In the early 19th century, Utrecht faced rapid urban growth, rising from 30,000 to 43,000 inhabitants within a decade. This growth caused a housing shortage and contributed to deteriorating living conditions. In response, the Commissie tot Uitbreiding en Verfraaiing der Stad Utrechtwas established in 1827 to guide the city's redevelopment. The commission sought not only to alleviate housing shortages but also to enhance urban aesthetics and promote economic growth. The commission appointed landscape architect J.D. Zocher Jr., who had previously worked on similar transformations in Dutch cities.
This thesis examines the extent to which Zocher’s original design and the commission’s ambitions were realized in the eventual redevelopment of Utrecht. By combining analysis of archival documents, including letters, commission reports, and Zocher’s own design description, with cartographic comparisons of city maps from 1838, 1850, and 1874, the study reveals significant deviations from the original plan. Although Zocher proposed a comprehensive design that integrated housing expansion, trade facilities, and a city park, implementation focused almost entirely on the redevelopment of the old city. The planned residential developments remained largely unrealized, and the transformation ultimately prioritized improving conditions within the existing city walls rather than expanding beyond them.
By reconstructing this casestudy of 19th-century urban planning, the research contributes to broader understandings of city development, landscape architecture, and municipal decision-making in the Netherlands during this transformative period.

How did the architectural realisation and use of commercial spaces, particularly retail spaces, in Rotterdam during the post-war reconstruction period (1940-1955) differ from the pre-war era. More specifically, how did innovations in spatial design, the interplay between retail and public spaces, and these changes, impact social behaviour and economic recovery, as exemplified by the two case studies, the Groothandelsgebouw and the Lijnbaan?

This thesis examines the transformation of Rotterdam’s commercial spaces during the post-war reconstruction period, with a specific focus on the years 1940-1955. The research will analyse the architectural and spatial innovations that defined the city’s retail spaces and how they reshaped urban behaviour and public interaction. The study centres on two case studies: the Lijnbaan, the first modern pedestrian shopping street in Europe, and the Groothandelsgebouw, a multifunctional wholesale trade centre. By exploring the intersection of retail, public spaces and architecture, this research highlights how these developments contributed to Rotterdam’s economic recovery and urban socio-spatial identity in the aftermath of World War II.
What this study adds to existing research is a focused analysis of the interplay between spatial form and socio-economic function. While previous literature often treats architecture and economic recovery separately, this thesis bridges them, showing how built space shaped both civic identity and commercial vitality in post-war Rotterdam.

This thesis explores how the kraakbeweging (squatter movement) influenced the redevelopment of Amsterdam’s Nieuwmarkt neighborhood between the 1960s and 1980s. Through archival research and comparative analysis, it examines the conflict between municipal modernization plans, grassroots resistance, and architect-led mediation by Theo Bosch and Aldo van Eyck. While the metro was constructed despite protests, the squatters succeeded in halting a major highway, preserving the historic fabric, and shifting plans toward social housing and participatory planning. The Nieuwmarkt struggle demonstrates how citizen activism, combined with responsive architecture, can meaningfully transform urban renewal processes while highlighting the complexities of long-term neighborhood change.

This thesis focuses on a specific element of Herman Hertzberger’s Montessori school in Delft (1960–1968), the window. The three studied windows: a skylight, an indoor window, and an outdoor window, are used as a tool to investigate the design practices of Herman Hertzberger from the perspectives of the production system networks and cultural practices of the Montessori educational philosophy.
Using archival drawings and technical analysis, the research reveals that Hertzberger rejected standardised, industrial components in favour of bespoke wooden windows crafted from humble painted softwood. The intricate details related to their use and varying wood and glass types exhibit a careful negotiation between function, cost and durability. The choice for highly articulated wooden windows testifies to, on one hand, Hertzberger’s preference for tactile and articulated design and on the other, the Montessori ideals of independence and self-directed learning.
From a regulatory standpoint, Hertzberger’s windows sometimes creatively interpret the school regulations to better fit both Hertzberger’s and the Montessori ideals, whilst carefully following or exceeding key provisions, such as natural light and ventilation.
The windows serve as a spatial tool in Hertzbeger’s articulation of the Montessori learning environment. The differentiation of views, varying degrees of natural light, and enclosure shape a dynamic learning environment suitable for a variety of activities.
Hertzberger’s window design transcends the regulatory requirements to embody an architectural language tailored to the Montessori education. It is a skilful mediation between craft using humble materials and progressive educational ideals.

This thesis explores the collaboration between Aldo Rossi and Carel Weeber in redeveloping Den Haag’s Slachthuisterrein, highlighting how artistic and historical perspectives reshaped Dutch urban renewal by integrating memory, identity, and monumentality into post-industrial transformation.

This thesis investigates Polish postcards (1952–1989) as tools of socialist propaganda. Using semiotic and iconographic analysis, it reveals how urban and architectural imagery subtly conveyed ideological messages. Themes like monumentality, collectivism, and modernization were embedded through visual framing, realism, and symbolism, shaping public memory in support of state ideology.

The Lloyd Hotel in Amsterdam played an important role in the early 20th century as a migrant hotel for Eastern Europeans on their journey to South America. The hotel is build by the Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd and aligned with needs of the Eastern Port area, which was developing into a major centre for global trade and migration. The hotel offered a fully equipped and controlled environment for Europeans migrating overseas, with among others medical, administrative and sleep accomodation amenities. Using both archival and literature research, this thesis explores how the hotel’s foundation and function relates to the spatial and social development of the Eastern Port Area in the 20th century. A comparison with Antwerp’s Red Star Line complex highlights the unique characteristics of Amsterdam’s centralized model. The Lloyd Hotel mirrors the urban development, the migration flow and the changing port infrastructure in the 20th century.

Dit onderzoek richt zich op de representatie van het bedrijf en vooral de werknemer in de kantoorarchitectuur van de wederopbouwperiode in Nederland, met het hoofdkantoor van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Hoogovens en Staalfabrieken (KNHS) als casestudy. In de wederopbouw werd deze architectuur gekenmerkt als ‘representatieve werkpaleizen‘. Het hoofdkantoor van de Hoogovens valt hier ook onder. Het onderzoek verdiept zich in de verschillende prijsvraag ontwerpen voor het hoofdkantoor en het uiteindelijke ontwerp van W.M. Dudok. Door middel van symboliek, ruimtelijke opzet en materiaal wist Dudok een gebouw te ontwerpen dat ruimte bood voor de werknemer. Het onderzoek toont aan hoe kantoorarchitectuur in deze periode niet alleen het bedrijfsimago, maar ook sociale en ideologische visies op arbeid en representatie weerspiegelde.

Vanaf de jaren zeventig voltrok zich een fundamentele verschuiving in de Nederlandse woningbouw: van grootschalige, gestandaardiseerde systeembouw naar een meer context-specifieke en kwalitatieve architectuur. Deze beweging werd mede vormgegeven door architect Theo Bosch, die bekend stond om zijn pragmatische aanpak, oog voor detail en sociale betrokkenheid. In dit onderzoek wordt gekeken naar de rol van de werktekening als ontwerptool én communicatiemiddel binnen het woningbouwproject de Sijzenbaan in Deventer, waarin Bosch' kenmerkende ontwerpprincipes — zoals functiemenging, semiopenbare ruimtes en een ontwerp op menselijke maat — tot uiting komen. Door middel van de analyse van archiefstukken van de Sijzenbaan als primaire bron en het verrichten van literatuuronderzoek als secundaire bron wordt onderzocht hoe dit project zich verhoudt tot de woningbouwtraditie van de naoorlogse decennia, en in hoeverre het als tegenreactie kan worden gezien op de gebreken van systeembouw. Het onderzoek biedt daarmee inzicht in de maatschappelijke en architectonische waarde van Bosch’ werk en laat zien hoe zijn benadering tot op heden relevant is binnen de (woning)bouwpraktijk.

This thesis explores the interactions between the architect Christopher Alexander and the visionary grouping of architects known as Team 10, with a focus on Alexander's participation in one of Team 10's famous meetingsa t the Abbaye de Royaumont in 1962. Both Alexander and Team 10 went on to make important contributions to architectural history and theory. Both were motivated by a critical appraisal of the high modernism of CIAM (Congrès Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne) to search for new solutions. This paper uncovers some striking parallels in their thinking and approaches, both explicit and implicit. Yet after 1962 their thinking took them in different and increasingly opposing directions. Questions explored include why these differences came about, to what extent they were fundamental, and what a continued collaboration might have achieved.

This thesis focuses on the village of Entrerríos, Spain designed in 1953 by Alejandro de la Sota. The village is one of the three-hundred pueblos de colonización built by Franco’s Instituto Nacional de Colonizacion (INC) to revitalize the Spanish countryside after the devastating Civil War, by combining large-scale irrigation projects with new villages that reflect the regimes ideal way of living. Alejandro de la Sota designed a series five villages for this institute, that are known for combining regional architectural motives with the principles of modern architecture. The paper positions the overlooked village of Entrerríos by analysing its context and design principles, through the research of novel primary sources. The village is found to introduce the architects new focus on the landscape and the square as a means to do so.

This thesis explores the development of scale in the architecture of the Amsterdam post offices by C. Outshoorn (1854) and C.H. Peters (1898), and of the urban context around the building. The urban development takes place incited by technical development and rapid expansion of the city. The scale of the architecture of the post office itself develops more eratically, due to the eclectic nature of the architects.

This history thesis will examine the extent in which Lauweriks’ architectural and design principles, taking his work for the Deutscher Werkbund Exhibition in Cologne in 1914 as a case study, align with those of the Deutscher Werkbund when looking at the broader thematic and stylistic trends represented in the exhibition. By analysing Lauweriks’ design of the exhibition and researching his perception on art, design and architecture in a new industrial culture, the aim of this thesis is to discover the relation between Lauweriks and the Werkbund.

Adaptive reuse can be defined in a multitude of ways, but in this case it refers to the renovation and revitalisation of a building or site into a new purpose brought forth by societal and urban needs. This concerns many different projects, yet this paper aims to explore the nature of post-industrial designs and how they may be developed into something new. A rather broad concept narrowed down through the use of previously established research and a focus on a specific case study; The Westergas factory in Amsterdam.
Being the first large-scale municipal-owned gas factory in the Netherlands, it bears a heavy identity among the rest of the city. It also happens to be a prime example of effective post-industrial redevelopment in a way this thesis aims to explore. Thus, the primary question proposed is as follows:

“How does the adaptive reuse of the post-industrial redevelopment project ‘Westergasfabriek’ in Amsterdam realise the preservation of industrial heritage while meeting contemporary urban needs?”

A brief theoretical study was performed to establish a framework to answer such a question. This delves into previously researched adaptive reuse, defining optimal renovation requirements for heritage and multiple case-study in papers to narrow down the scope of this thesis. Secondly, the main case study is explored while using this framework, going through the development of the chosen project and identifying key aspects of its success into its revitalization. This is done using primary sources in the form of archival research and municipal documents, aided by secondary sources such as papers, books, photographs and official websites.

This architectural history thesis examines the „Studentenhuis Weesperstraat“ (1966) in Amsterdam, designed by Herman Hertzberger (*1932) as a representation of his philosophy towards creating architecture. This being one if the earliest examples of Hertzbergers work, it serves as an accurate display of his meticulous approach to architecture during the development of structuralism in the Netherlands. The research consists of the retrospective analysis of his philosophy including its development, based on interviews as well as his own published recollections and a historical case study on the building in its original state. By way of immediately projecting his theoretical framework on this practical manifestation the study adds to the current body of knowledge concerning Hertzbergers work and design philosophy.

This study investigates the evolving role of the health and wellness centre Sanatorium Baarn, designed by H.P. Berlage and T. Sanders, through the lens of changing public perception over time. The inquiry is grounded in the central question:
'To what extent has the public reception of the health and wellness centre Sanatorium Baarn, designed by H.P Berlage and Theo Sanders, evolved over time and which factors within and outside the design process have influenced this interpretation and evaluation?'

The Sanatorium, envisioned by H.P. Berlage and T. Sanders, aimed to rival European health centres ('Kur') and establish itself within Baarn's community. Surprisingly, it exceeded expectations, becoming a haven for both the rich and ill. Initially embraced, the Sanatorium's architectural intricacies were cherished by the community. Its significance persisted, endorsed by figures like Sergio Polano. However, a gradual transformation unfolded. Neglect, complexities in ownership, wartime disruptions, and post-war decline marred its splendour. Despite rehabilitation, guest numbers dwindled due to factors like car-free days, necessitating closure. Evolving fire safety standards posed further challenges.

Amid these changes, public perception endured, keeping it a cherished symbol. Post-war shifts made it political, transitioning into a facility for war victims (BAVO) and Indonesian repatriates. An arson attempt damaged the structure's integrity, but hope remained for revival. After an auction, the building teetered on a second chance, poised for restoration. The city council, eager to preserve it, oversaw demolition and transformation. Yet, challenges arose with the new design by Van den Broek and Bakema. Municipal decisions and communal functions significantly influenced its trajectory. Ultimately, interventions altered its status, reflecting architectural resilience amidst historical shifts.

During the colonial era, the Dutch had built a strong connection with Indonesia that allowed a cultural exchange from both sides. Architecture, as part of cultural products, is no different. Although normally, the ruler was the one who left architectural marks on their colony’s land, there are some examples of buildings in The Netherlands that are influenced by Indonesian architecture. For pavilion buildings, this influence also entails a significant meaning as it represents a country on a world stage.
In that such events, The Dutch usually used Indonesian architectural forms to showcase their colonial possession and to gain respect from other Western countries. That can be seen from their entries in the colonial exhibition from the end of the 19th century to the early 20th century, where they brought an Indonesian village and built an imitation of a Hindu-javanese temple. But Indonesian influence in Dutch pavilion design not only appeared in the colonial-themed exhibition. Although less noticeable, Indonesian architecture was also often incorporated in an international exhibitions focusing on modern art and technology.
Therefore, This thesis investigates the influence of Indonesian Architecture in the Dutch pavilion at The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, which was held in Paris in 1925. The aim is to give a broader perspective on how the Dutch architects perceived and incorporated Indonesian form in a different context. It responds to the question of why and how Indonesian architectural forms are incorporated in the Dutch pavilion design, starting by tracing back the early connection between the Dutch architects and the Indonesian culture, presenting the exhibition context and the organization around the Dutch entry, and finally analyzing the design aspect of the pavilion from the lens of Indonesian culture.

This thesis provides an historical overview of the development of anthroposophy in the Netherlands and its impact on school architecture, with a specific focus on the Vrije School in The Hague. Through primary and secondary source analysis, the paper explores the origin of anthroposophy and the Waldorf education system, the influence of anthroposophy on architecture and design, the spread of the anthroposophical movement in the Netherlands and the establishment of the first Waldorf School in the Hague. Further it investigates the key principles and features of anthroposophical design found in school architecture practice during the early spread of the movement. It explores anthroposophical school design as organic architecture, which communicates with people on an emotional, psychological, mental, moral, and spiritual level. The case study of the Vrije School allows for a better understanding of the application of anthroposophical principles in school architecture, including the school's L-shaped floor plan, the use of organic forms and colors, and the careful consideration given to supporting the Waldorf education system. Overall, this research highlights the course of events that led to the development of anthroposophy and the Waldorf education system in the Netherlands and formed important motives behind the design of the Vrije School.

This research offers an interpretive analysis of Frances Macdonald's artistic portrayal of women during the Art Nouveau movement, with a focus on the evolving societal roles and positions of women. Through a visual analysis of Macdonald's artwork and a review of relevant literature, this thesis argues that her works can be interpreted as an attempt to accurately represent the limitations and struggles faced by women, including herself, during the Art Nouveau era.

Macdonald's portrayal of women in her artwork was often ambiguous, challenging the prevalent archetypes of the Femme Nouvelle and Femme Fatale, which were commonly depicted by male artists during that time. Her artwork depicted women in roles such as lovers, mothers, or sexual beings, often portrayed as unattractive or sexually unavailable. This deviation from the conventional portrayal of women in Art Nouveau art was a deliberate attempt by Macdonald to present a more authentic representation of women's experiences during that era.

This thesis sheds light on the often overlooked position of female artists, like Macdonald, within the artistic world of Art Nouveau. By comparing Macdonald's iconography with the prevalent iconography of Art Nouveau, this research challenges the dominant narrative of Art Nouveau as a reflection of women's emancipation and liberation. The provocative nature of Macdonald’s art, influenced by her affinity with women's rights, highlights her effort to voice a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of women's roles and positions in society.