Practical guidelines towards a circular-adaptable reuse of vacant and obsolete real estate: A particular reference to the Dutch context

The circular economy is an economic model in which resources are circulated in a closed loop by adopting the R-strategies (e.g. reuse, recycling, and reduce) to minimize waste and pollution. Repurposing vacant buildings, known as adaptive reuse, is in line with the principle of circular economy, as it contributes to the reuse of the built assets...

Circular Area Development: Guidelines for Circular Design Strategies in Residential Area Development

The global shift toward a circular economy, vital for tackling climate change and resource security, necessitates the integration of circular principles in the construction sector. Urban planning, significant in shaping the built environment, offers an opportunity for implementing these principles comprehensively. However, limited implementation...

Improving the return rate of a smart pillbox in a circular economy: From product redesign to comprehensive guidelines

This study explores nudging strategies to improve user abilities in order to promote the voluntary return of digital health products, with a focus on the smart pillbox. The two objectives were to create specific design recommendations for the smart pillbox and derive general design guidelines to support a circular lifecycle for future digital...

SDAE-A toolkit for developing remote patient monitoring in social, daily activity and related emotion: A study in colorectal cancer patients during the follow-up phase in the Netherlands

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer disease worldwide with highly fatal. It has accounted for 10% of the global cancer incidence (Bray et al., 2018). In the Netherlands, patients who have undergone treatment and surgery for colorectal cancer typically enter a five-year follow-up phase. During this period, patients often experience...

Down to Get Up

People with Down Syndrome are growing older but, at the same time, are still disconnected from the world. Their needs change as they age, which is researched in this thesis. Can the design of their living environment simplify their daily activities? Guidelines are conducted from different fieldwork observations and interviews in which multiple...

Guidelines for Designing and Making Advanced 3D Printed Replacement Parts

This thesis presents the development of guidance cards for consumers engaged in “3D Printing for Repair” (3DPfR). When being engaged in 3DPfR, consumers face multiple challenges, for example printing parts that can resist high temperatures, or making parts with fine details. The goal of this project was to develop guidelines which allow...

Design for repurposing of composite products

With the emerging demand for energy-efficient products, the composite material has become a point of attraction for many product manufacturers. Furthermore, with its high strength to weight ratio, long life span, low maintenance and design flexibility, composite materials offer tailored properties by choosing an appropriate combination of...

Designing 3d-Printed Deployable Structures With Shape Memory Polymers

The aim of this project was to get a better understanding of the shape memory behaviour of 3D-printed polymers, and the different parameters which affect this, with the ultimate goal to apply shape memory in product design. This project started with a literature study on shape memory polymers and 3D-printing. The material properties, different...

Temporal Assessment of Hybrid Flood Defenses: A Dynamic Bayesian Network

Implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) in flood defenses is hindered by a lack of probabilistic tools and design guidelines that can be used to assess spatial and temporal variability in these biophysical systems. It is well established that nature-based elements, such as vegetation, attenuate waves, capture sediment, strengthen the...

Design for Repurpose: Practical guidelines for circular product design

Within this project a design approach of 3 phases is created to guide designers in the redesign of an existing product for Repurpose: 1.Starting point: To find certain opportunities in the future by highlighting essential valuable aspects of the current product that could be maintained in future products. 2.Product Opportunity: The Designer is...

Design for repurpose towards a circular economy

Repurpose, the reuse of (parts of) obsolete products in new applications seems a promising strategy towards a circular economy because products can be (partly) reused without applying any energy consuming recycling process, which often results in a loss of material quality. As repurpose is a strategy to retain value, the process is applied after...

Design Guidelines for Gust Load Inclusion in Aeroelastic Optimization of a Civil Aircraft in the Preliminary Design Phase

Fundamental phase in the preliminary design of an aircraft is the load case choice. Historically, the manoeuvres have been considered as the principal critical loads, while in conceptual design the gusts have been not investigated since, being an intrinsically dynamic phenomenon, they are expensive to analyze. Nevertheless, they are a critical...

Sphinx Noord: Old industrial Heritage, new monument

Sphinx Noord is a former industrial site in the centre of Maastricht. It is well known for its ceramic products which many still find in their kitchen or bathroom. The former factory is currently vacant. In order to secure a sustainable and durable future for the building, the Sphinx should be transformed into a monument.