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

This study explores the design and development of large-scale floating structures, addressing current challenges in floating architecture while focusing on technical feasibility, energy self-sufficiency, and sustainable water management. A mixed-method approach combining qualitative analysis of existing projects with quantitative modeling and simulation was employed. The research proposes a modular hexagonal design with a 25 m diameter and 6 m height, demonstrating structural stability with a metacentric height of 0.8 m. Each module can produce 96,500.99 kWh of energy annually using solar panels and collect 325 m³ of rainwater per year. The design incorporates water management systems, including separate treatment for wastewater. This study contributes to the growing field of floating architecture by offering a flexible, scalable, and sustainable solution for large-scale infrastructure in marine environments. ... Read more

One of the challenges for the recycling industry is the lack of sufficient (specific) recycling applications for materials recovered from plastic waste streams. This research explores the potential of recycled plastic materials, particularly polyethylene-aluminum (PolyAl) and mixed plastics (DKR350), for use in construction, focusing on post-consumer, source-separated waste streams. As plastic waste is a major environmental challenge, the construction industry offers an opportunity to reuse these materials. The study examines the technical performance, design flexibility, environmental sustainability and economic viability of PolyAl and mixed plastics and compares them with traditional materials (wood, concrete and steel). It also evaluates how different production techniques affect the properties and applications of these recycled materials in construction. The central research question is: "What recycled plastic materials and related production techniques are available to be used in housing design and construction?". By addressing barriers to the application of recycled plastics, this research aims to promote circular economy initiatives and encourage the use of recycled materials in sustainable, environmentally responsible modular housing solutions. ... Read more

Despite efforts to reuse and recycle materials in the building industry, the vast majority of materials used is new, which does not contribute to a circular built environment. Additionally, the way we design influences the amount of waste produced by the building industry. This research aims to develop circular design principles for optimal reuse of building components during the design process. Main factors of availability, dimensions, aesthetics, technical performance, environmental impact and the costs influence the reuse potential. Through qualitative data analysis, including in-depth interviews with pioneering architects who apply reuse as building method, this study identifies design principles and strategies for implementation in the design phase. By starting the design with identifying the reused materials, early collaboration, designing for disassembly and adaptability, and allowing flexibility during the whole process, optimal reuse can contribute to circular building practices. ... Read more

This thesis explores the critical issue of global food insecurity and its impact on Doha, Qatar. The increasing unpredictability of climate change and the imposition of food export bans due to extreme weather events have heightened the urgency to achieve self-sufficiency in food production. This thesis delves into the impacts of climate change on food production and availability and the efforts to achieve food sustainability within urban areas. It discusses the challenges faced by Qatar, a country traditionally reliant on food imports due to its harsh desert environment and the shift towards self-sufficiency through innovative agricultural methods such as vertical farming. The research highlights the importance of prioritizing locally grown food; it looks at common vertical farm strategies and what are the best approaches to not only produce food in arid regions but to increase production yield and deploy automated vertical farms en masse in multiple areas simultaneously, inspiring a new era of sustainable food production. ... Read more

The graduation project, "STAHLstadl: Sustainable Transformation Alpine Hospitality & Landscape” focuses on creating a circular building that aligns with the traditions of the Alps while addressing contemporary environmental challenges. This project seeks to act as an example of a new form of sustainable tourism, while contributing to closing Austria's Circularity Gap. It emphasises the importance of allowing people to enjoy and learn about the unique qualities of the Alps without causing harm, instead giving back to nature through circular and sustainable strategies. The research investigates the application of circular building strategies within the context of Alpine Architecture and sustainable tourism. With the Alps as a historically rich laboratory for experimentation, this study positions the region as a testing ground for circular building methods. Austria’s Circularity Gap, particularly in the construction sector, reveals significant potential for integrating circular solutions to reduce material consumption, improve resource efficiency, and minimise environmental impact. Conducting a combination of literature study, case study analyses and forming strategic frameworks, this research identifies actionable approaches to close material loops, prioritising locally sourced, renewable, and reclaimed materials. The findings demonstrate the feasibility of aligning architectural practices with Austria’s sustainability goals while addressing challenges unique to Alpine environments, such as climate change, fragile ecosystems, and tourism pressures. The research contributes to the broader discourse on the circular economy by offering a regional lens that balances global sustainability objectives with local ecological and cultural contexts. The proposed strategies provide a foundation for architectural interventions that not only enhance the built environment but also promote sustainable tourism practices. This work emphasises the urgency of adopting circular principles as integral components of design processes to create resilient, future-oriented solutions in the Alps and beyond. ... Read more

This paper aims to present and assess the prospective environmental feasibility and efficacy associated with the integration of Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology into diverse design methodologies within contemporary architecture. The primary focus of adjusting the flow of the chemical process through various design parameters will be elucidated for the hypothetical application into buildings. This chemical process involves the scientific method of utilizing the hollow-tube fibers with potassium hydroxide (KOH) as the primary carbon absorbent, where the CO2 contained ambient air is absorbed in fibers and converts into liquid state of K2CO3 + H2O. This carbon dioxide will be captured and transported through building services, for the future utilization and storage. This research highlights that the chemical flow of the DAC process can be effectively implemented through three distinct architectural design factors: façade modules, and an add-on mechanism for existing buildings and infrastructure. Despite the early introduction of DAC in 1999, its current status remains at the research level and cost demanding, yet to progress beyond industrial applications. However, the paper argues that when broadly applied in buildings powered by renewable energy sources, DAC integration has the potential to mitigate the escalating CO2 contamination, through ensuring buildings to capture more carbon than they emit, mimicking the principles of photosynthesis from the nature. Thus, the research prioritizes in opening a vision for new concept of sustainable architecture, directly responding towards the global climate issues, and acts as a first stepping stone beyond carbon reduction, towards carbon-capturing architecture. ... Read more

Overpollution with plastic waste is becoming a leading concern globally, but even more so at island destinations popular among tourists. Tourists generate 3 times more waste than local residents, overuse local resources, and often lead to a change of the identity of the location (the so-called “disneyfication”). This project combines the topics of using recycled plastic elements in architecture, conceptualising more sustainable tourism patterns, and empowering local communities to become active participants in the fate of their land. The island of Bali, Indonesia, is used as a case study, as due to its international popularity, the symptoms of overtourism are apparent and already under discussion.

The object of the project is a community centre for an existing community on the island, which is growing in popularity among locals and aims to attract more foreign visitors- both as a source of income, and as a way to learn about the world first-hand. The design is developed in a way that caters both to the needs of the local community and the likings of temporary visitors, and facilitates meaningful interaction between them. The technical part of the research is focused on determining the availability of the plastic materials in the island’s waste, assessing its potential based on existing recycling technology and relating it to the architectural demands of the island.

The structural concept involves a combination of bamboo with vernacular connections and innovative plastic elements, all suited for community participation during the design process. The goal of it is to be easy to construct and be transferrable and adaptable to various programmes and locations with similar needs and characteristics- from Southeast Asia to the Caribbean islands.

A new product is developed and prototyped as part of the project: a plastic roof tile, which can serve a number of functions depending on its assembly, and which uses the inherent qualities and durability of the plastic material as shaping factors for its design.
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The research and design hypothesize how data centers can complement the urban environment rather than make a negative impact, both environmentally and spatially. Data centers consume and produce a variety of valuable flows, ranging from electricity, cooling/heating and water use. The aim of the research is to discover whether it is possible to create synergy between these flows in a mixed-use building that contains both data center, residential and greenhouse program. All flows for the different programs are analyzed, quantified and visualized. Through the findings, the flows and programs are linked together. This in turn creates possibilities to redesign and optimize the processes of these flows and reduce the amount of resources needed (input) while at the same time reducing waste (output). Based on the research, a mixed-use building is proposed for the Sluisbuurt neighborhood in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Both a data center, residential program, greenhouse program and a diverse public program are combined. ... Read more

'Zero Waste to Energy' appropriates part of a massive industrial complex to embed values of circularity and act as a seed of change. Storytelling, Material Flow Analysis and design come together to create a parasitic architecture, which weaves a vertical urban campsite and chapel into a chimney of the Netherlands’ largest Waste-to-Energy plant. Framed as the end point of a spiritual pilgrimage, the intervention reconciles the city with its industry, and society with its resources. ... Read more

My graduation project seeks to create a community marketplace and elderly co-housing complex for Houthaven and Spaarndammer neighbourhood in Amsterdam that strengthen their connections with urban greenery and local hinterland.
The design focus on implementing local biodegradable material and resource in architecture and programme. ... Read more

Many industrial buildings had remained the situation of vacancy since the late 1970s, reusing has become a term to be used as a sustainable method of preserving the cultural identity of these industrial buildings in order to prolong their life-span.
The Hembrug site is a plot which was formed in the 19th century by reclamation of land in the coastal area between Amsterdam and Zaandam. It was taken into use in 1895, as a weapon production base. However, the production came to a standstill in the 1990s, after which the factories were finally closed in 2003. The government decided to develop the mixed terrain for living, culture, nature and business in the coming years. However, industrial buildings on the site from industrial era are not adequate for the spatial and functional requirements in the contemporary society. Compare to demolition, renovation not only honors the past but also means looking into the future. It can help to create more space, reduce energy consumption and preserve the cultural value while bringing the building up to the latest technical standards.
My research focus on finding the suitable renovation strategies to the industrial heritage buildings, case study was used as the fundamental methodology while the descriptive research helped to summarized them into three main prototypes with the perspective of the spatial order between the existing building and its new intervention. The research findings are applied to the Hembrug Site and the design process also follows the strategies as well. ... Read more

ReCoNet is a housing complex which is designed to reconnect in three scales: Marco, Meso and Micro. The composition of ReCoNet is designed around the concept of a recycling community. Taking social, ecological and economical sustainability as its key point, ReCoNet aims to create a well-balanced and versatile contemporary solution that maximises the potential of the use of recycled plastics in the built environment. ... Read more

While the West-Port of Amsterdam is undergoing a big transformation to a more sustainable future-oriented industry, 70.000 new homes will be built right at the border of city and industry as part of development project Havenstad. The municipality has an ambition to realize a datacentre of 500MW capacity, which is four times the size of the Zeewolde datacentre.
This project is an attempt to tackle both the spatial as the environmental impact of this industry. Through the research of metabolic energy flows it was found that up to 60% of energy can be recovered from liquid cooled datacentres in the form of waste-heat and by creating decentralized datacentres in public buildings, 65% of Amsterdam could be heated for ‘free’ by datacentre waste heat in 2040. De Centrale is an example of such a decentralized datacentre, within a public indoor swimming pool. Together with a mixed recreational and industrial program it manifests itself as an energyhub at the terrain of the old Hemweg coal plant. The 800 m2 datacentre produces the full heat-demand of the swimming pool, with a surplus which is used to heat the residential area of Havenstad. The landscape around the pool includes a helophyte filtering park, which cleans the harbour water and an urban beach offers a new public space to the city. Within the design, a symbiosis between port and city is established through form, scale, construction, materialization and composition of the façade.
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This report covers the development of the Blade Barrier: A sound barrier constructed using decommissioned wind turbine blades.
The ever-growing wind industry faces a composite waste problem. Wind turbine blades only last a few decades, and are difficult and therefore not economically desirable to recycle.
One proposed solution to this issue, is to repurpose the blades. Over the last years, several small-scale projects (such as playgrounds and urban furniture) have been realised that show how these high-end objects can serve new purposes successfully.
As the wind industry has grown exponentially over the last two decades, the resulting composite waste stream is expected to follow this same growth in the coming decades. For this reason, more impactful solutions are required.
To this end, the Blade Barrier is proposed by Blade Made, a spinoff startup from Superuse Studios. A roadside sound barrier has the potential to incorporate a large number of blades into its construction, and extend their life-in-service for another two to five decades, simultaneously eliminating the need for virgin materials.
The blades represent the starting point of the project, while the sound barrier is the final goal. The project is about connecting these two points through various research and design methods. Analysing the blades offers an understanding of the opportunities and limitations of the material, while research into sound barrier design yields insights into what makes a well-performing barrier. Throughout the project, the expertise of experts has been consulted to be able to expand this understanding and make well-grounded design decisions.
Based on this research a design vision is formulated, focussing on aesthetics, circularity and scalability. After the creation of three concepts, the idea for a green urban corridor was selected. This concept has the potential to transcend the simple idea of a sound barrier, and fulfil multiple purposes. It could offer a cleaner and more biodiverse urban area, and create an enjoyable surrounding on the resident side of the barrier.
Through an iterative process, this concept was further developed. The result is a design that is adaptive to the availability of blades and the requirements of the barrier location. Acoustic simulations are used to validate the performance of the design, and physical prototyping steps were taken in order to elaborate upon the production process. Vegetation is incorporated into the design to enhance its aesthetics and acoustics, and to stimulate biodiversity.
The design is applied to a location in Rotterdam to show how it integrates within the urban environment. The flexibility of the design enables it to be constructed in various different locations with varying types of blades. This way, it offers a solution to the blade waste problem anywhere on the planet.
The design was presented to the wind industry at the 2022 WindEurope conference in Bilbao. The design was received well there, and several parties are currently in touch with Blade Made to explore the possibilities for the construction of a Blade Barrier.
To this end, the report concludes with several recommendations toward the realisation of the design. ... Read more

As freshwater scarcity has become one of the most important environmental and social issues of the 21st century, the way the built environment interacts with water must be reconsidered. Today’s urban water cycle in Curaçao is characterized by linear, centralized, polluting, costly, time and energy consuming and does not contribute to cultural value. Architecture can play part in creating a more efficient and sustainable urban water system, while increasing the public awareness of issues related to the freshwater cycle. Heritage of water typologies and systems like water plantations, cisterns and wells give example of how Curaçao used decentralized micro water catchment systems (MWCS), in the pre-desalination period, to provide freshwater for the communities inhabiting it. In addition to the concept of these heritage inspired designs solutions (HIDS) the concept of current nature-based solutions (NBS), referring to ecosystem-based and biomimetic approaches, are analysed as alternatives. The integration of HIDS and NBS is a much-needed step forward towards an integrated and holistic approach of spatial planning and design in general and water related design and management in particular.

‘Regenerative Ruins’ focuses on the neighbourhood Otrobanda, centrally located in the capital Willemstad of the island Curaçao. The island has a rich history of urbanization in which the natural freshwater cycles have been neglected. As a result, the island is dependent to obtain its freshwater from a centralized desalination plant. The trend to live in the peri-urban area of Willemstad also led to an exodus of the formerly renowned labour district of Otrobanda, resulting in a cityscape dominated by decaying monuments. The project provides a solution to both problems by transforming a dilapidated monument into a regenerative decentralized freshwater production space, whereby the existing envelope becomes a central freshwater harvesting courtyard.
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De-centralised policies and care-focused homeless support in the Netherlands has led to an over-simplified definition of homelessness in Rotterdam, where the gemeente fails to recognise and address some of it’s most vulnerable groups. Through literature reviews, interviews with actors from the homeless sector, and observations and conversations conducted during voluntary shifts at a homeless shelter; this thesis analyses the pathways into and out of homelessness in Rotterdam, identifying the groups experiencing similar prejudice or treatment, and evaluating the means necessary to end their homelessness. This is compared against the existing services available across Rotterdam to understand the social support system as a whole, and the role architecture has and should have in helping the homeless. This thesis then identifies two groups: EU labour migrants and sofa-sleepers, as potentials for non-care based support as part of a symbiotic community structure, centred around a temporary, demountable, transitional housing scheme. A detailed building programme ensures activation of the ex-homeless and integration of the public through third spaces on the active ground floor plinth. The first floor houses the ex-homeless units which are derived through a process of self-build technologies and open building principles. The temporary city represents a reformed, more humanistic image of homelessness; one that challenges the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ dichotomy, because it illustrates the great lengths we’d all go through to create a home. ... Read more

As the housing shortage in the Netherlands is rapidly increasing, hence the need to develop more housing is as well. It is needed to make these new houses more sustainable to honour the Paris climate agreement. It is known how to make buildings energy neutral. To push further the development of a sustainable urban environment research is done by investigating shortening the transport into the urban environment to a minimum by implementing food production and black water sanitation on site. Based on data provided by the Dutch nutrition centre (Voedingscentrum), the amount of food needed is calculated and divided in what could be feasible to produce within a neighbourhood and is translated to 36 m2 per capita. Blackwater and organic waste are produced and digested on site. Biogas forms from organic waste and biosolids and can provide a potential energy of 626,1 kWh per capita. Ammonia and fertiliser can be harvested with a struvite reactor and has a potential of 20,5 kWh per capita, and the struvite harvested is 474,5g per capita per year. A total of 646,6 kWh per capita is gained ... Read more