A graduation research into the topic feeling at home for the heterogeneous modern household group single-person households. This research forms the basis of a design project for Merwe-Vierhaven in Rotterdam, where the concepts of comfort, social interaction, feeling of safety and identity come together.

The Corona crisis highly affected socio-economic circumstances, and this was expected to have changed housing preferences. Understanding what needs to be built in quality in addition to quantity is key to a sustainable housing market. Hence, this thesis researched whether and how housing preferences of (aspiring) owner occupiers in the Dutch housing market have changed due to the Corona crisis. The change in housing preferences was researched through a survey inquiring expressed stated preferences for dwelling attributes. Quantitative and qualitative data of 1458 useful respondents combined showed that due to Corona, for 17.8% their housing preferences changed for one or more housing attributes, and thus their preferred dwelling had changed. Per attribute, an average of 3.4% of the respondents changed their preference. Most changes relate to working from home, which severed the link between the home and the workplace, enabling as well as causing people to move further away, and which necessitates space in and outside the dwelling. Accordingly, the crisis has had the biggest effect on the preferred number of rooms in a dwelling. The number of rooms is imperative, not the size. The apartment decreased in popularity, and the preference for dwelling types with a garden increased. The functionality which respondents seek of their outdoor space are enabling social possibilities, providing entertainment and supporting mental health. The living environment for which people are willing to move further away should provide greenery, nature nearby, space, tranquility and privacy. It appears that due to the crisis the willingness to pay has increased as housing has increased in importance. The Corona crisis has had more effect on the housing preferences of multi person households with children than on other households. The crisis has had an excessive effect on households living in highly urban places. Four out of five respondents expect their changed preferences to be permanent, in particular regarding the number of rooms, the dwelling size and the preferred outdoor space. The preferred price range is expected to change again as the micro and macro level financial circumstances change. It needs to be kept in mind that this regards expectancy of respondents and thus regard uncertainties. The results need to be interpreted with caution as the data suggests a discrepancy in the level of ideality or reality which respondents have conjugated in their expressed preferences. Lastly, the effect of Corona on housing preferences might be bigger than currently observed, since identifying Corona as the cause for changing preferences seemed to be difficult when the preferences concerned diffuse attributes. Additionally, the current extremely high macro level constraints constrain respondents to the point where their new preferences might not be able to manifest.

The thesis focuses on developing a workflow that utilizes an interactive flexible mold as a means of designing and fabricating freeform surfaces. The focus will be on automating a flexible mold (Re-De-Form) and use it to study and fabricate freeform surfaces. Currently, the technology associated with Re-De-Form can produce complex surfaces with double curvature. One of its predecessors, FlexiMold, consists of pins which the user moves manually after reading their position from the digital model of a surface (Asut and Meijer, 2016). The system, however innovative, lacks accuracy, to be realized as a design tool for freeform surfaces. The automation will provide with the precision and accuracy needed for a freeform surface to be produced, as well as reduce the time needed for the digital freeform to be casted onto the physical freeform. The designer is freed from the obligation to place the mold pins each time a minor change in the digital model occurs (Asut, Eigenraam and Christidi, 2018). The validity of the method is tested through the design of a timber gridshell example and its panel fabrication. This includes form finding, structural and cross-sectional study and freeform panelization. A 3x3pin small scale model of Re-De- Form that deforms according to the respective freeform digital model, has been built. Additionally, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) associated with the manipulation of the surface ensures the clarity and intuitiveness of the method to the user. The final product combines physical and digital modelling into a fast, accurate, intuitive and reciprocal freeform design tool.

The discontinuities of urban development and city expansion reveal Haizhu a fragmented and diverse area that results in disparity and isolation in different communities and social groups, and decreasing green and blue spaces. The objective of this thesis is to create an integrated and comprehensive socio-ecological network in terms of corridor and node at multiple scales that can improve the socio-spatial integration and reconnect the fragmented green and blue spaces for Haizhu district. Corridor is creating a linear connection or movement between spaces with certain buffer area to surrounding context instead of just a linear feature as boundary, while node provides certain places where nature or people can integrate with each other.

In the past centuries, water structures such as canals, etc. were important as a lifeline for a city instead of being a facility only for water. However, globally, cities are turning their back to the water. Despite their potential for urban development, many canals or watercourses are losing their identity in urban areas. There is a potential of turning the canal or watercourses back to a lifeline for the city by landscape methods. Through landscape methods, there are potential to turn the role of water in cities more positive and let it influence life in the urban area.   The Grand Canal (known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang Grand Canal) in China, start from Hangzhou to Beijing, was a backbone for urban life and played an important role in social, culture, ecology and economy in history. Tongzhou, located in a low-lying area in the southeast corner of Beijing, was in history a hub along the Grand Canal that connected Beijing city center and southern China. Now, the Grand Canal in Beijing part is no longer used for transportation because of the lack of water. Even though the Grand Canal doesn't benefit Beijing as in the past anymore, it is still a strong urban element for creating public space and potential backbone for urban development in Tongzhou district. The Grand Canal can serve as a landscape infrastructure in Tongzhou district, creating spatial conditions for social-ecological inclusive urban development.   There are always roads or a stretch of green in parallel to the canal, several public area or waterfront dock located along the canal in the longitudinal dimension. The stretch of green was mostly planned as part of a park or public area. Space was only expanded in parallel to the canal almost in all types of waterfront. Longitudinally, the existing green area next to the canal is a separate system from the city. The opening of the green areas is always facing a wide road without any form of connection to the communities. The accessibility to the public area can be improved in the lateral dimension. Vertically, there is always a boundary in the border of water, it is hard for people to touch the water, which is considered dangerous being close to the water. To transform the Grand Canal as a landscape infrastructure, we need to make use of the expansion area and create a connection between city and water, people and water. Hence, space is going to be considered as a zone instead of a line around the canal and from the upland trail to instream. Moreover, the Grand Canal as one of the most important water source carriers is in charge of keeping water and keep the quality of water. There are moves of water retention and purification to be made in the design process. In conclusion, most of the space along the canal only expanded longitudinally but lack of consideration on the lateral and vertical dimension.   This project explores the potentials of the Grand Canal as a backbone for urban development. It is considered to be an urban landscape infrastructure that exploits the longitudinal(amount of water and water connection), lateral(connection between water and city, ecology connection) and vertical(connection between water and people, water and ecology) dimensions and creates conditions for the development of a social-ecological inclusive urban landscape and sustainable water management.   

Homeworking can have benefits both for employees and employers, such as a productivity increase and a better work-life balance. Still, homeworking arrangements were less implemented than expected throughout the years. Now, due to Covid-19, every office worker is highly recommended to work from home as much as possible. Therefore, everybody works at home with either a suitable or an unsuitable home work environment. During this ‘mass experiment’ new insights can be gathered on the experience of homeworking and the influence the home work environment has on productivity. Employees are sometimes forced to carry out certain work activities at home that were considered unsuitable beforehand. So, prejudices about homeworking can be confirmed or invalidated and specific aspects of the home work environment that influence productivity can be determined. For this study quantitative data of the research project, ‘We Werken Thuis’ (We Work at Home; WWH) are used. First, a literature review is conducted to have a clear overview of what already has been researched on the topic of homeworking and the work environment related to productivity. From the literature study, a theoretical model is developed. This theoretical model includes the home work environment, divided into the physical home work environment and the social environment, the satisfaction with the home work environment, and individual control variables being of influence on the perceived productivity. It was predicted that all these elements affect productivity, both directly and indirectly. The findings from the literature review are tested by statistical analyses (N = 36,102). Bivariate and regression analyses were performed, followed by integral path analysis. These analyses showed that the physical home work environment, satisfaction with the home work environment, and individual control variables directly affect productivity. Also, the physical home work environment indirectly affects productivity via satisfaction with the home work environment. The same was found for the individual control variables. Furthermore, the individual control variables influence the physical home work environment itself as well, which indirectly affects the perceived productivity via the satisfaction with the home work environment. The outcomes of this research can be used by practitioners to revise their current corporate real estate strategy or by real estate consultants to advise companies about their office use in the future. It fills the gap in research on the influence specific aspects of the home work environment have on productivity during homeworking.

As part of the Heritage and Architecture studio, the Vacant Heritage project was offered. An adaptive re-use assignment in which a former Vroom & Dreesmann department store is researched and then designed with. In a broader context, this graduation studio is aimed at finding ways to redevelop the existing stock of architecture, while keeping in mind a large variety of social, practical and sustainable aspects in mind. It asks the student to think about how they can be part of a change, both in the architectural object itself as the way designers approach the ever limited supply of resources available. For this graduation project, the former Vroom & Dreesmann in Maastricht was first researched andthen designed with. A former department store that has grown and shrunk throughout its existence. In 1932 the first part of the store was built. A building with a monumental façade designed by Dutch architect Jan Kuijt. In its presence at the Grote Staat in the historic city its center, the building has expanded twice (in the 1960’s and the 1970’s) and was divided into two department stores in 2002. Within the research approach of the ‘Touch and Feel’ under supervision of Wido Quist, a research was conducted examining the façade its materiality and its relation to the surroundings. By researching how the façade becomes part of the relation between the public, semi-public and private space, a better understanding of the possibilities for the redesign of the building was created.The proposed design and program is aimed at a broad target audience, including tourists and local residents. The new program of the building offers the public leisure activities while simultaneously serving an educational purpose. With its mixture of different functions (a wine experience center, a museum and a cooking workshop space), the local traditions and heritage of the city of Maastricht and its surroundings are presented to the public in an interactive way. The architecture of the building itself contributes to this interactive learning experience by being an integral part of the story that is told within the building.

The Pearl River Delta (PRD), as one of the fastest developing deltas in terms of land expansion and urban development in the world, is facing serious challenges related to Urban expansion & densification, urban flooding, and identity crisis. The objective of this research is to design a landscape framework and explore adaptive design principles for water resilient urban development of Pazhou. Applying a layered and landscape-based approach, the design uses a method of building up a fundamentally water resilient landscape structure, following with adaptive development structured by TOD principles and high-quality urban space principles.

The topic of the graduation project is the transformation of the former V&D department store in the city of Leiden. The aim of the project is to re-design the building in order to house a series of new uses which include public facilities (such as an urban park and a public interior space), retail shops and two hotels (one student hotel and a boutique hotel). All of these functions respond to the qualities and needs of the area and the people of Leiden. The main architectural interventions that are carried out in order to make the old department store suitable for the new programme are the creation of a courtyard in the centre of the building, the design of the facades surrounding this courtyard as well as the reshaping of one of the exterior facades of the building. The new facades in the courtyard are cladded with prefabricated steel panels which are filled with bricks. This is a contemporary form of craftsmanship in brick facades, which ultimately aims to add a sustainable character to the new interventions as these panels can easily be disassembled and re-used in other projects. The new facades refer through their composition to historic buildings and facades that used to exist on the site but were demolished with the expansion of the V&D in the 1960’s. The interventions in the exterior façade also partly aim to refer to older architectural objects that used to exist before the expansion. The design principles of craftsmanship and reference which were fundamental in the original composition of Van der Laan became the main starting points for the new design through their re-interpretation and transposition in our time. For example, the principle of reference which was used by van der Laan in order to connect his building to the surrounding architecture, was used in the new design to refer to demolished historical buildings, in order to shape a historic consciousness to the people of Leiden about the transformation of the site throughout the 20th century. The principle of applying craftsmanship in brick facades, which was pursued by Van der Laan in order to make the building appealing to the upper classes of the city, was reintroduced in the new interventions but with the aim of making these sustainable, one of the most important issues that architecture faces today. Two basic principles, craftsmanship and reference, were transposed and looked upon from a different angle in the new interventions with the aim of creating an architectural outcome where old and new harmoniously co-exist as well as giving a new meaning for the whole composition relevant to our own unique time. Throughout his MSc studies at Delft University of Technology, Pieter van der Weele was supported by a scholarship from the Nikos & Lydia Tricha Foundation for Education and European Culture.

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the energy performance of high-rises, in order to increase their energy-efficiency. The graduation project focuses on the facade design of high-rises, studying the potential for a nearly Zero-Energy high-rise office building in the Netherlands, according to the BENG requirements. The research objective is to establish guidelines, for early design stages, for the facade design of a nearly Zero-Energy high rise office building in the temperate climate, supported by computational optimization. Based on the results of the optimization, facade design proposals for a reference building are suggested. Within this scope, a methodology is also developed that allows the parametric design, the energy performance evaluation and the optimization of the facade design of that type of buildings.