Rotterdam World Expo 2025 anticipated the current transition towards energy sourced from renewable resources and a shift towards a circular economy with profound effects on the building industry. In 2015, Rotterdam was preparing a bid to host the World Expo in 2025, an event that tackles global problems through innovation and cultural exchange. World Expo Rotterdam 2025 supports the move towards a new sustainable society. A reality in which we restore and preserve what we have.
The key question asked at the public sector, the private sector and our enlarged community was: how do we create an economy that is not only greener and more resilient, but also fairer? For this reason, the theme of World Expo Rotterdam 2025 was Changing Currents. One of the proposed sub-themes is Deltas in Transition.
As a delta city, Rotterdam can show the world how it links its green ambitions to a strong economy. The desire to build green and resilient societies is a key reason for organizing the World Expo Rotterdam 2025 on available space in the heart of the city.
The Master in Architecture Studio Hyperbody proposed several design-engineering solutions correlated with the above-mentioned goals. Amongst the most successful student proposals were Swarmscapes: a tentacular floating cyber-physical infrastructure on the river Maas and Omnipresence: a self-assembling cyber-physical UAV component cloud that operates throughout the City.
Students:
Swarmscapes
Daniel Fisher, Mindaugas Arlauskas, Olav van der Doorn, Benjamin Kemper
Omnipresence
Yafim Simanowsky, Jan Ksigjek, Florian Markus, Pawel Krynski
Tutors:
Prof. Kas Oosterhuis, Director Hyperbody TUDelft,
Dr. Ing. Henriette Bier, Dr. Ing. Nimish Biloria, Phd. Cand. Arch. Sina Mostafavi, Arch. MSc. Ana Anton, Arch. MSc. Serban Bodea