The Willem C. Van Unnik building is the tallest building on the campus of Utrecht University in the Netherlands. The concrete, steel and glass monolith, which occupies a central position on the campus, was built in the late 1960s and has been mostly empty for the last 15 years. Maintaining it is an important cost for the university, who owns the building.
The Human Power Plant proposes to turn a problem into an opportunity by converting the building into student housing that runs entirely on human power. The University of Utrecht has the ambition to become CO2-neutral in 2030. The ecological footprint of the human powered Van Unnik Student Dorm will be close to zero, and the building is already there.
Each student will be responsible for generating the electricity that’s used in his or her individual room. The lower floors of the building will be reserved for communal energy production. This energy will be used to heat the building, cook food, wash clothes, and so on.
More energy is supplied by a biogas installation, which is operated by the students and runs on their food waste and excrements. A time schedule will be drawn up so that every student knows when he or she has to produce elelectricity and heat, or when to perform other services for the community.
In the coming weeks, we will publish detailed technical descriptions and visual impressions of the human powered student building:
- 750 individual student powered rooms on 15 floors.
- Communal energy production on 3 floors.
- Biogas installation in the basement.
- Communal kitchen on 2 floors.
- Communal shower & laundry on 2 floors.
- Moving between floors: the stairs
- The hydraulic system.
- Work schedules for energy production.
- Student room pricing.
- Sustainable decadence on the roof.
- The diet of the student population.
- Control of the student population.
According to our preliminary calculations, a human powered student building is achievable. The students would maintain a modern lifestyle, including luxuries like hot showers, computers, and washing machines. On the other hand, they would have to produce energy on average 2 to 6 hours per day, depending on the season and their individual and communal preferences.
An interesting question is how far the students are prepared to reduce their energy use in order to avoid having to produce it themselves. Would hot showers go out of fashion? Would salads be the next culinary trend? Would typewriters make a comeback?
The human powered student building applies low-tech solutions, such as fireless cookers, thermal underclothing, and heat exchange showers, which all maximize comfort within the context of a limited energy supply. Finally, energy use is lowered by encouraging the communal organisation of daily household tasks, just like in the old days.
The Human Powered Van Unnik Building is not only 100% sustainable, it also promotes better health and fitness, as well as more social cohesion.
How can you be sure that the biogas plant will not explode?
Posted by: Andi | 30 May 2017 at 04:04 PM
This is great. I hope to hear more about it in the upcoming months and years.
Posted by: Andi | 30 May 2017 at 04:05 PM
Has anyone figured out how to turn the energy of tapping on the computer keyboard into energy to run the computer?
Posted by: Andi | 30 May 2017 at 04:06 PM