Ecovillages in the Netherlands: Olst, Boekel and Bergen

In the Netherlands there are 12 GEN-initiatives. Only three of them have a location (i.e. they own land for the -prospective- development). These are: Aardhuis Olst, Ecodorp Boekel and Ecodorp Bergen. Most initiatives for ecovillages and eco housing seem to linger and remain in the planning stage. Aardhuis Olst comprises of 23 earthships 12 of which have walls made from car tyres filled with compacted earth. This construction method is in concurrence with the first earthship constructed in the 1970s by architect Micheal Reynolds in New Mexico. It is a way of upcycling waste materials (but can also be seen as a way of introducing materials previously alien to the local environment).

The Aardehuizen are an experiment made possible by the municipality of Olst-Wijhe who provided a location on the edge of the "durability plus housing estate" of Zonnekamp-Oost (Sun Camp East). The earthships are CO2 neutral houses that are self-sufficient in their water and energy needs. Unlike the regular durable housing this housing experiment  will see 25 dwellings constructed with no connection to amenities (sewer, mains gas and electricity).

The layout of the almost completely realised (2012) ecovillage in Olst with all the buildings angled south, facing the sun. On the north side the earthships are covered by an earth bank. There is one vacant lot (VL) for the last two-family dwelling. The strict order is reminiscent of New Objectivity projects and very useful in not wasting space. There is room for parking (P) near the entrance as the earthships can only be reached on foot or bicycle. At the hart sits a work and living commune dubbed the Middle House (MH). The earthships have 2, 3 or 4 housing units each. Next to the houses an area has been set aside for permaculture gardens (PCG) and a public park (PP).

After years of existing as an online community and collective goal, Ecodorp Brabant acquired a site with the help of the local council in a transformation area on the edge of the existing village in 2014. Most of this initiative consists of organising seminars, events and design workshops for students of architecture. The plan is to build 3 circles of 10 linked dwellings -creating the shape of a flower- with a large aquaponic polydome to provide food for the residents. The development has now (2016) started with the building of a tiny house (35 square metres floor space).

The layout of the planned ecovillage in Boekel shows a distinctive pattern which puts it firmly in the same category as utopian architecture, but also Corbusian schemes. The design is clearly made by an architect who favours expressing an overarching message via the shapes chosen. The plan will result in an isolated community not integrated spatially or functionally into the neighbouring village. The plan is also very wasteful of space with all the flowing "natural" lines.

Ecodorp Bergen is another example of an ecovillage. This initiative was instigated by an architect who participated in public consultation regarding a former military site in a polder on the edge of the village of Bergen, Holland. This so-called MOB-complex started as a WW2 airstrip and was later used as a mobilisation complex for reservists during the Cold War Period. The Dutch Ministry of Defence has been selling these often isolated sites off since the 1990s. The site comprised of an airstrip and several bunkers, all enclosed by dense greenery.

The basic goal for the new ecovillage sound almost religious: "a community where people respectfully live together in harmony, in loving connection to one another, the earth, the cosmos and with room for everyone to develop their personal qualities." Also there should be "a transition from the individual materialist society to a durable communal and above all local society." The idea is to build durable housing for some 80 residents, build workshops for artists, create space for theatre, music, dance, exhibitions and self-expression. A restaurant, shop, thrift store, space for seminars and healing and communal facilities are also p[art of the plan. Furthermore there should be space for recreation, animals, permaculture gardening, water purification and generating durable energy. The aim is to be -almost- self-sufficient.

The ecovillage is a citizens' initiative, but they get help from the local authority in realising their dream. The MOB-complex of about 15 hectares was bought by a foundation that worked with crowd funding to raise the funds. The foundation will own the site including all future buildings. There will be no private ownership! In 2015 the existing military buildings (10.000 m2) and platforms were demolished. A large part of the green mantle will be removed to create open grassland with watercourses. I suppose this is a way of integrating the site in the surrounding polder, but in the flat grassy polders high trees are of greater ecological value than more of the same, i.e. grass and water.

The sketch plan for the ecovillage in Bergen -redrawn here- shows an amorphous approach with "natural shapes" and a clear aversion to straight lines. This denies both the position in a polder and the history of the place and is also very wasteful creating lots of small pieces of land. The ecovillage proper (EV) sits next to a nature conservation area (NCA) with an eco camping (EC) where the two meet. Within the ecovillage there is space reserved for communal facilities (CF) and workshops (W). Around the housing permaculture gardens are planned. The whole layout reminds me of African hut circles and stone age settlements.

I think it is a shame that all these ecovillages are not real villages as the name suggests, but rather small, seperate communities of people geared towards communal living and working, with a striking preference for the arts, new age (group) activities, self-sufficiency, permaculture and aquaponics. From an urban design standpoint only the ecovillage Olst is successful, the other two are to wasteful with space with either no clear spatial definition (ecovillage Bergen) or a strong evocative shape that can't truly be appreciated on the ground (ecovillage Boekel). Why, for instance, was the defunct landing strip not used in the ecovillage Bergen to create a spatial anchor? Why are all these initiatives so inward-orientated and thus spatially exclusive? Is it really necessary to emphasise and perpetuate a distinction between traditional and ecological, or is this a method of self justification for those involved to give more weight to their own convictions?