The project reflects on the challenges of urban vacancy and transformation in light of the scarcity of affordable and inclusive environments. It focuses on the adaptation of vacant buildings - particularly former industrial sites - through a community-oriented approach.
The research investigates the spatial and legal transformations that self-organized squatting communities in the Netherlands undergo to gain legal recognition. Based on interviews and analysis of six case studies - OT301, Tetterode, and Plantage Dok (Amsterdam); Het Domijn (Weesp); Poortgebouw (Rotterdam); and Boschgaard (Den Bosch) - the proposed building adaptation strategy aims to support a high level of autonomy, engagement, and self-building practices.
With a basic organizational structure and incremental development plan, the strategy is applied to the case of Landbouwbelang - a vibrant squatting community in Maastricht currently facing eviction due to new redevelopment plans. ... Read more

As a result of the war, the city center of Gdańsk was almost destroyed. The degree of its destruction was estimated at nearly 90%. With the war’s end, a new stage in the history of Gdańsk began. New inhabitants appeared; some came from other regions of former Poland, e.g., Vilnius and Lviv. It is hard to imagine, but the decision to rebuild the city in its historical shape was not evident. Eventually, the authorities of the time were persuaded to this concept. The impact of economic, political, and social changes was significant in rebuilding the city physically and in terms of Polish identity. The reconstruction became a source of actual, and not merely propaganda, pride for multiple generations of Gdańsk citizens, and therefore also one of the significant aspects in the crystallization of local identity in the post-war decades. ... Read more