Realizing Emergent Ecologies: Nature-Based Solutions from Design to Implementation

The current state of nature is concerning. The levels of biodiversity are rapidly decreasing; existing policies sketch ambitious objectives, but their effectiveness is relatively low. This is caused by a combination of three main elements: physical elements, planning processes, and psychological reasons. In dealing with these deeply rooted...

Speculative Gameboarding for Megaregions: Using Morphological Themes for a Pedagogical Approach to Regional Design in the Greater Bay Area, China

The unprecedented speed and scale of urbanization in China calls for advanced planning and design strategies. This paper aims to explore a new pedagogical approach that cultivates morphological regional design studies to develop spatial strategies that acknowledge the complex and diverse urban landscapes of Chinese megaregions. Accordingly, the...

RTD in landscape architecture: a first State of the Art

The discussion regarding the relation of design and research in landscape architecture started somewhat later than in other design disciplines. But the past decade has shown a sharp rise of publications on ‘research through/by design(ing)’ (RTD). The literature has now reached a level of richness that enables a review of the State of the Art and...

From city’s station to station city: An integrative spatial approach to the (re)development of station areas

The spaces of station areas do not fully achieve the liveability level sought out by recent redevelopment projects. Additionally, the role that architecture plays in their spatial definition seems to be constrained, likely because of the projects’ highly complex interdisciplinary planning processes. Thus, the need to improve the spatial...

Improving comfort while hiking in a sailing boat

The paper presents the changes in perceived comfort while hiking in a sailing boat (in this case the Laser, a single-handed Olympic dinghy) due to a new design of hiking pads. The project used a ‘research by design method’. The aim was to improve sailing comfort which leads to lower fatigue and therefor improved performance. While hiking, a...

Rethinking the railway station area: Research by design in architecture and urban space

Railway stations and their urban surroundings are undergoing a ‘renaissance’ for some years now. The movement towards rethinking and renewing these places in cities is based on concerns with sustainability on economical, social and environmental dimensions. In Europe, a great boost to it was given by the High Speed Train (HST) Network...

Research and Design in Landscape Architecture

This paper aims to introduce the particular methodology of the author's and their colleagues at TU Delft Chair of Landscape Architecture. This approach is characterised by theories, methods and techniques converging towards design and research and research by design. The relation and interaction between these research domains is illustrated with...

Human Power Empirically Explored

Harvesting energy from the users’ muscular power to convert this into electricity is a relatively unknown way to power consumer products. It nevertheless offers surprising opportunities for product designers; human-powered products function independently from regular power infrastructure, are convenient and can be environmentally and...

Knowledge-based Design: Developing Urban & Regional Design into a Science

An implemented design of an urban area imposes long-term conditions on societal processes, such as the opportunities people have to organize their lives in temporospatial respects in a healthy and safe living environment, and the way social, cultural and economic institutions and organisations can function. In view of the fact that both people...