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A seed bank and community garden for the future. 


Naarden Garden is a dutch seedbank and science, community engagement center that preservces life in the form of millions of seeds in cooled vaults. 

CONTEXT

Naarden, Netherlands

TU Delft Faculty of Architecture

Faculteit Bouwkunde

 

ROLE

Industrial Designing, Concept Development, 3d Printing, 3d Modelling, 3d Rendering, Rapid Prototyping

TEAM

Morgan West

Henrique Mayalles

Repurposing Naarden's Original Stronghold

Originally designed to protect Amsterdam from land invasion, the town of Naarden has been a stronghold since 1300. With advances in modern warfare making land position obsolete, the heavily defensive bunkers have been vacant since World War II.

 

The Challenge was: How might we re-use these ancient structures? 

The Domed Greenhouse

A large, geodesic dome stretches over the entrance of the community outreach center. This dome acts as a green house to many native and non-native lifeforms, year-round. 

Worldclass Seedbank

Within the underground vaults, protected by a story-high amount of soil and grass, is the Naarden Garden seedbank. Hundreds of thousands of lifeforms are stored in temperature controlled vaults. 

Community Garden

 

While there is abundant greenspace around the Naarden town, having an advanced greenhouse and seed storage facility could open up opportunities for education and hands on growing experience. 

Process

Tour of Naarden

When we arrived in Naarden, we spent the first few hours touring the location. The underground facilities were cool, narrow and damp. Above ground was occupied by the occasional dog walker or runner. Families strolled the greens, and kayakers occupied the canals. 

Reconnaissance for Context

Since we had limited time, we made an effort to gather as many assets as possible, getting ready for the final presentation right away.

Back to the Studio

After touring Naarden, we returned to De Tinfabriek and layed out our assets, and created a gameplan of how we envisioned the next 20 hours to go, and what we wanted from the end. 

Observations

Sectioned

The sections are closed off except for single access tunnel, allowing for security. 

Protective

Naarden has always been about protecting life. Now we aim to do that in a new manner. 

Regulated

Cellars are protected from the outside by feet of land, creating naturally temperature regulated areas.

Insights

Science + Community

Naarden has always been about protecting life. Now we aim to do that in a new manner. 

Science + Community

Naarden has always been about protecting life. Now we aim to do that in a new manner. 

Using the land

Naarden has always been about protecting life. Now we aim to do that in a new manner. 

Architectural Features

Interactive Cave Dungeons

Naarden has always been about protecting life. Now we aim to do that in a new manner. 

Unique Greenhouse Dome Attraction

Naarden has always been about protecting life. Now we aim to do that in a new manner. 

In the Ground Lab

Naarden has always been about protecting life. Now we aim to do that in a new manner. 

Late Night Model Making

We had limited resources to create our models. Hot glue, cardboard, some precut MDF pieces, and a few X-Acto blades to work with. 

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Snacks

Crucial late night fuel. Thanks for the delicious snacks Netherlands! Great cheeses. I ate too much cheese. They also provided these no name energy drinks which made our eyeballs tweak. 

Pitching to the Judges Panel 

At 12:30 pm we presented in front of a panel of architects and judged each team's proposals and gave comprehensive critiques for the presentations. 

Sustainability Award

In addition to our pitch deck we were required to create presentation boards of our work. We won the "Sustainability Award" for our concept and showcased in the BK City Hall

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