The Kumiki Model House: Building Alternatives in the Dutch Countryside

Given the urgent need to reduce GHG emissions, achieve net cooling impacts while addressing the severe housing crisis in the Netherlands, this paper proposes an alternative way of living in the Dutch countryside by integrating nature, agriculture and housing. This demonstration case study emerged from social and political demands and is being developed in collaboration with public and private entities. During the design and development of the building technology for the Kumiki Model House, various challenges emerged, necessitating a holistic approach that considers the landscape, farming, local development, environmental performance, land health, and lifestyle. The Kumiki Model House aims at implementing the theoretical take on ‘Vernacular Architecture of the 21st Century’. This paper retraces the design process and the logic behind it, while attempting to quantify the response to the ‘new vernacular’ principles, by demonstrating the potential of regionally produced, locally available, natural and fast-growing bio-based materials in the Noordoostpolder. These materials and the related building techniques have a low environmental impact, while still catering to contemporary expectations. The Life Cycle Assessment performed for stages A1-A4 shows that the use of fast-growing, locally sourced bio-based materials like straw, flax, paulownia and willow, along with a limited use of robinia, Douglas fir, Norway spruce, and oak, allows the Kumiki Model House to store significant amounts of biogenic CO2, making it carbon-negative. Moreover, the multi-layered issues in Noordoostpolder are addressed through permaculture principles, emphasising regenerative living, self-reliance, and resource use minimisation.