This paper gives an insight in strategies for implementing, processing and producing Miscanthus x Giganteus, or Elephant grass as it is mistakenly called, on a mid-large scale in the Parkstad Region. The area is rooted in agriculture because of fertile löss soil. There have always been a tight bond between the villages and surrounding land. This connection was distorted when mining started in the late nineteenth century. The miners coming from everywhere were housed around the mines. The region thrived, until the mining industry stopped in the 60’s-70’s. Massive unemployment followed. Now fifty years after the closing of the mines Parkstad is still dealing with the consequences of a monoculture. Parkstad has accepted the shrinking as status quo and is now looking for new perspectives with a diverse sustainable economy. Miscanthus x Giganteus, a so called C4 grass, has made a march in the Western world in the last few years. The high yields need little maintenance, while it feeds on the abundant CO2 coming from the fossil fuel industry. The plant, like the floating houses in Iraq, can be used as simple and effective building material. However the western world’s interest in lignocellulosic biomass lied until recently primarily in creating biofuels like bioethanol. Due to new insights in biorefinery, the potential for Miscanthus x Giganteus seems much larger. Lignin a substance of the Miscanthus x Giganteus is for instance likely to be a building block for carbon fiber and currently in R&D stage. Once this is sorted out, it could provide in the need for reducing CO2 emissions by making lightweight cars. Of the large area in Parkstad, grassland with 5000 Ha seems most appropriate for growing Miscanthus x Giganteus. Grassland has a low CO2 intake of only 3-4 tons per Ha and there is plenty unused grassland in and outside the urban area, like Industrial plots, empty urban plots or alongside highways. However the majority of grassland is dedicated for livestock. But it will become more and more available since livestock will shrink eventually do to emission legislation and farmers needing to find ways to make their land profitable. Via a grid, pixels of 1ha, just like on your screen, can be turned on and off to spread the impact of the Miscanthus x Giganteus in the entire region. This will work as a large time machine that harvests CO2 from the air and brings a sense of eternity to the people of Parkstad.

Erosion for Betterment is a graduation project within the Landscape Architecture master track at the TU Delft. The project examines an underdeveloped coastal area in Ghana that is sadly facing severe erosional threats due to previous unfortunate human activities. It offers an unexpected direction in handling issues as such by proposing an inventful and sustainable way of living profiting from the originally presumed risks.

The project act as an example of how biophilic design can be applied into the rehabilitation area of a hospital.The aim of the project is to achieve a faster recovery rate of patients, a better performance of staff and to create a unique experience for the visitors in AMC . Many researches have showed the benefits of using biophilic design in hospital building. Therefore, biophilic design principles were taken as the key strategies for the project. In the research phase the linkage between biophilic design solutions and energy efficiency was being studied. In the design phase the site constraints and operational requirements of AMC were considered. The chosen biophilic design solutions was modified to create the optimum biophilic environment in the rehabilitation area of AMC.

This thesis redefines craft as a social action anchored in play that intervenes in existing material and immaterial flows. A circular and sustainable architecture follows naturally from this definition. The architectural project operationalizes this new definition to rewild the old industrial site of the Lea Bridge Waterworks in London. The project is a glass blowing workshop, greenhouses, and rewilding research facilities which act as a catalyst to transform the site to connect with a larger green structure, as well as support other craft activities in the valley.

t seems that urban shrinkage has become a very 'normal' stage of urban development process in Europe. Starting in Germany during the late 1990s and early 2000s, and then slowly but surely spreading across most of Europe (Bontie and Musterd, 2012). Nearly half of Europe's cities home to one-third of the continent's population- are shrinking in one way or another. Shrinkage is a very diverse and complex process in urban development, but one of the most intuitive phenomena is structural population loss, constant and considerable. Whether the reason for shrinkage is deindustrialization or postwar politics, urban lifecycle is the spatial effect of economic circular development (Martinez-Fernandez at el, 2012).In a shrinking city or more generally, a shrinking area, social problems and economic problems are eventually affecting local residents' life, causing decrease in security, amenity, comfort, social vital ity, etc., reducing economic circulations and putting the future of the region into worrying uncertainty. Parkstad Limburg, in south part of Limburg Province in the Netherlands, has a long history, and experienced rapid urbanization and development in 20th century due to mining industry. However, after shutting down of mine sites, this region has been facing shrinkage even till now. Before Industrial Revolution, Parkstad has an agricultural-based history since Roman time; although urbanization and expansion reduced farming area significantly, there are still many heritages of ancient natural landscape and agricultural production existing in Parkstad. The unique hilly landscape being found nowhere else in the country also makes the region a really popular tourism destination for visitors from home and abroad. Currently Parkstad is undergoing economic restructuring in this post-mining period and it's looking forwarding to a sustainable regional economic development using its tourism resource which has great potential. Shrinkage has brought challenges as well as opportunities to Parkstad. In this post-industrial era, with the background condition of shrink age, how to promote economic circulation and social vibrancy using local material to trigger new types of spatial programming? This landscape architecture design project, taking Parkstad as an example, proposes reintroduction of agricultural landscape elements in order to reproduce the idyllic beauty and attract tourists. In small scale, a typical South Limburg farmhouse is transformed into a green care farm for the elderly with traditional agricultural elements such as high-stemmed orchard. How reintroduction of agricultural landscape elements can improve attract tourism and investment in a regional scale is also explained. This project is hoped to explore how adaptive reuse of landscape heritage especially agricultural heritage can improve living quality, boost economic activities, stimulate social vitality to present Parkstad with a regional development of positive circulation

Social participation plays an important role in the process of urban landscape renewal and maintenance. Embodying broader social participation can facilitate the equitable distribution of green infrastructure, increase the capacity of landscape management roles, form multidisciplinary teams and implement precise actions. The theme of the project is therefore how spatial design strategies can stimulate wider participation of urban residents in the enhancement of the urban landscape and living environment. The case study area is the Pendrecht neighborhood of Rotterdam, which is a city in transition. The post-war reconstruction area is at a turning point in terms of safety and quality of life, having experienced a downward spiral of pollution, violence, crime, and social segregation for decades. In this context, the project hopes to activate the enormous potential of the community and empower residents to regenerate themselves. The project, therefore, wants the nature-based solution to be seen as a catalyst for space, not only advocating for the public to use NBS to activate the use of public space, but also to combat social isolation, build a sense of place, increase employment opportunities, attract investment, visitors and new residents, and together create a more sustainable and liveable city. The project has three tracks to create a participatory landscape. They are: in the first track, transformative place-making to increase social awareness; in the second track, motivation to participate through public policies, design tools, and the improvement of infrastructure systems; and in the third track, community empowerment through strategies such as the transfer of power and responsibility, the creation of garden operating organizations, phased development and the breakdown of responsibility zones. The project hopes to provide spatial planning and design strategies that can be used as a reference for similar areas and urban regeneration to transform into eco-cities.

This project answers the research question “How can we design with climate adaptation measures in existing neighborhoods in the Netherlands while respecting other aspects of sustainable development?” The methods used to carry out the research are mixed methods. Both deductive and inductive research is done. Theory describes the problem, and existing solutions and methods used, to do research. Through research by design, site specific problems are offered solutions. Later on, by linking the specific sites to the general theory, more general solutions are formed based on the design. This approach is chosen, because, by combining deductive and inductive research more general solutions can be found in a design on a small scale. This is necessary for this research because the problem is too big and very site specific to be solved from deductive research only. Lessons learnt are needed from practical examples to take steps towards answering the research question as a whole. The project location for the research by design is the Abtswoudse polder in Delft. It is a diverse polder with many different neighborhood types. For the design part, one neighborhood selected based on the climatic and liveability problems and neighborhood type. One design location is worked out, due to the potential of the location because of the liveability and amount of public space. The research is set up in such a way that the method and selection used can be transferred to other locations in the Abtswoudse polder but also to other locations in the Netherlands. The designs are guided by general design principles based on the three main design tools in this project: climate adaptation measures, liveability criteria and sustainable development goals. The answer to the main research question is: by setting up a framework with design tools that consist of the components: climate adaptation, spatial design and sustainable development. By using the tools to find the overlap between them, and make general design principles to make insightful how they have influenced the design interventions, we can design with climate adaptation measures in existing neighborhoods in the Netherlands while respecting other aspects of sustainable development.

In this thesis report, research and landscape architecture design are integrated to formulate guiding principles to combat environmental and social issues in urban areas through the case-study of Lombardijen, a neighbourhood in the south of Rotterdam. In the recently published Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’ climate report, the overall expectancies of climate change is expected to increase worldwide, with temperature rise as main pillar to cause intensifying weather conditions, sea level rise, draught, ocean acidification and flooding. These negative consequences of climate change are found to have an often amplifying effect on already existing inequalities based on asymmetries in power, showing great inequality in the levels of preparedness and ability to deal with climate change effects. In the city of Rotterdam problems with flooding, draught and biodiversity loss, as well as problems with social inequality, a lack of social cohesion and a high demand for new houses put pressure on existing spatial structures. The neighbourhood of Lombardijen, in particular, is one of the cities post-war extensions based on garden-city principles. A once loved neighbourhood is now suffering from poor housing quality, lack of social integration due to fast changing demographics, large underused green spaces due to a lack of programming, poor ecological value due to monotonous vegetation and problems with water management. With the added demand for densification and the development of new houses, a new strategy needs to be made to bring the neighbourhood towards a holistic future. Through the application of agroecology principles, possibilities are created for the improvement of environmental and social issues. Agroecology is an approach for the design and management of food and its production, as defined by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. It integrates ecological and social concepts, and seeks an optimization between plants, animals, humans and the environment through the diversification of landscapes, efficiency in the use of re-sources and the formation of strong community links that ensure possibilities for collaboration. By introducing the model of an agroecological farm, the neighbourhood of Lombardijen gets the opportunity to receive direct valuation of its public space and communal infrastructure. Farmers hired by the municipality take on the responsibility to care for the public spaces in collaboration with the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. The integration of food production benefits self-sufficiency, social cohesion and mobility for humans, as well as biodiversity through the ecological principles of agroecology. Also water management (through habitat creation), alternative food production and spatial quality are improved due to programming, activity and feelings of ownership. The design of the neighbourhood and the overall strategy is based on the hierarchical structure of the original design of Lombardijen garden city. The application of agroecology and the elaboration of the aforementioned model shows the possibilities for the improvement of social and environmental issues through public spaces design.

The project envisioned a social-ecological resilient waterfront for Rotterdam. By focusing on the outer dike area of Rotterdam, it aims to protect the port from flooding ,and at the same time create more nature habitat for biodiversity. With creating a resilient river, it can re-realize the role of industry and reconnect them into resource flows, in the end, it will formulate a healthy and liveable social-ecosystem at New River Mass. The vision of the River Mass is firstly to restore the riverfront as the place of ecological importance and also aplace for working, living and recreations. It should be a place for people to come and meet together. In order to achieve that, it implies four strategies including protect, restore, reconnect and grow. Stadhaven is the programmes for applying proposed strategies. In fact, the stadhaven is an area in transition. Over the coming decades, new links between the city and port will be constructed in stadhaven to bridge the port and city, at the same time, develop the economy. It is vulnerable to high water levels since it is part of old harbour complex. The area is on the water which is subject to tidal dynamics and could have transition between River Mass and inner city distcit. Based on that, the systematic strategies could start from the aspects of Nature(sedmiation), densification and open space and access.

Semarang is one of the biggest cities in Indonesia under the process of urbanisation, which threatens the underdeveloped capacity of the city. Street vendors booming is an evident phenomenon of urbanisation, it is a new way of urban living to survive in the urban capitalist growth circumstances. Being the majority of the informal sector, street vendors are highly resilient but they also bring environmental impacts to the city and other urban dwellers. The thesis is a process of design by research, research by design to explore urban landscape intervention that facilitate and manage street vendors with an incentive building approach for an inclusive future development. The thesis is under the Shared Heritage Lab which explores the shared history between The Netherlands and Indonesia in terms of cultural and architectural heritage. It is also a cross disciplinary research between heritage architecture, architectural engineering, landscape architecture and urbanism, collaborated with Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) and Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Ergoed (RCE) of the Dutch municipality.

This project is mainly about the revitalization of the old port area of the Chinese city Xiangtan. As a riverside city located in the south part of China, Xiangtan has been through a long historical period during which some of the most formative moments of Chinese politics and economy happened. As the departure point and the cultural core of the city, the old port area, however, is now marginalized by the urban expansion and economic growth which impoverishes the old port area even more. Meanwhile, the old port area of Xiangtan is an urban area suffering from yearly flooding, during which the local residents have no choice but to move to other safe space provided by the government. The basic design vision is to intervene the site area with a flood-proof urban scale built environment for local people to stay during flooding, introduce several positive programmes, and let them be the triggering factor towards a prosperous future of the vernacular community at the same time.

Kampung Air is set in the city of Semarang in Indonesia. This city is facing enormous problems due to land subsidence. Kampung Melayu, which is the location of this project, has a rich history based on trade and commerce. However, now it is mostly abandoned and not functioning anymore. This project tries to deal with these problems by creating a new way of living with water. This project proposes to create new housing based around an aquaponic system. This is a system in which fish and vegetables are produced with the use of water. This system can help with water storage, create a new source of income and strengthen the social structure within the neighbourhood. The architecture of the building makes use of the climatic advantages the system provides, resulting for instance in the shape of the roof.

This graduation thesis aims to reactivate an old axis connecting two different parts of the city of Mostar. The choice of this particular corridor has been adopted not just because of its strategic location - it crosses the city from East to West, two sides that have been rebuilt after the Bosnian war without a coherent urban strategy - but also because every street, square, park and building along it belong to a common heritage, which after the Bosnian war is lost. Therefore, this axis ( I will name it Axis Rondo-Old HIT Square-Musala Square, due to the main squares that it crosses) is ideal for a design strategy, which will have a dual nature: renewing three degraded areas facing the axis and, at the same time, introducing into those spaces one of the most important, natural and partially forgotten heritage: the Neretva River. The use of a natural, dynamic and “memory keeper” element – the river - to connect those three spaces, in particular two squares and one ruin of a terrace garden, could represent the link missing in the Axis and create a new social use, enhancing a sense of responsibility for a common heritage that nowadays is mainly used as a public dump.

As London is expanding in population and emerging as a financial global city, the pace of the city is rising. Factors as temporality and the notion of time as an experiential dimension is getting lost. A more sensory approach to urban architecture has the potential to incite people to reside in other measures of time to contrast the dense intensive city of London. It has to be argued to what extent architecture cultivates these atmospheric moments in the urban conditions of the center Boroughs of London. The research stresses the notion of sensory and spatial experience formulated by architecture and its relation to urban conditions. A more sensory approach towards architecture is needed to balance out the reciprocity between space and time of the architectural fabric of the city. Through notions of smell, materiality, light/darkness, pace of movement and architectural configuration, the West India Dock is transformed to a public multifunctional food hub. The design bears defragmentation of the Isle of Dogs area and draws new potentials of contemplation and programmatic synergies as a quality to the ‘frontstage’ of this ever accelerating pace of city life in London.

The city of Amsterdam is prospering, the amount of residents and visitors continues to grow every year. With this rapid population increase there are more people seeking to travel each day. This increases the pressure on all types of modalities in Amsterdam. As a result of this, the city becomes more busy, congestion increases, the air quality gets worse, noise caused by traffic increases and the public space diminishes. The current mobility systems have negative and positive effects on the livability in Amsterdam. The way people move through cities is changing rapidly. New technologies in mobility are making it possible for people to navigate through their city more safely and efficiently. Different modes of automated mobility will emerge in the next 30 years. (Papa & Ferreira, 2018) There are still many uncertainties related to their spatial impact on our cities. This graduation project attempts to identify how automated mobility can contribute to enhance livability in Amsterdam. It explores the spatial impact of automated mobility in Amsterdam. To understand this spatial impact the research projects first identifies the scenarios on how automated mobility will be implemented and subsequently researches how this new mobility system can contribute to enhance livability. The design project seeks to propose a model for the implementation of automated mobility in Amsterdam that contributes to enhancing livability.

The project is situated in Parkstad, South Limburg, an administrative region consisting of 7 municipalities, formerly known as the East Mining Region. Deindustrialisation completely transformed the region, making it the first shrinking area of the Netherlands. Shrinkage commonly refers to a shrinking economy, shrinking population and increased urban vacancy. Deindustrialisation also caused serious aftermaths in terms of social problems. Many new urban park projects have been initiated to replace vacant housings and plots, these new parks also become ways to combat urban decay, poor social condition and crime rates. This huge need for parks is however seemingly difficult in a city that is already facing economic shrinkage. In the short run (or long run) where no new investment or residents can be expected in a shrinking area; parks rely only on government funding and appear as a losing investment or a financial burden. On the other hand, Parkstad faces an upcoming environmental threat of groundwater nitrate contamination which would not only impact drinking water and biodiversity but again, also lead to further financial burden for the government and for local residents. Nitrate problem is hard to tackle in the presence of intensified agricultural practice and Parkstad's signature soil type (Loess). The project questions the values of park, and more specifically the meaning of park in a shrinking city. It explores the possibility of marrying social restoration and nitrate remediation - two pressing needs of Parkstad, in the form of an urban park. The resulting design is on one hand a model of social-nitrate synergy through azolla (water fern), and on the other hand a park cooperative facilitating the azolla industry and the operation of an urban park. As a water-remediation and azolla-park prototype the project will also gain additional funding from research institutions, innovative start-ups and the water company. The designing of the Azolla City Park is an attempt to deliver such coexistence of the social layer and the functional nitrate-remediating layer of an urban park. It also aims to bring these multi-layer rhythms to life. The collective identity of the past is juxtaposed with the site's new function and identity. Azolla is the new coal, you may say. In the way coal mining used to give Heerlen its pride, businesses, social life and culture, so would the proposed azolla-city park create ripples of possibilities in the urban fabric of Heerlen.

A decades long process of replacing biodiverse landscapes with agricultural monocultures has led to a significant drop in biodiversity in the Netherlands. The current agricultural landscape offers limited habitats for animals and insects and lacks resilience to cope with the effects of climate change. A strong departure from the current system is required by adopting nature-inclusive agriculture which utilizes and protects biodiversity in and around the farm. At the same time, there is a structural shortage in housing stock. The problem is that the increased demand for housing and the need for nature-inclusive agriculture are competing issues, where one has to make way for the other. But what if the development for new homes could be integrated with the transition towards nature inclusive agriculture? There are clear indications that demand is changing towards more spacious homes in natural environments. To build homes with the future agricultural landscape, they must be designed differently: in a nature inclusive way that facilitates biodiversity in and around the farm without reducing the current amount of food production. In addition, the integration of homes could enable the transition towards nature-inclusive agriculture, either by establishing a collective farm or by involving multiple partners. To conclude, a case study project is proposed in the Noordoostpolder, an area that is uniquely suited as a test ground for exploring the future of countryside living because it offers a relative central location and is highly adaptable and scalable.

Nearly 50% of the Dutch gardens is paved and this number is ever increasing. This negatively affects the environment. It contributes to biodiversity loss since less space is available as a habitat for flora, fauna and ecosystems. Secondly, the paved gardens do not allow the rainwater to infiltrate the soil. As a consequence, the rainwater is directly steered to the sewer system. With growing number of torrential rains due to climate change, this leads to an increased pressure on the sewer systems. Lastly, the paved garden negatively affects the temperature and the quality of the air as well. This project only focuses on the effects of the paved gardens on biodiversity, since this was the original interest of the foundation Operatie Steenbreek, which was involved in this project. Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all sources, ecosystems included. These ecosystems, among other things, provide food, control the climate, support nutrient cycles and offer recreational benefits. Any loss in biodiversity is a matter of public concern, since it underpins the health of the planet and has direct impact on all our lives. However, there is a widening gap between humans and the natural world. The extinction of experience, a cycle of impoverishment that is initiated by the homogenization and reduction of local flora and fauna, followed by disaffection and apathy, needs to be combated to counteract the biodiversity loss. Within the context of the paved garden, this means that positive interactions between man and nature has to be stimulated. In addition, plants have to get a new and clear function in the garden. It is important that paved garden owners see the benefits of having plants in the garden. The garden has served different functions over the centuries. Today, the domestic garden has mainly become an extinction of the living room. As a result, a high level comfort is one of the main requirements of the garden. Many different activities take place in the garden throughout the year, varying from having dinner in the garden in the summer and playing in the sand pit, to activities that take place all year long, like storing bikes or that only occur once a year, like a big party. These activities can be performed alone, by different family members or by a group of people, of all ages. This leads to a complex interplay of social interactions. This demand for a high versatile usage of the garden should be taken into account during this project, in the short as well as in the long-term perspective. The product should offer the garden flexibility in space usage, different possibilities in function, and the ability to create an intimate place as well as an open space. To respond to the assignment, this should be done in a way that supports biodiversity. The final concept is the Daeza, a rack with and integrated irrigation system where one can position plants on. It functions as a room divider for the garden. The Daeza enables the user to create an intimate place, separate different activities from each other, and maximizes the potential of the open space of the garden. The product supports the flexibility of the garden especially during summer when the garden is used most extensively. In other seasons serves different purposes like covering the unused furniture or creating a nice winter scenery that is perceived from the house. The product offers the garden owner a clear structure to position plants onto. Gardening becomes a matter of decorating the rack in which plants can grow, without becoming cluttered. By offering the customer a core pollinator-friendly plant package, they are helped in choosing a nice combination of plants regarding color, flowering period and benefits. The product enables the user to hang different things in the screen, this can be food for species, or personal decorations. In this way the user can express one’s identity in the garden and create something personal. The Daeza stands out in the paved garden by offering a large and clearly demarcated surface, which is filled with plants. The vertical direction contributes to the composition of the garden. The visual impact of the Daeza encourages interaction between the user and wildlife. Overall, the Daeza gives plants a function, a clear position in the garden and attracts the owners attention to them. This offers the first step in reducing the gap between man and nature, which is essential for combating biodiversity loss.

The aim of this project is to explore the possibilities of establishing a new relationship between water and the city of Dordrecht, aiming towards a sustainable future. In one of the lowest parts of the Netherlands, increasingly threatened by climate change and cloudburst flooding, the feasibility of a stormwater management plan is explored, intertwined with urban life through solutions such as inundation parks and floodable zones, seasonal buffers, watersquares and visible waterlines. Drawing inspiration from precedents such as the Copenhagen climate adaptation strategies, the island of Dordrecht can stand up to future challenges, through a water-resilient landscape architecture that succeeds a shift of attitude towards sustainable practices, but also strengthens the identity of Dordrecht as an attractive, historic watercity, designed to work with water, rather than against it. Water, here, becomes an agent able to transform the city into an adaptive, amphibious spatial entity, that can offer alternative urban experiences. Focusing in the area of the 19th century Schil, the city is organized through a system of buffers and waterlines, using existing or new public spaces or parts of the urban infrastructure. The traditional enclosed courtyard, the “hofje”, plays a key role together with private gardens and watersquares, being the main water collectors and leading stormwater to an inundation park through a maze of waterlines. Visible flooding processes and above-ground waterbodies compose an everchanging landscape, a space with infinite faces and atmospheres, highlighting the dynamic nature of Dordrecht and bringing experience to the forefront.

Office vacancy is an ever dominant problem in the Netherlands and abroad. While there are still a lot of issues unresolved, we might be overwhelmed with ideas, concepts and suggestions on how to tackle this vacancy. This graduation project tried to give a different perspective on this vacancy by introducing the concept of OPEN BUILDING and link this phenomenon with the mid-income housing shortage situation. The project will stress the problem with a design strategy in steps. In the first initiative part, the architect will work together with the developer or housing company to assess the transformation possibility to find a matching target vacant office building. The target building’s location characteristics and physical building characteristics will be assessed.