Development Induced Empowerment: The Roof Villages of Addis Ababa

The following design hypothesis addresses the spatial dilemma between city development and lack of tenure security of informal housing dwellers with a special emphasis on improving the economy of both of the individual households as well as supporting the development of the city.<br/><br/>The goal of the research and the main goal for the design...

Natural passive housing in the Lange Bretten of Amsterdam

This graduation project focuses on the architectural design of a passive and nature inclusive housing complex in the Lange Bretten, a natural area in Amsterdam-West. The complex offers a temporary home for the growing group of economic homeless of Amsterdam. The design goals for this type of housing include the symbiosis between these residents...

Bethlehem: from exploitation to ecosystem service

Bethlehem - from exploitation to ecosystem service, is a project based on Sint Maarten in the Caribbean. The lower social classes of Sint Maarten experience trouble with their building culture, especially in combination with the reoccurring hurricanes and earthquakes. Vulnerable communities mostly rely on self or communal building, since both...

Designing for climatic phenomena: Exploring the architectural potential of climate responsive design

Excessive amounts of fossil energy have disqualified climatic considerations as boundary factors for architecture. This has limited architects to operate in the visual realm, while the invisible senses that make up climatic design are generally disregarded. As a result contemporary buildings are usually unable to provide balanced living...