BeeStreet
An ERASMUS project about circularity to prevent the effects of global warming, while helping the bee-population in Leeuwarden.
ERASMUS L4IDS project
Frisian Design Factory through NHL Stenden University, Leeuwarden, Netherlands.
Sept - Nov 2018
Description
After two years at university I got accepted to participate in an international project about circularity. I got to work on a project with four other students from Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands. The project goal was to find a way to collect, store and irrigate rainwater on a specific street in Leeuwarden, called BeeStreet, so that plants could be planted and thrive on the facades of the houses with minimal care requirements. The plants would reduce the heat during the summer, which had increased drastically lately due to the brick constructions and global warming. We solved this by designing a system with modular downpipes, pots with a smaller water storage and string irrigation, plus an underground tank.
Image made by another group member.
The rain falling on the rooftops will go down the pipes to a large tank that will keep the water clean underground. While going down, smaller portions of the water are caught and led to the pots by the cone-shaped pipe-modules. This keeps the smaller storage in the pots filled to keep the plants hydrated. When this storage is full, the water is lead out of the pot and down the pipe.
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During dry periods, the water is pumped up from the tank onto the roof again, which repeats the process and refills the water storage in the pots.
The pipe module has an internal cone to lead some of the water out to the plants. The holes below each cone (at the top of the module in the image) is for letting the water out of the pots when they are full. The modules make the pipes easier to adapt to different buildings.
Image made by another group member.
Image made by another group member.
The pots have two layers, one detachable for the plants with holes for the irrigation, and the larger part with the water storage. The holes on the side is for letting the water in and out.
We examined different irrigation methods and found that string irrigation is a simple and cost effective solution. We performed several tests to determine the requirements of success.