CASE STUDY: Sustainable Housing Estate Eva-Lanxmeer

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SECTOR: Water/Sewerage COUNTRY:Netherlands

BACKGROUND
With respect to this COST C8 project (focus on infrastructure), this project shows that starting form the very beginning of the design process a ‘normal’ infrastructure can be reduced by following the approach of closed (hydrology) cycles in the project area.

This case portrays an urban development project in which Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The pilot project, named EVA-Lanxmeer, covers 200 houses built alongside a protection zone for the production of drinking water. The ecological restrictions that apply to such an area provide excellent opportunities to demonstrate sustainable IWRM in practice.

The new housing estate has been established through the joint effort of the Dutch EVA foundation and the municipality of Culemborg. EVA is a Dutch abbreviation of the words Education, Information and Advice. Its aim is to enhance environmental awareness among the general public and to empower the parties involved or will be involved in the future. To achieve this, it develops projects where measures for the preservation of natural resources are implemented in everyday situations.

The design and implementation of EVA-Lanxmeer has been an interactive process between the most relevant parties, such as the municipality, the drinking water company, the Energy Company and future inhabitants. By subdividing the area into small-scale neighbourhoods and successively developing them, the team could learn from earlier experiences and apply innovations in subsequent phases.

Integrated water management in the project area involves water storage, wastewater treatment and water supply. Precipitation from roofs is collected in ponds, water from the street surface infiltrates into Wide Infiltration Trenches, and restored old riverbeds provide additional water storage capacity. For the treatment of sewage water, a natural purification system, comparable to so-called “Living Machines” is applied. This is a biological purification process which is also very suitable for environmental education. Finally, the supply of drinking water and household water takes place through separate systems.
All such measures inevitably increase the system’s vulnerability to contamination through consumer behaviour, i.e. dumping engine oil into the sewer system. Environmental awareness of all inhabitants therefore remains a key to success. EVA achieved this by providing a continuous supply of information and through the neighbourhoods’ approach, thus encouraging joint responsibility.

INDICATORS
The focus in the EVA-Lanxmeer project was laid upon technical aspects as well as awareness and organisational, institutional aspects. These can - in a more elaborated way - used as indicators for sustainability of the project.

Community participation
For the formal organization and commitment of all parties involved the EVA foundation was established (1994). EVA’s philosophy is that successful implementation of sustainability largely depends on the commitment that the general public shows to it. The estate should create the conditions for people to make their own living environment, and should offer conditions for living, working, leisure and education. It could then serve as a worldwide example for sustainable urban development. Community participation is an important indicator.
Not only future inhabitants, architects, municipality etc. are involved, but also other parties like the drinking water company. By involving them from the very beginning of the project they fully co-operated with a request to the provincial authorities for an exemption on housing development within the 25 years groundwater protection zone. This illustrates the large mutual trust and ambitions and the value of a participatory approach.

Technical indicators
Focussed on the physical realization of the project the following indicators were used:
• water retention and re-use
• water purification
• energy saving and heat production
• integrated landscape design
• biological food production
• awareness, information and education

Water retention and re-use
Modern water management is to preserve water of good quality stored in the area it originates from, and to prevent it from directly being drained off to sewers or rivers. Such stored water can then be used during periods of drought, or applied in other ways. The following measures have been taken:
• Rainwater that falls on roofs is collected in small ponds, which are located on the terrain.
• Water that originates from street surfaces is led to Wide Infiltration Trenches (Wadi’s) that allow it to infiltrate in the subsoil, subsequently recharging the groundwater;
• Additional water storage capacity has been created through the restoration of ancient riverbeds. This storage capacity fully compensates for the fact that pavement of areas causes an acceleration of drainage processes. The polder authorities therefore did not have to take any additional measures to compensate for the urbanisation side-effects. Besides additional water storage capacity, the restoration also provided in ecologic embankments. (see also landscape design).

Local water purification
The purification of household sewage (kitchen and laundry effluents) purification takes place on the project terrain itself. An area that consists of reed beds (helophytes) receives the effluent and purifies it. Especially on this aspect, environmental awareness of the inhabitants is important, as wrong consumer behaviour may cause the purification system to malfunction.
For the treatment of wastewater from the (planned) EVA-Congress Centre and hotel, a different approach has been chosen. A biological purification concept, comparable to “Living Machines ®” provided an excellent opportunity to combine the environmental-friendly purification with educational purposes.

‘Living Machine’, see: www.livingmachines.com

Energy saving and heat production
The groundwater that is pumped up by the drinking water company in the adjacent area has an excess temperature of twelve degrees Celsius. It was discovered that this energy could be used for city heating. In the second phase of the project, this idea had been made reality. A central system now supplies all houses from building with heating. Thus, to its own surprise, the drinking water company had become sort of an energy company as well. Furthermore, all houses have been thoroughly isolated to have a minimum amount of energy loss. Sewage water from houses and kitchen waste will be led to a biogas production plant for energy production.

All houses have been supplied with systems for solar energy. Sun-boilers pre-heat the tap water, and solar cells supply the houses with electricity. In the beginning of the project the houses still have individual heaters for low temperature heating systems that are integrated in the walls. Now the local Waterboard supplies heat through a central heating system based on the warm from subsoil water.

Landscape design
The polder Lanxmeer, in which the project is located, covers various historic items. Firstly, an ancient river bed crosses the area. Also, it covers archaeological findings from the Roman era. Not only to preserve this landscape, but also to use the natural conditions for (short periods, seasonal) water storage special attention was paid for the implementation of the landscape elements in the project. .

Biological food production
The biological food production (fruits and vegetables) may be not a primary indicator for sustainability, but the farmer of is also involved in the design of the courtyards in the project and serves educational purposes, as it is an example of (small scale) sustainable food production in everyday life.

Awareness, information an education
EVA’s philosophy is that successful implementation of sustainability largely depends on the commitment that the general public shows to it. All the measures inevitably increase the system’s vulnerability to contamination through consumer behaviour, i.e. dumping engine oil into the sewer system. Environmental awareness of all inhabitants therefore remains a key to success. EVA achieved this by providing a continuous supply of information and through the neighbourhoods’ approach, thus encouraging joint responsibility.
Furthermore in an intensive series of discussions, meetings, workshops and lectures during the various stages of the project all parties were informed about the development and were asked for there comments and ideas. In this way the future inhabitants can also develop a good practice for this ‘new way’ of living. The project itself has the ambition to be a continuous developing and learning centre also for other projects.

planned EVA Congress and Hotel

The EVA organization planned a Congress and Education Centre to facilitate congresses and workshops on sustainable urban development, infrastructure and environment. It also will supply information to individuals and organisations that show interest in the project. The mentioned Living Machine ® will therefore be located within the centre of it.
The centre will also be used for regular meetings amongst the inhabitants, as their consumer behaviour is of major importance to the project’s success. If, for instance, an occupant would use aggressive liquids such as bleach or white spirit, the entire purification system of helophytes would be destroyed. Regular meetings and information-exchange are therefore necessary to keep inhabitants motivated for environmental-friendly behaviour.

DRIVERS
The driving forces behind the EVA-Lanxmeer were the early adopters of the EVA concept, gathered in the EVA Foundation and in a later stage the organization of the inhabitants. They were inspired by the worldwide sustainable movement and want to act locally. The Lanxmeer- plan was presented at a master class which was attended by various valued architects and city planners from the international network of the EVA Foundation. Their opinion had a strong effect on the EVA-project team’s ideas.
Keywords in the approach are among others: participatory capacity and empowerment, knowledge sharing, shared vision planning, interdisciplinary co-operation, public involvement, recycling and reuse, but also standing regulations for water quality and water quantity, ‘sustainable society’.

The design and implementation of EVA-Lanxmeer has been an interactive process between the most relevant parties, such as the municipality, the drinking water company, the Energy Company and future inhabitants. By subdividing the area into small-scale neighbourhoods and successively developing them, the team could learn from earlier experiences and apply innovations in subsequent phases (‘neighbourhoods approach’).

The appreciation of the initiative by other parties has encouraged the development. Within the framework of a national contest in 2000, supported by the Dutch Government the EVA-Lanxmeer project has been given the status of “National example project for intensive use of space”. Nowadays the project serves as a valuable resource of experiences with integrated water management in urban areas as a normal practice in everyday life. It enhances the general public’s awareness of environmental issues. Governments, municipalities and initiative groups make use of the experiences.

LESSONS LEARNT
• Sustainable urban development benefits from the interdisciplinary teamwork of all parties involved;
• The initiatives should have not only ‘emotional’ support, but also enough financial support to be able to guard the concept in a professional and consistent way and during a longer period. Many parties are involved, each of them having his own ideas. It is therefore recommended to specifically include a budget for professional quality assurance.
• Enhancing the commitment of the inhabitants enlarges the success for integral water management; long-term success will greatly depend on their consumer behaviour; subdividing the area into small-scale responsible ‘neighbourhoods’ encourages this;
• The ‘neighbourhoods approach’ allows for the application of new insights in subsequent phases of development (‘learning on the job’);
• To make participation of future inhabitants in the design of housing development achievable, affordable and realisable within the limits of time, sustainability and costs, a sound structure for conferencing is to be applied; not all individual wishes can be granted, as this would make a project costly or priceless; inhabitants should appoint a delegation to represent them in negotiations with the architect(s) and other parties.
• The approach results in high sustainability, but after completion it requires a continuous processing, which seems more costly than usual building.

APPLICATION AND TRANSFERABILITY
The aim of the EVA-project is to realize housing development that would bear all possible measures for sustainability, including water management and energy and the consequences for the physical infrastructure and integration in the existing landscape and environment.
This is a very general approach for city development, especially for new towns. It is the very explicit EVA’s philosophy that successful implementation of sustainability largely depends on the commitment that the general public shows to it. Therefore the EVA organization planned a Congress and Education Centre to facilitate congresses and workshops on sustainable urban development, infrastructure and environment.

IMPACT ON SUSTAINABILITY AREAS

Ecology		Economy		Social aspects
Emissions?		Cost/effective?		Participation?
Use of natural resources? Recycling?		Willing to pay?		Transparency?
Bio-diversity?		Effective organisation?		Safety? Health? Amenity?
Total		Total		Total

The consistent (one basic philosophy), but also dynamic approach (learning by doing) of the project EVA-Lanxmeer proves that major steps forward can be made with sustainable building, including infrastructure and landscape design. Besides an input by professionals an institutional framework is essential and also the continuous participation of inhabitants. It is of utmost importance to enhance environmental awareness among the general public. To achieve this it is important to develop and implement measures for the preservation of natural resources for everyday situations.

PROJECT CONTACT

Ms. Marleen Kaptein, EVA Foundation, Lodewijk v. Deysselhof 19
4103 WK Culemborg, The Netherlands, telephone +31 345 568506
E-mail address: stichting.eva@wxs.nl

REFERENCES

Website EVA-Lanxmeer: www.EVA-lanxmeer.nl
Callway, Germany “Energiesparsiedlungen”, Konzepte, Techniken, Realisierte Beispiele. Page 114, 115 Mischbebauung in Culemborg: EVA-Lanxmeer als “integrierte” Siedlungsform.
Ministry of VROM and Novem: Uitgeverij Aeneas. 2000. ‘Kiezen voor Verandering’/‘Opting for Change’, sustainable building in the Netherlands, page 118, 119, Challenge for the Future: EVA-Lanxmeer Culemborg.