Symbiosis Unearthed: Regeneratively transforming postwar flats into healthy urban communities

Symbiosis Unearthed proposes a renovation design for three postwar flats in the 'Westelijke Tuinsteden' of Amsterdam. The aim of the project is to transform the outdated flats into a regenerative, symbiotic community by improving the existing architecture, adding two storeys, and introducing communal functions to the site. The landscape is an...

Preservation through Adaptation: Revitalising St Barbara church with a focus on preservation and choice of materials

The upcoming circular economy has consequences for the application of materials within the building sector, which requires a different mindset and way of designing from the architect. The aim of this research is to develop a Circularity Overview in which the materials of a building can be assessed for circularity and environmental impact. The...

Building a productive, future proof landscape: A spatial framework for a future proof water system of the Dommel watershed that provides local, natural building materials for the future building program.

Drought is a current problem in North-Brabant and might become more severe by climate change. Water board ‘The Dommel’, managing the drainage basin of the Dommel brook, aims for a future proof water system by 2050. At the same time, the urbanization agenda for North-Brabant anticipates a growing need for houses in the near and far future. A...

The Modular Soundscape: Sound as an architectural domain

Noise pollution is a contemporary problem that developed through urbanisation and industrialization. The consequences of this issue directly influence the health of human beings, as their perception of noise leads to certain behavioural responses. By addressing this issue in a strategic way, residential housing can still be created in noise...

Controlled Environment Agriculture to Renovation: Bio-base Materials from Element to Global Scale

In the global shift towards decarbonization of the built environment, the nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) goals in the Directive 2010/31/EU had been set as an achievable goal for the EU. By requiring all future constructions to utilize the integration of energy efficient services into the building as well as emphasize the reduction of...

NURTURE. RESEARCH. HARVEST. REPEAT: The Kruytgebouw as a biodiversity open lab-farm-hub

The deprivation and loss of biodiversity is one of the most alarming environmental problems of today’s, threatening precious ecosystem services, animal, and plant existence, as well as human welfare. This project attempts to create a win win situation between human and city animals. Ethical farms like guano, feather, worm, and insect farm are...

A-Common Houses: Adadptive Reuse Project on De Knip into Dwelling Complex, guided by newly added Material, Common Reeds

This project is an adaptive-reuse project on De Knip, the current tax administrative building in Sloterdijk, Amsrerdam into dwelling complex for starters. It is a house to rekindle our innate, physical sensitivity towards our environment, which has been slowly eroded in the mass standardisation in architecture. The interventions are added in...

Farm of the Future: a possible solution to the contemporary urgent issues in het Groene Hart, The Netherlands

The region of het Groene Hart in the Netherlands currently faces many issues, of which soil subsidence is the most urgent. The problems are mainly caused by the dairy industry, which covers 80% of the region. A fundamental change in land-use is therefore needed. In this paper first the Groene Hart region will be described and explored, after...

Food community house in the Brettenzone: the local circular economy approach to reduce our environmental footprint

Studie-tainer: A circular approach to creating student housing solutions through hybridization of materials in Ghana, West Africa

The architectural engineering graduation studio created an opportunity to address the emerging social, urban, environmental and infrastructural challenges facing the global context today. This project seeks to embrace the culture of circular building concepts and methods through materialization and vernacular principles in addressing social and...

The potential of klusflat strategy for affordable and valuable living spaces for young professionals

There is a growing need for affordable spaces for young working people. In many big cities of Europe, prices per square meters are rising, what forces young professionals to rent a questionable quality, temporary flats, or push them to outskirts. In this work I will investigate a strategy called Klusflat and prove that this strategy can be used...

Rethinking Parks In a Shrinking Setting: The Marrying of Social Restoration and Nitrate Remediation for a New Urban Park Model in Parkstad Limburg

The project is situated in Parkstad, South Limburg, an administrative region consisting of 7 municipalities, formerly known as the East Mining Region. Deindustrialisation completely transformed the region, making it the first shrinking area of the Netherlands. Shrinkage commonly refers to a shrinking economy, shrinking population and increased...

Developing a Smart Tool for Campus User Alignment

Context Digitalisation enables students to study virtually everywhere. However, demand for study space on the campus remains high and is even increasing. Additionally, students place higher demands on the quality and availability of facilities (Valks, Arkesteijn, den Heijer, & Van de Putte,  2016, p. 15). However, recent research on Dutch...