Nightscape: An exploration of the future for the nocturnal urban landscape design

Light can be a wonderful thing. It allows one to see in the dark. Since the development of lamps, the intention has been to eliminate darkness from the night, as darkness is associated with danger, demons, the unknown, and all sorts of ‘scary’ things that lurk in the dark. Although light is helpful, dark nights are also needed. Not only did...

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...

Urban Arid Green: A sustainable approach to address population growth and urbanisation in arid areas, via a case study to Tamansourt

The climate crisis and unsustainable growth are worldwide interrelated problems. Population growth increases the demand for natural resources and the demand for housing. This is all putting pressure on the natural system and is strengthening the conflict of space between the built environment, agricultural land and the natural landscape....

Re-treat; creating a regional framework for the future of Semarang: Strengthening sustainability with strategies balancing urban development, population increase, climate change and ecology

Historic city of Semarang is called the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ of South-East Asia. It is located on the North coast of Central Java, it is the largest city in the Central Java province and the fifth largest city in Indonesia. There is great economic and cultural potential in Semarang, especially taking into consideration Kota Lama- Semarang old town....

Kampung Kali: Improving informal settlement living condition along Semarang River by regenerating ecosystem services in urban landscape

Like many other coastal cities, Semarang is facing many interconnected water-related issues that are exacerbated by climate change and rapid urbanization. Riverside kampungs, as the product of unregulated urbanization, are usually blamed for the water pollution and are regarded as the social outcast and burden to the society. Removing the...

Living with water

The city of Bandung is representative of the destiny of many cities in the tropical developing world. Demand driven population influxes combined with a lack of planning and infrastructure leads to massive problems of sustainability. The city faces the twin paradoxical problems of flash floods and the chronic lack of access to drinking water....

forEverglades City: Interdisciplinary design approach for a resilient, adaptive and sustainable (re)development of Everglades City

This project describes the results of interdisciplinary design research. It is based on the restorative ecological capacities and principles of Everglades National Park on a large scale and zooms in to the municipality of Everglades City. The project addresses a multitude of challenges that can be related to the environment, economy, and...

Shifting Sands: On Gradual Demolition and Participatory Nature

The project seeks to bridge the gap between the disciplines of the Ecology Restoration and Architecture. It is a result of the research, which shows that restoration does not mean bringing the environment to the state of the default. Instead, this time based, prone to disturbances process, should strive for the intensification of novelty...

Empower Energyscape: Integrating Landscape Quality Into The Design Of Energy Landscape In the Rotterdam-The Hague Metropolitan Area

Located in the large urban area named Randstad, the Rotterdam-The Hague metropolitan area (MRDH) has the largest European port and the majority of Dutch greenhouse sector residing within its borders. Accounted for only 2.7% of the area in the Netherlands, the MRDH consumes 17.3% of the total energy use. However, the MRDH is almost impoverished...

Symbiotic Surfaces

Mosaic Garden City: redefining the relation between people and nature by structuring water management through landscape infrastructure in an informal settlement, Kampung Tamansari in Bandung

Slum population has increased continuously in global south. It expands onto precarious land such as floodplains, lagoon areas and so on leading to deficiency of basic facilities. Bandung is the third most populous city in Indonesia with around 26,000 slum dwellings. Kampung Tamansari in Bandung is the densest informal settlement located along...

Rethinking the Territory of Concepción Chile: A resilient and strategic planning for a vulnerable urban coastal system

This research aims to re-envision the city, understanding it as a living system where change creates growth and renewal, and where uncertainty is our new normal. The continuous struggle between cities and nature, forces human settlements to look for stability and safety, trying to control the dynamics and flows of underlying landscapes. In Chile...

Blurred boundaries: The Reintroduction Of Hierarchical Spaces In The Baithi Chawls Of Mumbai

India is the second most populated country in the world, counting for over 1,3 billion people, a number that is rapidly increasing. In line with the rest of the world, India is, next to its increase in population, seeing a rapid urbanization, with Mumbai in the centre of it all. Considering the increase of population and the urbanization of...

Gas-free Ramplaankwartier: Spatial Measures for the Implementation of Sustainable Energy in Existing Neighbourhoods

Spatial impact of the energy transition is a subject that has not been studied extensively as of now. Developing a spatial plan for a sustainable energy system in an early phase will provide insight in practical and spatial implications that are related to these systems. This is especially relevant in existing neighbourhoods, where the existing...

(Up)lifting the ground level: Recreational green rooftops as integrated part of the cities green infrastructure

Many large cities in the world have an unhealthy stressful urban climate: air pollution, lack of water retention, lack of biodiversity, urban heat island effects, etc. There is also a lack of space in the urban environment and predictions are that urbanisation and densification will increase (United Nations, 2007). Urban green is regarded as big...