Top 100 Dutch Key Players in Sustainability

PRLog (Press Release) - Mar 12, 2009 -
Dutch national newspaper Trouw and national broadcaster LLINK have published a list of the nation’s Top 100 key players in sustainability. The list ranges from politicians and activists to scientists and entrepreneurs (http://www.trouw.nl/groen/nieuws/duurzamehonderd/article2...). While the majority is made up of thinkers and theorists, not many on the list are working on the implementation of sustainable know-how in everyday life.

Thomas Rau is the only architect among the Top 100. Since 1992, he and his office RAU are continuously pursuing progress in sustainable architecture. For the WWF Netherlands, RAU built the first CO2-neutral and self-sustaining office building of its kind and recently developed the world’s first energy-generating revolving door (in co-operation with Boon Edam). The first residential- and office complex producing a surplus of energy is now under construction in Lyon, France. RAU is currently planning a hotel entirely powered by hydrogen.

Despite his focus on technological innovation in architecture, Thomas Rau sees the real challenge in a change of attitude on a societal level:

“High-tech results are often achieved using low-tech solutions. We have the technologies to create buildings that are not only self-sufficient, but even produce a surplus of energy that can be fed back to the energy grid. Unfortunately, legal regulations are lagging three generations behind what’s technically possible today.”

In order to promote this change of attitude, Thomas Rau has introduced the term ‘oneplanetarchitecture,’ which stretches beyond mere technical solutions. According to Thomas Rau, societies should be working and living in the constant awareness that any action ultimately produces significant effects in the world at large - ecologically, economically and socially. He gives an example:

“The costs to develop and construct a building often make-up only a small part of the entire life-cycle costs of a building. Instead of overly concentrating on minimising construction costs, real estate developers should focus on the total costs of ownership of a building. In a self-sustaining building, tenants do not only buy space but also the energy necessary to work or to live. The result is a win-win situation for tenants and developers. Tenants gain the planning security of long-term predictability of fixed costs, while the building itself will retain a higher value over a longer period of time than conventional buildings.”

According to Thomas Rau, the motivation of our actions ought to be driven by future results. Decentralised generation of energy by means of self-sustaining and surplus-producing buildings will result in the establishment of an ‘Energy-Internet’:

“It’s high time for energy-producers to recognise the signs of change. Companies should start to transform their business models away from centralised generation and costly transportation of energy, towards providing an energy internet connecting self-sustaining buildings.”