This book has been developed during the Complex Projects Graduation Studio, as part of the master track of Architecture at TU Delft. The studio reflects on the theme of Bodies and Buildings, examining the dynamic relationship between the human body and the built environment. Within this studio, students are challenged to design a ‘one-of-a-kind’ building in Milan (a large-scale, complex building unique in the city).

This particular book presents the design of an airport that focuses on reducing the stress experienced in a terminal and provides the most pleasant passenger experience possible. The project focuses on how architectural design can influence human emotions and contributes to the ongoing discussion of transforming air travel into a pleasant and relaxing experience. Extra attention is paid to researching ways to design a mobility hub, spaces for crowds and flows of people with the goal of creating an airport that is intuitive and easy to navigate.

This paper analyses the use of natural light as a design element in museums. While the design of natural light is important for all types of buildings, it takes additional layers of complexity in museum buildings and exhibition spaces. Due to the need to preserve the artwork, museums tend to become black boxes, with no interaction with the outside. Even so, there are numerous architects who have designed museum spaces that make use of natural light in incredible ways. This paper wishes to look into different ways in which natural light has been used in museums, what is its role, how it interacts with the exhibition, how was it implemented, etc. To do so, it combines a literature review of architecture books and articles with image analyses of sketches and photographs of three museums chosen as case studies: the Aalborg Art Museum by Alvar Aalto, the Jewish Museum in Berlin by Daniel Libeskind, and the Museum of contemporary art in Herning by Steven Holl Architects.