Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant global increase in mental health disorders, predicted to rise even further. University students are particularly affected due to their high prevalence of and sensitivity to mental health-related problems. Specifically in the Netherlands, this is further exacerbated by the ongoing housing crisis, which forces many students into poor-quality, cramped accommodations. This research explores how phenomenological principles can inform student housing design to enhance mental well-being. Using a literature review, case studies, interviews, and participatory sketching, the study identifies key architectural elements that support mental well-being. Among these, the most important findings highlight the importance of accessible and visible greenery from the dwelling, ample direct sunlight, quiet bedrooms, communal spaces and the presence of a courtyard.

Habits profoundly physical and mental health, shaping behaviours such as exercise, diet, and
social interaction. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), responsible for 70% of global deaths,
are closely linked to unhealthy lifestyle factors, including inactivity, poor diet, and social isolation. Tarwewijk, a neighbourhood in Rotterdam, shows elevated rates of obesity, limited healthy food options, and challenges related to mental resilience and social interaction, making it an ideal context for exploring architectural strategies to promote healthy habits.

This research investigates the role of architectural design in fostering health-oriented behaviours, bridging gaps in the interdisciplinary understanding of habits, health, and architecture. Drawing from environmental psychology and anthropology, the study integrates theoretical insights from scholars like Jane Jacobs and Jan Gehl with the concept of “nudging” to subtly encourage healthier choices while addressing ethical considerations.

Fieldwork, case studies, and literature reviews form the methodological backbone, uncovering existing and missing habits in Tarwewijk and assessing architectural influences on behaviour. Key findings highlight the significance of multifunctional spaces, accessibility, visibility, and the integration of transit and destination roles in designing for health. Case studies reveal the potential of adaptive spaces and spontaneous activity programming to promote participation.

The study culminates in design guidelines tailored to Tarwewijk, emphasizing:
1.Integration of local habits into programming.
2.Addressing NCD risk factors through the program
3.Ensuring participation by enhancing multifunctionality, transit-destination synergy, programming spontaneous activities and spatial visibility.

The research contributes to understanding how architecture can influence habitual behaviours, offering actionable design principles to reduce NCD risks and foster healthier communities.

MADE TO MOVE is a design that addresses the growing health issues caused by inactivity, especially in neighborhoods like Tarwewijk in Rotterdam- Zuid. Worldwide, and particularly in lower-income areas, physical activity is decreasing, leading to negative impacts on our health. This project offers an innovative solution: an office design that encourages employees to join sports sessions after work. Additionally, the building’s roof, accessible to local residents, provides free sports and social facilities. In a city like Rotterdam, where space for sports facilities is becoming increasingly scarce, this concept offers a smart way to create more opportunities for movement without taking up additional space.

Loneliness is a pervasive and complex issue influenced by numerous factors, including the design of the spaces we inhabit. This study explores how the spatial layout and architectural features of residential homes can be tailored to encourage social interaction and inclusivity across generations, addressing loneliness within the home environment. Drawing on literature, fieldwork and case studies, the research highlights key architectural principles, such as spatial layout, stability, housing density, natural light, and personalisation, that can foster social connectivity.The findings emphasise that smaller, poorly designed homes lacking clear separations between functional areas often exacerbate loneliness, while flexible communal spaces and opportunities for personalisation can enhance a sense of belonging. Stability and permanence in housing are also critical, as they encourage residents to invest in social relationships. The study includes a case analysis of the Diakonissestiftelsen project in Copenhagen, which demonstrates how thoughtful architectural design—through mixed-use housing, communal spaces, and transitional zones—can promote inclusivity and reduce isolation.The research underscores the need for interdisciplinary collaboration among architects, sociologists, caregivers, and residents to address loneliness effectively.While architectural design alone cannot eliminate loneliness, it can significantly contribute to creating environments that support social well-being. This study advocates for extended, in-depth research to identify specific design elements that positively influence social interaction, ultimately leading to more inclusive and connected communities.

Active Ageing in Tarwewijk, developed within the design studio Designing for Inclusive Care, explores how architectural interventions can enable older adults to live independently, safely, and with dignity within existing housing stock. Set in Rotterdam’s Tarwewijk neighborhood, the project reimagines the outdated yet structurally sound Haagse portiekflats through minimal but strategic design modifications—such as step-free access, new lift cores, adaptable and culturally responsive interiors, and communal spaces that encourage daily interaction. Challenging conventional models of institutional care, the proposal envisions a community-based support network that embeds care within the neighborhood fabric, addressing growing demand amidst a shrinking professional care workforce. More than a technical retrofit, the project is a broader inquiry into what it means to age with autonomy and how thoughtful design can cultivate resilience, connection, and a sense of belonging for older adults.

In response to the challenges of an aging population and growing social isolation among older adults, this research investigates how shared living concepts and the built environment can foster social cohesion and mobility for elderly residents. Through a combination of literature review and spatial analysis, the study examines how architectural and urban strategies can support more inclusive, accessible neighborhoods.
Tarwewijk, a socioeconomically diverse neighborhood in Rotterdam, serves as a case study to explore how spatial conditions, such as housing typologies, public space, and walkability, affect social interaction and independence among elderly people. The research identifies key principles from cohousing models and inclusive design that promote everyday encounters and community engagement. The inquiry is further informed by firsthand experience working in elderly care settings, offering practical insight into the social and spatial needs for older adults. These insights form the foundation for a subsequent architectural de sign project, developed separately, that seeks to apply the research findings in practice. The study concludes that an integrated approach-bridging social, architectural, and urban dimensions, is essential to enable older adults to age in place while remaining active and connected.

The aging population in the Netherlands is growing rapidly, with the number of people aged 80 and above expected to double from 800.000 in 2020 to 1.5 million by 2050. This development, known as ‘’double aging’’, will significantly increase the number of people living with dementia, rising from 300.000 in 2020 to 620.000 by 2050. This demographic shift poses significant challenges for care and housing.

This research aims to explore how to design a care facility for people with dementia that enhances quality of life and autonomy. Additionally, the facility should align with the multicultural context of Tarwewijk. The main research question is:

‘’How can a care facility for people with dementia be designed to foster a humane and inclusive environment, with a focus on promoting autonomy and quality of life, for example in a neighborhood like Tarwewijk?’’.

The findings of this research show the importance of addressing three scales in the design: the environment, the building and the personal room.

At the environmental scale, the facility should integrate with the neighborhood to avoid isolating residents and encourage social interaction, enhancing their sense of autonomy. At the building scale, clear and simple layouts with recognizable landmarks help residents navigate independently. Small scale care settings, accommodating groups of 8 – 10 residents, provide a higher quality of life compared to larger groups. On the room scale, personalization and familiarity through personal items are crucial for creating a sense of comfort and belonging.

Given the multicultural context of Tarwewijk, the design must consider cultural preferences. Some cultures, such as Turkish and Moroccan, often prefer not to place their parents in care facilities, believing this reduces their quality of life. To address this, the design should include intergenerational homes alongside small-scale scale care facilities. In these homes, older adults can live with their children in one house, with separate entrances for privacy. This arrangement allows children to care for their parents while maintaining their own independence, this enhances the quality of life and autonomy of the older adults who can still live partially independently.

This research provides valuable insights into designing care facilities that promote autonomy and quality of life for individuals with dementia. It highlights the challenge of balancing safety, autonomy, and quality of life. It is important to note that this study focuses on general strategies to improves these challenges, individual needs and preferences can vary significantly. A set of design guidelines has been developed from this research, which will assist with the further design of care facilities in Tarwewijk for elderly people with dementia.

Loneliness is an increasing concern in Dutch society, with 11% of the Dutch population experiencing strong feelings of loneliness, a number that is expected to grow as cities become more densely populated. This research explores the role of architectural design in fostering social encounters at multiple spatial scales—neighbourhood, transition zone, and interior—focusing on Tarwewijk, Rotterdam. The study examines the physical and programmatic qualities needed in architectural and urban design to contribute to social interaction and, consequently, reduce social isolation.
Using a combination of insights from architectural and sociological thinkers such as Richard Sennett, Eric Klinenberg, and Herman Hertzberger guide the exploration of social infrastructure, public familiarity, and spatial organization. The findings suggest that design interventions—such as enhancing transition zones, promoting identity and accessibility, designing social spaces that accommodate to a diversity of different groups—can strengthen social networks of people.
Ultimately, the study argues that while ar chitectural design alone cannot solve the issue of loneliness, it plays a crucial role in shaping environments that encourage social interaction and a sense of belonging, contributing to the broader effort of loneliness prevention in inner-city neighbourhoods.

Architectural and urban design can significantly impact active aging. The concept of active aging plays a role in the quality of life, by supporting a mental, physical, and social active lifestyle. It is not only influenced by healthcare or social services but also by the physical environments of daily lives. A design focused on active aging can improve safety, facilitate movement, and encourage social interaction to reduce loneliness without excluding vulnerable groups, such as the elderly. Environments that are poorly designed can increase the risk of loneliness, isolation, and physical limitations, especially for vulnerable target groups.
This project aims to explore the opportunities for designing a multi-generational, inclusive environment that encourages the elderly to remain physically and mentally active and age healthily.

This study focuses on the challenges and opportunities in developing
age-friendly living environments in Tarwewijk, Rotterdam. The research highlights the importance of supporting elderly to live independently within their community by addressing deficiencies in housing, accessibility, and social cohesion. Using the WHO Age-Friendly Cities framework and case studies, including the Knarrenhof concept, the study explores design solutions such as fostering interactions in various zones of a building, shared spaces and routes, and accessible infrastructure. The three pillars – building, community, and care – form the foundation, with a stronger community reducing the need for formal care for elderly. The findings serve as a design guide for creating sustainable, supportive environments that promote independence and social cohesion.

With the growing number of seniors in the Netherlands and the ongoing reform of their accommodation since 2015, finding new housing forms for this target group is crucial in improving their quality of life as well as solving the housing crisis. Currently, seniors in the Netherlands face multiple imminent challenges, like the rapidly increasing cost of care in the country, growing issues of loneliness and the housing mismatch for the target group, which often lives in way too large housing for their needs and capabilities. In order to accommodate for this problems, clustered housing forms, or co-housing, have become an emerging option throughout Europe, while for the senior target group there has been little focus on it. In this research, litera- ture as well as user research will be utilized in order to confirm the potential for the target group as well as get insights on the actual users wishes and experiences with community based housing. As the literature research showed, clustered housing promises potential in reducing issues such as loneli- ness and lack activity in the senior target group, as well as being able to provide housing attractive for the target group to move out of their previous homes. Regarding the health of the users the literature showed the importance of access to greenery and views, highlighting the importance of the right location for their accommodation. Further, the user research highlighted the importance of the community to the users, and the ability to find social interaction whenever they want, which is not the case living in their previous family homes. Further, the users confirmed the importance of greenery to their living quality and the ability to personalize they homes. In conclusion, clustered housing proved to be a promising solution for the target group, if its done with attention to the community and their wishes.

The Dementia Art Academy is an integral part of the expansion of the TU Delft and is situated next to the new Delft Campus train station on Tanthofdreef. The design serves as a cultural hub for the neighborhood where various art forms, students, artists, but above all, individuals with dementia come together within one building. The design stands out as a pioneer in contemporary dementia care. The academy offers respite care, including guest rooms for individuals with dementia, providing temporary relief for caregivers at home, ultimately enabling those with dementia to remain living at home longer. Its design pushes the boundaries of dementia care by adopting a fresh approach in its architectural layout. Throughout the day, individuals are free to roam the grounds and move wherever they please, without constraints on their freedom in the form of fences or locks. The design facilitates this concept with the use of rounded shapes in its interior and exterior, guiding the way and minimizing the risk of getting lost. The building provides a warm inner world contrasted against a harsh outside world, encouraging its visitors to linger within the complex and is distinguished by its recognizable red color, making it easily recognizable in its urban setting. The academy features an auditorium, dance studios, music rooms, lecture halls, an exhibition space, and a cinema. Shared artistic facilities, including art forms like visual arts, music, dance, and gardening, where the guests can participate in daily activities, are spread across the ground floor and 1st floor. Through a long organic corridor traversing the building, the various art forms are interconnected, with art serving as a guiding (red) thread throughout the structure. The complex is characterized by a green inner courtyard featuring a centrally covered stage, vegetable gardens, a terrace, and various organic pathways.The academy encourages independance, autonomy and improves the overall well-being of people suffering from dementia. It is a place where individuals with dementia are integrated into society and treated as ordinary people, where students and individuals with dementia can learn from and with each other.

There exists today, a major discrepancy in care provision for youth suffering from, or beginning to experience, behavioural and medical health issues (BMH) at an age that is too young to self-advocate, too old for traditional social service infrastructure, but just right to intervene upon if properly recognized. What if human connection and the deliberate use of public space could provide additional built-in community-based support for our neurodivergent peers – what would this look like for a small urban city?

This study aims to investigate practical and minimally-invasive urban solutions for tackling the high care demand imposed on the psychiatric medical care community today. With a focus on decentralization, the burden of care might be alleviated and dispersed from a strictly clinical to a community setting, thus improving access for all.

About 90% of our lives are spend indoors. For many of the buildings we stay in, standards and design guidelines have been set up, but educational buildings are often left out. Around 2009 the project the “Frisse Scholen” was set up in the Netherlands. This project aims to create better indoor climates at primary, secondary, and vocational schools. Universities have not been considered, while university students also need healthy environments. These students also suffer from stress. This can severely impact the academic performance. Healing elements in the design of university buildings could decrease the stress. This research aims to create design guidelines for a new general university education building that improves the physical and mental well-being of students. The research will be anthropological for the most part with interviews, questionnaires, and observation. This will be supported by literature research.

The aim of the research is to create architectural design guidelines for a housing facility including its immediate surroundings for adults with a Mild Intellectual Disability (MID). The potential to combine housing with additional neighbourhood facilities stimulating social interaction is taken into account to reduce loneliness and segregation from society and support them in their everyday life to make them more satisfied in the growing urban landscape. Observations and semi-structured interviews are done about typology & form, spatial organisation, outdoor surroundings, embedding, facilities, privacy, control/influence on the environment and social interaction in order to compare three different housing facilities as case studies. The research concludes that first of all the living environment of adults with an MID must be clear and structured. Secondly, overstimulation needs to be avoided and they must have the opportunity to connect with others. This means there should be a balance between a lively and calm living environment. If these preconditions are met, adults with an MID are able grow into their independence when the distance to care is gradually placed further away within the familiarity of their neighbourhood.

Mental health patients often get taken out of their social network when going into intensive care or temporary Supportive Housing (SH). However, social network has a positive effect on the recovery and quality of life of patients with mental health illness (Rössler, 2006). Although mental health care policies are changing in the Netherlands, supportive housing remains needed - albeit in smaller amounts - for a specific group. This group often is not integrated into society. Using the neighbourhood as the community inhabitants integrate into (Perry, 1929) and a systemic review by Jovanović et al. (2019) on how architecture can positively influence social interaction in psychiatric hospitals, this research tries to find design guidelines for SH which increases social integration into neighbourhoods.
Through a literature study and case studies, several themes are established. These are tested with field research at a Dutch SH facility, where six staff members are formally interviewed and around eight inhabitants were informally interviewed. Additionally, observations were done on social interactions. Finally, experts are interviewed on the topic.
The results show that the inhabitants of SH are divers, but can be classified in two groups: 1. Heavy cases who need intensive, long-term care and 2. Short-term cases who do not have housing (Planije et al., 2017). Through the different scales, four main themes which can enhance social interaction could be established: Interaction with the neighbourhood, activating inhabitants, fitting different needs of inhabitants and finally, contact with nature.
In conclusion, architecture & the built environment and location conditions can have influence the social network of inhabitants of SH by providing opportunities for social interaction, while also enabling inhabitants to retreat.

By 2040 a quarter of the Dutch population consists of elderly people. This increasing number of elderly will lead to a higher demand for healthcare, but the healthcare sector is already overburdened by the high demand and shortages of professionals. Therefore, elderly have to live independently for as long as possible and enough suitable ageing-friendly housing is necessary. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many seniors find themselves residing in homes designed for families. Especially when living alone, these houses are often excessively spacious and unsuitable for ageing in place. However, alternatives to move to are not available or do not suit their needs, because they are for example not in their current neighbourhood or not affordable. At the moment the housing construction is stalled and housing plans can take many years, so it is necessary to focus on opportunities. This study focuses on addressing this issue by exploring the potential of transforming postwar neighbourhoods into ageing-friendly living environments, because research shows that solutions can be found in the existing urban context of the postwar neighbourhood.

The research investigates the architectural and spatial elements necessary for creating ageing-friendly environments through a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, case study and by going on a fieldwork week to an real-life example of a residential facility where elderly people live together as a community. The results about housing preferences and needs of elderly people are translated into design guidelines for an elderly-friendly living environment divided into three scales: neighbourhood, building block and dwelling. The characteristics of and problems in the Dutch postwar neighbourhood and the possibilities for transformation are described through analysed literature. The research identifies strategies for renovating and repurposing existing housing stock, as well as incorporating new construction to meet the housing needs of the elderly population.

Overall, this research contributes to the construction of ageing-friendly living environments, improves housing conditions for the elderly in the Netherlands and offers insights into the transformation of the postwar neighbourhoods. To create an ageing-friendly living environment in postwar neighbourhoods, the most important topics need to be addressed on the basis of implementing the guidelines and therefore transformation in the postwar neighbourhood is necessary. Many homes, especially those designed for families, lack wheelchair accessibility and elevators. The green surroundings of postwar neighbourhoods can encourage elderly to spend time outdoors. So, making better use of this rich green and water structure is recommended. For the transformation of postwar neighbourhoods four categories of interventions are possible: splitting and expanding of existing dwellings, surgical interventions to make use of unused space, restructuring by demolishing and building new and building at the edges of the neighbourhoods where infrastructure becomes available due to the expecting reducing use of cars. Family houses and apartments can be split into multiple houses and residential buildings could be renovated, to expand, improve the look, improve sustainability, upgrade the plinth by adding other functions and make houses ageing-friendly by adding for example elevator access and renovating bathrooms. Hereby, the guidelines for an ageing-friendly living environment have to be implemented. Considering the shrinking households and the prevalence of elderly individuals living alone, transformation strategies should focus on densification with diversity in housing types, diverse residents, mixed-use and the creation of a sense of community.

The modern healthcare system’s focus on treatment, rather than prevention, has failed to make progress against age-related chronic diseases like dementia. Our global world population is increasing as well as our lifespan, however, our healthspan (time free of diseases) has not followed these increases. Dementia, now a leading cause of death as it is affecting 15% of our world population, is considered a significant challenge as it increases healthcare costs and putting pressure on our systems. With the anticipated rise in dementia cases, it is crucial to explore non-pharmaceutical strategies. This research aims to address this gap by exploring how architecture and the built environment can contribute to dementia prevention through the development of design guidelines that promote healthy living strategies and raise awareness to work towards a health-oriented society

Health Creation as a holistic approach towards health – This new perspective on people's health aims to overcome the purely physical view of health and emphasize the importance of mental and social health. In this respect, the elderly and the socio-economically disadvantaged have been identified as target groups that require increased accessibility and awareness in the areas of health and social inclusion.
This led to the main question of this research: How can the principles of Health Creation be embedded into architecture that supports (elderly) people in remaining both physically and mentally active as well as socially integrated?
To answer this question, fieldwork investigations, conversations with experts in the field of healthcare as well as people from the target group, literature studies, documentaries, and case studies were involved.
These investigations showed that the existing health environment in the form of hospitals and general practitioners is not suitable for making people aware of their health. By integrating health-creating methods into a community setting, the institutional character can be eliminated, overcoming psychological barriers and positioning itself as an antithesis to the existing health environment. Elements of human-centered architecture, intergenerational interactions, nearby care, and the Blue Zones have proven to be pioneering approaches and can be implemented to generate a health-creating environment!

This research addresses the pressing question: ‘How can the architectural design of elderly independent living facilities enhance well-being by promoting social connections amongst the elderly?‘. The aim is to generate guiding principles for socially connected independent living facilities, specifically targetting elderly suffering from social isolation seeking an alternative to aging at home. This research identifies a crucial gap between aging at home and relocating to a care facility, emphasizing the need for a new option. This intermediary option aims to provide elderly individuals with the opportunity to age independently in an ideal living environment with the possibility to foster social connections that further enhance their well-being.
The methodology employs a hybrid approach, combining top-down and bottom-up methodologies. The top-down component extracts archetypal principles primarily from literature and case studies, providing universal design guidelines. Simultaneously, the bottom up aspect centers on understanding the unique needs of the elderly through primary research, ensuring a responsive and context-specific.
The resulting design guidelines are organized across various scales, addressing the intricate needs of the elderly and fostering well-being. The study not only contributes to architectural endeavours but also addresses societal challenges associated with an ageing demographic. In a world predominantly focused on environmental challenges, this research emphasizes the urgency of addressing societal issues, particularly the challenges associated with an aging demographic.
The scope of the study is delineated by a theoretical framework integrating key theories from architectural design, well-being, social connection, and elderly wants/needs. These theories collectively guide the research’s ambition, providing a comprehensive foundation for the proposed design guidelines.
In conclusion, the study culminates in 16 Design guidelines meticulously organized across dwelling, communal space, building program, and site conditions. These guidelines offer a nuanced and multi-faceted approach to architectural design, addressing the intricate needs of the elderly, fostering well-being, and alleviating loneliness. The proposed guidelines serve as a holistic blueprint for architects, ensuring the creation of socially connected and well-supported environments for the elderly in response to the challenges posed by the aging population and the identified gap in existing options.