The Aachen-based initiative “Humanotop” has initiated a comprehensive sustainability project in an abandoned Spanish village with numerous students and professionals from RWTH Aachen University. The project, called “Humanotop Aldea”, is intended to produce a small, future-oriented settlement in a short time. Plans include environmentally friendly buildings, self-sufficient energy production from exclusively renewable sources, regenerative agriculture and other measures to ensure a sustainable living environment. The parent project “Humanotop” originates from the non-profit association “Ingenieure retten die Erde” (Engineers Save the Earth), founded by Professor Achim Kampker, holder of the RWTH Chair for “Production Engineering of Mobility Components” (PEM) and former CEO of StreetScooter GmbH.
“We must address global threats like climate change and natural resource exploitation, as well as modern urban challenges like air, water and soil pollution right now through innovative and brave concepts.”,
Professor Achim Kampker emphasizes.
Meanwhile, the project is receiving support from Hans Joachim Schellnhuber’s “Bauhaus der Erde” initiative. “The ‘Humanotop Aldea’ shows how the idea of the “Bauhaus of the Earth” can be implemented in a geographic-cultural reality,” says the renowned climate researcher.
The volunteer “Humanotop Aldea” team brings together actors from the fields of civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental engineering and sustainability management with each other. Their joint concepts are to be implemented with partners from industry and research in one of Spain’s many vacant and ” Abandonadas” villages, where there has been a high level of migration from rural areas in recent decades. The requirements for the sustainable village were previously defined in a student thesis. The search for a suitable location is currently underway: The team aims to acquire a plot of land measuring around 40 hectares by mid-2022.
The aim is to create a place where innovative solutions can be researched and applied to develop the basis for a new urban way of life. Six technical groups will drive the development work to this end. The “Sustainable Construction” team, for example, aims to create a living space of various household sizes and housing concepts for 50 people in around 20 buildings, while the “Urban Agriculture” group is responsible for self-sufficient food supply through “vertical farming”, green roofs and raised beds. In the course of energy, resource, water and mobility management, its other groups will deal with the establishment and operation of a local energy network, recycled waste management, and a water cycle that is as natural as possible, as well as an inclusive mobility concept.
The non-profit association, in which mainly students work voluntarily on concepts for a sustainable urban future, is currently seeking financial support from companies, research institutions or private sponsors. Contact and donation options are available at www.humanotop.earth.
Further information:
Humanotop: https://humanotop.earth
Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) – RWTH Aachen University: www.pem.rwth-aachen.de
