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terdam

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While its symbolism is inspired by the windmill, the Wind- wheel’s greater ambition is to signify the transition away from fossil fuels, Doepel says. In that context, Rotterdam is the perfect location to determine if the most sophisticated ideas of a circular economy – energy, water, waste, and ma- terials in a closed cycle – can be realized within a workable business model. “I fell in love with Dutch design. It’s free. I didn’t envision that same freedom in South Africa.” “Can we bring it all together in a building?” he says. Though the market seems ripe for the Windwheel – inves- tors form the United States, Europe, and China want the project – Doepel says it’s still in the feasibility stage, that research and development is ongoing, and that nothing is set in stone. “There’s no guarantee that we will build it,” he says, refer- encing the 2025 timeframe. The development of the Windwheel comes as Rotterdam, considered the second city of the Netherlands, emerges as a destination for an assortment of temporary and perma- nent arrivals. Tourism, foreign investment, and knowledge migrants are all on the rise, according to economic develop- ment agency Rotterdam Partners. Also of note is that Rot- terdam made Lonely Planet ’s Best in Travel City 2016. The city’s momentum, in large part, is due to the architec- ture and the free-flowing spirit it has engendered. In 1940 during the Rotterdam Blitz of World War II, the Germans bombed the city, destroying nearly the entire historic core. When it came time to rebuild, Rotterdam did not seek to replicate what was lost. Rather, the city looked to the ho- rizon. These days, Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, features the Cube Houses by Piet Blom , the De Rotterdam hotel and office complex by renowned firm OMA , the Timmerhuis, also by OMA, the Markthal Rotterdam by MVRDV , and the Erasmus Bridge by UNStudio (formerly van Berkel and Bos ). Duzan, a native of South Africa, came to Rotterdam in 1996 as an intern for MVRDV. He stayed in Holland, and in 2007, cofounded his firm with partner Eline Strijkers. “I fell in love with Dutch design,” he says. “It’s free. I didn’t envision that same freedom in South Africa.” Duzan is the one who in January famously told Dezeen Mag- azine that “Amsterdam is the city of the past, Rotterdam is the city of the future,” a double-down on his Windwheel de- sign. Rotterdam city officials have partnered with international

The Erasmus Bridge and OMA’s De Rotterdam / Google Images

consultant advisor Jeremy Rifkin, who champions the Third Industrial Revolution, a world-changing paradigm shift based on technology and renewable energy, a shift Rifkin says will create billions of jobs and transform the global economy. Rotterdam is already headed down that road, making the Windwheel a logical expression of local ideals. Doepel says as much. “It [the Windwheel] is based on the kinds of things we see going on in the city.” “It [the Windwheel] is based on the kinds of things we see going on in the city,” he says. Even if the Windwheel is never built, the groundbreaking design has made headlines across the world. Composed of two loops – an inner ring for offices, apartments and a res- taurant, and an outer ring that serves as a new-era Ferris wheel – the Windwheel is designed to generate electricity through wind and solar, capture and recycle water, and con- vert waste into biofuel. The project has been featured in Giz- mag , Forbes , Popular Science , and Tech Insider , in addition to the standard rounds the design has made through the in- dustry. Doepel says the notoriety has been good for business, as the Windwheel has inspired clients to come to his firm with various proposals. And though he hails from South Africa, he has warmed to the simple ethos the Dutch invoke when asked to innovate. “Try it,” he says.

uly 11, 2016, ISSUE 1159

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