The Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Sustainability will be building a circular pavilion at the national Innovation Expo 2016 which is taking place in Amsterdam on 14 April. The theme of this year's Expo is ‘Sustainable Urban Delta’.
The Centre for Sustainability is building the pavilion together with InnoFest, an initiative of eight festivals in the northern Netherlands that also want to function as a living lab for testing innovative solutions for social and technological challenges. TU Delft is a co-founder of InnoFest.
Circular Pavilion
The Circular Pavilion at the Expo is a one-day interactive exhibition that offers a glimpse into the dynamics and highlights of current developments in the Netherlands concerning the circular economy. Researchers will be working on site in the pavilion and visitors are welcome to join in, for example recycling waste in the pavilion walls or helping produce electricity.
Gertjan de Werk, executive director of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Sustainability:
The Centre for Sustainability aims to develop into an open innovation centre where scientists and social partners carry out empirical research and social experiments together and map out social needs. These living labs tie in perfectly with this aim and represent a first step.
What is the Innovation Expo?
The Innovation Expo is both a large-scale biennial event and the associated network of over 4,000 entrepreneurs, policymakers, scientists and enterprising citizens. The Innovation Expo and the initial preparations are intended to form the basis for a new, active network of pioneers in the circular economy who will work together on technological breakthroughs and innovations to make a difference in the future. The Innovation Expo complements the Dutch government initiative Agenda Stad, working on the future of the urban Netherlands.
Centre for Sustainability
The Centre for Sustainability is a collaboration between Leiden University, TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam. Working from a range of complementary disciplines, research and education are used to develop new knowledge on the circular economy with the aim of using this new knowledge to impact society.
InnoFest
InnoFest is an initiative of eight festivals in the northern Netherlands that are making themselves available for use as a living lab, as in a festival it is possible to keep precise track of in- and outflows of things such as electricity, water, waste and public, and use a specialised team to make any necessary adjustments. InnoFest was founded by Welcome to the Village, Into the Great Wide Open, Eurosonic Noorderslag, TU Delft and the NOM (Investment and Development Agency for the Northern Netherlands).