Education

A 21st century Renaissance Man

Ir. Ties Rijcken of the Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences was recently awarded the Rotary Club’s ‘Leonardo Da Vinci Award’ for his work as a scientist and artist. Rijcken is a gifted writer, photographer, inventor and an expert on floating buildings.

Leonardo da Vinci is probably best known for the most iconic paintings in the world: ‘Mona Lisa’, the ‘Last Supper’ and ‘Vitruvian Man’. But he was more: a mathematician, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, writer and engineer.

As an engineer, Da Vinci conceptualized . five centuries ago . the helicopter, the tank and concentrated solar power; and as a scientist, he greatly advanced the state of knowledge in the fields of anatomy, civil engineering, optics and hydrodynamics. Because Da Vinci excelled in virtually every single field of knowledge and art he laid his eyes upon, he is often referred to as ‘the archetype of the Renaissance Man’.

To encourage the development of talent among exceptionally gifted young scientists and artists who walk in the footsteps of this exceptional mind, the Rotary Club annually awards the Leonardo da Vinci Award. The Rotary Club is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education and the alleviation of poverty.

Last month the Leonardo da Vinci Award was granted to Ir. Ties Rijcken (32), coordinator of the Climate Adaptation Lab of TU Delft’s Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences. Rijcken is a humble man, although he opines that he is rather a realist. He points out that the Leonardo da Vinci Award is was probably awarded to him more for his potential rather “than for the actual content” of his work.

“I think that so far awards have been granted to me because juries value that I can do math, write and visualize, and also that I have a sense of humor and think hard about the way the world works,” Rijcken explains.

The award was given to Rijcken by the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture & Science, Ronald Plasterk, at a ceremony held at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. The award includes a cash prize of 10,000 euro.

Rijcken studied at the Utrecht University, TU Delft and Stanford University. He graduated from TU Delft in 2003 with distinction and a ten as the mark for his thesis project. He has made extensive studies of product innovation, civil engineering, urban design and architecture, and he is currently an expert on the concept of floating buildings.
Floating structures

With the increasingly faster melting Arctic icecaps in mind, one would easily adopt floating buildings as an interesting solution for the problem of rising sea levels. But not Rijcken: “I will never say anything about a country, developed or undeveloped, until I have talked a whole lot with local inhabitants and read intensively about the local forces at play. And I seriously know what I am talking about.”

Rijcken is, apparently, not a man of easy answers and silver bullets. Asked about the prospects of using floating buildings in, for instance, Bangladesh, as a solution to the threat of rising sea levels, he says: “I wouldn’t know.”

Rijcken warns against too high expectations. He points out that floating buildings might only be interesting as alternatives for building on water under specific circumstances: “Making floating buildings into a national flood strategy would be ridiculous.”

According to Rijcken, floating buildings can however be a valuable addition to the toolset of urban design. Not in order to improve water management, but for the enhancement of urban quality. “The strength of water as a foundation must follow from its essence: fluidity,” he says. “The fundamental difference between buildings on water and on land is the moveability of floating structures.”

Rijcken explains that floating buildings should therefore be seen as a viable means to situations where the main advantage of moveability can be exploited to its full potential: “In a vertical direction, along with the water level, and in a horizontal direction, along with the function of the building.”

It’s this advantage of floating buildings that can alter the urban landscape as we know it today. Rijcken: “A floating theatre can be moved each week between several small municipalities, which individually would not be able to provide a large enough audience to warrant building their own theatre.”

Rijcken further explains that in this way a resident of a small municipality can gain access to facilities that are otherwise only easily accessible to residents of large cities. “I’m particularly fond of solitary floating houses, because they are easy to move and reach far in the network of waterways. As a ‘starter’ I can buy a second-hand house and after some years I buy a nicer one and sell my old one, but stay at the same place.”

Rijcken says that what is really important in considering floating buildings is to first ask the question whether there is a clear advantage in having a moving building: “Consider floating buildings seriously, only if moving a building vertically or horizontally is advantageous; before, during or after its lifespan.”
Art

As a photographer, Rijcken has won two awards, and he has recently wrote articles for the Dutch national newspapers De Volkskrant and Het Financieele Dagblad. But he remains humble: “I would consider myself gifted relative to other generalists, but my photography will never reach the level of Edward Burtynski or my writing the quality of Alain de Botton.”

Rijcken is currently working on a number of books that deal with the interplay between technology and society, which he views and discusses through the lenses of philosophy and photography. Rijcken: “If these books will be published, it will be because of the way of looking at the world, more than the intrinsic quality of the photography or the writing.”

For some people taking on so many challenges would be quite frightening and impossible to cope with. But Rijcken sees advantages. “Writing is crucial, it directs your thoughts,” he says. “But photography…I don’t know.” Rijcken believes photography helps you to observe the world, but when you strive to capture beauty, it ultimately results in a “very single sided view.”

Rijcken: “If you ask me how to find innovative and creative solutions to problems like climate change, I would say to radically question what is said and done . 95% of the people just repeat what others say. And most of all: ride your bike.”

Leonardo da Vinci is probably best known for the most iconic paintings in the world: ‘Mona Lisa’, the ‘Last Supper’ and ‘Vitruvian Man’. But he was more: a mathematician, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, writer and engineer.

As an engineer, Da Vinci conceptualized . five centuries ago . the helicopter, the tank and concentrated solar power; and as a scientist, he greatly advanced the state of knowledge in the fields of anatomy, civil engineering, optics and hydrodynamics. Because Da Vinci excelled in virtually every single field of knowledge and art he laid his eyes upon, he is often referred to as ‘the archetype of the Renaissance Man’.

To encourage the development of talent among exceptionally gifted young scientists and artists who walk in the footsteps of this exceptional mind, the Rotary Club annually awards the Leonardo da Vinci Award. The Rotary Club is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education and the alleviation of poverty.

Last month the Leonardo da Vinci Award was granted to Ir. Ties Rijcken (32), coordinator of the Climate Adaptation Lab of TU Delft’s Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences. Rijcken is a humble man, although he opines that he is rather a realist. He points out that the Leonardo da Vinci Award is was probably awarded to him more for his potential rather “than for the actual content” of his work.

“I think that so far awards have been granted to me because juries value that I can do math, write and visualize, and also that I have a sense of humor and think hard about the way the world works,” Rijcken explains.

The award was given to Rijcken by the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture & Science, Ronald Plasterk, at a ceremony held at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. The award includes a cash prize of 10,000 euro.

Rijcken studied at the Utrecht University, TU Delft and Stanford University. He graduated from TU Delft in 2003 with distinction and a ten as the mark for his thesis project. He has made extensive studies of product innovation, civil engineering, urban design and architecture, and he is currently an expert on the concept of floating buildings.
Floating structures

With the increasingly faster melting Arctic icecaps in mind, one would easily adopt floating buildings as an interesting solution for the problem of rising sea levels. But not Rijcken: “I will never say anything about a country, developed or undeveloped, until I have talked a whole lot with local inhabitants and read intensively about the local forces at play. And I seriously know what I am talking about.”

Rijcken is, apparently, not a man of easy answers and silver bullets. Asked about the prospects of using floating buildings in, for instance, Bangladesh, as a solution to the threat of rising sea levels, he says: “I wouldn’t know.”

Rijcken warns against too high expectations. He points out that floating buildings might only be interesting as alternatives for building on water under specific circumstances: “Making floating buildings into a national flood strategy would be ridiculous.”

According to Rijcken, floating buildings can however be a valuable addition to the toolset of urban design. Not in order to improve water management, but for the enhancement of urban quality. “The strength of water as a foundation must follow from its essence: fluidity,” he says. “The fundamental difference between buildings on water and on land is the moveability of floating structures.”

Rijcken explains that floating buildings should therefore be seen as a viable means to situations where the main advantage of moveability can be exploited to its full potential: “In a vertical direction, along with the water level, and in a horizontal direction, along with the function of the building.”

It’s this advantage of floating buildings that can alter the urban landscape as we know it today. Rijcken: “A floating theatre can be moved each week between several small municipalities, which individually would not be able to provide a large enough audience to warrant building their own theatre.”

Rijcken further explains that in this way a resident of a small municipality can gain access to facilities that are otherwise only easily accessible to residents of large cities. “I’m particularly fond of solitary floating houses, because they are easy to move and reach far in the network of waterways. As a ‘starter’ I can buy a second-hand house and after some years I buy a nicer one and sell my old one, but stay at the same place.”

Rijcken says that what is really important in considering floating buildings is to first ask the question whether there is a clear advantage in having a moving building: “Consider floating buildings seriously, only if moving a building vertically or horizontally is advantageous; before, during or after its lifespan.”
Art

As a photographer, Rijcken has won two awards, and he has recently wrote articles for the Dutch national newspapers De Volkskrant and Het Financieele Dagblad. But he remains humble: “I would consider myself gifted relative to other generalists, but my photography will never reach the level of Edward Burtynski or my writing the quality of Alain de Botton.”

Rijcken is currently working on a number of books that deal with the interplay between technology and society, which he views and discusses through the lenses of philosophy and photography. Rijcken: “If these books will be published, it will be because of the way of looking at the world, more than the intrinsic quality of the photography or the writing.”

For some people taking on so many challenges would be quite frightening and impossible to cope with. But Rijcken sees advantages. “Writing is crucial, it directs your thoughts,” he says. “But photography…I don’t know.” Rijcken believes photography helps you to observe the world, but when you strive to capture beauty, it ultimately results in a “very single sided view.”

Rijcken: “If you ask me how to find innovative and creative solutions to problems like climate change, I would say to radically question what is said and done . 95% of the people just repeat what others say. And most of all: ride your bike.”

Editor Redactie

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