This speculative project named “Bridging Heterotopia” is named as such because it draws from the guiding principle that is juxtaposition in real space, of many spaces together that would normally be incompatible. This principle materializes through a bridge which will be a facilitator for different cultures in Rotterdam to find a common space. In this project, the identity of Rotterdam is explored through architectural entities connected to the city’s social and economical history and a future vision is materialized into a living, changing bridge to reverse the current disintegration in the society. To illustrate the inner workings of the design, three cultures were selected. The architectural components of these cultures were then dismantled based on historical importance and current identifiable values that they represent for the members of these cultures. The ties between the common denominators of these seemingly far apart cultures, both architecturally and socio-geographically, were analyzed and represented within the continuous feedback loop between architecture and cultures of societies. The project builds upon the state-of-the-art technology that is available at the time of its conception by analysing the core principles and reflecting the plausible advancements onto the future realm of possibilities.

Explores the possibility of developing robotic building system and long-duration architecture solutions with the aim to re-settle post disaster environments, through digital driven design parameters, material and numeric controlled technology research and experimentation through scale models and prototypes

My graduation project (Permeable Playground) is to design a space for art that integrates Bauhaus Dessau and the new Bauhaus Museum in Dessau Station, Germany. The project begins with an analysis of the mechanisms that capture the relationship between art and the human being. And establishes assumptions about the place for 'creativity' to the new age. Based on these assumptions, this proposal will release space for the unique relationship between art and people, and incorporate them into the city to enhance the connection of Bauhaus and the new Bauhaus museum with the expansion of the experience of art. Here 'the expansion of experience in art and creation' is the principle of this project. The extended relationship between art and human means that by improving technologies, the production and distribution of art can be implemented easily. This means that the boundaries between the viewer and the artist gradually disappear, and the space for art has the direction for ordinary life besides the conventional museums. So, what is the space for 'arts' that is so close to everyday life? To find out the answer of this question, this project analyzes the architectural typology of Dessau in Germany and adopts and changes it, hoping that the space of new art is not a just object but a 'space' that can 'encounter' in the city all the time. Understanding and application of 'city' and 'type' is the core methodology of the research. Here' understanding' refers to research and 'application' refers to the domain of design. When accumulated knowledge needs to accept the new possibility, it needs reasons. The project is being carried out in the Robotic Building of the Architectural Engineering Department. This project has a premise, the foundation of the fourth industrial revolution, that is, the development of robotic technology, based on the question of what changes can be made based on the changed background. The irresistible desire for change based on new technologies will rewrite the relationship between architecture and human beings, which will gradually be accepted to the 'context' of the city. Through these aspects, this project has reflected the chance to bridge between technology and design, history and philosophy, context and diversity. Whole relationships provide ways to implement abstract or theoretical information to realization/ fabrication.

It is known that the global impact of solid waste is becoming more worrying day by day; however, the application of reused materials in the built environment is not yet fully embraced. In particular, plastic composites are now fundamental for the global world economy but the organization of their end life needs to be improved. Therefore, the research investigates the possibility of reusing plastic in the built environment through means of robotic fabrication and computational design. Thus exploring different design possibilities based on reclaimed plastic objects, testing their structural stability and robotically modifying them. In order to create a design system for a pavilion made of reclaimed materials, based on a computational workflow. Throughout the course of the research project, physical testing and software simulations have been performed to assess the properties of the robotically fabricated geometry, in order to retrieve design guidelines. Moreover, a digital workflow was developed including performance-driven design, performance evaluation and geometry generation for robotic fabrication. To conclude, the study emphasized how rather than employing new resources in the fabrication of a pavilion structure, it is possible to promote the use of reclaimed material using digital techniques and reversing the design process. Instead of designing a shape and consequently choosing a material, the design will start from the choice of a reclaimed material and the analysis of its potential, in order to originate a structure according to it. Besides the research project aims to facilitate the process through the creation of a computational workflow that can be applied to multiple reclaimed objects and shapes.

The following project is an exploration of computational tools, parametric design and robotic fabrication in the context of the AMC hospital. This multi-functional and complex structuralist building is due for renovation, both in terms of sustainability but also innovation, technology and place-making. It was an ideal testing ground for the way these new technologies can improve the healing qualities of space, quantitatively and qualitatively (i.e thermal comfort, acoustics, light properties, vegetation, ergonomics, etc). My design consists of a parasitic intervention or pavilion within the public areas of the AMC that integrates several parameters through variable scales and porosity and can be materialized through additive manufacturing. It also displays the interesting dynamic of how non-standard architecture can enhance standard architecture. The research and methods utilized can be transferred to other fields as well, since the scripting and algorithms developed are applicable through a wide array of projects.

With a declining mining industry, Canada is looking for new models of economy. Arctic Eco-Tourism has already started growing over the last decade and is expected to grow even more rapid in future. This brings the chance of economic growth and employment. But it is also a danger¬ous situation for nature. Since the Canadian north is to more than 98% untouched, uncontrolled growth of traditional building complexes must not destroy nature as is already did in the south. The concept suggests combining two aspects of Canadian past with one of the future. The declared goal is not to destroy any more nature by infrastructure of insensible build-ings for tourism. The site of the Diavik Diamond Mine has been chosen for two things: First, to re-naturalize the area by money made from tourism. Second, to build an invisible starting point for Eco-Tourism in this area. The huge holes, which have been the result of a process called open-pit-mining, are a perfect spot to implement a building on a site from which nature was already banished. Another main point is to use the old airfield as infrastructure for tourism. No additional streets need to be built. The aim is to create a resource efficient and fully autocratic building complex for arctic Eco-Tourism. This complex will mainly offer temporary accommodation for tourists. It is the goal to use this project to examine the opportunities with robotically fabricated CLT structures as prefabricated building parts.

The project is situated in the city of Vienna, Austria, and attempts to connect two divided quarters of the city. Over the years inhabitants from both sides of the city have become more disconnected. By retelling the story of Maurice Ravel's 'La Valse' in an architectural sculpture, I will attempt t reconnect the two groups of people. Using basic music- and color theory I will translate his musical ideas into architectural form. Musically, the structure will translate into an architectural circulation diagram, where volumes are placed accordingly. A vector field will establish a relationship between the volumes. Material distribution and detailing will be informed by the musical color, and will have input by acoustics, porosity and lighting. Finally I will reflect upon the parametric design process - how it has helped the flow of data and design, and what new opportunities it may bring in the future.

Eventually either the oil and gas supply will be exhausted, or society will develop methods to rely completely on eco-friendly energy sources. What will then happen to the oil industry and their factories and structures? In this hypothetical situation, offshore drilling rigs, structures made of billions of euros worth of steel and concrete, will need to be repurposed. These highly sophisticated platforms and jackets resist storms, frequent waves (resonance), and salt water. These abandoned rigs provide society with the opportunity to repurpose, and even extend the site over and under water. Humans are facing the dangerous consequences of the climate change. Especially the population of the Netherlands, which has to face rising sea levels. An undesired, nor not impossible scenario, would be the loss of livable land due to flooding. The loss of building and living area would result in drastic changes to the means of life. On the one hand, we need to research possibilities to slow down the process, and also change our way of life. However, on the other hand, we must look for concepts and design proposals to support a lifestyle with radical climate changes. Our society, human behavior, and cities are changing due to the exponential progress of technology. How are we going to live in a future, and which role will architecture play in an augmented world? It might emerge as a balancing act between utopia and dystopia, between the total dependency and repression of the machines and the freedom to achieve more than we ever imagined. Society’s addiction to technical devices emphasizes the urgency at hand to begin to work with new technologies instead of denying the process categorically.

Vacancy is and remains a serious problem in today's office landscape. Many spaces and buildings are unable to adapt to the modern knowledge economy is shifting towards. This project attempts to provide a solution for disconnected, vacant offices spaces, particularly through the integration of parametric architecture. The redevelopment of the vacant floors of the Marconitowers, situated in the Merwevierhaven in Rotterdam, is the end result of this proposal.

Globalization and urbanization produce large amount of space, which cannot be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with identity. This kind of non-places creates neither singular identity nor relations; only solitude and similitude, especially for those metropolises, like Shanghai. Shanghai is described as the place where eastern culture meets the western one, due to its colonial history. In the 1990s, rapid re-development and economic reforms began in Shanghai. Shanghai is one of the fastest developing cities in the world and has been described as the “showpiece” of the booming economy of mainland China. On the other hand, the structure of the society also changed subsequently. The relationship between the urban space and people need to be re-examined. The research of the graduation project starts from research’s personal life experience. Shanghai People’s square is in the center area of Shanghai, it is one of the top tourist destinations in the city and metro station of People’s square is one of the busiest interchange station. Such space used to be attractive to people due to its special historical and cultural background. But now its identity is challenged, becoming a pass-by place more than a destination. My graduation project is determined to dissolve the social and cultural alienation and to repair the relationship between people and space.

This project seeks to investigate the multiple materialisation approaches of timber as a construction material for a residential/mixed use building sited in Berlin, Germany. Seeing as there is a major housing crisis Europe wide with the added concern of the growing environmental concern, this proposal aims to be the embodiment of applied research in timber construction, combining both techniques of mass customisation as well as standardisation. The ethos is that while some aspects of the project must utilise innovative construction technologies such as robotics, other facets still rely on standardised components. This philosophy is rooted in that a complete overnight transition from one industrial construction methodology (standardisation) to a new era of mass customisation is too abrupt for the construction industry. Therefore a hybrid adaptation of both system within project, would be the methodology to tackle this issue and further advocate for how innovation in the construction industry can be hybridised rather than completely revamped. Furthermore, this research and development endeavour tackles the topic of housing which intuitively is a logical testing ground for this proof of concept. The two main avenues of research in this project are the following: 1: Discretised timber joinery system (mass standardisation) 2: Large timber compression shells (mass customisation) The goal being to utilise both methodologies only where appropriate. For example, areas of the building that are under large amounts of compression forces such as the timber shell anchors are fabricated though a method of robotic subtraction given a wooden bounding box. Other areas such as partition walls, flooring, and facade, utilise a more standard approach combining material strategies such as CLT, particle board and simple timber structural beams/girders that aggregate in an additive fashion. Conclusively this project attempts to showcase the multiple use of timber as a construction material and how different treatments of this diverse and living material can encompass larger portions of the construction of a building then we originally thought. The idea being to reduce the amount of materials being used in a building as much as possible and advocating for timber being the construction material of the future especially when integrated with robotic building operations.

The current demand for living in cities necessitates architectural designers to reflect on how this densification is to be done. Based on analysis of a current densification project in Rotterdam (Rotta Nova) different problems with current densification designs are formulated. From these problems an alternative design for inner city dwellings is suggested, using the advantages of computational design and robotic manufacturing. The first problem with current densification strategies has to do with the bounding volume of the building, which does not take into account the negative impact on its surroundings (mainly with regards to shading). Secondly, the configuration of the apartments themselves does not take into account the limited space available. Ideally, in a high-density environment we would assign as much volume to every space that it actually needs; living rooms would desirably be spacious, while bedrooms can be smaller. Thirdly, current densification designs often replace green areas within the city. This greatly worsens the urban heat island effect, especially in Rotterdam. Based on these three problems I propose an alternative densification strategy, materialized as an alternative design for the apartment building I analyzed. This densification strategy consists of three scale levels. On the macro scale level, a bounding volume is generated which ensures minimal shading impact on surrounding buildings and public spaces. On the meso scale level a generative algorithm is developed which populates this bounding volume with apartment spaces of different sizes, with exactly the dimensions they require; functional areas are minimized, while living quarters are maximized. On the micro scale level, a building system is developed using concrete 3D printing which allows the production of the resulting non-standard building. These efforts result in an alternative design on the site of Rotta Nova. On one hand, this is site specific; the bounding volume of the generative model is based on local site conditions. However, the workflows on all three scale levels are applicable in other dense urban areas as well, be it with slight modifications.

Architecture has been using materials that are extremely durable, disregarding the lifespan and purpose of the structure. While this approach to materiality provides a high standard for structural stability and environmental control, it also causes a large volume of waste at the end of the life span of the building. While the material that’s been used mostly cannot be recycled, reused or biodegrade; it also forced the next structure to extract new resources from the environment. Introducing environment friendly materials and utilizing these materials efficiently in the design process is critical as the consumption of natural resources is becoming dangerously high. Computation has been used for optimization of form and shape for decades. This research attempts to understand environmentally friendly materials, mud and bioplastics, and develop a computational design method that will implement these new materials behaviour and optimizing their use of them in the design process.