G. Karvelas
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32 records found
1
This research investigates guilt as an underexplored category in architecture and urbanism. Beginning from a personal confrontation with environmental guilt within architectural education, the project asks how guilt is produced, regulated, displaced, or suspended through spatial design. Rather than treating guilt solely as an individual moral emotion, the study approaches it as a historical, psychological, political, and spatial construct. Drawing on Nietzsche’s genealogy of guilt, histories of Western Christian guilt culture, psychoanalytic accounts of repression and fetishization, and theories of collective guilt, the research argues that guilt operates not only through discourse and institutions but also through the built environment.
The central claim is that architecture and urban planning can function as technologies of guilt regulation. Through scale, visibility, concealment, boundaries, hierarchy, atmosphere, and aesthetic coding, spaces can intensify guilt, direct it toward ritualized forms of atonement, contain it, or temporarily neutralize it. To examine this, the research combines theoretical analysis with case studies of architectural typologies and urban situations, including the church, the prison, the monument, the club, sex-work spaces, green architecture, and ascetic architecture. These cases are read not simply as programs but as affective arrangements that shape moral experience.
A second part of the research focuses on Amsterdam as a city with a persistent mythology of sin, tolerance, pleasure, and transgression. Through experiential observations and narrative accounts of places, events, and everyday encounters, the project investigates how guilt is lived, negotiated, and spatialized in the city. Amsterdam serves here as a testing ground in which issues such as sex work, nightlife, tourism, intoxication, queerness, and public disorder reveal how urban space mediates morally charged behaviour. These situated accounts are used not as autobiography for its own sake, but as a method for tracing how architecture and urban atmospheres participate in the management of guilt in lived experience ...
The central claim is that architecture and urban planning can function as technologies of guilt regulation. Through scale, visibility, concealment, boundaries, hierarchy, atmosphere, and aesthetic coding, spaces can intensify guilt, direct it toward ritualized forms of atonement, contain it, or temporarily neutralize it. To examine this, the research combines theoretical analysis with case studies of architectural typologies and urban situations, including the church, the prison, the monument, the club, sex-work spaces, green architecture, and ascetic architecture. These cases are read not simply as programs but as affective arrangements that shape moral experience.
A second part of the research focuses on Amsterdam as a city with a persistent mythology of sin, tolerance, pleasure, and transgression. Through experiential observations and narrative accounts of places, events, and everyday encounters, the project investigates how guilt is lived, negotiated, and spatialized in the city. Amsterdam serves here as a testing ground in which issues such as sex work, nightlife, tourism, intoxication, queerness, and public disorder reveal how urban space mediates morally charged behaviour. These situated accounts are used not as autobiography for its own sake, but as a method for tracing how architecture and urban atmospheres participate in the management of guilt in lived experience ...
This research investigates guilt as an underexplored category in architecture and urbanism. Beginning from a personal confrontation with environmental guilt within architectural education, the project asks how guilt is produced, regulated, displaced, or suspended through spatial design. Rather than treating guilt solely as an individual moral emotion, the study approaches it as a historical, psychological, political, and spatial construct. Drawing on Nietzsche’s genealogy of guilt, histories of Western Christian guilt culture, psychoanalytic accounts of repression and fetishization, and theories of collective guilt, the research argues that guilt operates not only through discourse and institutions but also through the built environment.
The central claim is that architecture and urban planning can function as technologies of guilt regulation. Through scale, visibility, concealment, boundaries, hierarchy, atmosphere, and aesthetic coding, spaces can intensify guilt, direct it toward ritualized forms of atonement, contain it, or temporarily neutralize it. To examine this, the research combines theoretical analysis with case studies of architectural typologies and urban situations, including the church, the prison, the monument, the club, sex-work spaces, green architecture, and ascetic architecture. These cases are read not simply as programs but as affective arrangements that shape moral experience.
A second part of the research focuses on Amsterdam as a city with a persistent mythology of sin, tolerance, pleasure, and transgression. Through experiential observations and narrative accounts of places, events, and everyday encounters, the project investigates how guilt is lived, negotiated, and spatialized in the city. Amsterdam serves here as a testing ground in which issues such as sex work, nightlife, tourism, intoxication, queerness, and public disorder reveal how urban space mediates morally charged behaviour. These situated accounts are used not as autobiography for its own sake, but as a method for tracing how architecture and urban atmospheres participate in the management of guilt in lived experience
The central claim is that architecture and urban planning can function as technologies of guilt regulation. Through scale, visibility, concealment, boundaries, hierarchy, atmosphere, and aesthetic coding, spaces can intensify guilt, direct it toward ritualized forms of atonement, contain it, or temporarily neutralize it. To examine this, the research combines theoretical analysis with case studies of architectural typologies and urban situations, including the church, the prison, the monument, the club, sex-work spaces, green architecture, and ascetic architecture. These cases are read not simply as programs but as affective arrangements that shape moral experience.
A second part of the research focuses on Amsterdam as a city with a persistent mythology of sin, tolerance, pleasure, and transgression. Through experiential observations and narrative accounts of places, events, and everyday encounters, the project investigates how guilt is lived, negotiated, and spatialized in the city. Amsterdam serves here as a testing ground in which issues such as sex work, nightlife, tourism, intoxication, queerness, and public disorder reveal how urban space mediates morally charged behaviour. These situated accounts are used not as autobiography for its own sake, but as a method for tracing how architecture and urban atmospheres participate in the management of guilt in lived experience
Public (transport) space
Towards an open public transport hub
Public transport hubs become ever more important in our daily mobility pattern. As central places in our cities they have, therefore also become important public spaces. However, the gradual built up of mobility infrastructure around hubs has resulted in stations that are poorly navigable and fragment instead of connect the city around them.
Through an approach based on Richard Sennett's open city this project aims to create a public transport hub that mitigates boundaries caused by mobility infrastructure and become a public space that is open towards its surroundings. The station Méndez Álvaro / Estación Sur in Madrid is taken as a case study. ...
Through an approach based on Richard Sennett's open city this project aims to create a public transport hub that mitigates boundaries caused by mobility infrastructure and become a public space that is open towards its surroundings. The station Méndez Álvaro / Estación Sur in Madrid is taken as a case study. ...
Public transport hubs become ever more important in our daily mobility pattern. As central places in our cities they have, therefore also become important public spaces. However, the gradual built up of mobility infrastructure around hubs has resulted in stations that are poorly navigable and fragment instead of connect the city around them.
Through an approach based on Richard Sennett's open city this project aims to create a public transport hub that mitigates boundaries caused by mobility infrastructure and become a public space that is open towards its surroundings. The station Méndez Álvaro / Estación Sur in Madrid is taken as a case study.
Through an approach based on Richard Sennett's open city this project aims to create a public transport hub that mitigates boundaries caused by mobility infrastructure and become a public space that is open towards its surroundings. The station Méndez Álvaro / Estación Sur in Madrid is taken as a case study.
Bridging Waters
Exploring Madrid's Paradoxical Relationship with Water
The thesis proposes the transformation of two of Madrid's decorative fountains into functional public pools, addressing the city's residents’ needs for leisure through physical activity and cooling in a hot city like Madrid. Additionally, the project seeks to enable public access to the Manzanares River—an element currently missing within the city centre and the river’s urban planning. The intervention reclaims water as a shared urban resource for people to experience, while offering accessibility and public space next to the city’s forgotten river. Additionally, it programmatically and volumetrically enhances the surroundings of the Puente de Segovia site. This is done by adding a water management and sanitation research centre and a wastewater treatment plant next to the CEDEX (centre of hydraulic works of Spain). In this way, the water that is being treated and studied is later used for the public pools and the irrigation of the whole intervention. Hence,the hidden mechanisms of water regeneration, from hydraulic engineering to water regeneration are made visible to the public.
...
The thesis proposes the transformation of two of Madrid's decorative fountains into functional public pools, addressing the city's residents’ needs for leisure through physical activity and cooling in a hot city like Madrid. Additionally, the project seeks to enable public access to the Manzanares River—an element currently missing within the city centre and the river’s urban planning. The intervention reclaims water as a shared urban resource for people to experience, while offering accessibility and public space next to the city’s forgotten river. Additionally, it programmatically and volumetrically enhances the surroundings of the Puente de Segovia site. This is done by adding a water management and sanitation research centre and a wastewater treatment plant next to the CEDEX (centre of hydraulic works of Spain). In this way, the water that is being treated and studied is later used for the public pools and the irrigation of the whole intervention. Hence,the hidden mechanisms of water regeneration, from hydraulic engineering to water regeneration are made visible to the public.
A Sensible Morphology
How can one speak about parts or wholes, without prioritizing one or the other but acknowledging their symbiotic relationship?
The premise of this thesis is not to prescribe what architecture should do, but to explore how it might be thought and experienced. This inquiry focuses on an often overlooked minor art: the rural architecture of the Po Valley, materialized in the cascine – entities that, beyond their dwelling function, preserve the historical memory of a territory.
The concept of assemblage (agencement) developed by Deleuze and Guattari proves remarkably effective in analysing these heterogeneous structures. Far from being a theoretical imposition, this contemporary approach dialogues surprisingly with classical architectural treatises, which already described how different parts should relate to form a coherent body. These two strands of thought, although separated by centuries, converge in a vision of architecture as a system of relationships rather than a static object.
The multiplicities of events that animated the cascine find in Deleuzian thought a revelatory interpretive key, while their spatial organization recalls ancient architectural principles. In these deeply functional principles, a symbiotic relationship with the territory manifests itself, perfectly mirroring the notion of assemblage: not a simple aggregation of parts, but a continuous process of relationships between heterogeneous elements that maintain their identity while forming a coherent whole.
This perspective invites us to reconsider all architecture: are we not all bodies that maintain constant relationships? Every entity is composite, made of elements different in nature and quality that do not simply merge, but coexist in productive tension. What defines these bodies is not a presumed intrinsic unity but the relationships they establish with other bodies, places, and environments. Against the classical ideal of the one, contemporary philosophies propose a complex structure that does not presuppose an a priori unity, but recognizes and values the constitutive multiplicity of every phenomenon.
The thesis will methodically explore the various concepts that compose this vision of architecture as assemblage, tracing their meanings and interconnections. This is not merely a terminological exposition, but an investigation that, in illustrating these concepts, makes them operative – because understanding architecture means, ultimately, entering into a relationship with it. ...
The concept of assemblage (agencement) developed by Deleuze and Guattari proves remarkably effective in analysing these heterogeneous structures. Far from being a theoretical imposition, this contemporary approach dialogues surprisingly with classical architectural treatises, which already described how different parts should relate to form a coherent body. These two strands of thought, although separated by centuries, converge in a vision of architecture as a system of relationships rather than a static object.
The multiplicities of events that animated the cascine find in Deleuzian thought a revelatory interpretive key, while their spatial organization recalls ancient architectural principles. In these deeply functional principles, a symbiotic relationship with the territory manifests itself, perfectly mirroring the notion of assemblage: not a simple aggregation of parts, but a continuous process of relationships between heterogeneous elements that maintain their identity while forming a coherent whole.
This perspective invites us to reconsider all architecture: are we not all bodies that maintain constant relationships? Every entity is composite, made of elements different in nature and quality that do not simply merge, but coexist in productive tension. What defines these bodies is not a presumed intrinsic unity but the relationships they establish with other bodies, places, and environments. Against the classical ideal of the one, contemporary philosophies propose a complex structure that does not presuppose an a priori unity, but recognizes and values the constitutive multiplicity of every phenomenon.
The thesis will methodically explore the various concepts that compose this vision of architecture as assemblage, tracing their meanings and interconnections. This is not merely a terminological exposition, but an investigation that, in illustrating these concepts, makes them operative – because understanding architecture means, ultimately, entering into a relationship with it. ...
The premise of this thesis is not to prescribe what architecture should do, but to explore how it might be thought and experienced. This inquiry focuses on an often overlooked minor art: the rural architecture of the Po Valley, materialized in the cascine – entities that, beyond their dwelling function, preserve the historical memory of a territory.
The concept of assemblage (agencement) developed by Deleuze and Guattari proves remarkably effective in analysing these heterogeneous structures. Far from being a theoretical imposition, this contemporary approach dialogues surprisingly with classical architectural treatises, which already described how different parts should relate to form a coherent body. These two strands of thought, although separated by centuries, converge in a vision of architecture as a system of relationships rather than a static object.
The multiplicities of events that animated the cascine find in Deleuzian thought a revelatory interpretive key, while their spatial organization recalls ancient architectural principles. In these deeply functional principles, a symbiotic relationship with the territory manifests itself, perfectly mirroring the notion of assemblage: not a simple aggregation of parts, but a continuous process of relationships between heterogeneous elements that maintain their identity while forming a coherent whole.
This perspective invites us to reconsider all architecture: are we not all bodies that maintain constant relationships? Every entity is composite, made of elements different in nature and quality that do not simply merge, but coexist in productive tension. What defines these bodies is not a presumed intrinsic unity but the relationships they establish with other bodies, places, and environments. Against the classical ideal of the one, contemporary philosophies propose a complex structure that does not presuppose an a priori unity, but recognizes and values the constitutive multiplicity of every phenomenon.
The thesis will methodically explore the various concepts that compose this vision of architecture as assemblage, tracing their meanings and interconnections. This is not merely a terminological exposition, but an investigation that, in illustrating these concepts, makes them operative – because understanding architecture means, ultimately, entering into a relationship with it.
The concept of assemblage (agencement) developed by Deleuze and Guattari proves remarkably effective in analysing these heterogeneous structures. Far from being a theoretical imposition, this contemporary approach dialogues surprisingly with classical architectural treatises, which already described how different parts should relate to form a coherent body. These two strands of thought, although separated by centuries, converge in a vision of architecture as a system of relationships rather than a static object.
The multiplicities of events that animated the cascine find in Deleuzian thought a revelatory interpretive key, while their spatial organization recalls ancient architectural principles. In these deeply functional principles, a symbiotic relationship with the territory manifests itself, perfectly mirroring the notion of assemblage: not a simple aggregation of parts, but a continuous process of relationships between heterogeneous elements that maintain their identity while forming a coherent whole.
This perspective invites us to reconsider all architecture: are we not all bodies that maintain constant relationships? Every entity is composite, made of elements different in nature and quality that do not simply merge, but coexist in productive tension. What defines these bodies is not a presumed intrinsic unity but the relationships they establish with other bodies, places, and environments. Against the classical ideal of the one, contemporary philosophies propose a complex structure that does not presuppose an a priori unity, but recognizes and values the constitutive multiplicity of every phenomenon.
The thesis will methodically explore the various concepts that compose this vision of architecture as assemblage, tracing their meanings and interconnections. This is not merely a terminological exposition, but an investigation that, in illustrating these concepts, makes them operative – because understanding architecture means, ultimately, entering into a relationship with it.
The Local Taste
Cultivating Reciprocity Through Regenerative Farming
The Local Taste introduces a slow cooking project: a productive garden and cooking residency. It explores how locally grown food and the act of gardening hold the power to reconnect humans with their ecosystems. Set on a small German farm, the design brings together the disciplines of gardening and cooking, blurring the line between architecture and landscape. Rooted in the local soil, bricks fired on-site become the main design element—framing beds, retaining slopes, and forming a greenhouse, kitchen, and infrastructure for compost and water. These cycles, along with the human workflow, guide the redesign of the farm and the shaping of the garden. The brick becomes the link between old and new, house and landscape, cultivation and care. A curated experience that invites for reconnection through growing, processing, and tasting locally grown food.
...
The Local Taste introduces a slow cooking project: a productive garden and cooking residency. It explores how locally grown food and the act of gardening hold the power to reconnect humans with their ecosystems. Set on a small German farm, the design brings together the disciplines of gardening and cooking, blurring the line between architecture and landscape. Rooted in the local soil, bricks fired on-site become the main design element—framing beds, retaining slopes, and forming a greenhouse, kitchen, and infrastructure for compost and water. These cycles, along with the human workflow, guide the redesign of the farm and the shaping of the garden. The brick becomes the link between old and new, house and landscape, cultivation and care. A curated experience that invites for reconnection through growing, processing, and tasting locally grown food.
Beyond the Black Boxes
Cultivating Commons from Madrid's Digital Shadows
Beyond the Black Box proposes a radical transformation of how citizens interact with digital infrastructure and cultural archives through architectural intervention at Madrid's Plaza de Colón. This project addresses a critical democratic crisis where massive digital systems—data centers consuming 613 MW of power and 665 million liters of water annually, alongside cultural archives increasingly training AI systems—remain invisible and inaccessible to the citizens they serve.
The project confronts three interconnected "black boxes" that undermine democratic participation in the digital age: Infrastructure Invisibility through data centers hidden 8-12 kilometers from Madrid's center; Archive Digitalization that transforms physical collections into abstract digital processes without public engagement; and Digital Literacy Gaps caused by the absence of civic spaces where citizens can understand and participate in algorithmic systems.
Located at Plaza de Colón—a site that has evolved from Royal Mint to National Library to public plaza—the intervention creates a new civic typology employing a cloud-fog-edge computing framework that reveals resource flows while integrating technical functions with public programs. Three programmatic axes converge at a central data center: the Digital Infrastructure Axis features transparent server rooms that transform technical systems into educational features; the Digital Archive Axis connects to Spain's National Library through visible digitization labs; and the Digital Literacy Axis provides hands-on workshops and AI-integrated study spaces.
This hybrid architecture materializes the shift from static containers to dynamic circuits in memory practices, establishing a new civic institution where cultural heritage is continuously activated through technological engagement and democratic participation. The project demonstrates that architecture can transform traditionally separate systems—hidden data centers and digitizing archives—into integrated civic platforms that serve both knowledge preservation and democratic resilience, creating spaces where citizens become active participants in their digital future rather than passive consumers. ...
The project confronts three interconnected "black boxes" that undermine democratic participation in the digital age: Infrastructure Invisibility through data centers hidden 8-12 kilometers from Madrid's center; Archive Digitalization that transforms physical collections into abstract digital processes without public engagement; and Digital Literacy Gaps caused by the absence of civic spaces where citizens can understand and participate in algorithmic systems.
Located at Plaza de Colón—a site that has evolved from Royal Mint to National Library to public plaza—the intervention creates a new civic typology employing a cloud-fog-edge computing framework that reveals resource flows while integrating technical functions with public programs. Three programmatic axes converge at a central data center: the Digital Infrastructure Axis features transparent server rooms that transform technical systems into educational features; the Digital Archive Axis connects to Spain's National Library through visible digitization labs; and the Digital Literacy Axis provides hands-on workshops and AI-integrated study spaces.
This hybrid architecture materializes the shift from static containers to dynamic circuits in memory practices, establishing a new civic institution where cultural heritage is continuously activated through technological engagement and democratic participation. The project demonstrates that architecture can transform traditionally separate systems—hidden data centers and digitizing archives—into integrated civic platforms that serve both knowledge preservation and democratic resilience, creating spaces where citizens become active participants in their digital future rather than passive consumers. ...
Beyond the Black Box proposes a radical transformation of how citizens interact with digital infrastructure and cultural archives through architectural intervention at Madrid's Plaza de Colón. This project addresses a critical democratic crisis where massive digital systems—data centers consuming 613 MW of power and 665 million liters of water annually, alongside cultural archives increasingly training AI systems—remain invisible and inaccessible to the citizens they serve.
The project confronts three interconnected "black boxes" that undermine democratic participation in the digital age: Infrastructure Invisibility through data centers hidden 8-12 kilometers from Madrid's center; Archive Digitalization that transforms physical collections into abstract digital processes without public engagement; and Digital Literacy Gaps caused by the absence of civic spaces where citizens can understand and participate in algorithmic systems.
Located at Plaza de Colón—a site that has evolved from Royal Mint to National Library to public plaza—the intervention creates a new civic typology employing a cloud-fog-edge computing framework that reveals resource flows while integrating technical functions with public programs. Three programmatic axes converge at a central data center: the Digital Infrastructure Axis features transparent server rooms that transform technical systems into educational features; the Digital Archive Axis connects to Spain's National Library through visible digitization labs; and the Digital Literacy Axis provides hands-on workshops and AI-integrated study spaces.
This hybrid architecture materializes the shift from static containers to dynamic circuits in memory practices, establishing a new civic institution where cultural heritage is continuously activated through technological engagement and democratic participation. The project demonstrates that architecture can transform traditionally separate systems—hidden data centers and digitizing archives—into integrated civic platforms that serve both knowledge preservation and democratic resilience, creating spaces where citizens become active participants in their digital future rather than passive consumers.
The project confronts three interconnected "black boxes" that undermine democratic participation in the digital age: Infrastructure Invisibility through data centers hidden 8-12 kilometers from Madrid's center; Archive Digitalization that transforms physical collections into abstract digital processes without public engagement; and Digital Literacy Gaps caused by the absence of civic spaces where citizens can understand and participate in algorithmic systems.
Located at Plaza de Colón—a site that has evolved from Royal Mint to National Library to public plaza—the intervention creates a new civic typology employing a cloud-fog-edge computing framework that reveals resource flows while integrating technical functions with public programs. Three programmatic axes converge at a central data center: the Digital Infrastructure Axis features transparent server rooms that transform technical systems into educational features; the Digital Archive Axis connects to Spain's National Library through visible digitization labs; and the Digital Literacy Axis provides hands-on workshops and AI-integrated study spaces.
This hybrid architecture materializes the shift from static containers to dynamic circuits in memory practices, establishing a new civic institution where cultural heritage is continuously activated through technological engagement and democratic participation. The project demonstrates that architecture can transform traditionally separate systems—hidden data centers and digitizing archives—into integrated civic platforms that serve both knowledge preservation and democratic resilience, creating spaces where citizens become active participants in their digital future rather than passive consumers.
Forces of care
Design as a system for collective acts of social and physical care, maintenance, and repair in neo-liberal cities
Beyond Madrid's Heat
Sheltering the Vulnerable
During the summer months, Madrid endures extreme heat. These high temperatures strain both the infrastructure supporting the city and the well-being of its inhabitants, disproportionately impacting marginalized populations. Marginalized populations such as the homeless population and inhabitants of “Poblados dirigidos” face heightened risks due to inadequate shelter and limited access to cooling infrastructure. While previous research has addressed the technical dimensions of urban heat mitigation, there is a lack of focus on the socio-spatial inequalities of vulnerable populations regarding urban heat. To address this, the research combines quantitative analysis with qualitative fieldwork. San Cristóbal de los Ángeles was selected as the intervention site due to its socio-economic challenges, historical context, and observed urban heat vulnerabilities. The findings show that the impacts of urban heat are rooted in existing social, historical, and spatial inequalities. Responses include the development of climate shelters that offer relief from extreme heat, as well as its establishment in a broader network that ensures spatial distribution, accessibility, and integration within the city’s existing infrastructure. This study highlights the need to rethink the role of shelter in responding to overheating cities. Addressing Madrid’s urban heat is not solely about reducing temperatures, it is about rethinking the socio-spatial systems that shape its city, ensuring they are inclusive, resilient, and just.
...
During the summer months, Madrid endures extreme heat. These high temperatures strain both the infrastructure supporting the city and the well-being of its inhabitants, disproportionately impacting marginalized populations. Marginalized populations such as the homeless population and inhabitants of “Poblados dirigidos” face heightened risks due to inadequate shelter and limited access to cooling infrastructure. While previous research has addressed the technical dimensions of urban heat mitigation, there is a lack of focus on the socio-spatial inequalities of vulnerable populations regarding urban heat. To address this, the research combines quantitative analysis with qualitative fieldwork. San Cristóbal de los Ángeles was selected as the intervention site due to its socio-economic challenges, historical context, and observed urban heat vulnerabilities. The findings show that the impacts of urban heat are rooted in existing social, historical, and spatial inequalities. Responses include the development of climate shelters that offer relief from extreme heat, as well as its establishment in a broader network that ensures spatial distribution, accessibility, and integration within the city’s existing infrastructure. This study highlights the need to rethink the role of shelter in responding to overheating cities. Addressing Madrid’s urban heat is not solely about reducing temperatures, it is about rethinking the socio-spatial systems that shape its city, ensuring they are inclusive, resilient, and just.
In conversation with the river
Giving voice to the Vistula River in Warsaw
Master thesis
(2025)
-
Katarzyna Prokopiuk, Claudiu Forgaci, Geert Coumans, Georgios Karvelas, André Mulder
In the face of climate change, we are confronted with both rising water levels and water scarcity almost simultaneously. These challenges have brought new attention to rivers as crucial elements in urban planning. Yet often in architectural design, rivers are treated as existing elements on site rather than actors that can express their needs in shaping the city. This research constructs a narrative of the Vistula River’s voice in Warsaw, interpreting its needs through its social and ecological significance. It explores how reimagining the river as an active participant of planning debates can inform more responsive, context-sensitive urban design and architecture.
The paper addresses the question of what it means to design with the river, rather than merely around it. It challenges the dominant paradigm, which often disregards the complexity of the environmental role of the water bodies. Instead, the research highlights the intricate relationships between water, land, and community. The emerging global movement of granting legal personhood for rivers has expanded environmental protection, especially in the Global South. The presented approach focuses on building engagement and a personal relationship between the river and people as a key step to protect riverine ecosystems.
The goal of this research was to come as close as possible to the voice of the river – what the Vistula in Warsaw would say about itself and its future. Through qualitative research methods - on-site observation, audiovisual documentation, and interviews with stakeholders connected to the river - the study generated individual narratives that were analyzed and interpreted poetically to construct a collective voice for the river.
Findings reveal that the Vistula’s voice is one rooted in biodiversity, historical identity, and inclusivity. While its interpretations differ across user groups, there are aspects that are common and can be defined as the core of the river’s voice. Vistula gives life and seeps into its surroundings, influencing the biological richness of the area that it flows through. Animals are seen as the river’s primary users, but the Vistula welcomes all living beings, and responsible human activity. Its voice advocates for unregulated flow and improved water quality, while opposing development driven by short-term economic interests. At the same time, it encourages to keep a safe distance from sensitive areas, but bring people close enough to observe nature and be willing to protect it.
The study proposes a design approach grounded in attentiveness to natural rhythms and traditional practices, such as those of the Olęder culture. By shifting perspective toward the river’s own voice, designers and policymakers can increase sensitivity to the impact that their project will potentially have. It can also help them build more sustainable, respectful relationships between urban life and the river. The methodology offers potential applications in environmental education, legal frameworks, and further research on rivers in similar contexts. ...
The paper addresses the question of what it means to design with the river, rather than merely around it. It challenges the dominant paradigm, which often disregards the complexity of the environmental role of the water bodies. Instead, the research highlights the intricate relationships between water, land, and community. The emerging global movement of granting legal personhood for rivers has expanded environmental protection, especially in the Global South. The presented approach focuses on building engagement and a personal relationship between the river and people as a key step to protect riverine ecosystems.
The goal of this research was to come as close as possible to the voice of the river – what the Vistula in Warsaw would say about itself and its future. Through qualitative research methods - on-site observation, audiovisual documentation, and interviews with stakeholders connected to the river - the study generated individual narratives that were analyzed and interpreted poetically to construct a collective voice for the river.
Findings reveal that the Vistula’s voice is one rooted in biodiversity, historical identity, and inclusivity. While its interpretations differ across user groups, there are aspects that are common and can be defined as the core of the river’s voice. Vistula gives life and seeps into its surroundings, influencing the biological richness of the area that it flows through. Animals are seen as the river’s primary users, but the Vistula welcomes all living beings, and responsible human activity. Its voice advocates for unregulated flow and improved water quality, while opposing development driven by short-term economic interests. At the same time, it encourages to keep a safe distance from sensitive areas, but bring people close enough to observe nature and be willing to protect it.
The study proposes a design approach grounded in attentiveness to natural rhythms and traditional practices, such as those of the Olęder culture. By shifting perspective toward the river’s own voice, designers and policymakers can increase sensitivity to the impact that their project will potentially have. It can also help them build more sustainable, respectful relationships between urban life and the river. The methodology offers potential applications in environmental education, legal frameworks, and further research on rivers in similar contexts. ...
In the face of climate change, we are confronted with both rising water levels and water scarcity almost simultaneously. These challenges have brought new attention to rivers as crucial elements in urban planning. Yet often in architectural design, rivers are treated as existing elements on site rather than actors that can express their needs in shaping the city. This research constructs a narrative of the Vistula River’s voice in Warsaw, interpreting its needs through its social and ecological significance. It explores how reimagining the river as an active participant of planning debates can inform more responsive, context-sensitive urban design and architecture.
The paper addresses the question of what it means to design with the river, rather than merely around it. It challenges the dominant paradigm, which often disregards the complexity of the environmental role of the water bodies. Instead, the research highlights the intricate relationships between water, land, and community. The emerging global movement of granting legal personhood for rivers has expanded environmental protection, especially in the Global South. The presented approach focuses on building engagement and a personal relationship between the river and people as a key step to protect riverine ecosystems.
The goal of this research was to come as close as possible to the voice of the river – what the Vistula in Warsaw would say about itself and its future. Through qualitative research methods - on-site observation, audiovisual documentation, and interviews with stakeholders connected to the river - the study generated individual narratives that were analyzed and interpreted poetically to construct a collective voice for the river.
Findings reveal that the Vistula’s voice is one rooted in biodiversity, historical identity, and inclusivity. While its interpretations differ across user groups, there are aspects that are common and can be defined as the core of the river’s voice. Vistula gives life and seeps into its surroundings, influencing the biological richness of the area that it flows through. Animals are seen as the river’s primary users, but the Vistula welcomes all living beings, and responsible human activity. Its voice advocates for unregulated flow and improved water quality, while opposing development driven by short-term economic interests. At the same time, it encourages to keep a safe distance from sensitive areas, but bring people close enough to observe nature and be willing to protect it.
The study proposes a design approach grounded in attentiveness to natural rhythms and traditional practices, such as those of the Olęder culture. By shifting perspective toward the river’s own voice, designers and policymakers can increase sensitivity to the impact that their project will potentially have. It can also help them build more sustainable, respectful relationships between urban life and the river. The methodology offers potential applications in environmental education, legal frameworks, and further research on rivers in similar contexts.
The paper addresses the question of what it means to design with the river, rather than merely around it. It challenges the dominant paradigm, which often disregards the complexity of the environmental role of the water bodies. Instead, the research highlights the intricate relationships between water, land, and community. The emerging global movement of granting legal personhood for rivers has expanded environmental protection, especially in the Global South. The presented approach focuses on building engagement and a personal relationship between the river and people as a key step to protect riverine ecosystems.
The goal of this research was to come as close as possible to the voice of the river – what the Vistula in Warsaw would say about itself and its future. Through qualitative research methods - on-site observation, audiovisual documentation, and interviews with stakeholders connected to the river - the study generated individual narratives that were analyzed and interpreted poetically to construct a collective voice for the river.
Findings reveal that the Vistula’s voice is one rooted in biodiversity, historical identity, and inclusivity. While its interpretations differ across user groups, there are aspects that are common and can be defined as the core of the river’s voice. Vistula gives life and seeps into its surroundings, influencing the biological richness of the area that it flows through. Animals are seen as the river’s primary users, but the Vistula welcomes all living beings, and responsible human activity. Its voice advocates for unregulated flow and improved water quality, while opposing development driven by short-term economic interests. At the same time, it encourages to keep a safe distance from sensitive areas, but bring people close enough to observe nature and be willing to protect it.
The study proposes a design approach grounded in attentiveness to natural rhythms and traditional practices, such as those of the Olęder culture. By shifting perspective toward the river’s own voice, designers and policymakers can increase sensitivity to the impact that their project will potentially have. It can also help them build more sustainable, respectful relationships between urban life and the river. The methodology offers potential applications in environmental education, legal frameworks, and further research on rivers in similar contexts.
Values in the Making
Exploring ecologies of making for Architectural Education
Academic architectural education trains students to operate within an abstracted reality, operating through drawings, models, and calculations to bring together materials and approach design challenges. While this abstraction facilitates the dissection of complex problems, it risks disrupting the direct relationship between (future) architects and the materials they work with. Limited opportunities for hands- on engagement with materials and their processes on a full scale can alienate students from the tactile, contextual, and embodied knowledge of materiality.
This research explores ways of overcoming that material alienation by investigating the act of making as a physical material encounter within the context of architectural education. Emphasis is placed on both the pedagogical qualities and the spatial contexts of the act of making, with the aim of deriving its value for architectural education and exploring how a school environment can facilitate, or even stimulate, these activities. On a broader scale, it addresses the relationship that our mainstream building culture has with materials, accepting the extraction, processing, consumption and eventual disposal of precious resources. ...
This research explores ways of overcoming that material alienation by investigating the act of making as a physical material encounter within the context of architectural education. Emphasis is placed on both the pedagogical qualities and the spatial contexts of the act of making, with the aim of deriving its value for architectural education and exploring how a school environment can facilitate, or even stimulate, these activities. On a broader scale, it addresses the relationship that our mainstream building culture has with materials, accepting the extraction, processing, consumption and eventual disposal of precious resources. ...
Academic architectural education trains students to operate within an abstracted reality, operating through drawings, models, and calculations to bring together materials and approach design challenges. While this abstraction facilitates the dissection of complex problems, it risks disrupting the direct relationship between (future) architects and the materials they work with. Limited opportunities for hands- on engagement with materials and their processes on a full scale can alienate students from the tactile, contextual, and embodied knowledge of materiality.
This research explores ways of overcoming that material alienation by investigating the act of making as a physical material encounter within the context of architectural education. Emphasis is placed on both the pedagogical qualities and the spatial contexts of the act of making, with the aim of deriving its value for architectural education and exploring how a school environment can facilitate, or even stimulate, these activities. On a broader scale, it addresses the relationship that our mainstream building culture has with materials, accepting the extraction, processing, consumption and eventual disposal of precious resources.
This research explores ways of overcoming that material alienation by investigating the act of making as a physical material encounter within the context of architectural education. Emphasis is placed on both the pedagogical qualities and the spatial contexts of the act of making, with the aim of deriving its value for architectural education and exploring how a school environment can facilitate, or even stimulate, these activities. On a broader scale, it addresses the relationship that our mainstream building culture has with materials, accepting the extraction, processing, consumption and eventual disposal of precious resources.
Post-Military Landscapes
Future and Transformation of Masaryk Barracks in Pardubice
The thesis Post-Military Landscapes explores the adaptive reuse of a former military compound in Pardubice, Czechia. The site is examined through the lenses of its past, present, and potential future to uncover its values, assess its cultural significance, and articulate the rationale for its transformation. Drawing on insights from relevant case studies, I identified key principles that inform successful adaptive reuse. In the design proposal, I chose to repurpose the central part of the compound into an educational facility. This involved exploring the concepts of traditional and progressive schooling and investigating how reused buildings can contribute to meaningful and dynamic learning environments.
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The thesis Post-Military Landscapes explores the adaptive reuse of a former military compound in Pardubice, Czechia. The site is examined through the lenses of its past, present, and potential future to uncover its values, assess its cultural significance, and articulate the rationale for its transformation. Drawing on insights from relevant case studies, I identified key principles that inform successful adaptive reuse. In the design proposal, I chose to repurpose the central part of the compound into an educational facility. This involved exploring the concepts of traditional and progressive schooling and investigating how reused buildings can contribute to meaningful and dynamic learning environments.
Above and Below
Exploring the Interplay of Nature and Architecture in Favignana´s Quarries over Time
Since Roman times, the Sicilian island of Favignana has been shaped by stone extraction, leaving behind a hidden architecture of quarries beneath its surface. This project asks how the spatial dualities of light and materiality below could be translated into an architecture above.
To capture these buried qualities, conventional design methods do not suffice. It requires a mixture of digital and physical experimentation. Through 3D scanning and printing, the embodied experience underground is translated into a spatial vocabulary that guides the design process through physical model-making.
Here, the construction site becomes a testing ground for post-anthropocenic architecture, shaped equally by human and non-human actors. Built with salt and stone, it anticipates erosion and reuse, questioning static architecture, where humans are only brief visitors before nature returns.
...
To capture these buried qualities, conventional design methods do not suffice. It requires a mixture of digital and physical experimentation. Through 3D scanning and printing, the embodied experience underground is translated into a spatial vocabulary that guides the design process through physical model-making.
Here, the construction site becomes a testing ground for post-anthropocenic architecture, shaped equally by human and non-human actors. Built with salt and stone, it anticipates erosion and reuse, questioning static architecture, where humans are only brief visitors before nature returns.
...
Since Roman times, the Sicilian island of Favignana has been shaped by stone extraction, leaving behind a hidden architecture of quarries beneath its surface. This project asks how the spatial dualities of light and materiality below could be translated into an architecture above.
To capture these buried qualities, conventional design methods do not suffice. It requires a mixture of digital and physical experimentation. Through 3D scanning and printing, the embodied experience underground is translated into a spatial vocabulary that guides the design process through physical model-making.
Here, the construction site becomes a testing ground for post-anthropocenic architecture, shaped equally by human and non-human actors. Built with salt and stone, it anticipates erosion and reuse, questioning static architecture, where humans are only brief visitors before nature returns.
To capture these buried qualities, conventional design methods do not suffice. It requires a mixture of digital and physical experimentation. Through 3D scanning and printing, the embodied experience underground is translated into a spatial vocabulary that guides the design process through physical model-making.
Here, the construction site becomes a testing ground for post-anthropocenic architecture, shaped equally by human and non-human actors. Built with salt and stone, it anticipates erosion and reuse, questioning static architecture, where humans are only brief visitors before nature returns.
Anarchisphere
Where the City Meets the Wild
This project begins with a question, not an answer.
What is public space, and who is it really for?
The Anarchisphere explores how architecture might provoke awareness of invisible systems of control while creating conditions in which power relations are critically dismantled. It asks how people might reclaim the ability to shape their surroundings through self-organisation, mutual aid, and collective action.
Rather than prescribing use or behaviour, the project proposes architecture as an open framework: unfinished, unstable, and open to appropriation. Public space is treated not as neutral ground, but as a contested terrain shaped by power, regulation, and design decisions that often go unquestioned.
Situated along the railway corridor between Rotterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Blaak, the project intervenes in a landscape defined by speed, infrastructure, and surveillance. A rigid triangular grid establishes an imposed order, which is disrupted by a new anarchic axis. Along this axis unfolds a system of mobile units, climbable towers, and wild ecologies. These elements resist a fixed program and invite misuse, transformation, and collective negotiation.
The Anarchisphere is not a singular object, but a lived condition. It is both an actual place and a theoretical understanding of space and its function. It is a desire for more: for freedom, autonomy, and comfort within the public realm. Through exposure, friction, and disruption, the project challenges preconceived notions of publicity and freedom within existing structures of hierarchy and power.
Architecture is turned inside out: a host rather than a master, a provocation rather than a solution. By giving people the means to create, occupy, and redefine space, the project asks what public space could become when authorship is collective and authority is no longer fixed. Ultimately, The Anarchisphere positions architecture not as a tool for control but as a catalyst for awareness, creativity, and freedom within the urban public realm.
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What is public space, and who is it really for?
The Anarchisphere explores how architecture might provoke awareness of invisible systems of control while creating conditions in which power relations are critically dismantled. It asks how people might reclaim the ability to shape their surroundings through self-organisation, mutual aid, and collective action.
Rather than prescribing use or behaviour, the project proposes architecture as an open framework: unfinished, unstable, and open to appropriation. Public space is treated not as neutral ground, but as a contested terrain shaped by power, regulation, and design decisions that often go unquestioned.
Situated along the railway corridor between Rotterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Blaak, the project intervenes in a landscape defined by speed, infrastructure, and surveillance. A rigid triangular grid establishes an imposed order, which is disrupted by a new anarchic axis. Along this axis unfolds a system of mobile units, climbable towers, and wild ecologies. These elements resist a fixed program and invite misuse, transformation, and collective negotiation.
The Anarchisphere is not a singular object, but a lived condition. It is both an actual place and a theoretical understanding of space and its function. It is a desire for more: for freedom, autonomy, and comfort within the public realm. Through exposure, friction, and disruption, the project challenges preconceived notions of publicity and freedom within existing structures of hierarchy and power.
Architecture is turned inside out: a host rather than a master, a provocation rather than a solution. By giving people the means to create, occupy, and redefine space, the project asks what public space could become when authorship is collective and authority is no longer fixed. Ultimately, The Anarchisphere positions architecture not as a tool for control but as a catalyst for awareness, creativity, and freedom within the urban public realm.
...
This project begins with a question, not an answer.
What is public space, and who is it really for?
The Anarchisphere explores how architecture might provoke awareness of invisible systems of control while creating conditions in which power relations are critically dismantled. It asks how people might reclaim the ability to shape their surroundings through self-organisation, mutual aid, and collective action.
Rather than prescribing use or behaviour, the project proposes architecture as an open framework: unfinished, unstable, and open to appropriation. Public space is treated not as neutral ground, but as a contested terrain shaped by power, regulation, and design decisions that often go unquestioned.
Situated along the railway corridor between Rotterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Blaak, the project intervenes in a landscape defined by speed, infrastructure, and surveillance. A rigid triangular grid establishes an imposed order, which is disrupted by a new anarchic axis. Along this axis unfolds a system of mobile units, climbable towers, and wild ecologies. These elements resist a fixed program and invite misuse, transformation, and collective negotiation.
The Anarchisphere is not a singular object, but a lived condition. It is both an actual place and a theoretical understanding of space and its function. It is a desire for more: for freedom, autonomy, and comfort within the public realm. Through exposure, friction, and disruption, the project challenges preconceived notions of publicity and freedom within existing structures of hierarchy and power.
Architecture is turned inside out: a host rather than a master, a provocation rather than a solution. By giving people the means to create, occupy, and redefine space, the project asks what public space could become when authorship is collective and authority is no longer fixed. Ultimately, The Anarchisphere positions architecture not as a tool for control but as a catalyst for awareness, creativity, and freedom within the urban public realm.
What is public space, and who is it really for?
The Anarchisphere explores how architecture might provoke awareness of invisible systems of control while creating conditions in which power relations are critically dismantled. It asks how people might reclaim the ability to shape their surroundings through self-organisation, mutual aid, and collective action.
Rather than prescribing use or behaviour, the project proposes architecture as an open framework: unfinished, unstable, and open to appropriation. Public space is treated not as neutral ground, but as a contested terrain shaped by power, regulation, and design decisions that often go unquestioned.
Situated along the railway corridor between Rotterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Blaak, the project intervenes in a landscape defined by speed, infrastructure, and surveillance. A rigid triangular grid establishes an imposed order, which is disrupted by a new anarchic axis. Along this axis unfolds a system of mobile units, climbable towers, and wild ecologies. These elements resist a fixed program and invite misuse, transformation, and collective negotiation.
The Anarchisphere is not a singular object, but a lived condition. It is both an actual place and a theoretical understanding of space and its function. It is a desire for more: for freedom, autonomy, and comfort within the public realm. Through exposure, friction, and disruption, the project challenges preconceived notions of publicity and freedom within existing structures of hierarchy and power.
Architecture is turned inside out: a host rather than a master, a provocation rather than a solution. By giving people the means to create, occupy, and redefine space, the project asks what public space could become when authorship is collective and authority is no longer fixed. Ultimately, The Anarchisphere positions architecture not as a tool for control but as a catalyst for awareness, creativity, and freedom within the urban public realm.
DE-AGING EDEN
Elderly School in Berlin
This project is an elderly school in Berlin, which aims to help the elderly enjoy their happy life by enhancing their sense of self-achievement through knowledge sharing with other people. This elderly school floats on top of Fennpfuhl Lake in the park, and the elderly could also enjoy poetic scenery while teaching and learning. It includes age-friendly design, participatory design, and multi-sensory design, aiming to help the elderly gain a sense of self-achievement through cross-age communication. The elderly school allows people to meet and talk, using classrooms, in-between spaces, and gardens to provide formal and random learning and communication opportunities. It also improves the self-satisfaction of the elderly in different aspects. The classroom is a teaching space that provides fixed courses where the elderly can gain a sense of self-achievement when teaching and acquiring knowledge. The in-between space is a space for people to communicate and rest, where random learning opportunities can be triggered. The indoor garden is separated by exhibition shelves, where the elderly carefully maintain the plants, and they will also feel happy in this planting space.
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This project is an elderly school in Berlin, which aims to help the elderly enjoy their happy life by enhancing their sense of self-achievement through knowledge sharing with other people. This elderly school floats on top of Fennpfuhl Lake in the park, and the elderly could also enjoy poetic scenery while teaching and learning. It includes age-friendly design, participatory design, and multi-sensory design, aiming to help the elderly gain a sense of self-achievement through cross-age communication. The elderly school allows people to meet and talk, using classrooms, in-between spaces, and gardens to provide formal and random learning and communication opportunities. It also improves the self-satisfaction of the elderly in different aspects. The classroom is a teaching space that provides fixed courses where the elderly can gain a sense of self-achievement when teaching and acquiring knowledge. The in-between space is a space for people to communicate and rest, where random learning opportunities can be triggered. The indoor garden is separated by exhibition shelves, where the elderly carefully maintain the plants, and they will also feel happy in this planting space.
Echoes of Tomorrow
A Parliament of Natural Things for Berlin
What if we welcome all things, plants and animals to the Parliament of Berlin? What would the Spree river vote for during the plenary sessions? What would be the reasoning of the brown bear? What claims would the Tiergarten and its trees make, and what future would the red fox see for itself?
The thesis addresses the dichotomy between nature and society in the legislative process through an architectural design project. The ambition of the project is to provide a personal contribution to the evolution of parliamentary buildings and to engage in a critical reflection on the future of this architectural typology. To do so, the main goal is to design a new Parliament for the city-state of Berlin by drawing inspiration from the theory of the Parliament of Things, articulated by Bruno Latour in his book “We Have Never Been Modern”.
This project is distinct in its nature; it ventures into uncharted territory and architectural innovation without a pre-existing reference or established precedent. This design project seeks to redefine the essence of parliamentary spaces by embracing the voices of all entities, both human and non-human, within the legislative process. In exploring this topic, the central research question emerges as follows:
How can a contemporary Parliament be designed to include, besides humans, natural entities in the legislative process? ...
The thesis addresses the dichotomy between nature and society in the legislative process through an architectural design project. The ambition of the project is to provide a personal contribution to the evolution of parliamentary buildings and to engage in a critical reflection on the future of this architectural typology. To do so, the main goal is to design a new Parliament for the city-state of Berlin by drawing inspiration from the theory of the Parliament of Things, articulated by Bruno Latour in his book “We Have Never Been Modern”.
This project is distinct in its nature; it ventures into uncharted territory and architectural innovation without a pre-existing reference or established precedent. This design project seeks to redefine the essence of parliamentary spaces by embracing the voices of all entities, both human and non-human, within the legislative process. In exploring this topic, the central research question emerges as follows:
How can a contemporary Parliament be designed to include, besides humans, natural entities in the legislative process? ...
What if we welcome all things, plants and animals to the Parliament of Berlin? What would the Spree river vote for during the plenary sessions? What would be the reasoning of the brown bear? What claims would the Tiergarten and its trees make, and what future would the red fox see for itself?
The thesis addresses the dichotomy between nature and society in the legislative process through an architectural design project. The ambition of the project is to provide a personal contribution to the evolution of parliamentary buildings and to engage in a critical reflection on the future of this architectural typology. To do so, the main goal is to design a new Parliament for the city-state of Berlin by drawing inspiration from the theory of the Parliament of Things, articulated by Bruno Latour in his book “We Have Never Been Modern”.
This project is distinct in its nature; it ventures into uncharted territory and architectural innovation without a pre-existing reference or established precedent. This design project seeks to redefine the essence of parliamentary spaces by embracing the voices of all entities, both human and non-human, within the legislative process. In exploring this topic, the central research question emerges as follows:
How can a contemporary Parliament be designed to include, besides humans, natural entities in the legislative process?
The thesis addresses the dichotomy between nature and society in the legislative process through an architectural design project. The ambition of the project is to provide a personal contribution to the evolution of parliamentary buildings and to engage in a critical reflection on the future of this architectural typology. To do so, the main goal is to design a new Parliament for the city-state of Berlin by drawing inspiration from the theory of the Parliament of Things, articulated by Bruno Latour in his book “We Have Never Been Modern”.
This project is distinct in its nature; it ventures into uncharted territory and architectural innovation without a pre-existing reference or established precedent. This design project seeks to redefine the essence of parliamentary spaces by embracing the voices of all entities, both human and non-human, within the legislative process. In exploring this topic, the central research question emerges as follows:
How can a contemporary Parliament be designed to include, besides humans, natural entities in the legislative process?
Adaptable Bundestag Complex
How to design the adaptable Bundestag parliament of the future to sustainable facilitate the fluctuating number of members?
The Bundestag is the German federal parliament and with its 736 representatives it is the biggest freely elected parliament in the world (Mayer, 2021). The size of the Bundestag fluctuates every election term because the German voting system works with overhang and levelling representatives (Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, N.D.).
The range of possible mandates varies from 598 to over 1,000 members, highlighting the considerable variability and uncertainty in the system (Vehrkamp, 2021). With more than 7 employees per representative (Bundestag, 2022)., the Bundestag can fluctuate with over 3.000 employees per election term.
This gives the obvious problem that it is very difficult for the Bundestag administration, to know how many facilities are needed. In the Bundestag, there is a forced use of home office, wooden container offices, and temporarily built offices, to try to facilitate the Bundestag (Ismar, 2021). This is also a problem on the sustainable side because temporary facilities are not sustainable and energy inefficient.
These problems are also true for any proposed designs for a new parliament building for the Bundestag. So, to counter these problems, a new Bundestag parliament building should be able to adapt to the change of users per election term.
Some questions that arise when looking at the possible solution of adaptability are: how are architectural elements related to this and how can the program best be used? How can digitalisation play a role and is it may be possible to have programmable and adaptable floorplans or room uses? How will the cyber security be accommodated for possible digital meetings? And how can all this adaptability help in sustainability?
The research and design question that follows out of these questions: How to design the adaptable Bundestag parliament of the future to sustainable facilitate the fluctuating number of members?
To answer the research question and come to a conclusion/final design, the research into the client will be done by gathering information through internet, interviews, and written questions. For the site the main research methods will be mapping information and site visits. And for the program the research will be done by case studies on other federal parliamentary lower house buildings. Because the Bundestag is idiosyncratic in its fluctuating size, the comparisons will be in square meter per employee.
The final goal is to design a new sustainable Bundestag parliament building that is adaptable in use and program, and not negatively affected by the fluctuating number of members of the Bundestag. ...
The range of possible mandates varies from 598 to over 1,000 members, highlighting the considerable variability and uncertainty in the system (Vehrkamp, 2021). With more than 7 employees per representative (Bundestag, 2022)., the Bundestag can fluctuate with over 3.000 employees per election term.
This gives the obvious problem that it is very difficult for the Bundestag administration, to know how many facilities are needed. In the Bundestag, there is a forced use of home office, wooden container offices, and temporarily built offices, to try to facilitate the Bundestag (Ismar, 2021). This is also a problem on the sustainable side because temporary facilities are not sustainable and energy inefficient.
These problems are also true for any proposed designs for a new parliament building for the Bundestag. So, to counter these problems, a new Bundestag parliament building should be able to adapt to the change of users per election term.
Some questions that arise when looking at the possible solution of adaptability are: how are architectural elements related to this and how can the program best be used? How can digitalisation play a role and is it may be possible to have programmable and adaptable floorplans or room uses? How will the cyber security be accommodated for possible digital meetings? And how can all this adaptability help in sustainability?
The research and design question that follows out of these questions: How to design the adaptable Bundestag parliament of the future to sustainable facilitate the fluctuating number of members?
To answer the research question and come to a conclusion/final design, the research into the client will be done by gathering information through internet, interviews, and written questions. For the site the main research methods will be mapping information and site visits. And for the program the research will be done by case studies on other federal parliamentary lower house buildings. Because the Bundestag is idiosyncratic in its fluctuating size, the comparisons will be in square meter per employee.
The final goal is to design a new sustainable Bundestag parliament building that is adaptable in use and program, and not negatively affected by the fluctuating number of members of the Bundestag. ...
The Bundestag is the German federal parliament and with its 736 representatives it is the biggest freely elected parliament in the world (Mayer, 2021). The size of the Bundestag fluctuates every election term because the German voting system works with overhang and levelling representatives (Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, N.D.).
The range of possible mandates varies from 598 to over 1,000 members, highlighting the considerable variability and uncertainty in the system (Vehrkamp, 2021). With more than 7 employees per representative (Bundestag, 2022)., the Bundestag can fluctuate with over 3.000 employees per election term.
This gives the obvious problem that it is very difficult for the Bundestag administration, to know how many facilities are needed. In the Bundestag, there is a forced use of home office, wooden container offices, and temporarily built offices, to try to facilitate the Bundestag (Ismar, 2021). This is also a problem on the sustainable side because temporary facilities are not sustainable and energy inefficient.
These problems are also true for any proposed designs for a new parliament building for the Bundestag. So, to counter these problems, a new Bundestag parliament building should be able to adapt to the change of users per election term.
Some questions that arise when looking at the possible solution of adaptability are: how are architectural elements related to this and how can the program best be used? How can digitalisation play a role and is it may be possible to have programmable and adaptable floorplans or room uses? How will the cyber security be accommodated for possible digital meetings? And how can all this adaptability help in sustainability?
The research and design question that follows out of these questions: How to design the adaptable Bundestag parliament of the future to sustainable facilitate the fluctuating number of members?
To answer the research question and come to a conclusion/final design, the research into the client will be done by gathering information through internet, interviews, and written questions. For the site the main research methods will be mapping information and site visits. And for the program the research will be done by case studies on other federal parliamentary lower house buildings. Because the Bundestag is idiosyncratic in its fluctuating size, the comparisons will be in square meter per employee.
The final goal is to design a new sustainable Bundestag parliament building that is adaptable in use and program, and not negatively affected by the fluctuating number of members of the Bundestag.
The range of possible mandates varies from 598 to over 1,000 members, highlighting the considerable variability and uncertainty in the system (Vehrkamp, 2021). With more than 7 employees per representative (Bundestag, 2022)., the Bundestag can fluctuate with over 3.000 employees per election term.
This gives the obvious problem that it is very difficult for the Bundestag administration, to know how many facilities are needed. In the Bundestag, there is a forced use of home office, wooden container offices, and temporarily built offices, to try to facilitate the Bundestag (Ismar, 2021). This is also a problem on the sustainable side because temporary facilities are not sustainable and energy inefficient.
These problems are also true for any proposed designs for a new parliament building for the Bundestag. So, to counter these problems, a new Bundestag parliament building should be able to adapt to the change of users per election term.
Some questions that arise when looking at the possible solution of adaptability are: how are architectural elements related to this and how can the program best be used? How can digitalisation play a role and is it may be possible to have programmable and adaptable floorplans or room uses? How will the cyber security be accommodated for possible digital meetings? And how can all this adaptability help in sustainability?
The research and design question that follows out of these questions: How to design the adaptable Bundestag parliament of the future to sustainable facilitate the fluctuating number of members?
To answer the research question and come to a conclusion/final design, the research into the client will be done by gathering information through internet, interviews, and written questions. For the site the main research methods will be mapping information and site visits. And for the program the research will be done by case studies on other federal parliamentary lower house buildings. Because the Bundestag is idiosyncratic in its fluctuating size, the comparisons will be in square meter per employee.
The final goal is to design a new sustainable Bundestag parliament building that is adaptable in use and program, and not negatively affected by the fluctuating number of members of the Bundestag.
The Human Body Shop
An Institute for Human Body Augmentation
The following research focuses on "The Human Body Shop", an institute for human body augmentation. It is a hospital-oriented project based on the following research question: “How will human body augmentation reflect change in the hospital typology in the future?” Hospitals are some of the most critical buildings in society, but they are only part of it during times of necessity. The highly complex programs and dominant circulation systems of the traditional "healing machine" have created a labyrinth environment that society tends to avoid rather than engage with, discover, or feel connected to.
Innovation in the field of human body augmentation has initiated a shift from buildings functioning as healing machines to the human body itself as the locus of healing. This shift not only alters the human body but also transforms the hospital typology as we know it today. Future hospitals will specialize exclusively; in this case in the customized procedures involved in augmenting human bodies. These institutions will also engage in research and educate the next generation of professionals, as well as the broader society.
The continuous advancement of technology will necessitate a flexible program, which in turn will require a modular structure. This flexibility opens the possibility of reimagining the hospital as a more open and integrated environment, redefining its relationship with public spaces. These spaces will not only provide an escape but will also create opportunities for the public to gather for various activities and engage as a community within the scale of the neighbourhood; within the larger context of Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany.
The future modular hospital typology will be seamlessly interwoven with everyday life, transforming its image from that of an isolated institution to a subtle collection of buildings integrated into the urban fabric. Introducing "the Human Body Shop" - a new hospital typology that is not only part of society in times of need but also an integral part of daily life. ...
Innovation in the field of human body augmentation has initiated a shift from buildings functioning as healing machines to the human body itself as the locus of healing. This shift not only alters the human body but also transforms the hospital typology as we know it today. Future hospitals will specialize exclusively; in this case in the customized procedures involved in augmenting human bodies. These institutions will also engage in research and educate the next generation of professionals, as well as the broader society.
The continuous advancement of technology will necessitate a flexible program, which in turn will require a modular structure. This flexibility opens the possibility of reimagining the hospital as a more open and integrated environment, redefining its relationship with public spaces. These spaces will not only provide an escape but will also create opportunities for the public to gather for various activities and engage as a community within the scale of the neighbourhood; within the larger context of Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany.
The future modular hospital typology will be seamlessly interwoven with everyday life, transforming its image from that of an isolated institution to a subtle collection of buildings integrated into the urban fabric. Introducing "the Human Body Shop" - a new hospital typology that is not only part of society in times of need but also an integral part of daily life. ...
The following research focuses on "The Human Body Shop", an institute for human body augmentation. It is a hospital-oriented project based on the following research question: “How will human body augmentation reflect change in the hospital typology in the future?” Hospitals are some of the most critical buildings in society, but they are only part of it during times of necessity. The highly complex programs and dominant circulation systems of the traditional "healing machine" have created a labyrinth environment that society tends to avoid rather than engage with, discover, or feel connected to.
Innovation in the field of human body augmentation has initiated a shift from buildings functioning as healing machines to the human body itself as the locus of healing. This shift not only alters the human body but also transforms the hospital typology as we know it today. Future hospitals will specialize exclusively; in this case in the customized procedures involved in augmenting human bodies. These institutions will also engage in research and educate the next generation of professionals, as well as the broader society.
The continuous advancement of technology will necessitate a flexible program, which in turn will require a modular structure. This flexibility opens the possibility of reimagining the hospital as a more open and integrated environment, redefining its relationship with public spaces. These spaces will not only provide an escape but will also create opportunities for the public to gather for various activities and engage as a community within the scale of the neighbourhood; within the larger context of Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany.
The future modular hospital typology will be seamlessly interwoven with everyday life, transforming its image from that of an isolated institution to a subtle collection of buildings integrated into the urban fabric. Introducing "the Human Body Shop" - a new hospital typology that is not only part of society in times of need but also an integral part of daily life.
Innovation in the field of human body augmentation has initiated a shift from buildings functioning as healing machines to the human body itself as the locus of healing. This shift not only alters the human body but also transforms the hospital typology as we know it today. Future hospitals will specialize exclusively; in this case in the customized procedures involved in augmenting human bodies. These institutions will also engage in research and educate the next generation of professionals, as well as the broader society.
The continuous advancement of technology will necessitate a flexible program, which in turn will require a modular structure. This flexibility opens the possibility of reimagining the hospital as a more open and integrated environment, redefining its relationship with public spaces. These spaces will not only provide an escape but will also create opportunities for the public to gather for various activities and engage as a community within the scale of the neighbourhood; within the larger context of Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany.
The future modular hospital typology will be seamlessly interwoven with everyday life, transforming its image from that of an isolated institution to a subtle collection of buildings integrated into the urban fabric. Introducing "the Human Body Shop" - a new hospital typology that is not only part of society in times of need but also an integral part of daily life.
The Quaker Project at Brigflatts
Re-activating a spiritually significant site in the Yorkshire Dales
For several decades, architectural theorists have argued that there is a loss of meaning in architecture, caused by an over-emphasis on scientific thinking and the devaluing of poetic practices. Some theorists have presented ways to return meaning to architecture: Juhani Pallasmaa has called for empathic imagination and Alberto Perez-Gomez for attuned architecture. However, neither has offered methods for how to achieve those ends.
This research aims to bridge theory and practice by developing methods for attuning to a location and its inhabitants. It focuses on ways to become attuned to a place and people, in order to imagine spaces empathically and tailor architecture to the affective qualities of a place.
To best develop methods that identify these qualities, this research looks at familiar places, that is, places we assume to know well and therefore may overlook distinctive features. Accordingly, I have focussed on Brigflatts, my childhood neighbourhood in rural England.
I develop methods for attuning in two ways. First, by drawing upon three fields and their related methods: cognitive science and sensory mapping; anthropology and collaborative design ethnography; and architecture and reflections on atmospheres. Second, by creating physical objects that translate qualities and experiences of place into an interactive form.
My exploration of Brigflatts culminates in four large-format paintings that express what I became attuned to. I deconstruct and analyse these paintings to indicate how the on-site activities provided insights into the affective qualities of the location.
While this research looked at a familiar, rural location, I show how the methods elaborated at Brigflatts can be adapted to less familiar and urban environments. I discuss their broader application through a set of guiding principles for methods of attunement.
The research findings feed into a design project set at Brigflatts. “The Quaker Project at Brigflatts” seeks to re-activate a historically and spiritually significant site while balancing the needs of the faith group, the national park planning authority, and the locals living nearby.
Through this project, I explore how architecture can be attuned to a place and a people – how social behaviours, material bodies, and affective qualities can inform the design of new spaces and new experiences of the site and the protected landscape. I ground this project in a real-life scenario, responding to the Quaker testimonies and the National Park’s development requirements. In doing so, I envision a future of development in the Yorkshire Dales that protects cultural heritage, progresses building techniques, and offers a contemporary architecture attuned to its locality. ...
This research aims to bridge theory and practice by developing methods for attuning to a location and its inhabitants. It focuses on ways to become attuned to a place and people, in order to imagine spaces empathically and tailor architecture to the affective qualities of a place.
To best develop methods that identify these qualities, this research looks at familiar places, that is, places we assume to know well and therefore may overlook distinctive features. Accordingly, I have focussed on Brigflatts, my childhood neighbourhood in rural England.
I develop methods for attuning in two ways. First, by drawing upon three fields and their related methods: cognitive science and sensory mapping; anthropology and collaborative design ethnography; and architecture and reflections on atmospheres. Second, by creating physical objects that translate qualities and experiences of place into an interactive form.
My exploration of Brigflatts culminates in four large-format paintings that express what I became attuned to. I deconstruct and analyse these paintings to indicate how the on-site activities provided insights into the affective qualities of the location.
While this research looked at a familiar, rural location, I show how the methods elaborated at Brigflatts can be adapted to less familiar and urban environments. I discuss their broader application through a set of guiding principles for methods of attunement.
The research findings feed into a design project set at Brigflatts. “The Quaker Project at Brigflatts” seeks to re-activate a historically and spiritually significant site while balancing the needs of the faith group, the national park planning authority, and the locals living nearby.
Through this project, I explore how architecture can be attuned to a place and a people – how social behaviours, material bodies, and affective qualities can inform the design of new spaces and new experiences of the site and the protected landscape. I ground this project in a real-life scenario, responding to the Quaker testimonies and the National Park’s development requirements. In doing so, I envision a future of development in the Yorkshire Dales that protects cultural heritage, progresses building techniques, and offers a contemporary architecture attuned to its locality. ...
For several decades, architectural theorists have argued that there is a loss of meaning in architecture, caused by an over-emphasis on scientific thinking and the devaluing of poetic practices. Some theorists have presented ways to return meaning to architecture: Juhani Pallasmaa has called for empathic imagination and Alberto Perez-Gomez for attuned architecture. However, neither has offered methods for how to achieve those ends.
This research aims to bridge theory and practice by developing methods for attuning to a location and its inhabitants. It focuses on ways to become attuned to a place and people, in order to imagine spaces empathically and tailor architecture to the affective qualities of a place.
To best develop methods that identify these qualities, this research looks at familiar places, that is, places we assume to know well and therefore may overlook distinctive features. Accordingly, I have focussed on Brigflatts, my childhood neighbourhood in rural England.
I develop methods for attuning in two ways. First, by drawing upon three fields and their related methods: cognitive science and sensory mapping; anthropology and collaborative design ethnography; and architecture and reflections on atmospheres. Second, by creating physical objects that translate qualities and experiences of place into an interactive form.
My exploration of Brigflatts culminates in four large-format paintings that express what I became attuned to. I deconstruct and analyse these paintings to indicate how the on-site activities provided insights into the affective qualities of the location.
While this research looked at a familiar, rural location, I show how the methods elaborated at Brigflatts can be adapted to less familiar and urban environments. I discuss their broader application through a set of guiding principles for methods of attunement.
The research findings feed into a design project set at Brigflatts. “The Quaker Project at Brigflatts” seeks to re-activate a historically and spiritually significant site while balancing the needs of the faith group, the national park planning authority, and the locals living nearby.
Through this project, I explore how architecture can be attuned to a place and a people – how social behaviours, material bodies, and affective qualities can inform the design of new spaces and new experiences of the site and the protected landscape. I ground this project in a real-life scenario, responding to the Quaker testimonies and the National Park’s development requirements. In doing so, I envision a future of development in the Yorkshire Dales that protects cultural heritage, progresses building techniques, and offers a contemporary architecture attuned to its locality.
This research aims to bridge theory and practice by developing methods for attuning to a location and its inhabitants. It focuses on ways to become attuned to a place and people, in order to imagine spaces empathically and tailor architecture to the affective qualities of a place.
To best develop methods that identify these qualities, this research looks at familiar places, that is, places we assume to know well and therefore may overlook distinctive features. Accordingly, I have focussed on Brigflatts, my childhood neighbourhood in rural England.
I develop methods for attuning in two ways. First, by drawing upon three fields and their related methods: cognitive science and sensory mapping; anthropology and collaborative design ethnography; and architecture and reflections on atmospheres. Second, by creating physical objects that translate qualities and experiences of place into an interactive form.
My exploration of Brigflatts culminates in four large-format paintings that express what I became attuned to. I deconstruct and analyse these paintings to indicate how the on-site activities provided insights into the affective qualities of the location.
While this research looked at a familiar, rural location, I show how the methods elaborated at Brigflatts can be adapted to less familiar and urban environments. I discuss their broader application through a set of guiding principles for methods of attunement.
The research findings feed into a design project set at Brigflatts. “The Quaker Project at Brigflatts” seeks to re-activate a historically and spiritually significant site while balancing the needs of the faith group, the national park planning authority, and the locals living nearby.
Through this project, I explore how architecture can be attuned to a place and a people – how social behaviours, material bodies, and affective qualities can inform the design of new spaces and new experiences of the site and the protected landscape. I ground this project in a real-life scenario, responding to the Quaker testimonies and the National Park’s development requirements. In doing so, I envision a future of development in the Yorkshire Dales that protects cultural heritage, progresses building techniques, and offers a contemporary architecture attuned to its locality.
The Jugendgericht
The first House of Justice for Juveniles in Germany, Berlin
This project focuses on the discrimination against child justice and proposes the solution of creating a seperate specialized juvenile courthouse for youth offendors. Children are after all our future and should be properly taken care of.
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This project focuses on the discrimination against child justice and proposes the solution of creating a seperate specialized juvenile courthouse for youth offendors. Children are after all our future and should be properly taken care of.