How to Rural: A Scenario-Based Investigation of the Countryside’s Role in a Post-Industrial Future

Land prices and rents are constantly increasing in core cities around the globe. They are becoming an object of speculation and investment. Current progressions suggest a development in the outskirts through a process of post-urbanisation. While the suburbs and adjoining villages in the satellite sprawl experienced popularity among young...

Transformation Structuralism: 21st century university in a 70's structuralist building

The goal of the project is to find out to what extent it is possible to adapt the Faculty of Humanities in Leiden to meet the requirements of a 21st century university. The Faculty of Humanities is a university designed in the 70’s. Although it will remain the same institute, the program of the 21st century version consists of different types of...

Amstel III - The Reuse City: Implementing urban mining as a tool to transform vacant office buildings, reusing 100% of the existing building components.

Our excessive need for new building materials is causing our natural material stock to be depleted at an alarming rate. What happens if our most common building materials can no longer be acquired? This thesis shows the potential in reusing buildings and the components they comprise of by setting an example. An existing office building is...

Transformation of the National Bank of Belgium

The National Bank of Belgium stands as a fortified conglomerate of historic patchwork structures, within central Brussels. With its inherent role having shifted from that of a safekeeper of physical goods towards a mere office, the building can be made publicly accessible, taking on an active role in the city. <br/>By understanding the existing...

Harvest Hub: Building with the existing: Showcasing the potential of reusing building components in architectural design

The combination of the building sector as one of the largest consumers of natural resources with the changing needs and standards of the Dutch population aks for a transition in building methods. This thesis showcases the potential of reusing local resources in architectural design. On the one hand, the Harvest Hub facilitates the logistic...

City Curriculum: Constructing a common place for culture and knowledge exchange

The city of Nijmegen is in a process of losing its unique identity and urban fabric, as a result of a continuous commodification by the interests of private investments. The rise of commercialization creates an environment of strangers where the emphasis lays on individual perspectives and activities, accessible only to particular social groups,...