huis van de toekomst botu

Name

huis van de toekomst botu

Legal name

Stichting Huis van de Toekomst

Website

https://huisvandetoekomst.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Operations / Non-profit: Huis van de Toekomst operates as Stichting Huis van de Toekomst (foundation established in 2024), funded through subsidies, donations, grants from municipalities and cultural institutions. No commercial revenue generation - activities are largely free or donation-based for participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Huis van de Toekomst BoTu operates a network of physical community spaces in the Bospolder-Tussendijken neighborhood of Rotterdam, delivering workshops, communal cooking, textile repair, tool lending, food cooperatives, and a 14-dwelling experimental energy community. Its core proposition is demonstrating sustainable living without gas or petrol using human power, supplemented by biomass, solar and wind, through low-tech prototypes such as a bicycle generator and a wood-fired communal oven. The foundation is funded by subsidies, donations and grants, with most activities offered free or on a donation basis to local residents.

Product overview

Huis van de Toekomst Botu is a community-driven sustainability initiative in the BoTu neighborhood of Rotterdam, operating as a network of physical spaces and programs rather than a unified software product. The organization offers multiple interconnected community services including: TEX (textile workshop), Het Vuurhuis (gas-free community kitchen), Werkplaats (repair workshop), Oud House (exhibition space), GoedGoed Doorgeefwinkel (giveaway shop), Biobulkbende (food cooperative), and the Energiemeent (energy community). These spaces function as a collaborative ecosystem where residents share knowledge, resources, and skills for sustainable living without fossil fuels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TEX - Textielatelier BoTu Textile workshop space where BoTu residents can repair or remake clothing and create home insulating materials; operates sustainably and creatively, free of charge for neighborhood participants.
• Het Vuurhuis (The Fire House) The first gas-free community kitchen in BoTu, featuring a wood-fired communal oven used for baking bread, water distillation and cooking. Residents experiment with old and new cooking techniques, host weekly Thursday community lunches, and run cooking workshops.
• Werkplaats (Workshop) Workshop space where residents can borrow hand tools (screws, drills, saws, garden materials) for free, repair items, get help with technical questions, and use the workspace; run by Studio C.A.R.E.
• GoedGoed Doorgeefwinkel (Giveaway Shop) A giveaway shop opened in November 2024 where Rotterdammers can drop off and pick up good items (small household items, clothing, working appliances, lamps, books, magazines, garden furniture), preventing usable goods from being discarded.
• Oud House (Exhibition Space) Exhibition space for and by the BoTu neighborhood where artists, designers and makers can organize exhibitions with the support of the experienced team; features a coffee bar on weekends.
• Biobulkbende The first biological autonomous food cooperative in Rotterdam. Jointly purchases biological food from local producers and distributors to make organic, affordable food accessible to the community; organized non-hierarchically with consensus-based decisions and volunteer contributions, with a monthly pickup day and vegan meal at the Vuurhuis (€4 contribution).
• Energiemeent A temporary energy community and housing cooperative in which Stichting Huis van de Toekomst manages 14 ground-floor dwellings of Prof. Oudblok (Grote Visserijplein), where residents experiment with generating and sharing their own energy and transforming their homes and gardens into one large shared household. Management runs from January 2024 to July 2025 ahead of renovation.
• BoTu Wijkcoöperatie Neighborhood work cooperative (Wijkcoöperatie) launched in February 2026 in which active BoTu residents bundle their efforts to organise paid work for themselves, replacing the outsourcing of neighborhood projects to external organisations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14 temporary managed dwellings in Energiemeent, with community-initiated sustainable energy experiments
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Human Power PlantcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Human Power Plant, led by Melle Smets and Kris de Decker, developed the core future scenario for Huis van de Toekomst. They research low-tech solutions for high-tech problems and created the Human Power Plant concept demonstrating human power as the most sustainable energy source.
• Bakkerij de EenvoudcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Bakkerij de Eenvoud (Bakery of Simplicity), led by Bart Groenewegen, operates the wood-fired communal oven and runs cooking workshops. Part of the founding trio of Huis van de Toekomst.
• Academie voor BeeldvormingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Academie voor Beeldvorming (Academy for Visual Education), led by Klaas Burger, was the organizational home for Huis van de Toekomst from 2019-2024 before it became an independent foundation. Part of the founding trio.
• Museum Boijmans Van BeuningenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe museum hosted the 'Vooruitkijken: Objects of Change' exhibition (2023) featuring the Menskrachtcentrale (Human Power Plant). The collaboration made the Huis van de Toekomst visible to national and international audiences.
• Gemeente RotterdammajorOthersThe municipality of Rotterdam supports Huis van de Toekomst through funding (Open Oproep subsidies, European Union) and is a key partner in the energy transition for BoTu neighborhood. Havensteder manages 1,300 homes being made gas-free.
• HavenstedercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHousing corporation that owns the Prof. Oudblok buildings. Provides the 14 temporary managed dwellings to Huis van de Toekomst for the Energiemeent initiative. Committed to energy transition in social housing.
• EnecomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnergy company involved since 2020, supporting and facilitating the energy community. Signed partnership agreement in December 2023 for ongoing collaboration.
• Delfshaven Energie CoöperatiemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal energy cooperative in Delfshaven working on sustainable energy solutions. Partner in the Energiegemeenschap (energy community).
• BiobulkbendemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe first biological autonomous food cooperative in Rotterdam. Jointly purchases organic food from local producers and distributors. Hosts monthly pickup days with vegan meals at Vuurhuis.
• Studio C.A.R.E.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign bureau focused on reuse and community building. Runs the Werkplaats (workshop) space at Jan Kobellstraat 60A, developing prototypes like the warmth panel (Korsi table).
• Vitra Design MuseummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss design museum where Huis van de Toekomst participated in the group exhibition 'Transform! Designing the Future of Energy' (March-September 2024), showcasing drawings by Melle Smets and Kris de Decker.
• Het Nieuwe InstituutmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch institute for architecture and design where Huis van de Toekomst was featured in the exhibition 'In Search of the Pluriverse' (April-August 2022), exploring how humans, animals, and nature can shape a future together.
• Internationale Architectuur Biënnale Rotterdam (IABR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganizes the Energie Agora events in collaboration with Huis van de Toekomst. Joint programming on sustainable urban living and energy transition themes.
• EnpulsminorOthersOrganization focused on energy transition, listed as a collaborating partner for the energy community initiatives.
• Rotterdam CirculairminorOthersRotterdam initiative promoting circular economy practices, collaborating on sustainable neighborhood development.
• Low-tech MagazinemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublication by Kris de Decker and Marie Verdeil documenting low-tech solutions. Collaborated on building the bicycle generator prototype and contributing to the Menskrachtcentrale scenario.
• Urban GuidesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProvides guided tours of the BoTu neighborhood as part of the 'Wandel door de Toekomst op Menskracht' (Walk through the Future on Human Power) tour developed with Huis van de Toekomst.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Peers

• Stichting DOEN:

Direct peers

• Repair Café International Foundation: International foundation supporting local Repair Cafés where community members repair items together. Operates the Werkplaats-style repair workshop concept at community scale, addressing reuse and circular economy in a neighborhood setting similar to Huis van de Toekomst's Werkplaats and GoedGoed Doorgeefwinkel.
• Transition Town Nederland: Dutch network of local Transition Town initiatives focused on community-led sustainability, resilience, and fossil-fuel independence. Comparable to Huis van de Toekomst's neighborhood-level experimentation with low-energy living, local food systems, and community energy.
• Energiecoöperatie De Rest van Utrecht: Local energy cooperative in Utrecht running community-owned sustainable energy projects with residents. Directly comparable to the Energiemeent model of resident-led energy experiments, partnership with municipal actors, and demonstration of community energy ownership.
• Stichting Buurtwerk: Dutch foundation operating neighborhood-level social and community services with a focus on resident participation and self-organization. Closely mirrors Huis van de Toekomst's community-led GTM, neighborhood-based service model, and reliance on grassroots participation in working-class districts.
• Pakhuis de Zwijger: Amsterdam-based cultural platform hosting programs on urban sustainability, social innovation, and city-making. Comparable as a Dutch cultural-institutional hub connecting community initiatives with design, architecture, and policy audiences much like Huis van de Toekomst's partnerships with IABR and Boijmans.
• Studio C.A.R.E. Rotterdam-based design bureau focused on reuse and community building that operates the Werkplaats at Huis van de Toekomst and develops prototypes like the Korsi table. Direct operational peer within the BoTu community, working on circular economy and community-building from the same neighborhood.
• Voedseltuin Nederland: National network of community food gardens providing sustainable, locally grown food to neighborhoods with limited access. Comparable to Biobulkbende and Huis van de Toekomst's community-garden and Dakpark greenhouse work in addressing food sustainability at the neighborhood level.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/huisvandetoekomstbotu
• Facebookfacebook.com/huisvandetoekomstbotu
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/huis-van-de-toekomst-botu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about huis van de toekomst botu