Contemporary timber architecture is increasingly driven by standardised products and prefabricated systems. Timber is widely adopted as a material, but its architectural role often remains limited: it is present without being locally grounded. The current situation of Amsterdam amplifies this condition. The city has to densify within its protected historic fabric, for which rooftop extensions are an established municipal strategy. Even though Amsterdam has a well-documented historic timber culture, it often remains largely outside the working vocabulary of contemporary lightweight construction. This project proposes that historic timber joinery logic, extracted as transferable principles at the scale of the joint, can reintroduce legibility into contemporary timber architecture, grounding a new lightweight layer in the specific material memory of its city.

This project asks whether Amsterdam's historic timber joinery logic can inform an architectural language for new lightweight timber layers. It develops a tectonic framework through a three-step research-by-design procedure. Historic Amsterdam joints are analysed through literature and analytical redrawing, yielding three operative principles: curvature, tolerance, and node articulation. The principles are then repositioned within a contemporary frame of material sourcing, fabrication and regulation, organised through a tiered material system that combines European graded softwood, slope-grown spruce and urban hardwood. They are finally operationalised in the design of a lightweight transitional co-living top-up for the Zeemanshuis at Kadijksplein, Amsterdam. The framework is tested against a readability criterion: whether the principles remain traceable from the historic joint through the contemporary joint to the building.

The project contributes the first terms of a locally grounded contemporary timber language for Amsterdam, and a replicable method for extending it. The procedure is transferable to other principles, other cities, and other timber cultures. ... Read more

This thesis investigates the architectural and cultural evolution of mountain refuges in the Alps, tracing their development from rudimentary shelters to contemporary landmarks shaped by innovation and environmental awareness. Historically, these structures were simple enclosures built out of necessity by shepherds, traders, and early travellers. With the rise of alpinism in the 18th and 19th centuries, they evolved into more permanent refuges designed to support exploration and ensure safety at high altitudes.
The 20th and 21st centuries brought significant changes, as new materials, prefabrication techniques, and ecological considerations transformed the design and construction of alpine shelters. Contemporary examples like Refuge du Goûter and Bivouac Fanton demonstrate how modern mountain architecture balances durability, sustainability, and symbolic meaning in extreme conditions.
While existing research often separates technical, cultural, and environmental aspects, this thesis addresses the intersection of these dimensions. Through literature review, archival research, and case study analysis, this thesis answers the question: How have mountain refuges in the Alps evolved from rudimentary shelters to cultural and architectural landmarks for modern alpinists and hikers? It concludes that these shelters now serve not only as practical havens but also as cultural markers, representing human resilience, environmental awareness, and the ongoing dialogue between tradition and innovation in alpine architecture. ... Read more