De Ceuvel: A circular workplace for creative and social enterprises in Amsterdam

Amsterdam, The Netherlands - 2012

Domain of application: Local

Status: Existing

Stakeholders:

Smeele Architectures
Space&Matter architecture
DELVA Landscape architects
Metabolic firm

De Ceuvel has become one of the most unique and sustainable urban developments in Europe. Previously a polluted post-industrial brownfield, the site now hosts space for creative entrepreneurs and has been transformed into a showcase for a closed-cycle urban environment.

De Ceuvel is a workplace for creative and social enterprises adjacent to the van Hasselt kanaal off the river IJ in Amsterdam North.The goal is to provide an example for closing nutrient cycles, clean the soil in a natural way, and experiment with new technologies. All while serving as a creative office terrain.

It has been built on a water-bound plot of land by Marjolein Smeele from Smeele Architectures, Space&Matter architecture, which designed the urban plan, and DELVA Landscape architects, which designed the phytoremediation garden that uses plants to clean the soil over time. Metabolic, a cleantech development and systems consulting firm, is responsible for the sustainability plan and the implemented technologies on the site.

Towards a Circular City

Today’s cities need new models to cope with the resource and sustainability challenges we face. De Ceuvel can be seen as an example of this alternative model. Eva Gladek, CEO of Metabolic explains: “De Ceuvel is like a tiny village. We are working to close the nutrient cycle and implement distributed infrastructure on a local level. De Ceuvel is a proof of concept for more circular models of development”.

At de Ceuvel, Metabolic has installed technologies that capture nutrients from waste streams, filter and collect water, generate energy, and monitor resource flows. De Ceuvel combaines sustainability goals with bottom-up urban development. The clean technology used on-site showcase possibilities in a future, circular economy.

“We have envisioned the de Ceuvel site as a 'Cleantech Playground' for the exploration and testing of new technologies as they become available,” said Gladek. In collaboration with partners such as Waternet, Amsterdam’s public water utility, and Stichting Doen, research and development will explore how cities can transform from resource-drains to sustainable cities with a healthy metabolism.

Plants Cleaning the Soil

The brownfield’s polluted soil of is being cleaned through a process called phytoremediation, adding a regenerative element to the plan. This plan has been designed by DELVA Landscape Architects with consultation from the University of Ghent. The heavily polluted soil is now being purified by the specially selected combination of plants, resulting in a cleaner, greener and more biodiverse area than even a year ago.

The former industrial plot has been turned into the most unique and sustainable urban developments in Europe. The site features retrofitted houseboats placed around a winding wooden walkway and surrounded by an landscape of soil-cleaning plants. The city can benefit from it by having clear examples of applied sustainability, but also provide inexpensive workspaces for creative entrepreneurs.