The Netherlands, Week 2

Again, this post is catching up the weeks that have flown almost completely by since I have arrived in Delft, the Netherlands.

Week 2

Monday, July 13
Today we were assigned our first of two design projects. My group was named Starchineers (STAR ARCHitect engINEERS) and was composed of equal part architect and engineer. The Starchineers were tasked with redesigning Gallivan Boulevard in Dorchester, MA. Our goal was to implement bike facilities that connect to Neponset Trail, improving the Greater Boston bicycling network. We worked to incorporate Dutch designs into our redesign. Our final design was titled "Road Feast." Many transportation engineers end up slimming down roads to fewer lanes to install additional facilities such as those for pedestrians or bicycling. The Starchineers, however, were able to add two way cycle tracks to both sides of the street without losing any of Gallivan Boulevard's traditional function.

This work was due on Friday, July 17th and can be found online on our class blog at: Gallivan Blvd: A Road Feast (Starchineers). I can only take credit for some of the mock ups; the color schemes and boards were created by our star architects.

Tuesday, July 14
This was probably my favorite day so far. We started off on a bike tour to learn about the water management the Netherlands must use to prevent their below sea level land from being flooded. We saw the intricate networks of dykes and the plans for flood water. For example, we saw pumps, which traditionally were wind turbines, that are used to pump water between dykes to keep level water. Additionally, we saw a field filled with cows next to a canal. We learned about how in heavy rain, the water will flood the field where the cows grazed. This controlled flooding prevents unnecessary flooding or damage to the surrounding areas.

Can you imagine this field flooding!?

After this leisurely water resources bike tour, we visited a greenhouse. Here everything was completely automated. There were significant measures used to reduce energy consumption and incorporate renewable energy. A few examples are geothermal heating where they take warm groundwater to heat the greenhouse in the winter and cool water in the summer. They have other practices that maybe I will dedicate an entire post to later.

Engineers live for organization

From there, we biked to the center of Naaldwijk where our professor had us try pickled herring. I have uneasily tried a lot of food and am often pleasantly surprised at how delicious it can be. On the other hand, pickled herring tasted exactly as gross as I thought it would. I couldn't finish all of it and spent the rest of the day questioning if that was what was swiping around in me, but at least I tried!

After lunch we headed to the beach called Monster where we body surfed as a group then walked the beach collecting shells. Monster interestingly enough is not named after a Dutch sea creature but a large church in the area. In this area, there was a huge coastal engineering project to revitalize the beach. Engineers dredged the shore and provided beach nourishment, essentially added tons of sand to the beach, to increase the width which provides overall coastal protection. To me, this is one of the most fascinating aspects of engineering so I was thrilled to visit.

Annie finds sea shells by the sea shore

We're "duning" it!

To wrap up this amazing day, we made a fantastic class taco dinner, my first taste of quasi-Mexican food since May!

Wednesday, July 15
The group took the train to Houten today to learn about this quaint, perfectly planned city. Houten was redesigned in the 1960's to expand from a city center with a centralized train station. Every point in Houten was designed to be close enough to be a short bike to the city center where residents have access to the train. Additionally, grocery stores surround the town so people can reach them easily by bike. The biggest catch is cars must travel in a figure eight around the outside of the town.

Engineers and city planners have designed this town to give bicycles priority. It is easy to bike anywhere, however driving is at times significantly longer. Our professor has very high regards for this quaint town. Some students had mixed reviews: can this place be so perfect? It did have epic playgrounds, a surplus of wind turbines, and that safe quiet feel for children, families, and elders. The biggest catch is there is about a 10 year waiting list for people trying to move into this utopia.

Houten city center--notice there are no cars!

PSU Kate yielding into the bike roundabout

Houten: where kids can play without their parents 

Houten: fit for all bikers

Classic Dutch: Loving a big fan

Thursday, July 16
Today we were back in the classroom working on our projects. Again, check it out at: Gallivan Blvd: A Road Feast (Starchineers). We also had the chance to see the Portland State University (PSU) students we had been studying with present on their city's road redesigns. This was a great chance to understand our professors expectations and edit our designs accordingly. Unfortunately, we also had to say goodbye to our new PSU friends, until next time. It was a pleasure getting to know you all!

Friday, July 17 
Finally on Friday we presented our Gallivan Blvd: A Road Feast (Starchineers) project! We received positive feedback from our professors, which is the only reason we are comfortable posting this many times in a row!

The other non-school related excitement was I got wifi this day! A little late, but has definitely confirmed my addiction to the internet and the modern comforts of the twenty first century.

Saturday, July 18
This was my first day in Amsterdam. A lot of the day was spent on a tour from the Cyclist Union. We learned about designing Amsterdam to make the city bike friendly. What they did was create a ring road around the city providing car access and inside the ring road there was a reduction of car traffic, providing bike and pedestrian priority. Although these efforts were obvious, my honest opinion was that it was still a very hectic city. As the largest city in the Netherlands this of course makes sense, however it was sometimes uncomfortable or difficult to get around, especially in a posse of 30.

In Amsterdam we had one assignment that got to look a little deeper into bicyclist and pedestrian crossings. You can see the blog we wrote for our class here.

After class ended at 4pm (like I said, we've been really busy!!!), a group of us toured the Heineken Experience and learned about the world famous beer. This included a tasting at the top floor balcony... way cool! The evening turned into some biking around exploring while some of us went "window shopping." When night arrived we went to a small, local, but awesome bar/club that was everything I have ever wanted in a night out. Bartenders rang bells once an hour for celebrations there was always a new song that included so many favorites such as "Bills" and "Let it Go" from Frozen. They also told me "All I Want for Christmas is You," meaning I think they wanted us to stay until Christmas. This was reinforced when they handed out Santa hats. All in all, fantastic night and we even made it home on the last train!

Classic Dutch Canal

Raised speed hump

A taste of tourists in front of Rijksmuseum

Sunday, July 19
After a long hard week we took a much needed rest day. I slept in, went for a run, went to church, then ended up at unlimited pannenkoeken in Delft's square. Pannenkoeken are pancakes that the Dutch treat like omelets and fill with anything from bacon, cheese, fruit, and more. I ate as many pancakes as I could and left full and happy.