As the Institute for Future of Living we are proud to announce that the HOFI VIDANOVA project is yielding its fruits. This project is a collaborative partnership our Institute has established already since 2019 with the renowned PensionFund VIDANOVA. Our Institute has played a crucial role during the discovery phase by creating the frameworks and use-cases in the form of ‘Blue Prints’ which are now the true fundaments for which Hofi Vidanova stands for; Sustainable and Smart Living. In the upcoming years you will see the joint-effort and use-cases we created coming to life. Soon people will be living in these smart, sustainable houses located North of the Schelp District residential area on the island of Curacao (Caribbean).
The goal is to develop a new residential neighborhood in the 6-year period ahead (2021-2027) that will also create hundreds of jobs. Even after completion of the project, there will be permanent employment opportunities for such things as maintenance of the green area and overseeing safety in the neighborhood.
How did we make it work? It is true that it is not everyday that you get the opportunity to built from scratch – on a greenfield – the most desirable neighborhood of a country. The most important mission for us, the IFL Institute, is that this project should include and combine all human values next to the State-of-the-Art technologies with a desirable sustainable focus.
These 4 visuals showcasd underneath, gives a sneak preview on our methodology on how to start building this one of a kind sustainable smart village. We initially started with the segmentation phase in order to jointly decide what the focus areas would be of Hofi Vidanova, what we like to call the ‘Navigation Phase’. Within our team we made sure that what we drafted was in the first place aligned with the Strategy of Curaçao and the vision of Vidanova. Our team drafted some initial questionnaires, interviews and surveys which the experts in the field, the experts living and working on Curaçao, were requested to conduct. These experts on their turn entered the conversation with the right stakeholders, multiple conference calls took place in which our Institute participated and from both ends our network was being approached. In our case, we introduced our International network to the experts in the field of Curaçao. On top of this on our end extensive desk research was carried out throughout the entire collaboration phase. After these interviews our team assessed the initial inputs by analysing, plotting and mapping all input. These steps were necessary before being able to formulate BluePrint UCs and Clusters.
The core values of IFL, an approach which resonated and immidiately was adopted by Vidanova, is the symbiosis of Human, Societal, Ecological and Economical Values. All these values must be present, however as IFL we took the initiative to put them in a sequential order. As you can see he human itself is put in the centre as the focus point People (1) (a Human-Centric approach, not Technology-Centric which is often the case) followed with Society (2), Ecology (3) Economy (4).
During this initial phase the so called ‘North Star’, in other words joint direction and vision, was decided and approved upon.
Our team made sure that we worked with Principle-Based Preconditions and a Modular Smart Meta-Framework with the domains selected. We also focused on the Narrative, Qualitative & Quantatitive research, so this was all done during the Navigation Phase.
Where we embrace change and dynamics, the BluePrint Discovery Phase encountered change and dynamics and gaps were identified between the current State of Play (SOP) and our joint State of the Art (SOTA) vision. Here the choice of doable use-case deployments have been made clear.
Hereunder we listed some of the unique aspects of this residential project, example of one of our blue-prints, endorsed by Vidanova and showcased by IFL:
PV PANELS
PV-panels will play an important role in the Hofi Vidanova project. PV-panels will provide power not only for the homes themselves but also for street lighting and for the pumps serving the irrigation in the neighborhood. All houses will be equipped with PV- panels, which will provide significant savings on energy consumption.
MULTI-CIRCULAR WATER-USE
Segmentation of (drinking) water by means of the installation of grey water systems in the Hofi homes facilitates the reuse of water used in sinks, baths and showers (‘grey water’).
After purification, this grey water can be deployed for specific purposes, such as:
– toilet flushing;
– washing machines, and;
– different outdoor purposes.
On average, different grey water system providers claim that up to 45% of the used drinking water can be recycled.
The reuse of grey water could make Hofi a more attractive place to live as it provides its residents with the possibility to reuse and save drinking water and costs, as a result of that providing them with a (more) sustainable lifestyle, which currently is in demand.
The rainwater will also be collected in green areas which contributes to the environment and therefore benefits residents. Currently investment are being made in the installation of a State-of-the-Art sewage treatment unit, a simple but efficient process that requires little annual maintenance. The system combines everything the district needs to treat all grey wastewater, while remaining discrete and odour-free. Therefore it is stable and sustainable. The focus of this neighborhood is intergenerational, not just for a group with a particular income or income bracket or age group. The intention is to create a neighborhood that reflects the society of the island, therefore the target groups are: starters, young professionals and retirees.
NEIGHBOURHOOD BROADBAND & WI-FI
The Data and Telecommunications Infrastructure built by Aqualectra (The National Provider Grid & Water Utility on Curaçao ) group enables Internet of high quality and speed. This creates: “Wi-Fi di Bario” that means everywhere in the neighborhood the Wi-Fi is available. Children but also the elderly can always enjoy the best quality Wi-Fi at home or in the park. Another usp which is owrth mentioning is that the services will be supply-neutral. High quality Wi-Fi is extremely important and therefore a requirement of our time.
SUSTAINABILITY
By lifting sustainability to the neighborhood level, sustainability is more attainable through innovative communal elaborations that also promote social cohesion. These elaborations benefit residents through the contribution to the environment with a much greener environment and through savings residents will have on energy and water consumption. In addition, the residents’ environment will also become much more teachable through the sustainability measures. The benefits of sustainability will benefit the buyers who will have lower housing costs and more comfortable living.
We are thrilled that the project is getting solid footing and looking very much forward to the promising result: a beautiful, safe, sustainable, intelligent, community-feel neighbourhood.
For more information about the project please contact us at info@ifl.institute and have a look at the website of Hofi Vidanova: https://www.hofividanova.com/
More videofootage about Hofi Vidanova can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuwRrpFCRDo&t=30s & here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOCVdiIWNrg