S. Naito

Master thesis (1)

Student report (1)

2 records found

Threading Waters

Bridging the past and future through water education

Master thesis (2025) - S. Naito (author) , A.W. Hermkens (mentor) , T.P. Bennebroek (mentor) , M.T.A. van Thoor (mentor) , C.H.E. van Ees (graduation committee member)

Throughout history, water has shaped the way we build - from the beginning of settlements to the modern design of climate systems. Today, as we face growing environmental and educational challenges, the role of water in our built environment is shifting once again.

Threading Waters explores how architecture can act as a bridge between these timelines - sewing together the seemingly contrasting ends of our traditional relationships with water and contemporary approaches to sustainability and education. It proposes a space where water is not just a backdrop, but a core element of how we learn, interact, and adapt.

Located in the maritime industrial heritage line in the province of South Holland, the project brings together its local ties with the dredging industry with its economic vision to strengthen its innovation and research in the maritime industrial sector. By repurposing an old shipyard, the site acts as a public gateway to water research, making scientific knowledge more accessible and understandable to a wider audience. Drawing from the (in)tangible values of the existing conditions, it questions how we can use past practices as a springboard for future sustainable development.

Environmental Utopias

Ecotopias aiding the transition to an environmentally conscious society

Student report (2024) - S. Naito (author) , John Hanna (mentor)

In the midst of industrialisation and simultaneously glimpsing the first sights of globalisation, the 20th was eminent for its many technical successes but also its social and environmental consequences, which created an unprecedented division in society. Wishful utopian thinking ...

In the midst of industrialisation and simultaneously glimpsing the first sights of globalisation, the 20th was eminent for its many technical successes but also its social and environmental consequences, which created an unprecedented division in society. Wishful utopian thinking arose as a result of this dissatisfaction, and some architects adopted this idea to visualise a ‘perfect’ world, adhering to their political, social or environmental ideologies. The now clichéd term ‘sustainability’ was rarely of consideration at that time, but climate-conscious thinking and a desire to transition to a ‘greener’ lifestyle are evident in some utopian societies envisioned by architects and designers such as Ebenezer Howard and Paolo Soleri. Their ideas were presented to citizens as a model world where ecology, humans and architecture reside in complete harmony, encouraging people to take part in the common good. Images and advertising techniques were used to promote this ideal society to the public by depicting the ‘not yet’, giving designers the power to make sense of an unforeseen future. This thesis further explores how these environmental utopias, developed with comparatively little knowledge of the climate crisis to today, have influenced so-called independent sustainable communities in the contemporary world, and where, if at all, we can draw a line between utopia and ecological urban design.