MSc MArch
Enjoys: Lush forests, XKCD, complex challenges
Areas of expertise:
Professional Titles & Liaisons:
Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands
Tom is the founder and director of Except, and the visionary force behind its development. Starting Except at the age of 19 in 1999, his vision was to find systemic solutions for our societal challenges by combining science, business, design and communication. His vision shows that we can flourish globally when we integrate environmental, societal, economical and technical aspects at the same time. In the past decades Tom developed over 500 projects pioneering projects for cities, buildings, business, policy, and industry.
Tom has been increasingly recognized as a leader in sustainability thinking, the circular economy and systemic innovation. In 2014 he was elected number 38 of most influential sustainability professionals in the Netherlands by the national newspaper Trouw, and ranked number 21 on the Dutch Sustainable Real Estate awards. In 2017 his initiative, the UCo center for sustainable entrepreneurship in Utrecht opened, bringing together over 150 sustainability pioneers in the first energy neutral, circular and healthy listed heritage building in Europe.
Tom develops the Symbiosis in Development (SiD) methodology that lies at the core of Except’s operations. SiD combines systems thinking, complexity analysis, iterative design thinking and co-creation in multi-disciplinary teams. With SiD Tom leads transdisciplinary teams to develop pioneering solutions that breach the frontier of what's possible. These include solutions for the circular economy, natural capital, smart urban redevelopment, bio-based economy, and resilience research and development.
Project highlights
As director and designer, he's driven Except's bio-based architectural and urban designs, such as the Merredin Algae plant, Shanghai vertical agriculture tower systems and the urban redevelopment of large and small cities around the world. This includes their energy systems, ecosystem services, resource metabolisms, business models and the health and happiness of their people. In 2016 he launched the concept of Catalytic buildings. He spearheads developments ranging from software for supply chain optimization to sustainable agriculture systems such as Polydome.
Studies
After his Master in Industrial Design Engineering from Delft, Tom studied Architecture in Australia at the University of Western Australia, and obtained his Masters in Architecture & Urban Planning from Yale University. Tom has worked and lectured in Australia, Canada, China, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and the United States. He teaches as a guest-lecturer in various universities and publishes articles regularly.
Hoe werkt dat, een energieneutrale woning? Wat levert het op? Wat kost het? Wat zijn de keuzes? Hoe ziet het eruit en is de woonkwaliteit echt beter? Huis Vol Energie geeft hier ontwoord op met rijke illustraties, voorbeelden en berekeningen voor huiseigenaren en aannnemers. Het is met name gericht op renovaties, maar ook geschikt voor nieuwbouw.
In opdracht van SEV Energiesprong maakten Except samen met TNO een informatie en inspiratieboek om geïnteresseerde huiseigenaren en bouwprofessionals in te weiden in energieneutraal bouwen en renoveren. Een boek vol voorbeelden, interviews, inspiratie, tips, berekeningen en handreikingen; een boek vol energie!
Download Huis Vol Energie gratis op deze pagina of bestel het bij Bol.com.
Will Estonia be the first proud owner of a Polydome sustainable agriculture system in the world? During the second half of 2015 we researched the feasibility of a Polydome in the Arkna Eco Park. Our study and supporting business plan were funded by Horizon 2020.
This project arose from the joint desire of WWF and Lafarge to contribute original research to move the construction sector towards a sustainable future. We examined 11 exemplary urban districts and neighborhoods around the world from inception to inhabited, using a systemic and holistic perspective. We extracted the success and failure factors, and uncovered new strategies that accelerate sustainable development both on a project and building sector level.
The result is available in a comprehensively illustrated book, downloadable from this page, or read it online at ISSUU.
Polydome is een baanbrekende manier om op commerciële basis en zonder milieubelasting voedsel te produceren voor de glastuinbouw. Het is ontwikkeld als fundamentele oplossing voor een deel van de wereldvoedselproductie, met het doel hogere opbrengsten te realiseren met drastisch lagere milieubelasting dan traditionele land- en glastuinbouw.
Polydome combineert een hoge opbrengst voor meer dan 50 geteelde gewassen met het houden van kippen, bijen en vis. De grotere diversiteit en productiviteit zorgen ervoor dat zelfs een klein Polydome systeem kan voorzien in een rijke voedsel-voorziening voor een grote bevolking.
Download het hele Polydome boek gratis onderaan. Zie voor meer informatie www.polydome.net.
Dit onderzoeksproject bekijkt hoe de stadsbewoner het voedselsysteem beinvloedt. Het bekijke recente initiatieven die de status-quo aanvechten, en stelt een actieplan voor om de verbinding tussen consument en het voedselsysteem te versterken, en zo een sterkere economische verbinding te leggen tussen echte vraag en aanbod.
Het boekje van het onderzoek is gratis te downloaden.
How to break with the current housing spread in Flanders? Except worked together with Posad to answer this question for the Team Vlaams Bouwmeester as their contribution for the International Architecture Bienniale Rotterdam.
Check out the animation or visit the Bienniale in Rotterdam.
The Rotterdam Collective (Ro-Co) is a real world laboratory of a radically new business model for sustainable development. It’s been operational and successful in working towards its goals since December 2009, in the center of Rotterdam.
Ro-Co currently hosts more than 25 entrepreneurs in a collective building, who are focused on environmentally and socially innovative projects. Except initiated and developed the collective from scratch with game studio Sparpweed, and continues to be involved in the operation and management of Ro-Co
We are currently investigating possibilities for similar projects in other cities in the US and the Netherlands.
This masterplan transforms downtown Shanghai into a fully sustainable community, in energy, food, water, and jobs, designed for Expo 2013. The plan strategically interweaves sustainable innovation with exciting urban design, and making it run with urban agriculture, sustainable technologies and vertical farms. The result is a valuable and beautiful urban community, an emergent circular economy, and a future-proof investment.
The Shanghai urban master plan demonstrates the Urban Renaissance approach on a specific site adjacent to Nanjing road, incorportating a historic Lilong housing district.
For ReGen Villages, we developed a globally unique masterplan for a self-sustaining housing neighborhood of 203 houses in the Netherlands. Designed on a 25 hectare site in an area called Oosterwold, just 20 minutes from Amsterdam, it exemplifies affordable, regenerative, and self sustaining living.