februari 2017

Entering into a new economic model might take decades, yet signs of resource depletion indicate that we haven’t got years before changing our consumption patterns while protecting our standards of living. The concept of Circular Economy in itself is mind-blowing as it imitates natural cycles through feedback loops at several levels of our current extraction, production and consumption chains. The main objective of a circular framework is the decoupling of our resource intakes versus our thirst for constant economic growth – as returns always need to be higher than the original investment -. Contrary to the linear corporate strategy, where…

Whenever we create new materials that push the limits of what’s possible, we send the world down an entirely new path. We are on the verge of a revolution in materials science: super materials that will eclipse what we once believed were physical limits, create previously unimaginable opportunities, and expand the capabilities of what we already think of as exponential technologies in ways limited only by our imaginations. The materials of the future are already being made in the present. Biomaterials will allow us to build robotic structures out of engineered materials that mimic organic ones. Soft materials that can be activated…

Life is supported by dynamic non-equilibrium as an operating condition. Managing dynamic non-equilibrium to provide the continuous change and control for our human needs will take creativity, insight and co-operation. How ecological and natures principles have influenced the evolution of behavioral and physiological traits of living organisms can inform and inspire fields such as urban design and architecture. By looking at nature’s ecosystem, we find independent, self-enriching, sustainability. This is a completely different paradigm and a new exciting landscape. Biology – especially ecology – are disciplines that can influence urban and architectural design projects in unexpected and interesting ways. Learning…

HOMO CREATOR als KRACHT VAN GEOLOGISCHE PROPORTIES Het grootste deel van de aardse biosfeer, met inbegrip van de biodiversiteit en ecosysteemdiensten- en processen, is nu definitief omgevormd door de directe interactie tussen mens en ecosystemen. Het earth system is een delicaat samenspel tussen verschillende sferen en bepaalt de voorwaarden voor het leven op aarde. Een antropogene transformatie van de terrestrische biosfeer is in essentie  ingrijpend en permanent. Weinig poëtisch, maar je kan zeggen dat één enkele soort, die woekert als onkruid, onbewust het vermogen verwierf om haar eigen lot en dat van alle andere soorten op deze planeet rechtstreeks te…