Over the last years the critical state of existing quay wall structures have gained a lot of concern. With the focus on urban quay walls in Amsterdam, a lot of aspects could play a role which limit the possibilities for both the design and the construction. The focus in this research is placed at the structural efficiency of the design for renovation projects. By using a parametric approach (with Grasshopper/Rhino) in the preliminary design phase, a design solution with the lowest use of material can be found.

From the total of embankment within the management of the municipality, a scope has been defined focusing on the most critical quays with respect to the limited design space and high expected loads. Within the assumptions made, the developed parametric tool can be used to indicate an efficient design solution for which the positioning of the piles, the diameter of the piles and the thickness of the floor follow from the location-dependent input. The indication of the effect of geometrical properties with respect to the defined objective (minimizing the material use) could help in the consideration of the design requirements.

Apart from indicating the savings that can be made on the material use by improving the structural efficiency of urban quay wall design, this research also contributes to proof of the power to be found in a parametric approach. The repetitive character in especially large-scale assignments as the renovation of Amsterdam's quay walls makes it a highly appropriate method.

Problem definition: In the car park industry, a new trend has emerged, shifting the demand for parking from permanent one-of-a-kind parking structures towards temporary modular structures (Drenth, 2020). Meanwhile, the building industry faces a transition into a more sustainable industry. This requires rethinking of the design process, taking into account possible reuse of a building or its elements as well as potential use of different materials. Timber is a renewable material and as a result of developments in timber engineering, now allows the construction of taller and larger structures. Given these trends and challenges, the objective of this thesis is to provide a structural system proof of concept for a temporary multi-storey car park, using timber as primary structural material.
Approach: A broad literature study provides background information on the various relevant topics and is followed by a refinement of the objective, substantiated by two sub-studies. This has resulted in two sub-goals: the minimization of total deck height (< 700 mm) and minimization of the structural systems weight (column load < 1,000 kN). A proof of concept is developed through a parametric study with structural validation into four main design variants (consisting of a deck and framing system), for which the effect of altering four geometric parameters (parking deck span, use of struts, distance between columns in transverse direction and minimum distance between joists) on these sub-goals is studied. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is performed on the effect of altering the requirements concerning fire-safety, vibrations and deflections on the deck height and weight. Finally, the proof of concept’s performance is compared to five alternative modular and/or timber car park concepts in a case study.
Evaluation: It is concluded, that design variants using long-span deck systems result in a relatively small deck height, but high self-weight. A CLT rib deck should be applied under “standard” assessment criteria, but significant reductions in deck height (31%) and weight (49%) can be achieved by using LVL rib decks when vibrations are not considered and deformation limits are increased. The total deck height of design variants with short-span decks, which use solid LVL panels, highly depends on the supporting framing system, but its self-weight is roughly halve of the long-span design variants. The effect of alternative assessment criteria on design variants with short-span decks is rather limited. It is concluded that the use of struts significantly reduces the total deck height (17-30%) and structures weight (5-11%) and a transverse column distance of a single parking bay width is preferred. The distance between joists is of less relevance, but a bigger parking deck span increases both deck height and total weight.
The resulting proof of concept consists out of a short-span solid LVL deck system, which spans two times 2.5 m (single parking bay width). It is supported by glulam main girders, spanning the entire parking deck, which are simply supported by a set of columns at a transverse distance of 2.5 m and are additionally supported by slanted struts between the columns and main girders.

The results from the case study show, that the total deck height of the proof of concept (666 mm) is smaller that the sub-goal of 700 mm and comparable to alternatives with decks made of steel, concrete and GFRP. Furthermore it is 40% thinner than the alternative in timber as a result of the use of LVL and struts. In terms of weight, the use of timber is much lighter than using concrete decks (<25%) and only 17% heavier than the extremely lightweight GFRP decks. Furthermore, it results in the smallest loads on the foundation (678 kN which is smaller than the sub-goal of 1,000 kN). A first extremely simplified durability analysis on amounts of embodied carbon in the main structural elements indicates timber has significantly lower amounts of embodied carbon in comparison to the alternative concepts.
Implications: Based on the results presented, it is concluded that timber is applicable for almost all main structural elements of a temporary and modular multi-storey car park. The case study has shown that the proof of concept can compete with alternative modular car park concepts in terms of deck height and outperforms most alternatives in terms of the structures weight. It is also indicated, that timber has the potential to significantly improve the performance of a structure in terms of sustainability.
For future research, it is advised to further develop the proof of concept, focussing on the connections and durability risks and study the incorporation of circular design strategies into the design and construction process of the proof of concept. Furthermore, alternative assessment criteria should be validated. Finally, it is advised to study the potential use of other innovative sustainable building materials like BauBuche and make a detailed LCA study assessing the performance on sustainability.

The importance of joints in timber structures is strongly emphasized in the existing literature (e.g., Blaß & Sandhaas, 2017; McLain, 1998). The aim of this project is to provide insight into whether the cross-sectional sizes of the member are dictated by the dimensional sizes of the laterally loaded dowel-type connection or the strength and stiffness requirements of the member itself in timber frame structures.

In this research project, a parametric study is performed. The parameters in this study represent the global frame structure and the laterally loaded dowel-type connections. Together, these parameters form a parametric model that lays the foundation for the tool that is constructed in this study. This tool is built in order to generate a number of unique configurations that fulfill the design verifications. Using the tool, two analyses are performed. In analysis 1, the effect of different distances between the secondary beams is examined. In analysis 2, the effect of different grid sizes of the column in the frame structure is studied. In both analyses, two member sizes are first selected based on the criteria 'lowest cross-sectional area' (LCA) and 'lowest height beam' (LHB). These two member sizes form the starting point for generating different configurations of laterally loaded dowel-type connections.

In this research project, three factors are found to contribute to the largest reduction in the number of unique configurations for all constructed cases examined in analysis 1 and 2. These three factors are small column widths combined with high shear forces, the effect of a 'compact' member, and the effect of 'brittle' failure mechanisms on the LCA-members, which was selected as a design constraint in this study. These factors may be relevant for engineers to take into account when designing the structural members.

However, in this study, no constructed case is found in which the member needs to be redesigned in order to fit the connection. This means that one can conclude that the dimensional size of the structural member is dictated by the strength and stiffness requirements of the member itself. Important to note is that, although a large number of parameters was incorporated into this study, not all potentially relevant parameters were taken into account. When incorporating factors such as the horizontal forces in the connection, the effect of shrinkage and swelling, the level of difficultly in terms of assembling the joints on site, and adjustments to guarantee a certain level of fire resistance, certain turning points in the dimensional interaction between joints and members may be found.

Finally, beyond allowing for the dimensional interaction between joints and members to be studied, the tool constructed in this study is also valuable to practical engineering. The large amount of data that is generated by the tool allows the engineer to explore the different possible configurations in the process of designing joints. By connecting the output of the tool to the Design Explorer interface, the engineer has the opportunity to search through all the individual characteristics or a specific range and examine different possible connections in an efficient manner. One of the main contributions of this research project, therefore, lies in the tool itself.

To lessen our influence on the environment, we are moving towards solutions that can meet our needs of shelter, nutrition, mobility, communication, and health with little to no energy or resources. In the construction industry, adaptive façades have gained attention for their capacity to adapt to changing conditions. These façades can modify their state in response to varying factors such as temperature and sunlight. This adaptability offers potential benefits in energy efficiency and occupant comfort, making them significant in architectural advancement. Despite being promising, these technologies are seldom used in buildings because they consist of numerous components and intricate mechanisms that can hinder their overall lifespan. To find more straightforward solutions for these systems, designers and researchers have focused on Smart Materials in combination with passive strategies. Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs), in particular, have found applications in diverse designs owing to their dual functionality as temperature sensors and actuators. SMAs have the remarkable ability to ‘remember’ their original shape and can revert to it when subjected to specific temperatures. This unique trait enables them to serve as both sensors, by detecting temperature changes, and actuators, by initiating shape changes in response to those shifts. However, current SMA-based sunshade designs do not provide visual contact with the exterior, as they continuously block the occupant’s field of view. This work aims at lowering the mechanical complexity of SMA-based sunshades while maintaining thermal comfort and visual contact with the exterior. The first part highlights the significance of precise control strategies for effective sunshade designs. The research emphasizes the importance of tailored control methods aligned with climate conditions. The conclusion underscores that an optimal sunshade design must balance cooling demand reduction, thermal comfort maintenance, and opening hours. Mechanical designs should minimize components while ensuring maximal stroke capabilities. The mechanical design of the counterAKT system exhibited promising stroke results despite not reaching the 200% benchmark. Further research avenues are suggested for textiles and Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs). Integration of findings from both materials is essential for realizing a complete working counterAKT system. Nodal thermal modeling provided insights into the major factors influencing SMA temperature in the counterAKT system. Solar radiation and convective heat transfer were identified as key contributors. The conclusion recommends future research to shift reliance from outdoor air temperature to solar radiation by enhancing emissivity, reducing convection losses, and concentrating solar radiation on the SMA. Finally, The system’s feasibility is demonstrated through a small-scale prototype, affirming its practical viability and potential applicability.

Efficient utilization of energy generation techniques is gaining more prominence in the design and engineering of built structures. One of the most established techniques used is through solar energy-harnessing via photovoltaic technology. In this research, integrating photovoltaics is further explored in the textile architecture domain to capitalize on the large areas typically recognized in tensile/doubly curved structures and textile facades; a design proposal is made for a textile-to-organic photovoltaic (OPV) integration, performed during the weaving process, to form a modular structural fabric with solar-energy-harnessing potential to be used in textile architecture applications. Laboratory testing is extensively used to determine both the fabrics' and the solar film’s strengths as well as verify the design procedure.

The steel sector is responsible for 4-5% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Reusing structural steel elements can potentially decrease the need for the production of new steel. However, designing a load-bearing structure with reusable elements poses challenges to the design process. The starting point of the process is different due to a limited availability of structural elements. The design of the load-bearing structure should be based on the measurements of the available reusable elements, while traditionally the amount of elements and their measurements were based on the design. However, the freedom in a design is often limited by certain architectural and structural constraints. Therefore, the focus of this thesis is on how to organize an optimization process in which the aim is to design a load-bearing structure containing the least amount of new steel by means of implementing reusable elements, while taking into account the architectural and structural constraints.

In the optimization method developed in this study, a primary design for a load-bearing structure functions as an input. The method consists of four big steps: the definition of the geometry, the assignment of (reusable) elements, structural calculations and the formulation of results. The goal is to assign reusable elements which are respecting the given constraints: the minimum and maximum UC-value allowed and the maximum deviation in length. The output is a modified design in which reusable elements are implemented, in a way that lowers the amount of steel required to realize the design.
By performing a case study, the model is tested and the influence of the constraints and the implemented stock can be determined. Several analyses are conducted, using three different stocks. Stock 1 and stock 2 can be considered more diverse than stock 3. 
The characteristics of the resulting designs are influenced by the relation between the stock and the original design. For the more diverse stock, there are only results whenever the minimum allowed UC-value is set to 0.01. While the required amount of steel lowers (up to 79% for stock 1 and 74% for stock 2), the actual UC-values of the implemented elements can be considered low and the change in design can be considered big (up to 19 out of 24 angles in the beam-configuration changing more than 10%). For the less diverse stock, all analyses give results, independent of the values for the constraints. In this case, the results UC-value are high compared to the results related to stock 1 and 2, and the changes in design are less (0 changing angles). Besides, all elements can be reused, which lowers the amount of required new steel to zero. 
Therefore, applying the optimization method developed in this study to a design for a load-bearing structure results in a modified design in which the amount of new steel required to realize the design is minimized. However, the actual UC-values corresponding to the different elements and the changes in the design are dependent on the available stock and the constraints.