Becoming Nairobi: Codifying Public Space for an Arrivals' City

Drawing back on my experience of living in Nairobi, this thesis explores the city’s dynamic system of public space and tries to improve its legibility by establishing a framework for its use and design. Exploring Nairobi as a city of arrival, my personal process in the development of this project was quite similar to that of coming to Nairobi as...

The Dutch West Caribbean Company: A Global Company

The Dutch west Caribbean company is a modest proposal. The company was created as an architectural response to an ongoing geopolitical and geoeconomic process (the development of the offshore economy). A process, whereby not only unusual goods such as artworks, battles of wine and stolen antiquities (that were in times past, part of the...

From Shanzhai City to Maker City: Inclusion of Migrants in Urban Redevelopment of Shenzhen

Maker movement is emerging in Shenzhen which is seen as one of the catalysts in facilitating mass entrepreneurship and mass innovation. Because of its rich resource in Hardware, Shenzhen attracted lots of makers and startup teams to start their businesses. This is timing that Shenzhen heads to another phase of city development which is related...

Co-Building the Rhondda

This graduation project proposes an architectural process that will revitalise the post industrial area of the Rhondda Valley in South Wales. Through organising the community around new communal reseource spaces they will be empowered to renew their homes though a self-build approach. This will enable the provision of additional space and...

From Atomgrad to Atompark: upcycling a nuclear energy landscape

The nuclear energy landscape is characterized by city large industrial sites, transmission corridors cutting through the forested landscape, a new town with specific type of population (multiethnic highly educated nuclear power plant workers, artists and sportsmen) and the lifestyle, buffer landscape which is part of international nature...

Water no get Enemy: Contemporary Nomadism as an Alternative for the Dutch Poldermodel: A Utopian Scenario

Exploring a more sustainable way of redeveloping urban villages in Shenzhen with the help of policy making

Urban villages in Shenzhen provide housing for 60% migrant workers, however all current redevelopment plan of urban villages are not sustainable enough as it: 1. Mostly ignore the tenants’ benefits, low income migrant workers are forced to move to suburb; 2. Focus on economic compensation for households but not enough social and cultural care; 3...

The Ungated Community: Transformation of the Panoptic Prison in Haarlem into a Live/Work Comunity

Deconstructive re-use

Deconstructive re-use is a proposed strategy to meet the spatial needs of society in times of financial omission. As the crisis hit the profession of the architect appeared to have become superfluous. Work is scarce, as are raw materials and affordable housing, therefor challenges for the architect are not scarce at all. This research...

Synecdoche, FRAMPOL: Contextualizing EU development policies in the post-Socialist context of eastern Poland

By tracing EU money streams, flowing from Brussels into the provinces of eastern Poland, the project explores the local effectiveness of European development policies, induced by their financial instruments. Frampol, a rural municipality and eponymous town planned by the Renaissance ideal, is studied as an example for the rural challenges...

Street of Refuge - Public space for urban refugees

This project focuses on urban refugees who flee to cities to find a safe shelter. Urban refugees often live a hidden life in the city because of political conflicts in which aid an money plays an important role. The aim of this project is to improve the living conditions of urban refugees through changing their political representation....

Post-War Optimism in Colombo, Sri Lanka

After twenty-six years of civil conflict, Sri Lankan government has geared towards rapid urban beautification after the bloody victory over the Tamil Tigers. Since 2009, Colombo changed beyond recognition: the high walls around public institutions have come down, the military checkpoints disappeared, streets are clearer and inhabitants enjoy the...

Los Angeles: The metropolis and five stages of modernity

‘the metropolis and five stages of modernity’ is an explorative research on contemporary ecologies and the historic (re)-emergence of public domain, infrastructure and urban form in Los Angeles

Education opportunities in a shrinking city (the case of Detroit)

How to deal with shrinking cities? The case of Detroit During this graduation project I proposed a strategy for the municipality of Detroit to create a sustainable environment by focusing on an adapted education system.

Tanthopia: The Contemporary Garden City

De wijk Tanthof-West in Delft-Zuid kent een bijzondere geboorte. Eerst zou het een hoogbouwwijk worden naar een ontwerp van Bakema, daarna een tuinstadwijk van net afgestudeerde ontwerpers. Uiteindelijk werd het door omstandigheden een grijs compromis tussen beide plannen. Vanuit de theorieën achter deze plannen (van respectievelijk Le Corbusier...

Luchtspiegelingen van Lichte Zeden - Mirages of Easy Virtue: Prostitutie, architectuur en utopia in het licht van de literatuur

Onderzoek en ontwerp naar de mogelijkheden van een utopisch prostitutiecomplex op het marineterrein in Amsterdam op basis van verwijzingen uit de literatuur van de 18e, 19e en 20e eeuw.

The Academy of Builders: Architecture as an action for The Good Life

The garden of delights and a panopticon prison are very similar actually: being inside walls, being protected, is central. Many archaic ideas of happiness are depicted in enclosed safe spaces. That idea presupposes that the outside is a place of danger and corruption and the inside is safe and good, also morally good, where virtue resides and...