This architectural project focused on designing a public building that challenges societal norms surrounding sex, desire, and gender. The goal is to create a space for open dialogue and exploration of diverse sexualities and boundaries, fostering understanding and respect. By acting as mediators between different perspectives, public buildings can drive social change and improve social life. The project is situated in Berlin's Friedrichshain district, known for its contrasting attitudes towards sexuality. The Public Condenser aims to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and sexual preferences, creating an inclusive environment for discussion. The multifunctional design accommodates various needs, promoting dialogue and addressing the importance of these topics. Internally, the Public Condenser includes spaces that facilitate the exploration of sexuality on three levels: the body, the brain, and relationships. These spaces encompass a bathhouse, a dance/sports hall, an interactive gallery, an auditorium, a library, rooms for therapy, and workshop areas. The design emphasizes sensory experiences to create transformative encounters. The design process involved extensive research, utilizing the "research by design" methodology. Case studies, interviews with residents and professionals, and visits to sex-positive clubs and cultural events informed the project. The design proposals integrate feedback and insights from potential user-groups and sexuality professionals. By establishing a physical space for open dialogue and exploration of sexuality, the Public Condenser project aims to disrupt normative coding of sex, desire, and gender. It seeks to drive social change and foster an inclusive society. The study highlights the crucial role of architecture in shaping experiences and challenging societal perceptions. The project in Friedrichshain serves as a model for future architectural interventions promoting sexual education and understanding in contemporary societies.

This project takes place in Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany and presents the design of a Public Condenser along the Straße der Pariser Kommune named ’Bau(m) Berlin’. The project is part of the Public Building Graduation Studio and looks into the topic of designing a ’new urban lounge and commons’ through the process of Research by Design. Through field research and urban analysis, three issues came to the forth in the Friedrichshain area; A disconnection between residents, a missing framework for social (re-)integration and low quality green space. These issues consequently led to choosing the project site along the Straße der Pariser Kommune and forming the following research question: ”What if there could be an architecture that pushes interaction so that the social gap between people could be bridged whilst functioning as a platform that helps people to (re-) enter society?” In order to tackle the pre-described issues, the project takes the notion of ’building’ and dissects it into ’Building the Future Commons’, ’Building Connections’ and ’Building Things’. Together they describe and result into the project Bau(m). The ’m’ in Bau(m) entails the notion and concept of Multiplicity, e.i. the idea that a thing, in this case a public building, can be used in multiple ways, for various programmatic functions, throughout time. For me, this meant seeing architecture as a framework that allows for adaptable use of a building. Consequently, the building is designed as a pavilion within the park stretching along the Straße der Pariser Kommune and has one big roof supported by a grid structure column repetition made from timber. The columns are bended so that together, they form an arch-shaped pattern. By seeing the building as part of the park, the park is equally redesigned into a park of higher quality with an urban route that stretches through the building and connects the Ostbahnhof train station with the Karl-Marx-Allee further North. The main function of the building is a workshop space for various crafts, amongst which furniture making, as it uses the method of making as a way of bringing people together and getting those in need back on into society. This workshop space stretches into the basement and thus forms the substructure of an urban square that exists in front of the building.

In this thesis, it describes that spirit is the regenerative power in heritage design, and explained how it was inherited from past and still remain alive nowadays. A certain kind of method will be approached to help with the research on this topic. Since heritage design is the re-design based on the existing building, historical research places an important role during the architectural research. It shows the memory of the site. However, besides historical value and age value, other values such as use value, newness value and rarity value should also be considered in the value assessment, which makes decisions between demolishing, reserving or redesigning more convincing. Furthermore, the value assessment encourages architects reflect on history and find strategies for new design fit for the nowadays and look to the future. The value assessment can help find out the spirit of the heritage and the spirits of the can help to bring building into new life.

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.

Lelystad's first commercial area, Lelycentre, was originally intended to be the starting point of the planned city centre in the first phase in 1964, emphasising the connection to the fourth planned polder of the Zuiderzeewerken. Markermeerpolder's rejection in the 80's meant that the decision was made to develop the city centre elsewhere causing Lelycentre lose its intended position. Today Lelycentre shopping centre, which once resembled Rotterdam’s Lijnbaan, serves the local communities with a quiet but healthy bustle of activity. However the majority of surrounding office buildings have gone through a series of changes in use over the last 40-50 years and are now vacant. One such building is the former police station, which the police vacated in 2018 in favour of a more central city location. The police station is integrated into Lelycentre's characteristic elevated infrastructure and boasts a unique and recognisable façade. It is positioned as the southern gateway into Lelycentre. In a masterplan wherein much of the existing vacancy is filled with housing, this work explores a situation where the former police station a.k.a. ZIJP gebouw is transformed into a cultural centre for new and existing residents. The main challenges are establishing a balance between the architectural qualities of the existing office building whilst introducing transparency, openness, accessibility in direct contrast to the existing monumentality and sense of anonymity. Preserving and revitalising the elevated infrastructure is key, whilst creating a new relationship with the transformed ground level. The final point is to design sustainably and introduce passive design concepts.

This thesis is a qualitative thesis depicting the way a design strategy can be constructed for a nature inclusive building by giving an example case. By first doing a set of case studies of projects describing themselves as nature inclusive and looking into their design strategy, then applying this to a case location together with the help of literature and an urban ecologist to test if this is a reliable way of designing. The main findings of this paper are that to set up a design strategy that is actually nature inclusive, the location needs to be thoroughly studied with the help of experts in the field of ecology to translate natures requirements to design elements.

My project starts from the city Berlin. After visiting the site in Friedrichshain, I found that people who lived there were not satisfied with the food-eating space nearby throughout my interviews. They said that even though there were some restaurants, the community was lack of diverse food space, and they were willing to go to the West Berlin for food. To check if they were right, I made a food mapping of the community. I found that there are a few restaurants and supermarkets there, but not too many. And there was just one flexible exterior street market nearby, so basically they were right. Based on this, designing a food-eating space for the community came into my mind. To follow up on the locals’ idea, I went to the west of Berlin and found many diverse food-related activities. There are not just many restaurants in the West, but also many street markets, and an interesting Prinzessinnengarten where people can farm, make and cook inside. At the time, based on the topic of our project “Public Condenser”, I think if I condense many kinds of food-related activities(farming, making, shopping, and eating) into one building, it will provide more opportunities for people to encounter, which also suits my understanding towards the word “Common”, where people can make something together, and participate into activities constantly. Then food could be a good medium to connect people in Berlin from different backgrounds. Furthermore, facing the trend that eating become more private and people do not want to go out for food and feel lonely, a food condenser can take people out and solve these issues very well. From the food mapping, I consider the REWE supermarket as the best location to build. Because it sits in the street full of restaurants, they can work well together economically. And the site is also near the Warschauer Straße station, so it is accessible for the locals and outsiders. Finally, the original supermarket will be turned down, and a better new flexible market space will show up in the new building. After making sure of my topic about food, I divided the program into four parts, from farming, making, and shopping to eating. In the farming part, people can grow some vegetables, ingredients, and some plants in the balcony, rooftop garden, or indoor area. In the making part, people can cook the food they pick up from the farming part in the shared kitchen, chefs can learn cooking from the culinary school, and chefs can explore their recipes in the food laboratory, citizens can see the food exhibition, they can also order the food in the kitchen that is already cooked by the chefs. In the shopping part, people can shop, eat, and socialize in a flexible market space, including a long indoor market, some eating space, and relaxed space. They can also listen to lectures about food culture in the hall. In the eating part, people can enjoy a big food square. They can also order in two big round-shaped food bars, and find food in some open restaurants. To condense these multiple food-related spaces in one building, I worked out a prototype, I call it “Vertical Food Forest”, which will be situated at a specific site and create various food experiences as an interesting and complicated system.

This project explores a value based approach to dealing with supposed New Heritage. The value analysis serves a the basis for a redesign strategy in Heesterveld.

This graduation thesis was executed within the studio New Heritage in which the question was raised whether postmodern architecture can be valued as heritage. Multiple postmodern neighbourhoods suffer from a stigma. Outsiders have a negative image where insiders are much more positive about their neighbourhood. This master thesis focusses on the project site Hoptille, located in the Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam-Southeast. It answers the design question: “How to transform the current neighbourhood in such a way that both insiders and outsiders would live in Hoptille by a neutral or positive choice?”. This transformation balances the interests of insiders and outsiders resulting in image enhancement in combination with the preservation of identity. Finally, densification has been taken into account regarding the topical question of 1 million homes by 2030.

The project aims to answer the following research question: How can the Dutch 80’s neighbourhood be densified in terms of housing and nature while enhancing and preserving in- and extrinsic values (if present) by taking the neighbourhood Hoptille as case study? Hoptille (1980) is a neighbourhood in Amsterdam Zuid-Oost and was a reaction against the Bijlmer high-rise flats. The area consists of a mid-rise, 300 meter long building, several low-rise row housing and two large parking garages. After 40 years is it well over due for a renovation/transformation. Hoptille was research through stakeholder research, risk assessments, and several analyses. This research was the base for the program and goals for the neighbourhood. The project itself takes the international and the national context to address the local situation. This is done through a threefold approach to explore the many opportunities within the area, low intensity renovation, high intensity transformation, and demolish-new build. During the design process, the emphasise was laid on sustainable development, particularly the enhancement of biodiversity.

The essence of my project is to present a prototype as a statement against the ridiculousness of building a permanent stadium used only or mostly during a major international temporary sports events. In which the inhabitants of the place gain no real benefit from the investments of such a building after the tournament is finished. My prototype of a modular stadium aims to be that benefit for locals of all ages. Where they can play a wide arrange of different sports and enjoy different events organized in the year. This could range from a food festival to extreme sports, from daily sports and leisure activities to being a platform for experimentational architecture or art exhibitions. The stadium provides the building blocks to form that basis. The objective is to research modularity to find design principles for the design of a multifunctional and adaptable stadium. Modularity can contribute to the circular economy through the use of a modular design and optimization of modules, generating benefits that can contribute to the implementation of strategies for the circular economy in order to maximize the lifecycle of a product. It is a way of giving order and solutions to complex problems of achieving adaptability. Such strategies will be researched for a new stadium typology. Which accommodate for the afterlife use of a stadium for a major temporary sports event. That could benefit the city and its community on the long term. The context in which this will be designed is, the what-if scenario, of The Netherlands one day hosting the FIFA world cup or the Olympics.

The research paper looked into the possible application of rice straws in the field of residential architecture in Zhejiang province. The paper evaluated the three rice straw-related building methods. Based on the result, light straw clay was selected for the design project located in Zhejiang province. Then a relevant landscape-sensitive residential project with the design objective to create a village for both tourists and local villagers is designed to create a synergetic model for the village. The tourism development based on the local rice industry will in turn benefit the rice industry by increasing added value.

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.

The housing shortage in the Netherlands and the high contribution of the construction sector towards climate change demands a different approach towards affordable housing. A combination of the concept of a 'housing cooperative' and the implementation of 'low-tech principles' on all scales of the design tries to bring back affordable housing back to the people in a sustainable way, where the pillars 'People', 'Planet' and 'Profit' are in balance. A pure light timber frame system with universal, interchangeable elements forms the basis for standardised housing units. By arranging the units in different ways and by giving the users freedom in infill and finishing, the housing cooperative is able to choose how they want to shape their living environment. Overarching aspects throughout the design are 'simplicity', 'rationality', 'locality' and 'human scale'.

Project tackles the issue of low density and underpopulation in Lelystad by an attempt to retroactively densify the city historical core. The architectural intervention consists of revitalization vertical addition of dwelling function on one of the Lelystad very first buildings - the shopping center Lelycentre. Building is assesed in aspects of cultural and architectural values and building technology and scenario for its adaptation is proposed. Project touches the issues of safety, quality of public space and livability of the neighbourhood and explores the possibilities offered by high density and proximity of mixed functions.

Large amounts of material waste resulting from the renovation of post-war housings pose a great challenge for managing waste through destruction. Applying the concept of the circular economy may allow the opportunity to reuse these materials that would otherwise be thrown away due to renovation. The article explores the possibility of embedding Buildings as Material Banks (BAMB), a circular economy concept, at the neighborhood scale. Through holistic macro planning, BAMB will be embedded in the renovation process of the post-war neighborhood in a step-by-step manner to realize the reuse of materials. Although the article investigates some cases of reuse of old materials, due to the limitation of length, the study did not make detailed adjustments and adaptations to the site, Western Garden Cities. Specific materials from the Western Garden Cities will be studied in future studies.

The Ikebana gallery school positions itself in a dense urban context with a secure connection to its didactic elements and the reappreciation of the chosen craft. It is a multi-faced project which sheds light on education, residents and parties to re-direct the urban context. My interventions for the Gasthuisplaats allow me the opportunity to communicate my view for a contemporary school building in the historic city centre of Delft while improving the public realm.

Clipping Kampung aims to improve the resilience of Hoptille neighbourhood in Amsterdam based on lessons learned from Indonesian Kampung. At least, two main qualities from Kampung that are useful for Hoptille’s resilience problem have been identified: adaptability and transformability. The Kampung has a quality to be more adaptable due to its residents’ bond that encourages them to help and take care of each other and their environment. Moreover, it also has a transformability quality, in which the neighbourhood’s function shifts, enriches and organically grows over time. This project believes that time is the dimension that allows people to add layers of growth to their environment. Understanding the Kampung qualities can help create intervention and framework to tackle Hoptille’s socio-spatial issues, hence improving its resilience. Based on the qualities mentioned above, Clipping Kampung is designed as an intervention that offers flexibility and option towards future needs by accommodating the change of functions or size in the Hoptille neighbourhood more flexibly while also promoting higher adaptability.

Gentrification is a controversial process where lower-income neighborhoods are transformed into affluent areas through the arrival of higher-income residents and development efforts. Friedrichshain in Berlin serves as a prominent example of this phenomenon. Since the 1990s, the neighborhood has attracted artists and young professionals, causing property values to rise and making it difficult for long-time residents to stay. Gentrification has resulted in the displacement of low-income residents, a shift in the neighborhood's demographics, and a change in its cultural landscape. The real estate market's development has played a significant role in driving up property values and rents, further exacerbating the situation. In response to these effects, a Public Condenser is being designed as a social catalyst, aiming to mitigate the impacts of gentrification by providing a space for diverse individuals to share knowledge and creativity. The project's goal is to foster innovation and progress, following the theme of "Boundless architecture," and potentially serve as a prototype for similar neighborhoods in need.

Harvest. A Burn-out retreat.
 Revitalising 'Plots in the Woods' at Hembrug.  A former munition terrain. A hidden green enclave in Zaandam where de Zaan, het IJ and het Noordzeekanaal cross. Surrounded by water and boats, industry and a big forest. The vision of the project is to revitalise the ‘plots in the woods’ into a burn-out retreat with a focus on the wellbeing of the visitors and sustainability while maintaining the characteristic values. Just like in the past, every building will have its specific function. And all together they will form the process of the treatment of burn-outs. The three key elements are: preserve the typologies, respect the original materials as much as possible and upgrade the buildings to present-day conditions. In addition: the wellbeing of users, sustainability and reuse will be taken into account. 
The plots in the woods at the Hembrug terrain was a place of violence, but quietly and by its own resources the ensemble recovered. Now it is a space created for people with a burn-out, where they can do the same. The users serve the existing landscape and buildings: the program emerges and is rooted at this location and time in society. There is now a place surrounded by nature, close to Amsterdam to take the time to unwind, wander, connect, disconnect and slowly recover.