EVA – Lanxmeer, Culemborg, The Netherlands

Speaker: Dr Jan Woudstra

The concept of eco-housing has been well-established since the 1970s, with experimental schemes around the world. However, the notion of sustainability in the 1980s gave the concept a new incentive of trying to achieve a circular economy. What were the new techniques required to develop a sustainable energy policy, and what about a renewed vision for agriculture in a way that respects natural processes? How can such ideas and visions be carried more broadly with renewed ethics of responsibility for resources and solidarity with other peoples around the globe? These were some of the questions that helped to define the collaborative approach developed at EVA – Lanxmeer, which prides itself as a spatially high-quality living environment that is well-integrated within and in harmony with the wider landscape, both rural and urban. Achieved though a democratic process facilitated by landscape architect Marleen Kaptein from 1995, professional advice was provided by Copijn landscape architects and Joachim Eble architects.