In early September, an interdisciplinary team of students from the LDE minor (Re)Imagining Port Cities took part in a hackathon during the Wereldhavendagen in Rotterdam. The hackathon brought together nearly two hundred students from MBO colleges, universities of applied sciences and universities at the new Fenix Museum. Their idea for the circular reuse of oil tanks on the Maasvlakte convinced the jury and won them a prize.
The team, consisting of six students from the minor, worked on the case study concerning the international energy transition. With diverse academic backgrounds – ranging from sociology and anthropology to architecture and landscape architecture – different perspectives came together in one interdisciplinary team. 'I think that the different disciplines really helped in the process of developing our final idea,' says Noa Yentl Smit, a student of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology at Leiden University.
The idea contains various elements, and it was precisely because we were able to ask each other critical questions that we were able to view the subject from multiple angles.
The winning idea
There are currently 39 large storage tanks on the Maasvlakte containing crude oil. In a future where fossil fuels disappear, these tanks will need to be repurposed. The winning idea therefore focuses on reusing the tanks to store biofuel produced from algae grown on rooftops in Rotterdam. The concept combines innovative reuse of existing infrastructure and CO₂ reduction through algae in a single circular system.
The minor (Re)Imagining Port Cities
This minor, organised by the Faculty of Architecture at Delft University of Technology but taught in collaboration with the three universities, focuses on the future of port cities. Major social changes, such as sea level rise, migration and the departure of the fossil fuel industry, are influencing how port cities develop.
At the same time, port cities want to preserve their identity and give new forms to their heritage, for example by repurposing industrial buildings and objects. The hackathon tied in perfectly with this: students were given the opportunity to translate these themes into a concrete design challenge, bringing together different perspectives.
Would you like to participate in an LDE Minor?
Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities offers various joint minor programmes, including (Re)Imagining Port Cities. Students can participate in both joint and faculty minor programmes at the three LDE universities.
View all LDE minors here: Joint minors | Leiden•Delft•Erasmus
