UNSense is developing a ‘living lab’ of 100 homes in Helmond in the Netherlands. The 100 Homes project is part of the UNStudio masterplan for the expansion of the Brandevoort neighbourhood to become the "smartest neighbourhood in the world", according to an article in World Architecture News.
Designed to benefit both people and the planet, the adaptive neighbourhood is designed around self-sufficiency, with initiatives such as joint energy generation, local food production, future-proof water management and groundbreaking mobility services. By developing intelligent services to connect and adapt to the needs and consumption habits of residents, basic services should become manageable and fixed costs reduced.
The project also aims to test an alternative model in which the residents benefit from the exchange of their data and are given control over the services that are developed around their data.
The neighbourhood will become a real-life testing ground for the development of new systems, processes and services that do not further burden, pollute or exhaust our planet, writes the article. It will monitor its progress over a decade.
