Families are leaving the city of Amsterdam, mainly due to a lack of safety, child friendly outdoor spaces and affordable and appropriate size housing. Yet many of them do want to stay in the city, and the city wants to maintain them too, as they are important for the whole circle of city life. The notion of ‘family’ though is rather general, and usually implies traditional families. However, the amount of ‘modern’ families, such as single parent-, co-parent- and patchwork families is growing. They have even more specific needs than traditional families, due to their often complicated household configuration. The main task of this project is to provide suitable housing for these modern families, thus housing that is: child friendly and adaptable to changing household configurations.

Since the oil crises during the 1970s, there has been a growing awareness of thermal losses through windows in buildings. Nowadays, double-glazing is a common product for moderate maritime climate. In the Netherlands two permit requirements are calculations regarding nearly zero energy and environmental performance of a building. In order to reach nearly zero energy buildings, triple glazing and even quadruple glazing is considered as possibility. This has negative affects on the environmental performance of a building, because glass does need a lot of resources for production. A solution to that challenge could be the application of thin glass sandwiches, a structural sandwich with two ultra-thin faces (0.5mm) of glass. The structural sandwich is common in the aviation industry to stiffen and strengthen an element without adding significant weight. Downside is the increased conduction through the core material. Question is: to what extent can a thin glass sandwich panel, compared to regular insulated glass units, counterbalance its decreased thermal performance by reducing embodied energy during production? This research focusses on the material choice, quantity and distribution in the core of a sandwich panel in order to maximize thermal performance for a moderate maritime climate. In order to do so, materials from the CES library are evaluated. Detailed analytical calculations are used to determine the thermal performance regarding different patterns. FEA simulation software is used to determine the thermal performance regarding the cross-section of the actual thermal bridge between the two faces. From this research, the best solution is picked and evaluated on energy consumption, order to identify the effects on a building scale. General trends are identified and transformed into a design for a thin glass sandwich. Next to that, design guidelines are extracted for designers in order to design a thin glass sandwich without the need of calculating.

Amsterdam is like many other cities facing several problems in the coming future. For my graduation project especially two project are important. Firstly, our food system is under a lot of pressure. Worldwide we are not able to feed the global population. On a smaller scale the population of cities is growing due to urbanization. The urbanization causes difficulties to feed the urban citizens. Next to that, urbanizations also causes a growing distance between us and our food. A close relation with the food we eat is helping to understand the need for change. Secondly, due to the earlier mentioned urbanization, Amsterdam is facing a housing shortage. Especially starters do have a hard time finding a suitable place to live within the city. Starters on the housing market cannot find a place to live because of a lack of availability and affordability. Densification of the city will help solving the housing shortage and the high prices.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to research the potential of smart tools in the increasingly dynamic used campus workplace from a user perspective, to provide the campus manager with information on both the smart tool product and the smart tool implementation process. Methodology: The currently used smart tools are explored by filling out a standardized form. The in-depth case studies are conducted following the user journey approach. By drawing a timeline of a day and mapping the different events with associated feelings, an in-depth view of the users’ day can be captured. Findings: The findings show 9 different smart tools functions. Within these groups, smart tools differ in terms of level of accuracy and combination of provided functions. The user journeys present the diversity in smart tool requests that users can have, which is strongly related to the provided workplace. Based on the findings, implications for the campus manager are summarized in an ambition framework, which presents four strategies to approach a smart tool project. Practical implications: The findings from this research are based on the campus manager perspective and therefore provide implications for the campus manager. Originality: The paper provides insights in several smart tool projects. As still many smart tool projects are not considered to be successful after implementation, information is needed to guide campus manager throughout this process.

The thesis explores the socio-territorial orientation of Finnmark, northern Norway, in relation to the growing international interest for the development of the mineral industry. This interest is met locally with directly opposing views, favouring on the one hand the cultural development related to land-based practices, and on the other hand exploiting Finnmarks high resource potential for the benefit of municipal growth and job development. Difficulties arise with the geographic distribution of ethnicities. Proposed developments of the mineral industry find more support in coastal areas and although most indigenous Sámi find their home inland, they depend to a large degree for their livelihood on this coastal areas. The current fractured political landscape is highly related to and tied up with the complex history of internal center-periphery dynamics, colonization and stigmatization, which took (and in a way are still taking) place under the flagship of national assimilation policies of ‘norwegianization’, sustaining Finnmarks not-so-postcolonial present. In this perspective, three mining cases are of interest, due to the different social and political responses to the mining plans: Nussir in Kvalsund, Bidjovagge in Kautokeino and Sydvaranger in Sør-Varanger. Motivations behind decision-making on these cases illustrate clearly the conflicts of interests and demonstrate the difficulties for coexistence of directly opposing world views. Through an understanding of the formation of societal strata, the argument of the thesis unfolds over an in-depth spatiotemporal and on-site analysis of the cases and their specific socio-territorial setting in Finnmark. I argue that we should look more critically at the tendentious role of the modus operandi of urbanists and geologists (more specifically of resource mappers), in their way of influencing decision-making and framing and shaping cultural life, especially in contested territories. The thesis then moves towards a possible way forward through redesigning our conventional tools and methods for a more inclusive territorial-based endogenous growth model, such an inclusive growth model has the potential to bring together on the long term the opposing visions and ideas on the future of the mining industry and the preservation of indigenous culture. I end by arguing that knowledge building from a combined perspective has the potential to evolve the acceptance amongst cultures abiding by different worldviews. Effectively, the newly proposed geological era of the Anthropocene, proposes also the updating modern science with cultural diversity, asking for renewed responses away from the modern tradition.

The design of this family friendly building complex in the city center of Amsterdam is the result of the Dutch Housing graduation studio, Stronghold Amsterdam 2017 - 2018. This project focusses on the city living of Amsterdam, where high density and future orientation are very important. There is an increasing amount of young families that leave the big cities. In this Amsterdam has the highest number of all cities in the Netherlands. The main reason for leaving is the extension of the family (or plan to), which results in new requirements for the house and living environment. Most families want to stay in the city but can’t find a house that meets the new requirements. They look for more space, a safe environment for children to play and for an affordable price. This is not possible in the housing market of Amsterdam. To provide a living environment for these young families in Amsterdam the research reviewed the needs of young families and investigated which design solutions could satisfy them on the scale of the neighbourhood, building and dwelling. These design solutions are obtained from literature and six case studies and combined in a scheme. The main aspects that are important for the living environment of young families are: safety, facilities, playing and interaction, supervision, space and identity. All the design solutions are divided into these aspects. A personal choice of some of the design solutions from the six topics provide the focus of the design. The design creates affordable housing and a safe living environment in the city center of Amsterdam, on the Tweede Weteringsplantsoen. To provide this the design expends the living space of the residents towards the collective space of the building. This consists out of a court-like raised square and a new street level on the fourth floor of the complex with a gallery and small squares. These open spaces at the top provide the characteristic form of the building and a strong identity. The dwellings are orientated towards the collective spaces of the building, to allow for supervision of the children playing outside. Children of different ages can slowly expend their range of action from the safety of the shared spaces of the building towards the city. The layout of the dwellings provides flexible use of the rooms and the possibility to create more rooms.

Gouda is one of several cities in the west of the Netherlands which still have a traditional medieval core, built on the long stretches of subsiding peat ground. The effects of subsidence, combined with the removal of surface water in the last century, are now further exacerbated by the increasing threat of climate change, which results in a growing flood risk. This thesis develops a plan to improve water storage and decrease risks using green-blue spatial interventions. The capacity of such interventions is calculated in various situations, ranging from normal rainy days to extreme precipitation occurrences without support from existing technical systems. At the same time, the potential for spatial changes is tested, both through analysis and workshops with inhabitants and other stakeholders. New interventions must be closely integrated within the existing structure of the city in order to protect the monumental value of the existing medieval core and ensure the character of the city centre remains recognisable. This leads to an integrated, three-pronged strategy in which the various characteristics and problems of the city centre each result in a different approach, including both monumental protection as well as a new drive towards innovative water management practices. To further ground these strategies into the existing city structure, new street profiles are developed, which show what level and type of adaptation can be added to specific streets. Interventions are chosen in such a way that each change references an already existing element of the city without being directly derivative. Instead they evoke the character of the city without copying it. In one location, water storage was brought back from where it was removed in the 20th century, adapted in a modernized way that brings more storage capacity as well as new functions. This creates a city in which monumental buildings are protected from flooding, precipitation is safely discharged and the potential for new water experiences is re-opened.

The site of the project is in Anderlecht, Brussels. The design proposal including two parts: urban proposal and architectural proposal. For the urban renewal, I re-allocated the arrangement considering the programs, the new buildings groups follow their counterpart one by one, several inner courtyards acting as the spine of the site, connecting those groups. The architectural proposal is a manifesto of how it is possible to treat old houses. The three adjacent industrial buildings become my design target. I keep most of the ordinary architecture elements we could found in this task as the spolia. The programs have transformed from industrial space to a community center including a local food market and a daycare center, in between would also be an inner courtyard enclosed by two small pavilions.

Problem statement: Organisations need real estate to enable them to perform their activities effectively and efficiently in a safe, protected and pleasurable environment. Typically, large organisations use many buildings to perform their activities. The relationship between a building (supply) and its users (demand) is constantly changing. This change is fuelled by technology and a host of economic and cultural trends. Because the supply - demand is changing continuously, most of the time there is a mismatch between what a building can offer and what an organisation requires. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges in Corporate Real Estate Management is reducing the gap between the high speed of business and the slow speed of real estate, i.e. between the so-called dynamic real estate demand and relatively static real estate supply. Research objective: Based on the objective of Corporate Real Estate Management, the research objective of this graduation work is to develop and present knowledge of how the physical resource can be enhanced by implementing ‘Office as a Service’. Because the mismatch is dynamic and will change frequently, a strategic decision approach to managing the mismatch between the user organisation and the building is proposed in order to offer a suitable way of approaching these problems. Therefore the main research question is: “How can ‘Office as a Service’ be a strategic decision approach for an organization to optimize their physical resources in order to obtain maximum added value?” Research method: By conducting operational-empirical research, the research questions are answered. By means of operational research, a strategic decision approach is developed that can be used in the process of forming an accommodation strategy to align real estate to the needs of the core business. Empirical research was used to obtain input for the development of the operational model. This empirical research focused on the performance of ‘Office as a Service’ strategies in relation to both the presumed added values of real estate and the various typologies of occupier space demands. To obtain the required input, a method of a literature review, semi-structured interviews and a cross-case study was used. Key findings and conclusion: A strategic decision approach is developed based on the concept of a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) model. The development of this Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis model integrates the decision-makers criteria, which are based on the presumed added values of real estate as well as the five typologies of occupier space demand, with the alternative ‘Office as a Service’ strategies. Based on the model of Den Heijer (2011) to assess the added value of real estate decisions regarding the four stakeholder perspectives with their corresponding presumed added values, eight added values divided over all four stakeholder perspectives can be related to the concept of ‘Office as a Service’. Next to the presumed added values of real estate which contribute to the strategic goals of an organization, an operational aspect is added to the decision-criteria taking into account five typologies of occupier space demand of an organisation. Based on the Core-Periphery operational real estate portfolio space model of Gibson and Lizieri (1999) in relation to the alternative ‘Office as a Service’ strategies this results in the following interpretation: a stepped ascending relationship where the increase of flexibility is answered by a more external ‘Office as a Service’ strategy.

This thesis project develops an inclusive design in between Hyllie, Holma and Kroksbäck, in Malmö, Sweden. An investigation of social and spatial processes outlines the ever changing society and urban space of Malmö within the large context of globalisation, migration and urbanisation. The city has been transformed from an industrial city towards a knowledge society with a focus to become an attractive, environmental friendly city. On the other hand, the city struggles with challenges related to ethnic and cultural diversity, increasing inequalities and a changing political climate. These contradictions are felt in the collective urban life in public space with increasing segregation and exclusion. A prospect to foster an inclusive city is shaped highlighting the process and design aspects of inclusion and a transition towards a ‘participation society’. A development model shows the aspects of an inclusive public space which links public space to a public culture. An inclusive design is developed between Hyllie, Holma and Kroksbäck, with the conceptual reinterpretation of a political metaphor ‘people’s home’. It takes the spatial aspects of a home literally, by creating a modular structure of ‘rooms’ which is continuously in transition. It builds up over time and many people and organisations have to participate. Creating this place in between two fundamentally different areas and social groups is an idealised scenario of the future, where inequality is reduced and perceptions about others are changed. It is a way to imagine a city where people have learned to live with each other.

This graduation report studies the facilitating role of the municipality in the urban area development process in the Netherlands. Though this role is often mentioned in articles, it has not been defined due to a gap in literature and a gap in practical knowledge on the subject. This research tries to reduce that gap, by understanding the municipal roles, goals, measures and means to steer urban area development projects better and by conceptualising the facilitating role. This is done by answering the main research question: ‘What does the role of a facilitating municipality in the urban area development process in the Netherlands entail?’. An extensive literature study and a case study with five embedded cases provide valuable information to answer that question. The facilitating role is part of a framework of four municipal roles to steer urban area development projects: shaping plans, regulating markets, stimulating markets and facilitating the process. The facilitating role is supported by three measures: acquiring market information and knowledge, managing market rooted networks and organising the municipal project team. These measures are supported by a set of means and pre-conditions. The facilitating role is about facilitating the process of urban area development and does not mean ‘letting go’, ‘laissez-fair’ or facilitate only market party stakeholders. The facilitating role can be played by the municipality in all phases of the life-cycle of an urban area and regardless of the form of public-private co-operation.

Within the field of architecture there has been done a lot of research of the experience of architecture and the behaviour of people in cities and around buildings. There is however little knowledge about the intangibles related to (the parts of) buildings that invite to (daily) rituals. A building provides place for rituals and taking part in the rituals influences the emotions and the experience of the user. Rituals can be used to reduce stress. The Delft University Campus offers a very challenging case to test emotions and rites in the built environment, because of the work pressure that comes with an array of emotions. Assumed is that the users of the buildings have personalised rites to deal with these emotions. How can an architectural design be made in which rites and emotions are optimised? An architectural design of a centre of retreat should invites people to develop their own rituals.

People share a deep-seated need for a 'sense of home'. It is an intangible, psychological and sociological need that is projected on, and connected to the Built Environment (Rennels & Purnell, 2017; Dovey, 1985). Many people in western societies meet their 'sense of home' through traditional housing. Yet, there is a small marginalized group of homeless people whom are unable to do so. Many suffer from severe physical and mental health diseases, which makes it even more challenging to maintain a stable life. Dutch policymakers provide shelters to assist those in need, but these accommodations do not positively affect the well-being of the homeless. In addition, many shelters fail to facilitate the wish of homeless people of dying in the shelter (Klop et al., 2018). Therefore, the aim of this research is to redefine shelter design so to improve the mental well-being of homeless people. This, by learning lessons from psycho-supportive design approaches in the healthcare environment. Hence, the main question in this research is: ‘Which architectural elements in the care environment have a positive effect on the (mental) well-being of homeless (terminal) people with chronic mental health problems?’. The above question is answered by means of literature studies, case study analysis and fieldwork. From the results, several spatial-design components have been extracted and categorized into problems and solutions concerning the theoretical themes of: stigma; security; sensorial stimulation and environmental experience. The results showed that privacy, daylight entrance, access to nature and social integration are the four main elements that positively improve one’s (mental or physical) well-being. Additional spatial-design components have been summarized into four conclusive Evidence-Based-Design guidelines and crucial design factors which may be applied on both urban and building scale. When all four guidelines are considered in the architectural design of shelters, the best mental health outcomes are achieved. As the issue of homelessness is not yet solved and the number of people with complex care needs increase, the Netherlands is in desperate need of more assisted and affordable housing. With this research architects, urban planners and developers are encouraged to enter the discourse of homelessness. Moreover, they are stimulated to use the Evidence-Based Toolkit into the design process of new homeless shelters.

Addresses questions social isolation, privatization and individualization of urban sprawl. Focuses on existing boundaries fences, walled estates, commonly present in contemporary gated society. Enables negotiation of limits between neighbors, houses, possessions and streets. Introduces human proximity to nature and other neighbors by transforming a wall of suburban possessions. Provides an instruction for porosity and density in built environment and new plans. Questions urban regulations and functional constrains which shape alleged freedom of suburban citizens

‘Real estate is the largest asset class in the world’ as stated by Harvard business school Professor Arthur Segel. It is also unbeatable driver of individual wealth and overall economy. But on the other hand, it is one of the most imperfect markets, due to the lack of accessibility to valuable information in the limited time of decision making process. Thus, it is crucial to find out what is brought by the state of art that could tackle this problem in such a complex and competitive context. Since, the main component of information is data which is also the chief resource in the modern world; (big) data could be a hot phenomenon to be adapted within the real estate investment domain for improving the performance of the real estate market. Thus, the main goal of this research is to bridge the area between real estate investment domain and big data, by leveraging big data methods, predictive analytics and smart tools for achieving informed real estate investment decisions. Consequently, investors will be able to maximize return, achieve better risk diversification and select the right time to invest. The expected final product of this research is a developed integrated decision making model and flow chart that involves big data methods and techniques for making more informed real estate investment decisions ‘Dutch office market’.

Parkstad is planning to power most of its electrical grid by solar energy, resulting in an intermittent power supply. One of the methods to solve this intermittency is to create facilities for energy storage. The landscape differs from the rest of the Netherlands by its hilly profile. The most important difference is presence of a large subterranean infrastructure which is a relic from the mining past. This vast infrastructure holds potential for energy storage. Energy storage demand exists on three levels. Daily storage demand, inter seasonal storage demand and incidental storage demand could benefit from energy storage among other solutions. The actual methods to achieve this energy storage are mechanical, electrochemical, chemical and thermal. For Parkstad compressed air storage, underground pumped hydro and gravitational storage hold potential.

The Guesthouse TU Delft is a project built upon the idea that a new institution to be built is able to provide the urban environment of Delft with a new variety of academic activities, which normally stay at the campus. These activities are to be participated by many people, whether he’s from the university or not. In the making of this institution I borrowed lessons and inspirations from some of the excellent precedents that fascinate me, and these ideas are applied at specific places of the project, with some variations to respond to the specific urban setting of Delft.

This research design project aims to reconnect the landscape with its local users. The landscape has many components, but in this research design project is focussed on the relation between human practices and the landscape, since this relation has been broken in (recent) history of the city. Landscape as common ground operates on different levels of intervention in order to reconnect the landscape with its local users. By connecting through continuity, the productive landscape, engagement and by reactivating ruins and abandoned spaces this site specific landscape design intervention reacts on different scales to the post-traumatic context of Mostar.

There is a growing urbanization trend in Amsterdam, this causes dwellings to be less affordable. That is why several areas in Amsterdam are being densified. One of these areas is Sloterdijk Centrum, a typical monofunctional office park of the 80’s and 90’s. The municipality wants to transform this park to a lively mixed use area by adding new buildings and transforming existing ones. One of the buildings that has the potential to be transformed is the monofunctional office building De Knip. I choose this building for my graduation project, because it addresses two important current issues, namely transformation and high rises. In my graduation project these problems are addressed by transforming the building De Knip to function as a neighbourhood connected within the city. This was done by creating Collective Private Commisioning groups that live in corridors that function like streets. These streets have a high permeability and adaptability in the high rise and a strong focus on nature inclusiveness in the low rise. Its overall strong dwelling atmosphere created the perfect setting for a lively multifunctional building where people can feel at home, express their identity, connect to their neighbours and where future transformations can be carried out easily due to the prefabricated and adaptive design. This design can stimulate the future transformation of Sloterdijk centrum with the liveliness and dwelling atmosphere that it brings and can be an example to similar office areas.

This project proposes a move of the TU Delft to the historical centre as both a further invitation to the public and a way of embedding Delft students and academics in the city itself. In the larger social framework, it is a logical and desirable project to reunite the city and the university.