As Dutch Urban Development (UDM) and Partnering research seem to somewhat disconnectedly explore each other’s fields, this thesis attempts to join both domains by gaining insights into factors that promote the emergence of partnering relations between individuals working in Dutch Urban Development Projects (UDPs). Applying a practice-based approach, data from ten semi-structured interviews was translated into case narratives that provide insights into the lived experience of Dutch UDPs which, after the understanding of this thesis, can be considered partnering projects. By analysing the case narratives, it was revealed that the construction and negotiation of partnering was predominantly led by the public managers whereas the choice of means depended on the underlying project circumstances, expected benefits and the individuals understanding of partnering. Analysing the interpersonal learning process, the individual learning processes prior to the project and learnings about the partners behaviour during the first meetings and challenging situations were determined as crucial to the emergence of partnering relations. Moreover, most formal partnering components seemed to have an overall positive but also paradoxical effects depending on the project and the individual. To overcome paradoxes, joint problem solving seemed the most commonly applied and favoured management practice during partnering. Applying sensemaking to collected case data, it is concluded that named factors and their effect differed depending on the individual’s perception. Based on a conceptual model, it is explained that factors promoted the emergence of partnering when they were perceived as in harmony to the individuals understanding of partnering. Ultimately, picking up on the suggestion of Kadefors (2004) to apply trust theory to study partnering, it is suggested that the individuals starting level of trust, the individual’s choice and ability to trust, the human preference for reciprocity as well as the individuals abilities, benevolence and integrity should be considered as factors when researching the emergence of partnering.

Aim: The aim of this thesis is to investigate team effectiveness in the field of construction. With this study, influential factors on team collaboration between different companies and within teams will be defined. By defining these factors, project managers of comparable project-based integrated design teams can improve the team collaboration within the project team and with that optimize their team’s effectiveness. The research focuses on a big complex building project, which will be used as a transportation hub, in the Netherlands. Research question: What are key factors which influence team collaboration of a project-based integrated design team in context of a large-scale complex building project, influenced by fast growth, different cultures and a changing scope? Methodology: The factors are explored by conducting a single case study research. The starting point was a literature study towards team effectiveness. The outcome of this study was used as input for the case study research. The case study was used to collect data, the data was generated by conducting semistructured interviews. After these interviews were conducted, observations, off the record conversations and inspection of restricted documents were used to discuss and validate conclusions. Findings: The literature research concluded in the backbone of this research. The IMOI model of Ilgen et al. (2005), structure the inputs, mediators and outcomes of the team’s effectiveness. The model is used to determine different factors that could influence the team collaboration. The case study research determined three events which are important for the further course of the project. Due to a lack of management during these events, the client in combination with leading members of the team had to overrule the management layer. The events; assembling the team, collaboration during the project and involving team members have to be managed with both organizational and interpersonal skills. Limitations of the research: It is a qualitative research; therefore, the research is always subject to biased opinions and interpretations of the data. Besides that, the research is conducted on only one case and therefore not automatically representative for all comparable cases. However, the factors resulting from this study need to be kept in mind, due to the fact that it will always be factors that influence the team collaboration, not said that they have to be the most influential for every comparable project-based integrated design team. Practical implications: The research addresses factors that affect the team collaboration of a project-based integrated design team. These factors should be taken into account when starting a comparable project team. Even though the case study of this research concluded with these factors, it is not excluded that there are more factors that influence the team collaboration of a project-based integrated design team. Therefore, more studies should be conducted in this area of research. Scientific relevance: There are a lot of studies conducted towards the team effectiveness of composed teams, however, more research is needed to define the factors that influence the team collaboration of a projectbased team. This research could be used as a starting point for further research, while it is one of the first studies conducted on a project-based team of this size and complexity, subjected to designing a big complex building project. Keywords: Project-based integrated design team, team collaboration, team effectiveness, project management, IMOI framework.

Aim: This research focuses on aims to explore the concept of shared leadership in integrated design teams in the construction branch. The exploration is conducted by addressing the question of whether leadership styles and tasks are solely performed by the project manager of a design team, or whether leadership styles and tasks are also performed by other team member of the design team. The intention is to increase understanding of the interrelatedness of tasks, leadership style and communication using an inductive approach. Research question: What are the main tasks that need to be addressed in project teams with Shared Leadership and is the way a task was performed dependent on certain leadership styles? Methodology: The concept is explored by using a comparative case study design. Two case studies were executed to collect data. First, the team members and the project manager were interviewed by using a semi-structured interview at the beginning of the research. Second, an observational study is done by observing the design team meetings to identify which members are contributing to shared leadership and could there be tasks and roles recognized on the basis of their behaviour and communication flow. Third, the team members and the project managers were asked to fill in a questionnaire, which are used to understand the interpersonal side of team collaboration. Findings: Shared leadership can be measured by making observations and applying communication labels as developed during the research. There is not a relationship to be recognized between the formal role of a person and the shown behaviour. Furthermore, Shared leadership is dynamic as it is not linked to specific leadership styles. Furthermore, a new definition of shared leadership appeared from this study: Shared leadership consists of multiple dynamic leadership behaviours to maximize team effectiveness. Limitations of the research: Qualitative research is always subject to bias due to the interpretation of the qualitative information. Subsequently, the modest number of samples that is investigated in this research are not intended to adequately represent the behaviour and communication flow. To date, this is among the first observational studies to result in an inductive result. Practical implications: This research raises awareness on the concept of shared leadership and how this is outlined in corresponding tasks. This research recommends to train the project managers in a way where there is an increased focus on the people-oriented approach. Furthermore, reflections on the collaboration process should be built in the standard project checks every month. Scientific relevance: This research tries to make an addition to the current literature about shared leadership. By introducing specific communicative qualities and link these to tasks performed in teams with shared leadership. Originality/value: Limited literature is available on the practical implication of shared leadership; this research increases the insight of this concept.

Construction projects have become more complex over time, and cost overruns and time delays have become a global phenomenon. Signs that can indicate future project failure, such as cost overruns and time delays, in early project phases are Early Warning (EW) signs. EW signs are defined as indicators for potential future problems. This research investigates mechanisms that influence the response to EW signs in construction projects. Directions for solutions to mitigate the obstructions for responding to EW signs found in this research are also provided. This research provides a new perspective compared to current literature, by conducting research from the perspective of a contractor, including the interaction with subcontractors. Previous studies focused on the client’s perspective instead. This qualitative research uses a combination of research methods including an in-depth case study on the EW response of three constructions projects, expert interviews and an expert meeting. Data analysis in this research uses grounded theory methodology, and combines organisational behaviour theory with the topic of EW signs. Two main mechanisms influencing the EW response were found: (1) the lack of information flow in projects seems to prevent EW signs from being identified, and (2) group culture and team interaction were found to hinder the response to EW signs in projects. A third mechanism was found as a recurring theme impacting three out of four analysed EW responses: interpretations of agreements and contracts, and trust in the work carried out by other parties seem to reduce the activity of identifying and responding to EW signs. To mitigate the obstructions for identifying and responding to EW signs found in this research, the following directions for solutions are concluded to show potential: attention for individual characteristics in team composition, equipping the information system in projects with accessible options to store, and keep track of potential EW signs during projects, increasing the attention to EW signs during the tender phase, and creating awareness of the importance of responding to EW signs in project teams.

This study aims to explore the impact of employee separation as a result of hybrid working on the organisational commitment of ORGANISATION X’s workforce. The findings of this research aim to offer valuable insights to ORGANISATION X's understanding on how the alternating remote and in-office work setup may influence the commitment levels of ORGANISATION X's employees. The research methodology employed in the initial study of this thesis encompasses quantitative research, in addition to a comprehensive literature review. This quantitative research entails surveying the entire office-based workforce at ORGANISATION X. The results of the researches have yielded fascinating insights, offering a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between hybrid working elements and commitment to the organisation. The primary research findings demonstrate a nuanced relationship between hybrid work and organisational commitment, with only two of the nine potential relationships between hybrid work and organisational commitment found. Therefore, the 'sense of belonging' or the organisational commitment referred to in this research can be seen as being affected by hybrid work only to a small, insignificant extent. Additionally, the study explored the influence of other variables, such as physical proximity, dependency, and socio-demographic factors, on shaping employees' commitment to the organisation. The study shows a positive relation between physical proximity, particularly arranged in-person meetings, and dependency on co-workers and organisational commitment. These are believed to influence the separation awareness among employees.

Aim: The aim of this research was to explore the soft side of project management, specifically the way process managers apply interpersonal skills to influence team functioning in project-based integrated design teams which apply shared leadership. This will provide insight within the context of shared leadership on the way project-based integrated design teams function, the role of the process manager, and the way interpersonal skills can be applied. Research question: Considering interpersonal skills, how can process managers influence team functioning in project-based integrated design teams which apply shared leadership? Methodology: The here described comparative case study uses an interpretive qualitative approach. Data was collected from two case studies, through context analysis, participant observations and interviews on behaviour, team interaction and communication. Findings: This research highlighted the complexity of hospital design project organisations. The case studies address three managers: process manager, design manager and project controller – who each have their own responsibilities and focus. The emphasis of this research is with the process manager, who adapts to what the project team needs in that situation and can apply interpersonal skills by reflecting and ask questions (Why? What? When? Where? How?) to stimulate creative and critical thinking and engage project team members to interact with each other (trigger shared leadership). These skills can be applied to obtain organisational purposes, such as financial goals and to manage information which can contribute to project progress. Stagnation of project progress occurs when topics or problems are attempted to be solved at the wrong organisational level, thus “at the wrong table” (in Dutch: “het probleem wordt op de verkeerde tafel gelegd”). The different strategic levels influence each other, which in turn may alter the communication, and functioning within the team, as well as the project outcome. Furthermore, this research indicated that BIM is often seen as a goal in its own right, thus as a 3D Revit model, rather than a means to support shared understanding or shared mental model, and thus act as a boundary object. Findings indicated the need for a BIM to be dealt with as an information management system. Therefore, the outcomes of the study and it is recommended to involve a BIM coordinator to enact the use of BIM as a boundary object amongst project team members. Practical implications: This research emphasizes on the importance of interpersonal skills and the importance of information sharing to team functioning. This can provide insight for project team composition, recruitment and training, and tendering processes.

“Upwards along the pipes” focuses on the Tamansari subdistrict in Bandung, Indonesia, in which the Cikapundung river is a central physical element, dividing the highly dense informal settlements in two. The project tries to tackle several ecological and spatial issues occuring within the site, including a large amount of (organic) waste being disposed in the river, decreasing the healthy living conditions of the site. The current situation lacks any form of decent centralised or decentralised wastewater treatment management and/ or infrastructure. Furthermore, there is a lack of public open spaces and functions within the kampungs, while the city in the future has to face an increasing population density, putting even more pressure on the city and especially these already dense kampungs. The project contains the development of a fast and easy applicable on-site wastewater treatment system which is able to directly prevent river pollution, while incrementally developing into a permanent decentralized wastewater treatment plant with an integrated public function, utilizing the potential beneficial values of recycled organic waste, in the forms of biogas and fertilizers. These output resources make environmental care economically more beneficial and appealing for local inhabitants. The integrated communal food market provides a platform for the kampung inhabitants to optimally benefit from the gained resources, by communally growing and selling food grown due to the gained fertilizers and cooked on the produced biogas from water treatment.

The building sector is responsible for more than one third of resource consumption globally. Concerning the new construction, new regulations have been set, which impose that by 2020 all new buildings constructed within the EU should reach nearly zero-energy levels. The building envelope plays a strategic role in the energy and environmental performance of the building, significantly affecting the levels of indoor comfort. The increasing necessity of sustainability in built environments is leading to the need of the adaptive façade adoption. The façade is no longer a mere static element offering just a shelter for users. The future building skin is required to respond dynamically, being able to react to non-continuous, ever-changing climatic conditions, occupant comfort and energy efficiency requirements. It is apparent that building facades need to be transformed to fulfill adapted roles of high performance integration and façade elements need to be designed to provide the necessary flexibility needed in terms of energy flow and thermal comfort. Companies like “Rollecate”, which is a facade construction company in the Netherlands with worldwide projects have grasped this change and are interested in creating new products, which reflect the current trend of adaptivity. This graduation project started with the existing research project “Future Adaptive Facades and Components” with the question from “Rollecate” about the direction the facade industry is heading to. “Rollecate” wants to know what the future of adaptive facades is and how this is translated into a new product or a modification of an existing one that could be developed soon and be relevant for the building sector in the next five years and on. The aim of the research project is the development of a Multi-functional Façade Module (MFM) that consists of several functionalized layers that could be separately assembled depending on the architectural design of the building and the corresponding climate. Moreover, the proposed design is modular, which gives the possibility to be altered easily throughout its lifecycle, thus being also adaptive to future technological innovations. In order to evaluate it, this facade system is tested for an office building in Amsterdam, Netherlands with the main objective of providing thermal comfort to the occupants, whilst minimizing the energy consumption. In the framework of a decade-long research activity on Advanced Integrated Façades (AIF), MFMs show a considerable potential for building envelopes, being one of the most promising Responsive Building Elements (RBE) in terms of energy reduction potential. In addition, the results of this research project prove that MFMs are performing well, offering considerable energy savings. They are a promising facade concept for future applications, offering not only an adaptive but also a sustainable solution to the construction of office buildings. Nevertheless, there is still space for future improvement, as well as further research and development as explained at the end of this research project.

It is the year 2019 and the Dutch economy is flourishing. However, the retail sector is still in a ‘re- inventing phase’. The popularity of e-commerce is increasing and Dutch shopping districts are continuously changing. This affects the profitability of both retailers and retail investors. Considering that the Dutch population is aging, people live longer independently and elderly people like shopping centres as places for spontaneous encounters it seems clear that an increasingly important target group for Dutch neighbourhood shopping centres are the elderly people. If our neighbourhood shopping centres are not tailored towards the wishes of the elderly consumers it can have both a social and financial impact. First of all, the elderly might not be able to buy the goods they need for an autonomous live and they might not like the physical environment of the shopping centre as a social meeting place. Besides this, it can lead to missed financial opportunities for retailers and shopping centre investors. The main aim of this research is to gain insight into solutions / measures that make existing neighbourhood shopping centres future proof in aging societies such as the Netherlands. The emphasis in this study is on analysing the wishes of elderly visitors with regard to the characteristics of the shopping centre.

Due to an aging population and the consequently rise in publicly funded cost for long-term care a major change was made in the financing structure of the health care system in The Netherlands. Since this change in 2015 care providers have closed care homes. In Delft the main institutional care provider now has partly vacant real estate. This report addresses advice to explore whether new ways of independent living for elderly will be helpful for them to independently age in place and provide a solution to existing real estate vacancies at institutional care providers. Cohousing for elderly was chosen an studied for motives and continuity.

This research focuses on the relation between the compact city and urban life. Literature suggests that a holistic approach to further compacting a city means also integrating urban life qualities. This is currently lacking in Western European practice due to pragmatism, decentralisation and neo-liberal plot-led development. This while both concepts are crucial for sustainable cities. Therefore an optimization of their relation is needed in order to make better choices regarding densification. The result is a research-by-design that researches three distinct themes that are related to incorporating urban life. These are urban volumes, urban network and urban quality. The Dutch densification site ‘Central Innovation District’ in the Hague is used as a case study for applying the found design principles. In order to measure and predict the character of spaces, modern modes of measuring the city are used. Most prominently are the methods of space syntax angular integration, betweenness shortest path algorithms and the spacematrix GSI/FSI density ratios. Moreover, because of its focus on the human scale, 3D modelling is a crucial part of the research. The research concludes that the compact city and urban life can be integrated with eachother by following a set of principles for volumes, slow traffic networks and urban quality. What is needed is a broader overview of what attractors and pedestrian flows will emerge in a plan area. The associated centralities can then be used to shape the volumetric properties in such a way that significant densification can be achieved while urban life values like human scale stay assured.

According to literature, the benefits of BIM can be well found in complex projects such as healthcare. When well implemented, the use of BIM as a tool for communication and collaboration can lead to a higher design quality and quality of the realized building, as well as increased efficiency and costs savings. BIM can be used for integrated communication and collaboration between different stakeholders, from the same as well as from different project phases. For a good collaboration with BIM, clear objectives should be communicated between stakeholders. With BIM, project team actors can work together in a shared environment, existing of a 3D model and other tools. The project stakeholders can be architects, engineers, (sub)contractors, but also new roles that emerge due to BIM, such as BIM managers and BIM designers. Existing roles of project actors, such as architects, can also change because e.g. different technical BIM related skills are required. BIM can be used for information management between these different roles of the design team and the client and its end-users. Considering the project lifecycle, the design and operation phase are critical because in the design phase the usability for the use phase is defined, and the use phase is the longest phase of building projects. BIM can be used for communication between the different actors that work in the design and use phase. Also, end-users can be included in the communication about design and operation of buildings, to make a building better fit to the end-use. When communicating about the design and its specifications, the design and corresponding BIM model should be validated and verified. Although a lot of benefits are given in literature, the findings of empirical research show that these benefits are often not met in practice: interviewed stakeholders stated that the benefits are not always working out as proposed by BIM programme makers, and the connection between design and use with BIM is often not implemented well enough, e.g. due to different information needs of different actors. The process of communication in the project, as well of the way stakeholders validate and verify the design, are influenced by the project context, including language, culture, background and interests of different stakeholders. Further, incidents during the process can influence the extent that the BIM documents such as protocols and execution plans, as agreed upon in the start of the project, are followed during the project. Critical points towards a successful project are: 1. To use BIM as a means, instead of a goal in itself: the reasons why BIM is used should be well defined upfront, and good agreements should be made about it.; 2. BIM is not only a way to resolve design errors, but also to involve different stakeholders, including the client. The interests and competences of different actors should be defined upfront; 3. If the client does not have extensive knowledge of BIM, or does not know exactly why and how to use BIM, it is also up to the design team to help the client sort this out. 4. BIM and digital communication should not replace real life communication, as it stays important to meet face to face.

Context Projects in the construction sector are known for their high complexity. Due to this complexity, disputes in construction are close to inevitable. While these disputes can lead to major project delays and financial costs, they demand for a resolution. Juridical resolution methods like litigation and arbitration have found to be unfavourable in terms of time, money and business relationship costs. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods like mediation are viewed to score better on these points. Problem Unfortunately, still a big amount of escalated disputes in the construction sector are resolved by traditional juridical methods, where the parties fight each other to win. This results in major expenses, time investments and relational damage. Purpose This research aims to gain a better understanding of mediation processes in the construction industry. This could lead to less use of juridical procedures and maybe less escalated disputes in general. This could save disputing parties in the construction sector money, time and business relational damage. Method A grounded theory approach has been used in this research, because no research has yet been conducted on factors that influence the mediation process, nor on the course of its process in practice. Four case studies have been carried out in a qualitative fashion, conducting in-depth interviews with the involved disputing parties and the mediator(s). The resulting transcripts have been analysed on contributing factors, allocating quotations to closed and open coding. Furthermore, the cases have been analysed on their course of the mediation process. Findings A substantial amount of influencing factors have been found to be influencing the mediation process in practice: a few from academic literature and the majority from the case studies, consisting of internal moderators, external moderators, mediator’s interventions and the action of bartering. Therefrom, conclusions have been drawn which have been discussed with a validation panel to value them and add a level of depth. Furthermore, an enhanced framework of the mediation process has been constructed where these factors have been added to. Since this research has a limited scope and is based on the grounded theory approach, a substantial amount of limitations and recommendations for future research have been given.

Design in healthcare projects is complex because of the high number of stakeholders and the involvement of end-users in the design process. This causes collaboration issues and information asymmetry which are barriers in communication and information exchange. The purpose of this research is to gain insight into the design process in healthcare building projects, more particularly into the way the end-users groups like the medical caregivers and the design team exchanged information and participate in developing the design. The focus of this research is the end-user design team interactions in the hospital design process. The main research question is: In hospital building projects, how does the project organization translate the end-user information into design? By performing a single case study, data was collected through context analysis, document analysis, and in-depth interviews about end-user involvement, information flow, and decision-making process in Erasmus MC Rotterdam new building project. Ten interviews were conducted with different members of the project organization including project managers and leaders, design experts, and also external advisors. The research analysis illustrates a participative design and decision-making process and the three main findings of this research:(1)End-users from different groups were involved in the design and decision-making process and the level of involvement was different in each stage. There is mainly a consultative form of user involvement that evolved into a co-design form in the technical phase of design. User representatives and designers were members of technical design teams: TOTs in this phase looking for design solutions together. (2) Two groups had key roles during the process: User Coordinators and the Building Expertise group. User Coordinators ensure the gathering of user information and engagement of end-users during the design, and they are the information exchange link between the end-users and the design team. The Building Expertise group in this project had an intermediator role acting in different boundaries of the organization. (3) Design decisions are based on continuous consultation with end-user representatives which are linked to the project organization at all levels. There was a transparent and informed decision-making process. Review matrices were decision-making support tools used by different groups including different end- end-user groups and help different groups exchange information in different boundaries. Research findings and the analysis gives a better understanding of information management, end-user, and stakeholder management in healthcare building design and planning and give insights on project management and how to organize the information exchange and the team interactions and use different methods and tools during the briefing and design process in complex building design projects like hospitals.

A statistical analysis into the health benefits of nature. Dividing nature into areas with a different landscape and areas with a different biodiversity score. Indicating a different influence on the aspects of heath depending on the landscape. Showing a greater influence in areas with the landscape open agricultural, half open and closed agricultural, forest and dunes. Considering the degree of biodiversity, areas with a higher biodiversity score are shown to score better on the different aspects of health. The quality of nature influence the health of the inhabitants to such a degree that areas with a large amount of high quality nature experience health benefits while areas with a low quality of nature experience a drawback.

Onderzoek naar de eigenaar-bewoners in zwakke woonwijken. Op basis van statistische analyse aan de hand van de WoOn Database(2009, 2012, 2015) zijn eigenaar-bewoners in de veertig Vogelaarwijken vergeleken met de eigenaar-bewoners. Zowel de bewoners als de woningen zijn bestudeerd. Hieruit komt een beeld naar voren waaruit blijkt dat de groep eigenaar-bewoners in de 40 wijken op die plek wonen omdat zij niet elders kunnen kopen of huren. Daarnaast hebben zijn minder financiële middelen om de woning te verduurzamen. De woningen van deze groep zijn op dit moment reeds slechter onderhouden en hebben gemiddeld een aanzienlijk slechter energie-label. De groep wordt niet voldoende bereikt door overheidsbeleid, en ook gemeenten hebben moeite deze mensen te activeren. Er zullen dan ook beleidsmaatregelen genomen moeten worden om ervoor te zorgen dat deze groep beter in staat is mee te gaan in de verduurzaming van de Nederlandse woningvoorraad, daarnaast zal er stop moeten komen op het uitponden van woningen met een label B- door woningcorporaties in deze wijken.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the construction industry in the Netherlands as projects came to a stop and project teams struggled to collaborate remotely. To cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and consequential virtual work environment, it is crucial to have effectively collaborating design teams. A renown contributor to team success in design teams is trust. Trust contributes to project success as it aligns the interest of stakeholders, increases the willingness to share information and improves team performance. In previous research it found that prior ties, or interactions in previous working relations could result in an improved level of trust in the design team. Moreover, expectations of future collaboration, or future ties, also improve the levels of trust in teams. These ties could therefore be used to increase the levels of trust and subsequently result in more efficient team processes. In addition, as the design team members were subjected to the restrictions related to the pandemic, it is important to investigate how this virtual work environment affects trust development. This research aims to fill this research gap and utilize its results in order to enable design team members to improve the levels of trust in their teams while coping with the effects of the change to a virtual work environment. By performing the research based on a literature review and a survey analysis, it is concluded that ties are an important factor in the development of trust. By utilizing the individual aspects of these ties, design team members can improve the levels of trust. It is suggested that prior ties are more important for trust development than future ties. However, it should be mentioned that prior ties are no silver bullet. Prior experiences may induce unmet pre-existing expectations and laxity. In addition, the potential non-beneficial effects of virtual meetings on trust in the design team should be considered. To deal with these effects it is advised to organize social and face-to-face meetings as these improve interpersonal connections. The research results indicate that this knowledge is not yet common and should therefore be emphasised. Lastly, it has to be mentioned that when considering this conclusion, it is important to recognize that certain limitations are present. Especially the considerable small sample size of the survey, which resulted in many other limitations like an unequal representation in personal and organizational roles, should be considered.

This study explores the use and demand for offices in the Netherlands in 2050. Employees and employers have not found a balance in hybrid working, resulting in significant hidden vacancy. This refers to office space that is leased but not utilized, leading to ineffective office management. Real estate managers lack a guide to formulate a future-proof strategy for their real estate portfolio. Therefore, this study examines four exploratory scenarios on how work could be conducted in 2050 and its implications for office demand. This helps map external developments that may influence the demand for offices. The central research question is: "How can societal trends influence the way people work and, therefore, the demand for offices?" In this study, human scale and technology use are identified as the two key uncertainties. Along these uncertainties, four scenarios have been developed: Human Hands, Bionic Man, Manual Machines, and Technological Domination. In each of these scenarios, there is a different balance between human and technology, resulting in distinct characteristics of offices. In the Human Hands scenario, the quantitative demand for offices increases, while in the other three scenarios, this demand decreases. Nonetheless, each scenario indicates that there will still be a demand for offices in the Netherlands in 2050.

This master thesis addresses the challenge of project performance in the Civil Engineering (CE) sector, emphasizing the significance of collaboration, communication, and understanding among interdisciplinary project teams. Focusing on the role of empathy in contractor-client collaborations, the study investigates the potential impact of serious gaming on enhancing the level of empathy of CE professionals. The research uses a mixed-method pre- and post-test design, utilizing a quasi-experimental approach without a control group. The study uses the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the short version of the Empathy Quotient (EQ short) questionnaire to measure the individual self-reported level of empathy before and after participants engage in the serious game 'Fouten maken Moed.' A subscale of the IRI showed a slight decrease in the level of empathy that possibly can be explained by a growth in awareness. While quantitative analysis did not reveal a significant change in overall empathy scores, qualitative findings suggest positive influences on interpersonal dynamics, openness, and talkativeness among participants, aspects that relate to the concept of empathy. Despite the limitations that arise from researching a difficult to operationalise main concept (empathy), a small sample size and having no control group. It can still be concluded that the intervention, including the serious game, created an environment that was conducive for participants to share personal information and vulnerabilities, fostering a sense of approachability and relatability. It seems like the game can, if facilitated well, function as a context-setter for Project Follow Up (PFU) or Project Start Up (PSU) meetings, enhancing collaboration between contractors and clients. Although the study acknowledges the fact that results cannot be generalised, it recommends refining empathy measurement methods and enhancing training interventions' briefing and debriefing aspects. Future research should include more extensive experiments with control groups to better isolate the impact of serious gaming on empathy levels in the CE sector, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the game's potential contributions to collaboration and project performance through empathy