A Future Focus on Collaborative Design

Beauty in Dereliction: Designing with ruins and decay

Opportunity in Chaos: Triggering revival of the damaged historic town centres of Italy

April, 2009. A medium-powered earthquake occurs in L’Aquila, Italy, causing disproportionally heavy damage: 308 people are killed, more than 1 500 people are injured and over 65 000 people are rendered homeless. The historic town centre of L’Aquila is among the most heavily affected areas. <br/>Nine years later, the once beautiful and lively...

''Speaking: Part I - Speaking architecture / Part II - Speaking architecture / Part III - Speaking through form: Three-part graduation project in Architecture and Science Communication

This series – “Speaking – is part of a graduation project for a double degree in Architecture and Science Communication at the Delft University of Technology. The overall aim of this project was to design a form language that can be used in complex problem-solving processes in the field of science communication. The graduation project consists...

Education for Adaptive Reuse The TU Delft Heritage and Architecture Experience

The Section for Heritage and Architecture of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at the Delft University of Technology specializes in architectural education for adaptive reuse of heritage buildings, with a specific focus on the built heritage of the 20th century. Our approach combines architectural design and technological...

The modular post-earthquake shell: A multi-objective parametric structural design approach

In April 2018, a graduation project in the field of architecture was concluded. The project entailed the design of a temporary community centre in the earthquake-damaged historic town centre of L’Aquila, Italy. The underlying social concept was focused on participation of the local population in the construction of the community centre. The...

Transformation of 'Het Plofbos': The Beauty of Dealing With Explosives

The Plofbos has a strong character that is defined by the presence of a young forest that springs from the remains of a decomposing military structure. This new growth is dynamic. It continuously changes the light, smells, sight-lines and experiences throughout the seasons. Together with the diversity of open and enclosed spaces and the sense of...

What Makes a Façade Beautiful?: Architects' Perspectives on the Main Aspects That Inform Aesthetic Preferences in Façade Design

The aesthetic of our built environment is perceived as an important aspect to consider for the design of human-centred cities, but a problem quickly arises in the presence of clashing conceptions of what we understand to be aesthetically pleasing. This paper adds to this discussion, by exploring architects' aesthetic preferences in façade design...

Spatial Building Typology: Vacant Heritage: Department Stores | V&D’s

On 31 december 2015, the department store of Vroom &amp; Dreesmann (V&amp;D), which was founded in 1887, officially went bankrupt. This ended the rich history of a department store that had branches in many Dutch cities and towns. This raises the question: what happens to the traditional twentieth century commercial areas in major Dutch cities...

Switching the Parametric Design Approach

This thesis examines in what way designers should reassure that the use of parametric design can be switched from esthetical purposes to problem-solving purposes for future global challenges throughout Zaha Hadid Architects’ historical approaches and developments. In order to find the answer to the research question, it is important to know how...

Educational framework

Not only within the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, but throughout Delft University of Technology, the City of the Future Graduation Lab proves to have a truly unique position. It is a laboratory where students are challenged to think beyond their own discipline, creating an interdisciplinary synergy between different fields...

City of the Future Graduation Lab: Experiences in Multidisciplinary Education

The Cross Domain City of the Future Graduation Lab, situated in the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at TU Delft, has been a pioneer in experimenting with a multidisciplinary approach to education on the built environment. Drawing upon this expertise over the past years, this book reflects on multidisciplinarity in the built...

Future Cities—City Futures: Emerging Urban Perspectives

The book is about future cities and possible scenarios for city futures. A question central to this book is how to face urban challenges while providing and safeguarding positive outcomes, concerned with the improvement of the quality of urban life: How can future cities be made more liveable, sustainable, and resilient? How can cities continue...