kilometers of salt intrusion reduction with a Balance Island variant. This location would not lead to economical feasibility, other river branches and deltas are still left for further study.

Anping Magic Garden

A magic floating garden is greening up the Anping Canal in Tainan. ‘How can a floating garden improve the city?’, that was the quest for the class ‘Lowland Flooding and Management’ at NCKU. 25 International students found many benefits for a floating garden, examples are: improving water quality, cleaning air, providing habitat for animals, flood protection, city education and making it a tourist attraction. But writing a report on these benefits wasn’t enough for NCKU professor Hsiao-Wen Wang and NCKU visiting expert Bart van Bueren. With their instructions, the students had the task to test their findings in building the floating garden.

ICAADE:Case study of a Tainan fish farmer’s home

Bart van Bueren was keynote at the International Conference on Amphibious Architecture, Design and Engineering in Bangkok August 28th 2015. Here he presented his research on a floating and rotating house. The Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy (RCETS) at the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) has set up a research and pilot project for a climate adaptive fish farm house. The adaptive strategy for climate proofing centers on an amphibious floating foundation, situated on top of the fish farm pond. The house will rotate according to several parameters to optimize: 1. energy generation from the solar panels; 2. shading against overheating; 3. daylight gain; 4. cross ventilation; and 5. the view from the windows.

RCETS conference

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) reveals a new unique floating house design during the Conference on Taijian Floating Green House and Sustainable Energy Strategies (2015台江浮動綠建築及永續能源策略研討會). The Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy (RCETS) at NCKU has been working on a sustainable and rotating amphibious house design which is to be built in one year.

Tainan Boulevard Art Festival

In a large team of volunteers we made a Floating Garden for the Boulevard Art Festival Tainan 2014. The Garden is more than just a pretty piece of green art on the water. It’s a statement to create awareness on how much waste people are making, and how much of the waste ends up in nature, harming animals and plants. The artwork is built from foam blocks and plastic bottles that otherwise would pollute the water and streets in Tainan. With old fishing nets and bamboos these floating waste materials are bound together to become a floating raft for plants to grow on.

Visiting Expert at NCKU

Since September 2012 Bart van Bueren is assigned as Visiting Professor at NCKU, National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan.

Delta Alliance Young Professionals Award

Het plan Balance Isand is ontworpen voor de Zuid-Westelijke Delta, doch het achterliggende concept heeft internationale potentie. Daarom mocht het team dit plan presenteren op het ‘Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Delevopment’.

Dit voorstel is gemaakt in samenwerking met Grontmij en Imares.

Delta Water Award

Het consortium van Grontmij, Imares en Waterarchitect is met de inzending Balance Island winnaar van de Delta Water Award 2011-2012. Dit maakte deltacommissaris Wim Kuijken 18 april bekend tijdens de prijsuitreiking op het Deltapark Neeltje Jans.

Royalty Maxima visits Waterarchitect office.

Op 3 december 2010 bezocht Prinses Máxima de Creative Factory in Rotterdam. Het werkbezoek werd georganiseerd door de Gemeente Rotterdam en OBR. Máxima en Rotterdamse wethouders bewonderden de maquette van het drijvend paviljoen op het kantoor van Waterarchitect.

Minister President Balkenende

De Minister President was op 25 juni 2009 uitgenodigd bij OVG. Hij kwam hier om te praten over duurzaamheid, innovatie en ondernemen. Bart van Bueren gaf hier een presentatie over de mogelijkheden van bouwen met en op het water.

Al Gore Event

Op 14 oktober 2008 bezocht Al Gore Nederland. Al Gore gaf het startsein voor de Rotterdam Climate Campus. In gezelschap van ondermeer Minister Jaqueline Cramer, wethouder Mark Harbers en burgemeester Ivo Opstelten werd de maquette van het drijvende paviljoen van Waterarchitect van Bueren onthult. Rotterdam huldigt het ontwerp van Bart van Bueren als een icoon van klimaat adaptief bouwen!