Saint Petersburg is a second-largest city in Russia, having a population over 6 million people. Located in the northern part of the country on the edge of the Baltic Sea it was founded by tsar Peter the Great in 1703 as a future capital for Russian Empire. Tsar was wishing the new capital to become the most beautiful city in Europe and the city was built with an intention to open up Russia towards western traditions and western European world. Today the first core of the city – its` historic part built through 18-19th centuries – is world known as Northern Venice and conquers the hearts of millions visitors. But through 300 years of its’ history the city turned from being one of the most progressive cities in Russia into the city with the prejudice to anything new. Today the city is trying to keep its’ “historical appearance”, to preserve how it looked like when it was envisioned by one of the greatest tsars in Russian History, but this intension is leading the historic city centre of Saint Petersburg to its` devastation.

In this Research and Design project I was reflecting on how to approach the consvervativist thinking about applying contemporary architecture in historically important areas of the city. In my research I explored what are the origins of conservatism among the citizens of Saint Petersburg and the reasons behind historic centre of Saint Petersburg being captured in its` past. I aimed to understand how to re-interpret the gaps in the historic fabric of the city and how to use them to bridge the gaps in-between progressive intentions of the architects and conservative view of the citizens of Saint Petersburg. As a result of this research I was designing a small scale architecture university on the edge of the historic city centre, which main aim is to be as open to the public of Saint Petersburg as possible to invite people for inspiring observations, thoughtful discussions and unexpected discoveries about the approaches that are used in the realm of contemporary architecture today... ... Read more

Once, counting as an important banking hub and capital for fashion design within the Arabian countries, Beirut’s favourable economic positioning was weakened by social unrests, political standstill, and economic volatility. Beirut’s population has been facing severe socioeconomic challenges for the past decades, also reflected in the fashion industry. This thesis aims to analyse how workspaces can be reimagined and redesigned toward a future-proof fashion industry in Beirut.
The destruction of infrastructure due to the Port Blast in 2020, and the last aspect of a triple crisis, forces local designers to adapt their hitherto habits and seek alternative economic opportunities in order to sustain the country’s fashion industry. As a result, ongoing changes have been observed in Beirut in the way businesses operate and how people perform their work: telecommuting and remote work became a daily routine leading to a need for a reimagination of workspaces. Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, these tendencies have been increasingly observed global-wide.
The proposed building “Fashion Creation Office” will function as a centre for local fashion designers and entrepreneurs that seek to operate within the Lebanese economy while tackling social and environmental issues. Functioning as a spatial incubator, the building will become a place of exchange where talented people are given the opportunity to launch and realize innovations and business ideas that enhance the sustainable rebuilding of the Lebanese economy. Identifying the spatial needs of start-up entrepreneurs and designers, the building will incorporate the architectural answer of how the workspace will evaluate in the future with the fashion industry functioning as a case study. ... Read more

System Design in the built environment is one of the most influential design paradigms in architecture and construction. This paper seeks to amalgamate empirical design strategies with various architectural principles, including the notion of “open buildings” or “open-ended architecture,” as well as Structuralism, all within a computational design framework employing discrete aggregation. Structuralism, articulated by Herman Herzberger, represents a “concept rather than a style” distinguishing the structure from the infill through individuality. It is important to note that the advanced technologies available for data collection and analysis did not exist during the 1960s Structuralist movement. Thus, this paper endeavours to forge a novel methodology, drawing inspiration from historical system design practices in architecture. The design research took place in the Merinterin Amsterdam due to its uniqueness and importance. ... Read more

This research thesis explores the transformation potential of different types of shops in the Netherlands. The outcome is a typology, of which one type was developed into a design project. ... Read more

This research encompasses an exploration on spaces for mental health and wellbeing for newcomers in the Netherlands with a migration background caused by forced dislocation. This group of new Dutch citizens have a higher prevalence for mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and related symptoms of a decreased mental health. The role of architectural spaces and architectonic elements is analyzed and studied through a thorough literature research, supported by case studies to relate to practical executions of the findings. The architectural spaces are defined by necessary activities in preventing and treating mental disorders, creating spaces that support participation, feeling of control, social relations, restoring identity etc. in relation to the integration process on a neighborhood-level. The architectonic elements describe the design considerations for these spaces concerning natural daylight, clear wayfinding, safety through a stable environment, materials for comfortable spaces and atmosphere created through aesthetics that create a home-like and familiar environment for support.
... Read more

This project deals with the event of disaster; more specifically, the contamination and destruction by a wave of sediment of towns in the Iron Quadrangle and the Rio Doce valley after the rupture of a tailings dam on November 5, 2015, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Through the manipulation and questioning of concepts such as hauntology, ongoingness, contamination, co-constitution, purity and complexity drawn from several theoretical sources, this work proposes a life-affirming site for the circulation of materials, people and knowledge, against the threat of premature death posed by the extractive economy. ... Read more

The goal of this thesis is to propose a design for an orbital space station that incubates the future space civilization and is the base for space regulations and governance. A place that is democratizing access to space and resources, and allows for any interested individual to join and contribute to the world at large and their personal wellbeing. The goal is to design a place where a closely knitted community of makers, scientists, and artists is cultivated. They will be the decision-makers and the actors in space exploration.
To learn how to do that, initially, the thesis embarks on the research of some community aspects on Earth and the way public space contributes to their cultivation in our cities. Specifically, the focus of the study is to observe and analyze the function that Het Park in Rotterdam serves to people. It is a look into the congenital and human side of living in an industrialized world and the values this brings to the community. In space, that natural side will inevitably be different or non-existing and to maintain the values that nature and the park bring to our lives we need to develop a translated alternative. The goal is to add a playful and authentic element to a potentially very machine and virtual future in space.
After an introduction to the direction in which we have been heading since the industrial revolution, the research examines 4 major values taken from the park- social value, health, freedom, and engagement, to understand the importance of addressing the natural and human qualities. Those values are analyzed through park visits and sketches of people utilizing their environment and adapting it with simple means. Conclusively, the research highlights the importance of the presence of the public park in people’s lives even if we forget it or do not notice it on a daily basis and it shows how such a place can strengthen the community and make people more caring and more respectful (Cohen, et. all 2006). It identifies which are the key elements that play a role in the value that the park brings to the citizens. Thus they can be taken and appropriated to the space environment and the space station design. This research is a continuation of a previous essay by the author - “Cohousing in ‘Space’ and Time”. ... Read more

This graduation study examined in an exploratory way how the ‘intangible’ aspects of architectural [built] heritage could be made ‘tangible’ by means of an innovative and strategic collaborative or ‘counter-mapping’-based methodology, in order to give the socio-cultural or intangible aspects of architectural heritage a more prominent place in both the evaluation and the design process. The aim of this study was to come up with an innovative and strategic mapping-based toolbox or methodology that will function as a new addition to the existing valuation guidelines. In this way, an attempt was made to contribute to the development of knowledge for a more inclusive, people-centred and participatory way of dealing with heritage (in line with the current societal shift).

This study showed a step-by-step method whereby the Plague house in Leiden (a 17th century national monument in the Netherlands) was used as a canvas. The first step of this method consisted of counter-mapping the social meaning of the past by means of a ‘newspaper counter-map’ focusing on the 20th century, and a ‘crossed-history counter-map’ combining archival information from different time layers. The next step of this method consisted of counter-mapping the social meaning of the present. This was done in four (slightly) different ways and by means of four different target groups, namely through:

•The combination of a short anonymous and analogue survey and individual counter-mapping assignment with target group 1 (fifteen residents of the nearby ‘Vondellaan’ and ‘Van Baerlestraat’ in Leiden) and target group 3 (three employees of the Naturalis museum, the former function of the Plague house).
•A low-key, interactive and participatory stand with anonymous survey questions on pin boards and two collective counter-mapping assignments with target group 2 (about twenty different visitors during the ‘De Buurt’-festival event, held in the Plague house).
•A joint and face-to-face dialogue (‘oral history’) about the survey questions and collective counter-mapping assignment with target group 4 (two residents of the Plague house complex).

The last step of this method consisted of subsequently ‘linking back’ the data obtained through the counter-mapping of the present to the spatial (physical) elements of the building. This was done on the basis of three different themes:
1. Memory / spirit of the place
2. Place attachment / spatial qualities
3. Possible changes / suggestions

The results seemed to imply that this categorisation provided not only a more visual and therefore more practical ‘tangible’ translation, but also an important structure in terms of what the participants would like to see preserved, strengthened or changed.

All in all, the results seemed to imply that each of these separate methodological steps could offer the possibility of making the ‘intangible’ aspects of architectural heritage more ‘tangible’. More importantly, however, the results also seemed to indicate that the combination of (the various concluding results from) each of these methodological steps of both the past and the present, due to the merging of these partly corresponding and partly different perspectives, can provide a more comprehensive, inclusive, and in-depth insight into the socio-cultural or ‘intangible’ aspects that can potentially be used as a design narrative or guiding theme. ... Read more

It’s August 4 when Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, is hit by one of the largest non-nuclear explosions the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, this explosion that damaged and/or demolished more than half of the city is not the first crisis it has to deal with. Several catastrophes have already plagued Lebanon and its capital during the last century such as (civil) wars, financial, health and other crises and a corrupt government. The research into the Salam Emergency Station looks into architectural adaptation within a hostile environment. It does so in one overarching building that facilitates the police, fire brigade and ambulance. The research mainly focuses on safety design, while also looking for a balans with approachability. ... Read more

Situated in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, the Mar Elias Crop Market acts as protagonist project of the market district in the Beirut Mosaic urban masterplan. This masterplan is part of the Complex Projects Beirut graduation studio, focused on dealing with catastrophe in the built environment. The Mar Elias Crop Market is a mix of a logistic food center and public market, situated in the suburbs near Ramlet Al Baida beach, acting as a distribution node in a network and strengthening the food chain from land to city. The Mar Elias Crop Market aims to revive Beirut's food culture, offers public space to the city, and aims to improve post-harvest handling by improving the distribution network in the Beirut Mosaic. ... Read more

Across a period of multiple crises and a structurally instable government, amongst other things, there has been a strong national decline in cultural activity, production, and presence in the city of Beirut. With this, national identity is faltering, and citizens begin to give up on their home nation. Who can is emigrating, and the rest lay abandoned and discouraged in an increasingly privatized and unwelcoming environment.

What role can culture play in the complex transitions cities are currently going through? What aspects can be combined in order to suggest architecture appropriate for a scenario of hardships, which also strengthens national identity and the image of the city? Ultimately, how can a building complex informed by cultural production contribute to the narration and revival of cultural activity?

The task at hand is the design of a productive building which revolves around a culturally relevant produce and manages to evoke the social rituals and greater historic context which go with it. This should strengthen and reinstate pride towards local produce, reform ties to the country and its rich lands, and also support the citizens and the complex urban life which surround it. The design of an urban winery and arak distillery shall be the assignment utilized as means of researching and exploring this challenge. ... Read more

Beirut's Living Room:

Characterized by cultural diversity, Beirut has a multi-religious society, with unfortunately a rampant space shrinkage issue. With in particular the Public domain. Evidenced by limited infrastructure and virtually no affordable housing, the cityscape is strongly demarcated by historic and religiously motivated conflicts. However today, this is all overshadowed by the wide income gap.

The greed for profit on the one hand is opposed by the fundamental desire for housing on the other. The two opposing interest groups have such conflicting needs
that in the past 30 years it has not been possible to balance the requirements in a meaningful way that is acceptable to both groups. Finding a resolution here will have a decisive influence on the future of the city.

Based on the research question “How should affordable housing be designed in a socio-economically segregated context such as Beirut”, an inclusive and high density building with the main aim of affordable and high quality dwelling units was designed. A fundamental role in the design and research process was the chosen location in relation with the urban context and the developed group masterplan.

In total the master thesis shows a new approach the master thesis for a more equitable housing in Lebanon.


... Read more

Departing from the instability of Beirut and the richness of its culture, this thesis aims to investigate if it is possible to preserve the heritage beyond the limitations of physical archiving. Translation of information into a new language; based on dig·i·ts, 0-1 computer code or symbols known as the alphabet, is defined as the process of dig·i·tal·i·za·tion. Digitalization is a tool to transform the tangible into universal, lasting beyond physical decay. Post-digital, on the other hand, is a paradox. It does not describe a life after digital, but explores how the digital age have provided opportunities for humanization of these technologies.1 Post-digital proposes humanization through “interplay between digital, biological, cultural, and spiritual systems, between cyberspace and real space, between embodied media and mixed reality in social and physical communication”2 Post-digital is a hybrid, dualistic concept. Beirut is a city of perpetual unrest and resultantly under decay. Layers of its rich culture are gradually lost. Yet, culture is one of the strongest elements that unites and ties Beirutians together. Therefore, it should be stored and preserved. Storing of a rather abstract entity such as culture has similarities with storing goods or objects but it also requires a unique approach. The proposed building program: “Post-digital Depot” serves this specific need, as an archive in which material objects are analyzed, restored and translated to a digital medium. ... Read more

Lebanon has been dealing with a multitude of challenges over its history. An massive port explosion in 2020 caused a rapid decline of the Lebanese valuta. The inflation caused an increase of the food prices with 400% since Lebanon is very depended on its food imports. This left people from lower income classes unable to afford proper nutrition. Ironically, the Lebanon is one of the most arable countries in the region, but the people lack the proper tools and knowledge to preform agriculture in a efficient and sustainable manner. In order to reduce the peoples dependence on the food prices, argriculture education is needed in the areas where the people suffer the most. Therefore, the project encompasses an agriculture campus which combines formal and vocational education. The school aims to teach it’s student about sustainable ways of doing agriculture in an urban setting, focusing on the enhancement of biodiversity. The campus hosts both primary and secondary education and teaches agriculture as the main addition to the general classes. ... Read more

As one of the important ports in the Mediterranean region, Port of Beirut is a
cargo transit hub in Lebanon and even the Arab region. Every year, 6.2m tons of cargo is circulated through the port of Beirut and transported to Lebanon and surrounding areas.
But the port’s logistics system faces many challenges. The previous civil war brought many problems to the port’s logistics system. With the 2020 explosion, port mobility came across even more serious problems. So, in the context of post-explosion, how to boost the logistics system of Beirut port? In order to solve this problem, this project will start from the role of the port itself, further analyze its operation function and the surrounding environment in the city, and eventually come up with a solution at the architectural level. ... Read more

The project 'House of Textiles' investigates the extent to which an architectural intervention is capable of giving hope, inspiration and encouraging innovation to a challenged place like Beirut. The project explores different ways of representing these assets through its architectural language and expression. Its significance for Lebanon’s textile production, the country’s waste crisis, as well as social and economic prospects is asking for an iconic landmark, which represents the building’s identity.
The formulation of these aspects in an architectural way is explored through spatial concepts that support their requirements. Strong visibility, accessibility, representation and adaptability are being tested in different layers. These aspects form the most important ingredients of the project. The question of how a building can represent the same level of innovation and development, as the proposed change in Lebanon’s textile industry has been guiding the design process. ... Read more

The world around us is developing constantly. In terms of architecture and urban development, China is unprecedented. In a way, the sheer speed and volume of construction is a phenomenon, becoming characteristic for Chinese developments. Like all matter, this in itself is neither necessarily positive of negative. However, such dialogue becomes relevant when interest of parties differ. Arguments can be made for it being a necessity economically, socially, politically. At the same time, it can be perceived as destructive. This becomes especially apparent in the face of the heterogeneity of border conditions.
An exploration of exactly this juxtaposition is the base of the thesis, wherein architecture plays a particular role. Architecture is not merely a collection of built production within context of the urban environment, it is also intrinsically interwoven with the individual and how it is perceived in value. In such way, architecture as its object, while its widely recognized in form as a building, is a mediator in defining life in its cultural-historical, socio-economical, political values. In perceiving architecture not merely as an object, we can explore and understand the values of the existing urban fabric. This understanding is essential for future developments. Proceeding the urban expansion, in this sense, can also mean the continuity of history. It is all a matter of perspectives.
To write about this juxtaposition, the scope has to be defined. Topics such as the heterogeneity of border conditions, the political influence, destructive urbanism and the cultural-historical context are far too large to address in the thesis. As such, the focal point of the thesis is not about the tension of politcal dissonance around border conditions, rather it is about the issues or chances of rapid and overwhelming planned urban developments, mainly the aforementioned phenomenon in regards of the existing urban fabric. However, the notion of politics is inevitable and should be touched upon, as it is an aspect playing an important role and evidently can not be taken out of the dialogue. This aspect is viewed not to create friction, but as an actor that is providing the urban context. Furthermore, it is about understanding and defining the border conditions on the specifically chosen site. The project is situated on the border of China and Hong Kong, therefore is in need for emphasis and understanding on the socio-cultural aspect. The context will be divided in themes of past, present and future perspectives. Additionally, it is not merely looking to what is, but rather, what can
become. When a region is threatend to become absorbed by the larger development surrounding it, what are the values of such place? What are the necessities of maintaining these? These are the themes that play an imminent role as the border condition of China and Hong Kong.
The border is endowed in a duality. It is, in times, non-physical, yet present. It reflects exclusiveness, yet is universal. It is between inside and outside. In this way, the thesis will take the phenomenon of the Chinese development as an inevitable and take the position in favour of co-existence, rather than restrictiveness. In a way, it is easier to resist something that cannot be grasped, yet having an open approach is encouraged for the sake of new perspectives, activities and understanding. The thesis therefore, is not trying to be a ‘toolbox’ for urban developments or architectural design.
The thesis, as a base, and the design intervention try to explore and transcend the political aspect of development and uncover the values of a region that is prone to losing its identity and characteristic. A step further, in the relation of Hong Kong and China, the border conditions where the two regions collide, create an intricate dynamic in which co-existence is the norm and an integral part of the area. Frankly, this dynamic is not one politically, rather it is socio-economic and cultural-historical. This dynamic itself is ultimately a notion that transcends the border itself. It is one that creates the communal and one that is embraced. ... Read more

This book explores how to reinvent, reposition, and refunction the public space in and around the suburban mall of Schiedam Hof van Spaland. It contains of two parts: first it explores the problems related to the mall, and how these problems influence the community. Second, the project explores through different design scales how these problems can be solved, and how social cohesion can be enhanced by design. The suburban Modernist mall is a widespread concept in the Netherlands that in its current form embodies problems with car-mobility, inside orientation, and monofunctional programming. Due to a dominant focus on consumers mentality, it dominantly focusses on serving the consumer in buying goods. This mentality directly undermines the indoor and outdoor public space and therefore indirectly weakens the strength of the community, as public space is vital for strong communal bonds.

In the second part the project aims to move beyond the single focus on consumers mentality and by design, transforms the challenges into opportunities for Hof van Spaland. Firstly, the design is encouraging biking and pedestrian movement, and with the dismantling of dominant car-mobility, it leaves space for other activities, as biking and people on foot need less space and place. Secondly, the inside orientation that generates backsides is transformed into a dual-side orientation with housing that activate the unsafe expedition streets. Thirdly, the monofunctional programming of shopping is extended with a cultural centre, a canteen, coffee corner, and other communal facilities, including plaza’s, pocket parks and a place for a weekly market. A crucial section in the design preposition, where many interventions collide, is worked out in further detail. It uses local materials and resources to serve the local people. It shows how public facilities can generate extra value, and how several interventions like this can help generating a bright new future for the suburban mall: A future where the mall becomes a buzzing meeting spot for all living in the neighbourhood.
... Read more