octagon eco living on water - sister of centrumeiland
When we let our capacity of creation free, ANYTHING is possible. The limitation is our perceptions.
Centrumeiland is a given chance for Amsterdamers to make the move towards a new beginning. It is in front of us. We will choose either to repeat the old and usual way of thinking OR, we will say, "We want something totally inspirational and new!"
Octagon Village has been designed for a new beginning. It can be a World Heritage site and example to many cities around the World if we want to.
Centrumeiland is a given chance for Amsterdamers to make the move towards a new beginning. It is in front of us. We will choose either to repeat the old and usual way of thinking OR, we will say, "We want something totally inspirational and new!"
Octagon Village has been designed for a new beginning. It can be a World Heritage site and example to many cities around the World if we want to.
OCTAGON VILLAGE and THE DESIGN ELEMENTS
The idea to add a water Village is coming from supporting Centrumeiland Eco Living design. These 2 sisters can complete each other and make a stronghold together. Octagon Village can be a training center for sustainable living on water. The residents will be the main examples and teachers of a sustainable lifestyle on water. I can imagine many scientists and researchers will want to live there with their families as a community. Also I expect many families who love living on water will join to the Village. My idea is to create a floating but stabilized island on water which will support Ecological living idea. The whole Village will be on water as buoy but I do not want it to move so much of its location as I would like to add Bee Hives and small Fruit Trees to the design. That's why I thought of stabilizing it with concreat pillars to the ground but as a whole it will float on the water.
Name and Pieces: As a whole shape it is designed to be an Octagon. Within itself, each components are also designed to have Octagon shapes. This is an inspiration from the nature, which feeds the main idea of Permaculture.
Octagon Village components are Modules and Units. There are 8 Units on the Village Design and Each Unit consists of 8 Modules. As a whole shape, it is also an Octagon. So, 8x8=64 Households on the Village, plus Guest Houses & Volunteers Houses in the Village Center. The list of elements are below:
- Village of an Octagon: Connected Units of 8 makes the shape of an Octagon
- Units of Octagons(8 Modules in each Unit) = 64 Houses
- Community Center of an Octagon
Surface Area: Total 12 Hectare water surface for the village. Each Module is 1,250 m2 x 8 = 1 Hectare x 8 Units = 8 Hectare plus Community Center and spaces in between.
Note for Feng Shui Believers: When I searched in the internet, I found out that number 8 is very important in our times. Here is what I found: "We are in the period of 8 that started from 2004 and will end in 2024. In the period of 8, the water star 8 is the wealth star."
Doesn't it fit with Octagon shaped Village ?
Now let's start looking a bit deeper to the idea...
Name and Pieces: As a whole shape it is designed to be an Octagon. Within itself, each components are also designed to have Octagon shapes. This is an inspiration from the nature, which feeds the main idea of Permaculture.
Octagon Village components are Modules and Units. There are 8 Units on the Village Design and Each Unit consists of 8 Modules. As a whole shape, it is also an Octagon. So, 8x8=64 Households on the Village, plus Guest Houses & Volunteers Houses in the Village Center. The list of elements are below:
- Village of an Octagon: Connected Units of 8 makes the shape of an Octagon
- Units of Octagons(8 Modules in each Unit) = 64 Houses
- Community Center of an Octagon
Surface Area: Total 12 Hectare water surface for the village. Each Module is 1,250 m2 x 8 = 1 Hectare x 8 Units = 8 Hectare plus Community Center and spaces in between.
Note for Feng Shui Believers: When I searched in the internet, I found out that number 8 is very important in our times. Here is what I found: "We are in the period of 8 that started from 2004 and will end in 2024. In the period of 8, the water star 8 is the wealth star."
Doesn't it fit with Octagon shaped Village ?
Now let's start looking a bit deeper to the idea...
MODULE
The Module is the single and smallest element of the Village. It is basically a Household with design items to produce food, recycle wastes and store-reuse energy. I imagine of families living here as sustainable as possible. Everything they learn in their daily life will feed to many scientific researches.
Each Module has a large living area, in the design the ground is 130 m2 and there is a 2nd floor with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. There is an outdoor living area for dining and enjoying the great times on waterland with calm and floating feeling. Seaside of the Module will be mainly a windbreak. I can imagine this can be a material similar to the ones we see around the highways. Maybe there is more eco friendly solution on this.
I would imagine to have a big space to have a greenhouse for indoor vegetable growing and also with Aquaponics system. A closed loop chicken house is designed next to the greenhouse.
Composting area for seeweeds and kitchen wastes and also reedbed for Grey Water recycling. Each Module will have their own fish tanks for the fish breeding and also for the Aquaponics system. The Module will be surrounded with Espalier style small Fruit Trees and Berry Bushes. Buoy is a critical point here. If the whole Village doesn't move so much trees can make it I believe. Otherwise we go with bushes. I would very much like to give a try to the trees on water so I couldn't hold myself for adding a small Guild in the middle.
Each Unit will have their own Meeting point and Children Playground in the middle of the Unit. Every backyard of the Modules will be their children playground with one adult's supervision. Also Indoor and Outdoor meeting place for enjoying the times together.
Each Module has a large living area, in the design the ground is 130 m2 and there is a 2nd floor with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. There is an outdoor living area for dining and enjoying the great times on waterland with calm and floating feeling. Seaside of the Module will be mainly a windbreak. I can imagine this can be a material similar to the ones we see around the highways. Maybe there is more eco friendly solution on this.
I would imagine to have a big space to have a greenhouse for indoor vegetable growing and also with Aquaponics system. A closed loop chicken house is designed next to the greenhouse.
Composting area for seeweeds and kitchen wastes and also reedbed for Grey Water recycling. Each Module will have their own fish tanks for the fish breeding and also for the Aquaponics system. The Module will be surrounded with Espalier style small Fruit Trees and Berry Bushes. Buoy is a critical point here. If the whole Village doesn't move so much trees can make it I believe. Otherwise we go with bushes. I would very much like to give a try to the trees on water so I couldn't hold myself for adding a small Guild in the middle.
Each Unit will have their own Meeting point and Children Playground in the middle of the Unit. Every backyard of the Modules will be their children playground with one adult's supervision. Also Indoor and Outdoor meeting place for enjoying the times together.
UNIT
Unit is the name for the each Community in the village. Each Unit is made of 8 Modules and in the middle of the Unit is the Meeting Place for the Community. There will be mainly 3 access points to the Village Center from each Unit. These pathways are also used as door to the sea. Each Unit will be accessable by boat via the Piers. There will be 1 main Pier and 3 Module side small Piers.
The OCTAGON VILLAGE
The Octagon Village! Living sustainable and on water. It will be the next step on boathouse movement. Also a new way of living. It consists of 8 Octagon Communities and 1 Octagon Village Meeting Center. The Community Octagon Units will be the residential area of the Village and the Meeting Center will be used for many different puposes. Let's look at my list.
Central Octagon - Meeting Center: It will be around 1.3 Hactare surface area plus surrounded by fish breeding tanks. Other elements:
- 1 Town Hall(Middle Big Building): Village Meeting Place for all kind of different gatherings and celebrations. Also it will be used as Theatre and conference room.
- 4 Indoor Buildings: In my mind these buildings can be used for: 1 Market + 1 Atelier for handcraft and art + Main childcare or school center + 1 Education Center for sustainable living seminars. Also a restaurant can be implemented.
- 12 Guest Buildings to accommodate visitors, trainees, course attendees and also some of them can be used for Bed and Breakfast places to bring some income to the village.
- Internal Fish Tanks: To breed fish for internal and external usage
Central Octagon - Meeting Center: It will be around 1.3 Hactare surface area plus surrounded by fish breeding tanks. Other elements:
- 1 Town Hall(Middle Big Building): Village Meeting Place for all kind of different gatherings and celebrations. Also it will be used as Theatre and conference room.
- 4 Indoor Buildings: In my mind these buildings can be used for: 1 Market + 1 Atelier for handcraft and art + Main childcare or school center + 1 Education Center for sustainable living seminars. Also a restaurant can be implemented.
- 12 Guest Buildings to accommodate visitors, trainees, course attendees and also some of them can be used for Bed and Breakfast places to bring some income to the village.
- Internal Fish Tanks: To breed fish for internal and external usage
Everything starts as a Thought...
This Project is totally imaginary. The first idea came actually when a friend, Roy Zonnenberg said, "Hey, why don't we create a floating forest?" I would have loved to see that but when I searched about it I found that the buoy effect on trees is a little issue. In Rotterdam there is an art project, I found an artical Bobbing Forest. The thought of Floating Forest evolved in my mind and became an On Water Eco Living Village.
As I mentioned at the beginning, this is a chance in front of Amsterdamers. Something different, something evolving and inspiring and cosy. Is it possible and doable? I believe, Yes. With the current technology and currently available energy, we can invest something into the future. A prototype. A test field for humanity. Only one thing is needed to realize this thought, it is the Collective of Thoughts. So, the bottom line is, can you dream an Eco Village on water next to Centrumeiland and Amsterdam ?
As I mentioned at the beginning, this is a chance in front of Amsterdamers. Something different, something evolving and inspiring and cosy. Is it possible and doable? I believe, Yes. With the current technology and currently available energy, we can invest something into the future. A prototype. A test field for humanity. Only one thing is needed to realize this thought, it is the Collective of Thoughts. So, the bottom line is, can you dream an Eco Village on water next to Centrumeiland and Amsterdam ?