Social space: Seeking for communal places in Maastricht

This master thesis explores the notion of social space by searching for ways of how architectural elements can encourage social behavior in the public domain. Both spatial planning and architecture offer us places for encounters, freedom and creation. Architecture has therefore an important social task, it gives meaning to a place and can...

From Reality to Utopia - A Story of the Transformation of Social Space: How do the objectives of architectural utopias in the pre-war, post-war and recent times differ in their treatment of social space? A comparative analysis based on the utopias “World Capital Germania”, “New Babylon” and “NEOM”

The formation of social space through architecture is becoming increasingly important in today's society. In order to design social space as effectively and sustainably as possible, however, it is first important to know the current society and its problems and grievances. Furthermore, social scientists, architects and spatial planners can learn...

(Non)negotiable spaces of algorithmic governance: Perceptions on the Ubenwa health app as a ‘relocated’ solution

This study explores relocated algorithmic governance through a qualitative study of the Ubenwa health app. The Ubenwa, which was developed in Canada based on a dataset of babies from Mexico, is currently being implemented in Nigeria to detect birth asphyxia. The app serves as an ideal case for examining the socio-cultural negotiations...

Re-Razvitak: Spaces of encounter in a divisive city

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country that has endured many wars, through many different rules. The Yugoslav wars from 1991-1996 still linger in Mostar today, as we find a ‘divided city’, which is mostly enforced through institutions that ethnically divide public buildings. At the same time, citizens find this unnecessary and consider Mostar as ...

Bridging Diversities

Bridging diversities is a research and design project about the correlation of social and spatial diversities in an urban public space: The Rembrandt park in Amsterdam. This project brings together the physical diversity of the park with the diversity of its users and questions the compatibility of both.<br/><br/>The topic of diversities and in...

Feeding public life in South Chicago

Performing Arts Factorydesign for a Centre for Performing Arts in Amsterdam-Noord

Exterior: building assimilates into location The project is located on an old shipyard, the NDSM-wharf, in the North of Amsterdam. The area is home to different artists and craftsmen who work in collaboration and inspire each other. By doing so new initiatives emerge. Subculture dominates the space and its character is a mixture of industrial...

Mapping urban and social space: Towards a socio-cultural understanding of the built environment

Workshop 2. Session 2.1: Planning and everyday life

Social and material appropriation of neighborhood space: Collective space and resistance in a Dutch urban community

Workshop 3. Session 3.1: Privacy and public life

Urban ecologies of the contemporary city

The models we use for understanding the city have changed since the early 20th century when the social-spatial researchers of the Chicago School elaborated their idea of ‘urban ecologies’. Technological, social and urban changes mean we can no longer understand processes of economy, community, formation and transformation through social and...