A milestone towards a more sustainable future was accomplished yesterday evening in Rotterdam when Club Watt opened its doors to the public.
From idea... It took three years to turn an innovative concept to reality. In 2005, Enviu -Innovators in Sustainability and architect studio Döll Lab partnered to answer the question; how would a sustainable dance club look like? Back then, this was merely an exercice to explore the potential to green the clubbing scene, in which I was invited to be part of.
Check the video interview to Stef van Dongen (Enviu), Michel Smit (SDC), & Ted Langenbach (Watt) over the history behind the Sustainable Dance Club
By October 2006, the concept was mature enough to be publicly presented at Rotterdam club Off_Corso under the title The Critical Mass (video). Reaction from media, club owners, and the general public was extraordinary and brought it to next stage when it appeared very clear to everyone that a market for a dance club that turns environmental efficiency into part of the clubbig experience existed. The final concept is a comprehensive one combining technical solutions and managerial practices that when applied could largely improve the environmental performance of a club while adding value to the overall experience. As result, the concept turned into a company named Sustainable Dance Club (SDC) which offers solutions to club owners that lead to a reduction in relation to comparable clubs of:
30% energy consumption
50% water
50% refuse generated
30% CO2 emissions
...to realisation Yesterday, Club Watt was the first one to take the collection of solutions and managerial approach on board and show to everyone that sustainability in Rotterdam means planet, people, & party.
In a world premiere ;-) I broadcasted live the unveiling of this new venue. You can follow the tour given to the press, and have a first-hand experience of the well-known Sustainable Dance Floor (video) by Studio Roosegaarde at the following videos (love my N95 running Qik!). Next week will upload a video covering the opening.
Unveiling of the Sustainable Dance Floor by Michel Smit & Daan Roosegaarde
Watt's Creative Director Ted Langenbach on the club's program
More about the Sustainable Dance Club
Previous posts on the Sustainable Dance Club are available here, here, here and here
Enviu is busy these days with the so-called Hybrid Tuk Tuk Battle. This is a project aiming to find a technical solution to the in-efficient tuk-tuks (also known as auto rickshaws). This would allow a reduction of CO2 emissions and improve the quality of live of tuk tuk drivers. Last evening we had the kickoff party where, amongst others, the Dutch astronaut Wubbo Ockels expressed his support to this project. More Hybrid Tuk Tuk Battle at Hybridtuktuk.com More innovation & sustainability at Enviu.org
As a pedestrian, it is not rare to encounter with such artistic interventions in the city environment, performed by the so-called "Rotterdam Mounted Police Crew". If the original The London Police crew bombs cities with their bubbly and enjoyable characters, the Rotterdam Mounted Police bombs the city with aleatory and biodegradable pieces made out of fresh -and sometimes steamy- horse feces.
This form of urban art is specially interesting for the casual urban-treasure-hunter due to its intrinsic characteristics, including unique composition, and evolving nature of each piece;
Unique composition: some 12-15 rounded pieces typically organized on a linear way. Alternatively, the pieces may be distributed forming random shapes. This is believed to have a profound artistic meaning, probably linked the unconformity and rebellion.
Evolving nature: meanwhile most artists intervening the ruban scene wish to perpetuate their work by making it permanent, the Rotterdam Mounted Police does the opposite. Temporary pieces usually lasting up to 24h, which evolve in shape, texture and volume as time goes. Climate conditions intensify this.
I decided to document such artistic expression with the aim to better understand what its has been popularly named "Mounted Police technique" and the, until now, barely known artistic movement supporting it.
Did you also find Mounted Police technique in your city? Add your pics to the Flickr group for all urban treasure hunters to enjoy and discuss similar discoveries.
For more urban art (graffiti, stencils, stickers, 3D), check the Flickr set "Hunting for Urban Art"
The Endless City Last year announcement about 2007 being the first time in human history that more people is living now in urban areas than in rural areas, is experimenting a growth in interest.
Just recently, Ricky Burdett and Deyan Sudjic published the massive piece of work entitled The Endless City; An authoritative and visually rich survey of the contemporary city.
"The Endless City is an unparalleled study of the growth of six of the World’s international cities (New York, Shanghai, London, Mexico City, Johannesburg and Berlin), exploring key structural, economic and social factors"
Quick overview of PICNIC 07, where this year Green Challenge was hosted; a 500.000 award for good business ideas. Qurrent -an energy generating & saving system- received the prize from Sir Richard Branson.
PICNIC, the cross-media event, is here and this year comes with a nice surprise for all sustainability lovers: PICNIC Green Challenge. A contest supporting sustainable business ideas, awarding the best one with 500.000 euros (not bad, eh?). And guess what, the Sustainable Dance Club is amongst the finalists.
On saturday 27th, the award ceremony will take place at the Westergasfabriek (a former gas factory transformed in cultural platform). The winner of the contest will be announced by Sir Richard Branson (Virgin) and we're going to be there to capture the moment.
In case you cannot make it to Amsterdam, you can still follow the event live. I'm planning to send regular updates on saturday prior, during and after the event. To keep updated, simply go to my Twitter page and get automatic updates, including pictures sent from inside the event.
Will the SDC win the contest? Would I be able to talk with Sir Richard Branson? Keep tunned for the video report to be uploaded after the event.
When 29/09/07 Time 12:00-13:00 Where Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam
On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Blog Action Day' aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.
Blog Action Day is about MASS participation. Here are 3 ways to participate:
