This paper explores the balance between heritage values and new identities in the redesign of 20th-century Dutch shopping mall skins. The skin of a building plays a crucial role in its external identity and communicates its history, style, and cultural context. Shopping malls, in particular, require constant redesign to keep up with changing trends and provide a fresh stimulus to consumers. However, there is a lack of strategies for balancing necessary updates while preserving heritage values. Using the case study of Hoog Catharijne shopping mall in Utrecht, the research highlights the transformation of various tangible attributes of the HC skin, such as materials, patterns, signage, and elements, as well as intangible aspects like context relation, exterior and interior character, and perception. The results indicate that the redesign significantly transformed the mall’s appearance, leading to increased footfall and commercial success. However, there are mixed opinions about the new design, with concerns about sustainability and the loss of historical and cultural values. This research contributes to the field of heritage architecture by providing a framework and guiding principles for achieving a balanced and effective skin redesign in non-listed heritage buildings. By encouraging designers to explore the cultural and historical values embedded in building skins, the study aims to reduce casual demolition and promote sustainable and circular design practices. ... Read more

This thesis studies the Modern Malls in the Netherlands that were formed in the 1960s. The problem with these malls is that they have changed through time to keep up with the changing demands of the users, a development that has changed the once open ex¬troverted malls into introverted closed struc-tures. The closed structure of these malls, combined with rising vacancy and the ever-changing behaviour of the mall users, results that the malls in the Nether¬lands are struggling to survive. By analysing the open forms introduced by Sennett, the aim is to develop an intervention method to open op the modern mall. The interventions show that the open forms relate to different sca¬le levels depending on the intervention. The materialisation and architectural elements play an important role in the effectiveness of using open forms as intervention methods in Modern malls in the Netherlands. ... Read more

Post-war shopping malls in the Netherlands are becoming increasingly vacant, which is reflected in the level of activity of the public spaces. These retail-oriented places are becoming less visited as the main reason to come here disappears. This presents a challenge in a compact and densely populated country with a high space demand. With the twelve urban quality criteria of Jan Gehl, a user-based design strategy for Winkelcentrum Leyweg in The Hague Southwest has been developed. The use of spaces determines the level of activity, as the people bring life to these areas. Therefore, this design focuses mainly on the people by introducing elements that make their daily lives more comfortable and enjoyable. A simple bench with trees functioning as canopies can already do the trick. In a building, it is about giving people the freedom to use the spaces they want; places to work, drink a coffee, have a workshop, study, or have the freedom to do what they want. When these buildings are occupied in various ways during the day, more people will be connected to the building, and even a small community can exist here. The increased activity in and around the building will contribute to the overall sense of security. By the use of the building, people will start to care for it and eventually maintain it, providing a more sustainable future. The architect's role is to shape the spaces by introducing qualities that enhance comfort and enjoyment. This can be the increase of daylight, a comfortable climate, moveable furniture, relation between inside and out, good acoustic levels and the opportunities to open or close spaces. Instead of shopping malls being intended for retail alone, these places can be a part of the city. This strategy can be applied to other vacant malls in the Netherlands, reactivating them and providing a more promising and sustainable future. ... Read more

The research hypothesis is that extensive layering and apparent modifications in the San Isidro area along Manzanares, dictated by the necessity of expansion, have changed the site’s everydayness. As a result, patterns of continuities and discontinuities began to take over the area, which needs to be addressed in the contemporary context and life of the city. This calls for an architectural intervention which aims, beyond the project itself, to the seamless transition of current and future everyday rituals. Due to urban stratification, there is an accumulation of multiple functions, atmospheres, daily rituals and routines over the greater area of San Isidro. In particular, the San Isidro, San Justo and Santa Maria cemeteries, alongside the park, festivities, and infrastructural networks, pose a convoluted environment where the different functions compete for prevalence. Simultaneously, their borders blur, putting the contemporary rituals in danger instead of promoting their evolution/development along the urban context. Furthermore, the city’s current and future development plans treat the areas mentioned above as sites of additions; it is not interested in preserving or developing existing characters; rather, it imposes new ones. Instead of trying to solve or alleviate the complex current state, it adds more layers to the existing ones. The graduation projects need to act as a reflection and critique This paper examines how changes in physical retail due to digital advances can inform a sustainable and adaptive design for Dutch post-war shopping malls. Malls have become outdated and don’t fit in the current society anymore. The malls that are still functioning are shifting to an entertainment experience. Research on a futureorientated design using developments in online retail can make malls adaptable for the future. A silver lining in this research is if the social, aesthetical, and economic values of the mall still are perceived by the public after these futureorientated developments.of the current situation... ... Read more

The Koudenhorn police building is located in the historic inner city of Haarlem. It sits on the western bank of the Spaarne river, along which runs one of the main traffic arteries of the city. To the north the plot is defined by the wide canal of the Nieuwe Gracht. The narrow Zakstraat runs along the southern side. Due to its current function, accessibility to the public is very limited and the courtyard is scarcely utilized.

Haarlems central library is struggling with overdue maintenance, poor energy efficiency, an outdated spatial layout and a lack of space to make major changes. Relocating to the Koudenhorn building provides the space to create the desired future-proof library. The building is large enough to house more than a library. In order to alleviate some pressure from the housing market, additional dwellings will be realized. They are connected to the library though programme and the courtyard, which offers spaces for appropriation by visitors and residents alike.

Concluding from case study research, buildings with a courtyard or central space can be defined using different typologies for the aspects of central space, spatial organization, entrances, routing and daylight. These typologies are the leading principles in understanding and redeveloping the Koudenhorn building.

The new central library is organized around four vertical access points. In between are the areas housing the library’s core programme, as well as additional public facilities such as the cafe and auditorium. The repetition of small compartments remaining from the use as a police station are maintained and used for closed stacks. Structurally, two important interventions are done to be able to carry the load of the library collection. Within the central space of the north wing, the interior load-bearing structure is replaced up to the second floor. This allows for the creation of vertical connections through voids and a landscape of stairs. A new load-bearing structure is added on top of the existing structure of small compartments in order to support the library floors above.

The new entrance to the library is situated in the original dining hall. A new entrance square will lead up to the level of the entrance hall. Bicycle and car parking are situated in the existing basement and ground floor structure of the building extension underneath. The square acts as a transitional space, extending the library’s sphere of influence and allowing for a more gradual approach to the building.

The design aims to create an accessible, inclusive library offering multiple different spatial experiences, focusing on connection over collection. An urban living room facilitating the needs of various users, with the courtyard as a connector between the two programmes. ... Read more

The municipality of Amsterdam wants to allow the middle segment in the rental sector to grow further in size in the coming years, to better facilitate the housing needs of residents between the social rental sector and the owner-occupied sector. However, it is important to gain a better insight into both the quantitative and qualitative housing demand for housing in that middle segment, to make sure that suitable housing supply can also be realized in this housing segment. To be able to realize suitable housing supply in the middle segment rental sector, it is of importance to know which characteristics of the house and the living environment are more decisive for the housing satisfaction of the tenants. The research methods in this thesis are quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative analysis will be done to define the supply and demand in the current housing stock. First the quantitative data will be analyzed by using data from WiMRA (2021), which provides information about the current situation of the middle segment housing, the users and their housing satisfaction. The qualitative research will be done by interviews with tenants of housing provided by housing associations and private actors in Amsterdam and by analyzing the current state of satisfaction of these tenants, to complement the quantitative research. The goal of this research is to create a solution to match supply and demand from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective for midsegment housing and to increase satisfaction of residents of middle segment housing. ... Read more

After a large reorganisation within the police organisation, due to the formation of the Dutch National Police, the demand for real estate for the police is greatly reduced. Additionally, the requirements for the buildings are also changing. Therefore, in the upcoming years, about 700.000 square meters of police real estate will lose its function. During this graduation process, the possibilities for adaptive reuse for one of these police buildings, Huis ‘t Velde in Warnsveld, have been researched.

In order to work with Huis ‘t Velde, it was necessary to have a look at another group of buildings as well, besides the police buildings, namely country houses. A lot of country houses have lost their function as a private home during the course of the 20th century, among others because of the rising costs of maintenance of these relatively large buildings, and the surrounding estates. This makes the research and design for the adaptive reuse of Huis ‘t Velde even more relevant, since the findings might also be helpful for other country houses.
Most of the country houses have shown a strong development over time. They have different time layers, and each time layer has it’s own story. But nowadays most users aren’t aware of this. This led to the following research and design question: How can the architect integrate the stories behind the layers of time in Huis ‘t Velde in the adaptive redesign process in order to make these stories experienceable for future users?

In the research, 3 cases studies were researched, among others via a analysis matrix. From this, 3 main strategy’s of dealing with these time layers in the adaptive redesign process were found. But, an additional conclusion was that these 3 strategies were never used on their own, but in combination.

Therefore, in the design, different combinations were tested until a fitting combination was found for Huis ‘t Velde. An addition has been designed to the building as a new time layer. In the existing building parts, the most important, characteristic time layers were either conserved or reconstructed.
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The need for housing is still a relevant problem in the Netherlands, part of this problem is assigned to elderly while they often stay in their current housing situation for a long time and only move when they are in need for housing with additional health care. However, the actual problem, which is also visible in the city of Haarlem is that there is a lack of suitable elderly housing and often the elderly housing that is available is experienced as not attractive enough to move to before people are indeed in need for housing with additional care facilities.

In the upcoming years, around 700.000 square meters of police real estate will be divested and 30% of the real estate of the police is in need for redevelopment. Atelier Politiebouwmeester provided us with the assignment to look into the possibilities of several of their buildings for in the future.

One of this buildings is the Koudenhorn in Haarlem, a large building covering an entire urban block in the inner city of Haarlem. The disconnection of this building with the surrounding public space caught the attention and raised questions on how this building would function if it would have a public use.
This combined led to the following research- and design question: How could the Koudenhorn building in Haarlem be transformed into elderly housing that includes public accessible functions to stimulate social interaction both amongst the inhabitants of the building and with the neighborhood?

A research into the topic of public interiors, public space and porosity resulted in eight architectural focus points that influence the public character of interior or enclosed spaces. Analyzing the focus points in a case study research resulted in strategies for each focus point that can be tested and implemented during the design process.

Within the re-design of the Koudenhorn, the courtyard of the building is added to the pedestrian network of the city. Collective spaces such as a dining hall, music studio and library and public accessible functions such as a sport facility and makerspace are added to the various typologies of elderly housing to create a attractive living environment for elderly within a building that contributes to its surroundings.
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In the last century, biodiversity has come under increasing pressure, and this is also the case in the urban context. The preservation of biodiversity is an important issue. Research shows that part of this biodiversity is largely dependent on the buildings and vegetation in the city and to help this biodiversity we need to build as nature-inclusive as possible.

There is a wide range of nature-inclusive options that can be applied to make a building and its surroundings more nature-inclusive. The application of nature-inclusive aspects in the design of new buildings is easy and relatively inexpensive due to the blank canvas. However, the aspects are more difficult to integrate into existing buildings. Especially in the case of monumental buildings, where several parameters have to be taken into account. For monumental buildings, it is currently unclear whether, and if so, what needs to be taken into account to make them more nature-inclusive.

The study seeks to answer the following question: ''How can Dutch monumental buildings in an urban context be redesigned to be more nature-inclusive?'' This research is validated with a design. This results in the following
How can the monumental building Koudenhorn in the urban context of Haarlem be redesigned to be more nature-inclusive while retaining its heritage value?
The monumental Koudenhorn building is situated in the urban context of Haarlem. It was built in 1768 as a deacon's house and is currently used by the police. It is a building with a story and many values. At present, the building and the plot show a limited degree of nature inclusiveness.

The research question is answered with a toolbox and three decision trees divided into the categories: flora, water, and fauna. The decision trees provide insight into which nature-inclusive options could be applied to a case and which aspects would need to be adapted to enable implementation. To fill in the decision trees, certain case analyses were carried out. The decision trees were filled in for the monumental part of the Koudenhorn building. This showed which nature-inclusive options are applicable and on which specific elements. Eventually, 17 of these options were applied in the design. The toolbox contains a clear description of what the nature-inclusive option entails, the extra points of interest and an optional design. This toolbox was then used to integrate the application in the redesign of the Koudenhorn building.
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The graduation project proposes the transformation of the police headquarters in the Hague, into a mixed-use development, including an IT university, co-working spaces, apartments, along with a public library and other facilities that encourage the interaction between the building users and locals, forming innovative knowledge clusters across the community. The project aims to explore, both through research and design, the role of structure in the adaptability of former 20th century Dutch police stations. The subject of investigation was decided with the realization that structure constitutes an essential element of an existing building whose potential needs to be thoroughly identified in order to transform it for future uses. The research contributed to the design by pointing out the influence of structure in terms of spatial organization, qualities, and form of existing buildings. As an ultimate aim, the proposal aspires to inform future projects using standardized and factory produced elements about the design possibilities in existing office buildings. Finally, the biggest challenge was to re-introduce a building of such identity, scale and status to its setting, that has been left out of all the activities taking place inside the colossal building complex, ever since it was built.
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The office architecture of the 1970s and 1980s makes up a large part of Dutch office building stock, at about 30%. Most buildings are now in need of major renovation and often no longer correspond to today's aesthetic perception. In addition, the function of the buildings must be adapted to today's needs and technological standards. This is not least due to the rapidly changing world of work, especially after the climax of the Corona pandemic. In order to prevent the possible destruction of buildings or building parts with a potential to become protected heritage, this master project offers a first approach to collecting characteristics of this period for heritage and sustainability reasons. A focus is placed on those that lend themselves to a particularly sustainable strategy, as the study shows that the early sustainability movement of the 1970s also left its mark on the construction methods of the time. The results together with the results of a value assessment are applied to the adaptive re-design of the police building in the Mathildelaan in Eindhoven. Further, aspects with a particular sustainability perspective are incorporated in an extension. In this way, the existing building is integrated into a modern urban context. ... Read more

In this master thesis project is the topic sustainability in relation to the repurposing of Dutch (rural) estates investigated. Making an estate more sustainable has been researched on the basis of two redesign theories and several case studies. The research question was: ‘how can design approaches help in a contemporary reuse and redesign of a Dutch estate where both building, and nature, contribute to a sustainable design, and in particular for Huis ‘t Velde in Warnsveld?’. This research was conducted in response to the design assignment for the reuse of an estate in Warnsveld, Gelderland. This is done in collaboration with the Dutch Atelier Politie Bouwmeester, who is the current user of the building. The history and values of the existing building are relevant for a redesign. That is why also the history and typology of Dutch estates and in particular Huis 't Velde are examined.

The redesign focused on a repurpose of the monumental buildings and the surrounding area. There is a multifunctional design made with a museum, restaurant, memorial garden and residences. The redesign of the estate is done with an integral approach combining the qualities of the land and the buildings together with the aim to integrate green energy resources to make the estate sustainable for the future. ... Read more

Huis ‘t Velde is an estate first mentioned in 1326 and located in Warnsveld, in the east of the Netherlands. During the analysis of the building and site it became clear that it fell under a particular typology. Huis ‘t Velde was known as ‘havezate’, a specific type of castle which provided privileges and political rights. It was an ensemble of estate and buildings that evolved over time and was used as fortified house. Many similar buildings are seen across the region and seemed to have various similarities. Often, those havezaten were not publicly accessible, resulting in nescience of the typology among many people. The term ‘havezate’ was often even replaced by ‘kasteel’ or ‘landhuis’, while the definition was not identical. These analysis resulted in the following research- and design question:
How can fourteenth-century havezaten from Het Kwartier van Zutphen be characterized to formulate a building typology and how can this be made experienceable to the public in the re-design of Huis ‘t Velde?

Since the current use of Huis ‘t Velde does not make the typology experienceable, the whole estate and buildings will be re-designed to be publicly accessible. By attracting people and allowing them on the estate and inside the buildings they can become acquainted with the characteristics of the typology and take in the atmosphere that makes it so special. Huis ‘t Velde will host a hotel, with restaurant and wine tasting area, combined with some rental rooms, a shop and various outside spaces like a flower-, vegetable- and monumental garden. The majority of the (spatial) interventions are based on the conducted individual research into havezaten in the area around Zutphen. The results are combined into a design toolbox with interventions to use to make the characteristics of a havezate (more) experienceable to the public. These design tools are implemented and testing in the re-design of Huis ‘t Velde. ... Read more

Our knowledge of precast concrete facades is becoming more relevant each day.
Buildings with precast concrete façades are relatively new in relation to monument listing, due to architectural and constructive innovations being related to these façades. However, these buildings are also next in line for demolition due to their age and Brutalist architectural expression. These precast concrete façades were commonly used after World War II due to their quick and easy assembly, together with the material being easy to obtain. From the 1960s and onwards, advancements in technology resulted in a combination of aesthetics, structure and function for these façades. This research aims to create a better understanding as to why precast buildings of the post-WWII period are in many cases physical evidence of a construction history that was innovative and revolutionary, by showing the development of building and material technology in case-studies with precast concrete façades. The results reveal that Schokbeton played an important transformational and transitional factor in the history of precast concrete, which led to advancements in technology, such as the creation of the loadbearing precast concrete façade. These results lead to a stronger determination of the values connected to precast concrete façades, which are essential in order to come up with a good redesign strategy. The main case-study for this research is the police headquarters in The Hague, due to the presence of two different types of precast concrete façades: a Schokbeton façade and a later built loadbearing precast concrete façade. Historic research together with case-study research was used to collect information on these different types of façades. ... Read more

Urban public spaces are one of the priorities on Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations (2015), in the target 11.7, on universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible green and public spaces. Urban public spaces provide opportunities for people to meet and interact with the community, contribute to the connection between human and nature and have multiple benefits to human and environmental health. With a rising global population and the largest human migration in history, more than half of the world's population currently lives in urban areas. According to the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, this rapid and uncontrolled urbanization can often lead to the loss of public space. Contributing to the loss of public spaces, the digital and technical developments result in increasing mobility and remote patterns of work and consumption. These changes in user behaviour threaten historic urban areaswith loss of population, vacancy, and eminent building degradation that may result in loss of cultural identity. To adapt historic cities towards a sustainable future, it is necessary to focus on the total experience of its users, including the routing and accessible and attractive public spaces. This research aims at developing a methodology for designing user experience-based public spaces as a process to reactivate vacant heritage. It focuses on the case study of the vacant department store V&D Haarlem, built in 1934, and listed as national heritage in the Netherlands. The methodology includes historical analysis, urban analysis, and field observations of the 12 quality criteria for public urban spaces defined by Jan Gehl. The results provide guidelines for integrating user experience in the redesign of public spaces, preparing cities for a sustainable future while conserving its valuable heritage. ... Read more

This gradation project deals with the adaptive reuse of the vacant heritage V&D department store in Haarlem. Revitalizing the obsolete. Now that these buildings need a transformation, they also need to be more open to the public in order to remain as prominent as they once were. The project is about creating a new mixed-use hub in the city of Haarlem, a place for multiple purposes, where multiple functions come together and where everyone can feel comfortable in the different spatial atmospheres. Which results in a mixed program with cultural, commercial and residential functions combined that connects the building more with its environment and benefits the quality of life in the city. All in all, this project aims to find a solution for these vacant monumental buildings by providing new insights and improving the original building. An adaptive integral reuse project while preserving its historical values is sustainable and economically feasible. ... Read more

This project explores the impact of Vroom & Dreesmann (V&D) on the city and city life of Leiden over time. The strategy to re-vitalize this building is two-folded. On the one hand, the collective memory of and associations with V&D are used in order to revitalize the building. For over hundred years, V&D has been an important asset to public city life, as it's nickname 'the livingroom of the Netherlands' already suggests. But since the bankruptcy of V&D in 2016, the obsolete department store has left 'a gap' in the perceived atmosphere of the inner city. To continue the building's relevance for city life, the intangible and commemorative values of V&D have been assessed and translated into design starting points. On the other hand, the redesign highlights the changes of this complex over time. Historical research indicated that V&D has levelled the differences between different historical structures, by standardizing the interior and turning it into a 'flatscape'. This has reduced visitor's sense of place over time. By reinstalling the complex's diversity, the final redesign allows visitors to experience the full story of the site, in which both V&D and other historical characters play a part. From a historical point of view, this site has been a place for social gathering. The new function of the building as 'cultural warehouse' creates a scenery where interaction is key. The juxtaposition of contemporary elements with original features creates a dialogue between different eras and allows the complex to establish a new purpose. ... Read more

The shopping street of Alkmaar, the Laat, is in need of a new public function that creates a domain to stay. The vital location of the former department store offers a space directly into the cultural centre of the city, close by terraces, shops, or other amenities. The local culture of the city of Alkmaar has determined the new experience of the former department store. The former department store of Alkmaar is transformed by adding a public passage where markets shape the spatial experience and where local initiatives are situated in a shared food centre. ... Read more

This graduation project deals with the revitalisation of the former V&D department store in Haarlem. The building is transformed into a mixed program, consisting of dwellings and the library of the 21th century. This is not a regular library, on the opposite it is an easily accessible public building which functions as a central meeting place within the city. In this project the main theme is daylight. This varies from the practical side of applying different daylight adjusting measures to the more poetical side of introducing principles (regarding daylight) to influence the perception of spaces. ... Read more

This gradation project deals with the adaptive re-use of the vacant heritage V&D department store in Leiden. Both the story of the downfall of the V&D and the vacancy of these department stores illustrate a larger problem in the building industry. Because needs and desires in society change rapidly and that is why buildings will become irrelevant or vacant after some time. The result is often demolition of vacant buildings, a pile of waste and the loss of finite materials. Several V&Ds in other cities have already been demolished and made place for new buildings, contributing to the enormous yearly creation of waste in the building sector.

A sustainable alternative to build in an ever changing society and achieve an optimal use of building materials, the circular economy is gaining momentum in both research and design. The Dutch government set the goal to become circular in the Netherlands by 2050, including the building sector. The main focus of circularity in the building sector is on: reduce dependency of raw materials, minimize waste and design for adaptability. But there lies a challenge in applying circularity to existing buildings with monumental values, because you have to deal with a complex existing building.

 

This graduation project is focused on applying principles of the circular economy on the heritage V&D building in Leiden. The redesign researches the possibilities to activate and increase the circular potential of this building with heritage value. In the redesign the former V&D building is transformed into a circular innovation centre where recreational, educational and innovative functions meet and work together on the transition towards the circular economy.

The title ‘a gap in the market’ refers in the first place to the economic importance of the site in the city of Leiden throughout history, because of its function as central marketplace. The vacancy of the V&D building creates literally a gap in the heart of the city of Leiden. But with the new function as a circular innovation center, this building can facilitate the next gap in the market.  ... Read more