Breathe: Redefining a zone of informal settlements for Ho Chi Minh City

The project has been created from a strong fascination of the author who came from the developing country in South East Asia. A rapid change of a city from urbanization and over-growing population have somehow eradicated the traditional way of living. One of the best examples is in Ho Chi Minh City, in the South of Vietnam. The city is located...

Adapting to Uncertainty: Re-thinking Critical Infrastructural Systems

There are several prevailing issues regarding major altered states of extreme weather events. For instance, storm surges, sea-level rise, and droughts have all resulted in many regions left with critical systems and interdependencies exposed. The impact and risk of modern disasters have caused substantial adverse socio-economic impacts by...

Landscape Approach South-Florida: Landscape architecture explorations in Miami, Biscayne National Park, Lake Okeechobee & Everglades City through seven MSc-graduation projects

The coastal landscape of South Florida faces many challenges connected to climate change and urbanization. Sea level rise, loss of ecosystems, land subsidence, aquifer depletion are some of the issues that need serious attention. Landscape Approach Florida is showcasing results of a Landscape Architecture Design Lab where seven MSc-graduates...

Structural adaptation through stiffness tuning

Adaptive design strategies have been employed to improve structural performances in terms of load-bearing efficiency and energetic impact as well as to achieve multi-functionality. In this work, we investigate a passive adaptation strategy that employs variable stiffness in robotically printed materials. This paper focuses on the design and...

Re-functionalization: An integrated functional regeneration through biophysical restructuring of landscape

For this graduation project, the Dutch Wadden Sea Region is chosen as analysis context. It contains both the Wadden Sea and mainland near the Wadden Sea. For the coastal part, there are tidal mud flats, shoals, barrier islands and fertile marshlands. Besides, the coastal area is occupied by several villages and towns. By all of these elements,...

The Living Estuary: A Study of Developing Landscape Spatial Adaptive Strategies to Integrate the Water, Ecosystem and Anthropo-Dynamics in the Estuary of Volta Delta, Ghana

The Volta Delta Region is facing not only the challenge of severe coastal erosion, but also to create a balance between the nature and the challenges brought by the urbanization. By these challenges, the project shows a possible future in developing a vulnerable area with an integrated landscape in a dynamic situation of delta region with...

Open to water: A search towards an integral approach to live in areas that are allowed to flood on the southern side of Dordrecht

In the wake of climate change and rising water levels the city of Dordrecht is looking for alternative ways to prepare for coming threats other than keep raising the current dikes. In an exploration a suggestion is made to use the southern side of the island as a buffer for excess water. This research takes that suggestion a step further and...

Feasibility study on heavy-traffic fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) bascule bridges

The material properties of fibre reinforced polymer composites fundamentally differ from construction steel, and therefore a different approach is required in the design of structures composed of this material. Simple substitution of steel elements by composite counterparts will inevitably result in inefficient structures. When the material’s...

Facilitating change: Biomimicry as a way to create adaptable urban environments

Planet Earth is constantly changing, and with it our living environment. Seasonal variation in temperature and precipitation, as well as long-term climate trends, are but a few examples of change that pose challenges to a settled society. Whereas direction, magnitude, and even character of future changes may be uncertain, we can be confident...

Quay wall design for an uncertain future

The importance of incorporating flexibility and adaptability in infrastructure is being increasingly recognized. Flexibility in infrastructure can prolong their economic lifetime by enabling them to adapt to the changed requirements. The objective of this paper is to examine if it is possible to incorporate flexibility in port infrastructure...

Old Beijing New Life: Climate Adaptive Urban Regeneration in Old Beijing Center

The site Dashilan is the most sever UHI area of Beijing currently. Located in the center of Old Beijing, it is consist of historical courtyards with flourish old brand commercial and many cultural heritages. High density (15m2/house), almost fully covered by concrete without enough green space, make this area really have a bad living quality and...