National Monument Christus Triumfator church in Bezuidenhout, the Hague was designed by the team D.S.B.V. under Geert Drexhage in 1959-1962, however, among three churches under Drexhage's, only Christus Triumfator church survives in the secularization and shrinking religious community in the Netherlands. The design of Christus Triumfator church reflects a time of Dutch postwar modern architectural profession shifting into a capitalized environment, confrontation between new theories and old tradition, group standardized design for mass clients, and cooperations of professional consultants. The research aims to point out the linkages between Christus Triumfator church and its postwar modern architectural theories and traditions background for a redesign proposal.

For a contemporary redesign and intervention to respond to that from the 1960s, one of the subjects is to treat carefully in the sequence, space order, and materiality in the Christus Triumfator church by understanding the facts and meanings behind, and another one is to react to the mass production pattern matured in the era. A new zero-waste design challenge might be to set away from the producing loop, reduce and revital the form to that just meet the need, and reclaim from the past production in a tengible or intangible way that triggers reflections of the past and the future.

Based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the project deals with the unearthing of spatial and cultural layers of the historic city centre, focusing on the modern urban fabric which was built on the relics of the Judengasse, the centuries-old Jewish ghetto.

The project’s mission involves the reinterpretation of ordinary, seemingly insignificant buildings and urban environments into spaces which carry a layered past, but possibly also a hopeful future for different social groups in the city of Frankfurt. This attempt expands the means through which architectural heritage can be understood and appropriated; by doing so, it invites the contemporary local Jewish community, along with other publics, to reclaim a lost chapter in the city’s history, and to continue writing its story while fully embracing the complexities and conflicts it might bring forth.

"Brussels was never destroyed by the wars, but rather by its own people" these words of Victor Bourgouis show the destructive vision of social and cultural spaces in Brussels. The city's vision of urban development is based on top-down politics, fed by the desire to be modern. This affection leads to the non-identification and displacement of citizens. The tendency for the tabula rasa leads to the production of scar, but when the tabula rasa cannot be evoked, terrain vague starts to exist.

Terrain vague is defined by its ambiguous character. The project, which establishes the terrain vague as a walled garden, is a response to the scars that are made by the historic urban interventions. It defines itself as a space with a public character and gives it to those who require it. It gives meaning to a meaningless void in the city. It keeps the ambiguous, informal, and improvised character that is found on terrain vague, and translates it to a space of possibilities and forming a new center point in the European quarter in Brussels.



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This paper explores different participation methods that could be applied in redeveloping religious heritage. Due to secularisation, religious buildings are threatened with vacancy. Churches in particular are difficult to redevelop due to their ecclesiastical and social values. Active community involvement assists in overcoming the gap in designer and user interests. In this study, the St. Dominicus church is used as a case study in which a simulated participation workshop with actors is conducted. The initial goal of the simulated workshop was to determine a suitable program for a community centre inside the existing church building. Various methods were employed during the simulated workshop, structured by three participation phases identified by analysing case studies. Individual brainstorming, cognitive mapping, and a consensus design assignment were applied for research inquiry and design input. Two months after the initial workshop, the preliminary design was reviewed through individual semi-structured interviews. The individual brainstorming together with the cognitive mapping proved to be effective in determining general program possibilities, gapping the requirement of communication skills and time. After the review of the preliminary design, all participants expressed a sense of ownership of the design, thus these methods could easily be applied in other cases to boost social belonging and community values. Future research recommends a larger sample group and the mixing of age groups in the consensus design assignment, which could result in more conflicting interests regarding the community centre’s program.

This interdisciplinary research project focuses on the adaptive reuse of Het Steiger Rotterdam church, employing a comprehensive approach integrating extensive research and cohesive design strategies. The study begins with a thorough analysis of contemporary churches' architectural and urban context, emphasizing spatial appropriateness in religious architecture. A distinctive methodology is applied to conduct a value assessment, offering profound insights into heritage values intrinsic to the church's architecture and its historical significance. Tailored methodologies and design strategies are devised to expand and transition the existing structure while preserving the perception of religious space and monumental value. The design prioritizes aesthetic beauty, proportion, and a lasting structure, diverging from the 'zero church' concept, with careful consideration of sustainable material usage and minimized carbon footprint. This research showcases a significant advancement in sustainable architectural interventions, exemplifying the harmonious blend of sustainability and aesthetic appeal. The project sets a notable precedent for preserving and revitalizing religious architecture in contemporary society through meticulous research, innovative methodologies, and thoughtful design choices.

This project focuses on the layered history and current situation of District Six in Cape Town, South Africa, which saw forced removals and demolition of non-white residents' homes under the apartheid regime. With only 108 families being allowed to return over the last 55 years later, this project looks at the impact of restitution housing and the tension between the historic community and the adjacent fragmented university campus and student body. Here the focus on the public realm and particularly the street as extension of the domestic sphere posits a hopeful threshold to bridge these two communities. With ultimately the research lending to the design of a cost-effective student residence which orientates its students towards the street and in-turn their neighbours. Here, outdoor gathering spaces, porous thresholds, and a reimagination of historic typologies encourages community engagement.

The project aims to shed light on the complexities of land restitution and the role of architecture in shaping a new and layered community in District Six.

This research explores how the St. Dominicus church in Utrecht can be revitalised with the help of contemporary spiritual values. As a result of secularisation and the shift from religion to spirituality, there is a noticeable increase in vacant church buildings. In this research, a design strategy is proposed that revises the original function in a way it can better accommodate the modern spiritual needs. Incorporating the results of different literature and analytic studies in spiritual architecture, this study demonstrates a way to create a design that accommodates
more spiritual experiences through architecture. It argues that these experiences can be evoked through architectural qualities that adhere to the bigger spiritual concepts of sensuality, humanity and sustainability.

The current study focuses on the development of a new façade system which introduces greenery as part of brick walls. The main aspects of the proposed system are sustainability, moisture and materials, water supply and structure stability. The goal is to achieve a balanced relation among these aspects and reflect those into the product design. The current report consists of design and experimental research, aiming to explore the potential and tackle the challenges of designing a complete façade system. By identifying existing experimental and design research in relevant literature, a new green façade product is proposed. The stability of the system is based on a non-mortar solution, utilizing the Drystack® elements for the wall assembling. The design phases led to the integration of the system components, focusing on the use of a passive irrigation system. This is further analyzed with a building case study for better understanding its functionality and manufacturability. The different elements constituting the system, drystack, greenery, soil substrate and irrigation, are then decided based on theoretical research. Finally, experimental work is conducted in order to validate the project decisions and propose further improvements.

Living in Rotterdam, we make eagerly use of all cultural attractions the city has to offer. We visit a museum on a free weekend, go to the library to study, spend an evening at the cinema or theatre and go out for dinner with friends and family. Without much awareness, using the cultural infrastructure of the city engages us in informal learning processes; triggering new interests, expanding our personal skills and strenghtening our social network.
But for many residents of Rotterdam, using cultural facilities as leisure is less presumable: a limited cultural offer in Zuid marginalizes the opportunity of using the city structure as learning environment.
That is the premiss of this thesis: the city of Rotterdam is dealing with an unequality in tangible and intangible cultural network between the city centre and Zuid, which has a great impact on the quality of life in the entire city. It is time to plan a future in which Zuid can take a stand in the cultural offer and become an equally appreciated part of Rotterdam.
This graduation project unravels the importance of the relationship between city structure, the cultural network and education for the talent development of
the youth. Because making space for the youth, means making space for the future. The outcome of this project is an exploration of a new experience-based learning environment, translated into the Talent Lab, a place where children can learn in the direct network of the city.

The Productive City in Antwerp, a material research and textile production with integrated residence: The notion of working and living in the same place has been a particular aspect of every city in the past. With industrialization, especially production and crafts have been driven out of the inner city. With the emergence of the idea of the ‘Productive City’ many cities aim to reintegrate small scale production within the urban fabric to reactivate manufacturing and local production. This contributes to the development of an active community within a neighborhood. The design of a textile manufacturing workspace with integrated residence addresses the question of intimacy within work environments and how this can be translated into an architectural project.

The coming years will see automation and demographic shifts cause a dramatic change in the economics and society of the Netherlands. A Universal Basic Income will be unavoidable. This will result in a large segment of the population existing without a sense of competition to provide fulfilment in people’s life. The provision of arbitrary conflicts through games will be an important strategy to pacify the masses. This is a principal that can be seen throughout history, and is epitomised in Rome’s coloseum as a principal mediator for leisure for the masses and the casino’s of Las Vegas today. As Amsterdam continues to grow, and Schiphol and the Zuidas will further densify and intensify, the Nieuwe Meer and its surroundings, too will be used more intensively. Particularly the north shore of the lake will be developed heavily and feature a number of leisure and entertainment facilities. Here, thoroughly captivatingentertainment is made available to the masses through the hosting of spectacles showing primal, visceral, and real experiences. The inclusion of the spectator as a participant in the spectacle further contributes to the creation of arbitrary conflicts that provide fulfilment to people’s lives. Consequently, potential unrest is pacified and order is maintained, without any use of force, censorship, or the restriction of any freedoms imposed on society.

The historic landscape is changing due to global warming. Valuable ecosystems are disappearing and have to be adapted or replaced in order to make the Dutch landscape future-proof. For this reason a new botanical research institute was proposed. The purpose will be the protection of local and global ecosystems along with providing research into new agricultural implementations. Next to this it will act as an extension and new entrance to Amsterdamse Bos through the construction of a bridge connecting Schiphol Corridor to Amsterdamse Bos, welcoming visitors, gardeners and researchers.
THE BAR[N] gives answer to the hypothetical question: what if the Dutch Cultural landscape and its philosophy were captured and frozen into the design of the Botanical Research Institute?

This thesis aims to exploit active bending as an approach to create complex curved geometries, which are structurally self-supporting systems. The simplicity of creating complex curved geometries from initially planar elements is the leading motivator for this research. The central research question is: ‘How can double curvature be exploited in a structural system composed of elastically deformed planar elements’’? This research answers questions like what double curvature is and how it can be measured and controlled. What is the relationship between an elastically deformed double-curved geometry and the structural characteristics of active bending structures? The literature review is composed of part A: research into double-curvature, and part B: the structural behaviour of active bending structure.

For the question to what extent planar elements can deform, the measure of Gaussian curvature has been used. The Gaussian measure provides the relationship between bending and torsional curvatures. Bending moments relate to these curvatures. However, the Gaussian curvature is a purely geometrical measure without incorporation of material properties. The problem is that deformation of planar elements results in double curved geometries rather than, according to the Gaussian measure, in single curved geometries.

The inclusion of material properties such as Poisson’s ratio and bending rigidity in the Gaussian measure allows for prediction of curvature and the related bending moments. The basic geometry of a rectangular plate has been used to do physical tests, followed by computational test and FEA analysis. It has been proved that the stiffness of an elastically bend plate increases for a large Poisson’s ratio. This makes the Poisson’s ratio an essential parameter for active bending plate structures.

Further stiffness can be achieved through torsion. Torsional displacement of a clamped planar plate leads to increased tension, which leads to increased stiffness. The combination of bending and twisting a planar plate leads to a structurally stiff arch, which is both a structural element and an architectural design component.

Suitable materials for active bending plates structures are composites. They offer a relatively high Poisson’s ratio and a high strength to flexibility ratio.

For a planar plate of epoxy glass fibre composite of fifteen by one meter, only 20 mm thickness is required to make it structurally sufficient.

The feasibility and application of an active bending arch plate depend on the building method. The building method aims to keep the bending process and building sequence simple and modular. The erection process of the arch will be performed through the motion of the ends of the plate in a single direction over a modular gliding rail system, which allows for a simple assembly process.

The double curvature, the structural performance and the aligned building method prove the feasibility of active bending plate structures. Active bending does not have to be considered just a formation process, but a structural system itself. The exploitation of active bending is found in the nuance of double curvature as a result of the material dependent Poisson’s ratio. The simplicity of deforming planar elements, which is feasible with the developed building method results in an active bending arch system which can be used as a cantilever, bridge support, or cladding system.

The main objective of this graduation is to find a new structural principle that is emulated by the design by nature. Observing, analysing and transforming the natural design principles and laws could derive a new application in the field of structural design. There are many concepts, approaches and directions to translate biology to architecture. The way to get from biological observations, to physical phenomena, describing these mathematically in the hope to come up with an integrative innovative structural principle for architecture is done through different levels of mimicry.

The observation phase led to a categorisation of biological processes into physical phenomena. It is a necessity to mention that firstly, the twelve phenomena are definitely not the only twelve and secondly, these twelve are not in a specific order or hierarchy. Some phenomena overlap others. To come up with a proper design direction based on natural examinations, a transformation methodology is proposed based on partial mimicry. Every level has its unique grade of abstraction. In the end, after having walked through all the separate levels of the methodology, the derived information will form the basis for the design direction. There are various ways to interpret the methodology. Looping, skipping, going back a few steps or even starting at a totally different level can therefore often be very useful, resulting in more in depth concepts.

The combination of the physical phenomena ‘minimal surface’ and ‘fractals’ formed the basis for my design concept. These phenomena were translated into architectural forms; the anticlastic ruled surface and the branching structure. An anticlastic ruled surface is a negatively double curved surface that can be described using straight lines. This is called a ‘hyperbolic paraboloid’ - in short ‘hypar’. The branching structure is based on the natural fractal of a tree. A split of the main ‘trunk’ is called an iteration. A branching structure defines itself by having one, two, three or even four or more iterations.

Using nature as inspiration combined with mathematics enables us to come up with structurally rational designs. These rational designs are because of its simplicity appropriate for smart solutions on detailing as well. Besides, the research on the structural performance of natural dendriforms contributed to the sustainable development in such a way that material usage was minimized. Ludwig Glaeser rightfully state in his book on the work of Frei Otto that by applying his minimal theories to support elements and space frames, Otto arrived at lighter structures by reducing the buckling lengths of their compression members. This reducement of buckling lengths is also applied to branching structures.

The design development was done one the branching connections, the assembly of the structural components and the water management of the structure. After having elaborated on these facets briefly, the next step was the building method. There are basically three stages when it comes to the building method. The prefabrication off-site, the transportation to the site, and the assembly on-site. For the stage of assembly a so called ‘method statement’ with building sequence is visualised. Finally, the detailling was done, incorporating the design functionalities and the desired design freedom.

There is still a lot to gain from our observations towards nature and phenomena that are all around us. With both of the selected phenomena separately several structures are built and have been proven to work. However the final product of this graduation project; ‘an anticlastic surfaced roof supported by a fractal-like branching structure’ has never been done before and therefore the main objective proposed in the beginning is achieved.

Vedado is the western modern city grid part of Havana, soaked in a history of entertainment, casinos and mobster money which was halted by the "Triumph of the Revolution" in 1959. Currently a slumber town due to it´s lack of public space and social space which precludes a lot of Cuban activity which traditionally takes place in the public sphere. The entertainment era left a number of hotels along the sea front which now have no connection to the vibrant Cuban experience that tourists seek, leaving little incentive to visit the area.

The merging of a failing luxury hotel in embargoed Cuba with an architectural invention, a tower of stacking levels of public and social space, allows for a new opportunity to revitalize Vedado. Cubans in Vedado are able to construct temporary spaces to make use of for their social activities and tourists are able to partake in these spaces and activities, creating a merger of the two worlds. It brings a new business model in tourism, allowing for hotel visitors to meet the new Cuban reality within the hotel itself.

The Amsterdam South station area is at the very beginning of a huge transformation. Since the station and highway, situated directly next to each other, cannot manage the amount of travellers and cars anymore, both have to expand. Unfortunately, the lack of space makes it impossible for both expansions at the same level. So a solution has to be found which makes it possible for both situations to extent. The government has chosen for tunnelling the highway in order to make room for the extension of the train station. An important fact is the desire for a station with an international appeal. Furthermore, the amount of nuisance for the users and visitors of this area should be limited. However, since the fact the Amsterdam South station area, also known as the Zuidas, is Hollands’ most important and busiest business district, locking down the area is certainly not an option.
The main focus of this graduation project will be this extension of the train station. Applying a lightweight and prefabricated material will help limiting the amount of nuisance. Furthermore, Fibre Reinforced Composites (FRP’s) makes freeform architecture relatively easy achievable. This could contribute to the international appeal of the station. However, it is not reasonable and economically feasible to create only custom made moulds in order to produce the FRP elements. This is way the number of custom made moulds (production parts) have to be limited without influencing the design freedom of the freeform architecture.

Cuba is facing badly lack of housing and in the high risk of building collapse. This project is to resolve the issues and stimulate the public life.

My graduation project starts from the research on the media situation in Cuba. While everywhere in this world has free access to Internet and information, only 5% of Cubans have access to Internet and most of Cubans still rely on an informal way of getting information. Since Cuba is now opened to the world and will embrace a digital age in future, a media center was designed to reinforce information accessibility and help Cubans transforming from a traditional print media situation into a digital future. The selected site is located at the end of Malecon, Vedado District, next to a heritage buiding- Vedado Tennis Club. The Vedado District is the cultural heart of the city, with crowds of hotels, contemporary art galleries, restaurants and bars. Laid out on a rigid grid system, there’re also different building types such as high-rise, commercial street which envision a modern and future economical center in Havana. As for the site Vedado Tennis Club, it is a landmark embodies with a historical and cultural value in Vedado. Before the revolution, sports aren’t a political issue and Vedado Tennis Club was built as an entertainment place for the use of bourgeoisie. However, after the revolution, the recreation club was nationalized and turned into the Jose Antonio Echeverria Social Circle opening to the public. The transforming history of the site laid its cultural value and potential for revolution. As a reinterpretation of the site spirit, it became fitting to develop a project under the theme of media.

This project tried to create a new pedestrian bridge on edge of Vedado, which also act as new public space of the urban area. And this project would offer a new place of Cuba to have fun with water.

Earthquakes, as a result of commercial extraction of natural gas out of deep soil, has become a frequently recurring phenomenon in the province of Groningen. Historically earthquakes have never been an issue in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is not prepared for this phenomenon. A lot of buildings in Groningen are damaged as a result of earthquakes. Excising buildings lose their value because of these damages. Several, mostly wooden, auxiliary constructions are placed to support the walls. Currently there are solutions, but most of them are temporary instead of permanent.

Most of the Groninger buildings are made out of brickwork. But masonry is the worst you can have during an earthquake. It looks like an easy solution to think about new materials. But how do we keep the existing stock, with a tradition in brickwork, in its monumental quality, while on the other hand we have to think about an earthquake-resistant solution? My goal is to look for a solution to retain the identity of the Groninger brickwork and look for a way to make this brickwork earthquake-resistant as well.