The study of development of public-participation in housing practice under changing socio-economic, political and urban environment in Amsterdam, from Dutch Golden Age to contemporary period: AR2A011 Architectural History Thesis (2022/23 Q3)

Public-participation in housing practice not only happens with architectural participatory notion, instead it was already exercised differently in the history of Amsterdam according to the governmental urban planning visions. To provide more insight for contemporary participatory practice, instead of interpreting architectural public...

Post-war mass housing: From utopian ideas to dystopian realities: A comparative case study of the demolished Robin Hood Gardens vs. the thriving Park Hill

This thesis presents a comparative case study of two exemplary for the post-war period projects - Robin Hood Gardens and Park Hill. Although a lot of research already exists on post-war mass housing and on the two projects individually, they have rarely been analyzed in comparison to each other, despite sharing similar characteristics. By...

Truus Schröder and the Rietveld Schröder House: A critical investigation of the 'woman' in architecture

Pierre Cuypers & Abraham Salm: Immortalised and forgotten

House. School. Temple: A critical research about the ideological meanings and messages conveyed by Giuseppe Terragni and his Casa del Fascio in Como between 1936-1945

In recent years, the rise of right-wing ideologies has been a growing concern for me. Across the world, a worrying and alarming increase in support for far-right political parties and movements is taking place. Several signals of a broader shift towards nationalist and populist politics are currently emerging. The recent national elections held...

WWII Spomeniks in Croatia (1945-1990)

This thesis explores the creation of anti-fascist postwar memorials in Croatia, as a former part of Yugoslavia, between 1945 and 1990, with a focus on three independent memorials in Croatia commissioned by the same government - Petrova Gora, Kamenska and Jasenovac. The research aims to understand the historical and political context in which...

Reinterpreting the National Bank of Belgium

With the pressing issues that arise from a society driven and measured by flow of capital and wealth, the future of the National Bank of Belgium and its role to society is questioned as most of its functions are becoming digital or being relocated. A monumental building, representing an institution in an extremely relevant capital, presents...

Thus the city within

A palatial building rests by Rue de Bois Sauvage of Brussels, an intimate street located at the exact point where the lower historic city ends and upper bureaucratic city starts. The Palace remains like a parasite of a larger introverted structure that fortifies an entire urban block to hide the offices of the National Bank of Belgium. The...

Reformation of Social Structure: Concurrent occupancy and working hierarchy recontruction

The brief of this year ‘s studio is to address the the transformation of the National Bank of Belgium located in Brussels. However, since its completion, there has been a fundamental shift in the requirements placed upon it. Industrial functions like the printing and storage of currency have been relocatedout of the city, or overseas; finance is...

Architecture and Feminism?: Housing by Högna Sigurðardóttir and Sigvaldi Thordarson rediscovered through feminist theory

For centuries, women have been underrepresented in society and this has affected the built environment, where prevailing gender ideologies are translated into architecture. In the light of changing social patterns and developments in feminist debate, it’s important to understand and contextualize architecture in relation to gender. This paper...

Comparison on the Soundscapes of Italian Renaissance Gardens and Ming Dynasty's Chinese Classical Gardens

The thesis aims to compare the soundscapes of Italian Renaissance gardens and Ming dynasty’s Chinese classical gardens and figure out the reasons behind their similarities and differences through historical research on Italy and China. The research methods are case study, image analysis and literature analysis (secondary and primary). The thesis...

From the Middle East to Europe as a female architect of colour: A case study on Dame Zaha Hadid

This paper researches the approach of a female architect of colour to her career in architecture. It positions itself through background research on the discrimination that takes place in the field of architecture against people of colour and women and applies this gained perspective to the case of Zaha Hadid, as she is a perfect candidate to...

Feminist methodology in practice and pedagogy: Process, engagement and empowerment through architectural education and professional practice

This thesis examines the relationships between architectural pedagogy and practice within the context of feminist methodologies from the point of view of a student. If the condition of the profession reflects the (changing) reality, I enquire what implications it consequentially has on (architectural) education. By problematising the personal...

The Architect That Did Not Build: A historical evaluation of the experimental architectural profession through the work of architect Lebbeus Woods and its implications for the practice of architecture

Lebbeus Woods was an experimental architect best known for his visionary drawings. His entry into the field of experimental architecture was enabled by the conditions in which the field found itself in the 1970s. Through drawing, Woods explored ideas and hypotheses which were unbound from conventional limitations. The field of architecture has...

The position of women in the architectural practice: History Thesis

This thesis aims to show the historical development of women in the architectural profession in the UK from 1950-2000. The chosen period and location illustrate a specific period in gender history of the UK where women were studying architecture and pioneer woman architects were recognised, but the field was still male-dominated. This historical...

A Rediscovery of the First-Generation Female Architects in Taiwan: Xiu Zelan and Wang Chiu-Hwa

This thesis intended to reveal the history of the first-generation female architects in Taiwan with feminist analysis, focusing on two architects from the postwar period, Xiu Zelan and Wang Chiu-Hwa. Through exploring their stories and works, the research aimed to retrieve the absent role models for female students in future generations.