In today's world, we realize more than ever that our current way of life is not sustainable. Everyday we are overrun with an array of pressing issues such as extreme weather brought forth by the climate crisis, energy and material shortages caused by overconsumption, the pervasive health issues stemming from processed foods, the contamination of our water sources by microplastics and PFAS compounds, the overconsumption through fast (and now also ultra fast) fashion, soil exhaustion due to monoculture, the alienation from our fellow humans, a consequence of the increasing polarization... The list of challenges stretches on endlessly, and in the face of these formidable obstacles, it is natural to feel overwhelmed and powerless. Nevertheless, amid this complexity, our everyday choices harbor an incredible capacity for transformative change. Yet it remains very difficult to alter human behavior. We are creatures of habit, living in a system that evolves at a painstakingly slow pace. A big city is often struggling to keep up with our rapidly changing world. When we implement meaningful adjustments within such a large structure it often feels like an uphill battle. It is within this context that the Nomad City initiative took shape. Within our project we wanted to enact both structural and behavioral changes within a small community and observe the far-reaching ripples it could create within the surrounding city. Over the course of nine months we designed and constructed a nomadic village that traveled between two unused plots of land, owned by the universities of PXL and UCLL in the city of Hasselt. Within this unique setting we invited artists, designers and architects to research permaculture, household structures, education and community building. By organizing workshops, lectures, interventions and events we wanted to initiate a space in which art, education and life were once again intertwined. Through our presence amidst neighborhoods and schools, we wanted to inject a pin prick of inspiration in the heart of a city, planting seeds in both soil and souls, thus hoping to change the perspective towards our natural environment and our fellow citizens.
Central to our approach was the belief that education should have the chance to emerge naturally from life itself. The rise of big educational institutions has given us an evolution in the transmission of knowledge, but somewhere along the line they seem to have lost something essential. When a certain topic has the interest of an individual, chances are very low that the same topic will be addressed in one of the classes. By organizing workshops and lectures fueled by intrinsic motivation and curiosity, we wanted to reimagine education as a dynamic, hands-on experience. Our actions were guided by the three fundamental permaculture principles: take care of the earth; take care of the people; use only what you need (and return surplus when possible). By designing structures with sustainable materials, cooking with wild edible plants and organizing sow and harvest festivals we wanted to make people aware of the natural environment of which we are all dependent. The unoccupied lands we inhabited were also used als living laboratories, where we examined the daily routines of the nomads and their impact on the natural environment. Architects reimagined our houses; designers and food enthusiasts created participative eating installations and product designers developed household structures, all aimed at enhancing communal living. Crucially, we initiated moments in which people came together to experience a sense of community and collaboration. We also revived the energy within our own nomadic team by inviting researchers from various disciplines to join our weekly residency program. By organizing festivals, gatherings and interventions we built bridges between schools, its departments and the neighborhoods surrounding them.
The Nomad City idea was brought to life by Milan Gillard and Stef Lemmens. For two years they both lived in a self proclaimed street called ‘Crocodile Boulevard’ which was part of Maison Florida, an artist-run space organized by The School in the industrial zone of Hasselt. Here they researched community building, small living, permaculture, self-sustainability and wellbeing together with four other residents. During this time Milan Gillard founded AFT, an organization focused on site-specific communal collaborations as a main tool to give birth to new ideas. In this project he focussed on questions such as ‘What is a home? How can we live together? How can it be shared?’ Stef Lemmens has been building small homes and researching his own behavior while living inside them since 2019. In 2021 he walked around the city of Hasselt with his shopping cart home to start a dialogue about (small) living. When the Crocodile Boulevard project came to an end, Stef felt the urge to build a new home on a horse carriage, enabling him to carry his house wherever he wanted. This nomadic house ignited a dialogue between Milan and Stef, ultimately leading to their decision to take this research on living to the next level. They wanted to extend this project beyond the periphery of the city and onto unoccupied lands near schools and neighborhoods. To achieve this ambitious vision, Milan and Stef issued an open call in October 2022, inviting artists, designers, or architects to join them in building their own nomadic homes and becoming part of the Nomad City community. In December, they received an application from Mirte Menève, an architect with a unique perspective. Mirte has been researching squatted buildings and their communities, seeking to challenge conventional architectural norms and promote a socially conscious approach to design. Within the Nomad City project, she aims to question our current way of living and explore ecological, community-centered living. With Mirte's addition to the team, the Nomad City project found its dedicated members, each bringing their own expertise, passion, and commitment to the pursuit of sustainable and communal living.