The lecture evening on eco-cities featured speakers Winy Maas, Brian Clegg, Gideon Amos and Peter Mensinga. They delivered their ideas about eco-cities from very diverse backgrounds. The audience of 150 was treated to four rousing lectures and a roundtable discussion with Almere Schaalsprong director Henk Meijer and INTI director Michelle Provoost—all smoothly moderated by Bert van Meggelen.
Winy Maas started the night with a plea for skepticism without negativity when considering the role of sustainability in our lives. He moved through some ideas and critiques from the upcoming T?F publication The Green Dream and on to MVRDV’s current project in Spain: Logrono Montecorvo Eco City.
Brian Clegg reminded us that a bit of recycling is not enough to tackle the problems of global warming, and helped clarify the differences between truly sustainable practice and greenwash. The audience was reminded to examine their actions rationally and resist the feel-good emotions of advertising words like "green" and "natural".
Gideon Amos brought a planning perspective to the evening and discussed TCPA’s role in establishing guidelines for sustainable practice in the British eco-towns.
Peter Mensinga wrapped things up with a look at different ARUP eco-city projects, including Dongtan, Tianjin and Masdar City. He closed with an examination of different sustainable ways forward for Almere Schaalsprong.
We were extremely pleased with the large turnout and the fascinating content. We are already looking forward to our next lecture evening!
Click here for video of the lecture evening.
