A fundamental challenge in urban scholarship is bridging theories of spatial justice with material reality. This paper critiques static concepts of ‘spatial capital’ for obscuring the dynamic social production of spatial advantage. We reconceptualize spatial capital as a dynamic capacity and introduce the A.U.R.A. framework–a heuristic enacted through the practices of Access, Utilise, Resist, and Adapt. Synthesizing insights from Bourdieu, Lefebvre, and intersectionality, A.U.R.A. offers a rigorous methodology for diagnosing injustice and a foundation for transforming the conditions that reproduce spatial inequality in cities. ... Read more

For more than a century, we’ve been designing housing—and redesigning it. We’ve measured, regulated, and planned. We’ve debated typologies, written manifestos, passed laws, and protested when neither were enough. Beneath it all, there’s been something quieter and more persistent: the desire for a home.

Housing Acts starts from that desire and moves outward—tracing how wishes for housing have been imagined, legislated, and resisted. The exhibition brings together a selection of 20th-century books written by architects who believed that housing—and the city—could be otherwise. These books were manifestos: statements that shaped the discourse of their time and offered new directions for dwelling.

Each is placed within a larger timeline—alongside key moments of Dutch housing legislation and three waves of public protest. The rent strikes of the 1930s, the squatting and housing movements of the 1980s, and the national demonstrations of 2021 are rendered through archival collages, capturing a recurring tension between everyday realities and institutional response.
Together, these fragments tell a story of housing as a field of conflict and invention. They remind us that homes are not neutral spaces—they are the outcome of decisions, negotiations, and sometimes resistance.

Housing Acts is an invitation to reflect on what kind of housing, and what kind of city, we still wish for. ... Read more

This compact exhibition explores how architects have historically presented their work—how they have narrated, framed, and projected architecture through books, drawings, images, websites, and film. From the first architectural publications in the Renaissance to the media platforms of today, the works trace a lineage of self-representation in architecture, and invite visitors to reflect on how architects see themselves—or how they would like to be seen.

The works on display reveal that architecture is not only practiced through building, but also through storytelling. Dissemination becomes a strategic act: a way to shape public image, to participate in broader discourse, and to claim a place in history. Whether in the form of an idealized villa, a monumental portfolio, a carbon-conscious website, or a speculative film, these acts of publishing expose something of the architect’s vision—not just of buildings, but of their own role in society.

The exhibition juxtaposes early treatises by Sebastiano Serlio and Andrea Palladio with 17th-century publications by Philips Vingboons and Jacob van Campen; the self-fashioned mythology of Frank Lloyd Wright in the Wasmuth Portfolio; and the methodical compilations of Le Corbusier’s “Oeuvre Complète”. Alongside these, contemporary formats expand the field of architectural communication: Koolhaas and Bruce Mau’s “S,M,L,XL”; Zaha Hadid’s manifestos; Norman Foster’s Foundation; the algorithmic interface of Vylder Vink’s website; La-Di-Da’s low-carbon platform; the visual grammar of Sub’s sortable thumbnail system; and selected Instagram feeds that stage architecture as performance and persona.

Also featured are the fictional geographies of Design Earth, the dense cartographies of MVRDV’s “KM3”, and the curated urbanity of Atelier Bow-Wow’s “Made in Tokyo”. A monitor screening speculative films by Liam Young adds another dimension, while projects by Andrés Jaque, Teddy Cruz and Fonna Forman, Léopold Lambert, and Studio Folder further expand the figure of the architect—as editor, activist, researcher, and storyteller.

Drawn from the Trésor Collection of TU Delft and complemented by reproductions and digital interfaces, this exhibition highlights how dissemination has always been integral to architectural practice—not only to make architecture visible, but to help it evolve. To publish is to design one’s own reception. To share work is to propose a vision of the future.
... Read more

In the Anthropocene era, marked by significant human impact on Earth, the Global South faces deep spatial inequalities that necessitate rethinking urban planning. This study critiques capitalist urban development models that perpetuate “Accumulation by Dispossession” aggravating inequalities and depriving marginalised communities of essential rights and resources. Focusing on M-Ward East in Mumbai, India, where slum resettlement coexists with hazardous industries and inadequate infrastructure, this research examines collective spatial resistance as a survival strategy for marginalised communities.

Utilising Lefebvre's “right to the city”, the chapter explores how collective actions, despite lacking institutional support, emerge as resilience mechanisms against top-down approaches. Through preliminary fieldwork and secondary literature, this study discusses the challenges faced by marginalised communities in the Anthropocene and the transformative potential of collective resistance for achieving spatial justice. ... Read more

Urban inequality, epitomized by the systemic marginalization and precarious conditions of informal settlements and areas characterized by spatial disparities, continues to be a significant barrier to achieving equitable urban environments across the globe. Such spaces are frequently neglected by formal planning systems, manifesting pronounced spatial injustices that not only mirror existing socio-economic and political disparities but also exacerbate them. Yet, they also function as sites of resilience and agency, where residents engage in ongoing negotiations to claim their right to the city (Lefebvre, 1968), even amid instability and fragmented governance (Roy, 2011). [...] ... Read more

“De woningcrisis biedt kansen. De kans om een duurzaam en langdurig gezond woonklimaat te realiseren.”

Woningnood is geen nieuw verschijnsel in ons land. Al in de negentiende eeuw leidde snelle bevolkingsgroei en verstedelijking tot een huisvestingstekort; de woningwet van 1901 moest daar een eind aan maken. In de wederopbouwjaren na de tweede wereldoorlog kwam de woningbouw maar langzaam op gang. En in de jaren 80 van de vorige eeuw was ‘geen woning, geen kroning’ de leus van demonstranten die aandacht vroegen voor woningnood. ... Read more

In 'Housing Atlas', beautifully drawn plans, sections and elevations illustrate nearly a hundred of the most important European housing schemes of the 20th century, a period when architects addressed the multiple challenges of modern urban living and responded with an array of innovative solutions. Today, architects are revisiting these designs as they seek answers to the current housing crisis.

Chronologically ordered, this is an essential survey of these key housing projects, produced by a pan-European team of leading scholars. Complete with contextual essays, the studies each include a history and analysis of the projects and the drawings are presented in a way that makes them readily comparable. ... Read more

Dick van Gameren, a partner with the renowned Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, has engaged in housing design for the past twenty-five years through his work as an architect as well as in his research and teaching at TU Delft’s Global Housing Study Center. In this book, he presents around forty of his own projects in this field, through concise texts and photographs with explanatory captions as well as plans and drawings. The projects are grouped to illustrate seven specific aspects of housing design: Streets and Squares, Courtyards and Patios, Gardens, Halls, the Fireplace, Walls, and Roofs. Together, they constitute a multifaceted catalog of housing typologies.

In four supplementary essays, van Gameren explores evolutions in residential architecture in the Netherlands. He positions his own concepts in the context of these developments and expands on what he considers the key factors of good housing design. He places particular focus on affordable housing, a pressing issue in so many countries and metropolitan areas around the world.

Dutch Dwellings is an inspiring read for anyone involved in housing design today. ... Read more

Brazilian anthropologist Teresa Caldeira describes peripheral urbanization as a bottom-up way of producing cities that is pervasive in the Global South. Using peripheral urbanization as a theoretical framework, this chapter analyzes the results of three housing design studios, organized by the group Architecture & Dwelling at Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands), developed in collaboration with partners in India, Bangladesh and Ethiopia. The pedagogic strategies of the Global Housing design studios are focused on exploring the design decision-making process as a locus to address the different temporalities of the architectural project and negotiate cultural differences. This pedagogical strategy offers a contribution to decolonize the curriculum of architectural education in the Global South, exploring critically the interplay between accommodating indigenous knowledges and tackling the challenges of planetary urbanization. ... Read more

The idea that the development of twentieth- century modern architecture constitutes a linear and inevitable step in the evolution of the art of building has long since made way for a much more nuanced and layered perspective. The relationship between past and present is a complex one. Innovation can spring from a return to past practices, while clinging to an obsessive idea of the new can just as easily lead to stagnation. Looking back on the architecture of housing over the past 150 years, we can see a recurring orientation on forms from the past, albeit one that's informed by changing motivations and with different outcomes. [...] ... Read more

By 2050, two out of three human beings will live in cities. In other words, over the next three decades, 2.5 billion people will be added to the world's urban population. The rate of urbanization will be particularly dramatic in today's low- and middle-income countries. Indeed, nearly 90 per cent of the increase in the world's urban population will be concentrated in Asia and Africa. A combined phenomenon of rapid urbanization coupled with widespread changing demographics brings with it many challenges to people's livelihoods, to the social ecology of urban communities, to the environment, to the physical and social infrastructure of the world we live in. In the middle- and high-income countries, there are also important societal challenges that should be urgently addressed such as how to keep cities accessible and affordable for all. A key role in all these developments is played by the need for socioculturally appropriate housing. [...] ... Read more

Bedaux de Brouwer Architecten 2021-2003, de nieuwe monografie over het Noord-Brabantse bureau sluit aan op drie eerdere monografieën over oprichter Jos. Bedaux en zijn opvolgers Peer Bedaux en Jacq. de Brouwer. Het bureau, opgericht in 1937, wordt inmiddels geleid door een derde generatie Bedaux. [...] ... Read more

Building adequate housing is a pressing issue worldwide. With close to a billion people currently living in slums, accommodating a growing population, and improving dwelling conditions is a critical issue for society. This challenge cannot be solved with a one-size-fits-all approach. Every city, region and country demand their own housing models and prototypes. That’s why housing design needs to negotiate many aspects simultaneously to achieve sustainable urban environments and inclusive dwelling communities. This course uncovers how social, economic and environmental factors are interrelated in the design of housing settlements. For this, the course dives into three key aspects that anyone involved in housing design should take into consideration: time, environment, and community. Each of these aspects will be examined through a specific design approach, respectively Incrementality, Typology Mix, and Clustering. ... Read more

This chapter looks at the evolution of Addis Ababa through the agency of diplomacy. It focuses on the urban morphological and architectural manifestation of diplomacy in the city, based on a timeline of five recognizable periods. Using exemplary cases, it illustrates the physical and spatial impact and architectural influences associated with diplomacy and diplomatic institutions. This chapter looks at the evolution of Addis Ababa through the agency of diplomacy. 1 It focuses on the urban morphological and architectural manifestation of diplomacy in the city, based on a timeline of five recognizable periods. Using exemplary cases, it illustrates the physical and spatial impact and architectural influences associated with diplomacy and diplomatic institutions. Subsequently, we argue that the emergence of Addis Ababa as a diplomatic center in its first couple of decades has anchored it as a sustained political center, while diplomatic developments that followed and their physical manifestations played a vivid formative role in the city’s urbanization. Within Addis Ababa’s poly-nuclear structure, the diplomatic institutions prevail as frames and points of reference, spread out over the whole city. ... Read more

The search for new models for affordable housing in the world's ever-growing cities has never been more urgent. Good, affordable housing is needed to confront the still accelerating growth of urban populations and the challenges of urban segregation. Also, to enable those with little or no means to access and inhabit the cities, which hold the promise of providing a better future. [...] ... Read more

This article discusses the transformation of the traditional Iranian courtyard house type and neighbourhood structure in the early 20th century Iran, and focuses on the design of public housing in the country’s early years of modernisation, after the second World War. It explores how (urban) legislations by Iranian reformists and modernists, and the compulsory unveiling law implemented between 1936 and 1943 contributed to change the image of urban areas and the everyday life of Iranians, particularly in Tehran. While this article provides a short overview of these transformations, it discusses how Iranian architects, educated in Europe, attempted to reconceptualise the ideal form of living, the courtyardgarden house (Khaneh-Bagh), for large-scale housing production, in the country. This article shows how the transformation of this house type became an instrument of accommodating both change and resistance in terms of local customs and habits, in Kuy-e Chaharsad-Dastgah, built between 1946 and 1950 in Tehran. To illustrate these, the design and development of this experimental housing project is analysed in details. It is also demonstrated how this project was developed based on a “planning document” revised by a group of modernist Iranian architects, who intended to improve the hygiene condition of living environments and to accommodate a large number of low-income civil servants in post-World War II, Tehran. It is argued that dual characteristics of the Iranian courtyard house allowed for both incorporating imported models, and simultaneously resisting universalising tendencies towards homogenisation, in the case of Chaharsad-Dastgah. ... Read more

In developed countries, the share of the elderly (65+) is growing quickly. In the Netherlands it might reach 25 to 30% of the population by 2040 (see Figure 1). We design best living concepts for the elderly, based on a research in their residential preferences. Our novel methodology combines insights from social sciences and architecture. A stated choice experiment retrieves the willingness-to-pay of the elderly for a set of relevant attributes of the dwelling, building and location. The attributes with the highest valuation are used as an input for a flexible architectural design. ... Read more

In this paper we combine the insights from social sciences and architecture to design best living concepts for a specific target group, elderly homeowners. We perform a stated choice experiment to study residential preferences of this group and translate the results into an architectural design of senior-friendly housing. This methodological approach is novel to the literature. We derive the willingness-to-pay for different residential attributes and show how these attributes can be traded off against each other to create best living concepts. We discuss how these living concepts can be translated into customized architectural design
while making use of standard architectural elements. ... Read more

Het kunstenaarsatelier is een bijzondere vorm van wonen-werken. In Amsterdam-Zuid demonstreren deze ateliers hoe binnen twee decennia verschuivingen in stedenbouwkundige ideeën grote gevolgen hadden voor de wijze waarop de combinatie wonen-werken een plek kreeg in de stad.

The artist’s studio is a special kind of workhome. In Amsterdam-Zuid, these studios demonstrate how paradigm shifts in urban design have had major consequences for the way in which combined living and working spaces manifested in the city over two decades. ... Read more