This thesis investigates how geobased materials can restore sustainable value chains through a social, ecological, and technological framework while enhancing the regional landscape and built environment. It combines material research with design to propose a grounded architecture for farewell rituals.

The first part examines clay and earth materials, focusing on sustainable extraction, thermal performance, and tectonics. It proposes a hybrid system using a durable fired clay outer shell with an inner layer of unfired earth bricks to optimize durability, moisture regulation, and thermal mass.

The second part applies these findings to the design of a farewell centre and natural cemetery, Gedenkpark Leijsenakkers, located in the Heilige Driehoek area of Oosterhout. The design integrates local materials and ecological strategies such as water buffering and ecological gradients to create a slow, contemplative architecture that harmonizes with the landscape. The project offers a mineral-based alternative to typical crematorium typologies, emphasizing material care and regional identity.

This thesis explores how sensory design principles, shaped by the perspectives of visually impaired children, can enhance the accessibility of educational environments. The primary research question is: “In what way can the perspective of a child and sensory design principles enhance the accessibility of educational environments for visually impaired children in, for example, the Tarwewijk?” The study emphasizes the integration of sensory elements such as sight, touch and sound to create more navigable and supportive spaces for these children. A mixed-methods approach was employed, consisting of a literature review, observations in blind simulation environments, and interviews with an architect who has a visual impairment. These methods provided valuable insights into the practical application of sensory design for visually impaired children. The research revealed that multisensory design elements, like tactile markers and sound cues, significantly enhance accessibility and foster cognitive and social development in visually impaired children. Prioritizing sensory inclusivity in design can promote greater independence and engagement in these spaces. In conclusion, sensory design informed by the needs and perspectives of visually impaired children improves the accessibility and usability of educational environments. Future research should build upon these findings by incorporating more case studies and expert insights to deepen understanding and enhance design practices. Keywords: sensory design, visually impaired children, accessibility, educational environments, multisensory design, tactile markers, sound cues, sensory inclusivity, independence, cognitive development, social development.

Due to the practicality and inexpensive nature of synthetics, large quantities of wool are going
to waste. One practical application to avoid such waste could be in architecture, as wool has
been established as a durable material that offers protection against the elements. However,
most uses of wool in Dutch architecture are especially limited to interior decoration or small
use of hidden insulation. This research will analyze how wool could be used as an architectural
material by looking at the aesthetic value of wool as a product in the different shearing layers
of change in a building as proposed by Brand. By using the experiment-by-design method, it
will attempt to measure aesthetic experience through surveys. The resulting prototypes will
be used to show how wool can be useful in architecture according to its aesthetic value.

Grounded on the work of French psycho-analyst and activist Félix Guattari (1930-1992) and his attention to the practice of architecture, the seeds of curiosity of this research were planted in questioning the value ecosophical and ethico-aesthetic practices could have in relation to architecture and what it could mean to trade the position of the Dutch/European architect under today’s conditions. Through a neo-materialistic and posthumanistic framework, these curiosities have grown into chaosmic flowers by means of linking-together (mapping) trans-disciplinary under-standings on how to trans-form the mentality under-lying the etho-political grounds an architect acts-with and how to train an eco-logical response-ability towards heterogeneous worldings; different styles of living and dying: the under-ground(ing) riddles of relational architectural existence. This research resulted in a reseach-design tool and a project surrounding the collective milieu of Maashaven, Rotterdam (NLD) where the small design interventions attempt to empower new activities and positive ecological relations.

For over 5 years I have shared my home with 30 others, continuing an ongoing story since the early 1970s, when the then vacant hospital of Delft (Bethel, Bagijnhof) was squatted by a group of students. Since then, more than 270 people have passed through this community, leaving their traces in over 5500 photographs, notes, postcards, birthday banners and house meeting minutes (etc.) found in a basement archive that preserved over 50 years of stories of human presence. These fragments reveal not just a history of habitation, but the gradual making of a community. A community not formed through design, but through countless human interactions.

Our home became the inspiration for a new type of architectural research. Not about finding specific solutions or creating perfect plans, but about following fragments, being guided by stories, and learning all the hidden ways through which space accumulates meaning.
But what allows a place so (technically) unsuitable, a vacant, decrepit hospital with all its shortcomings, to function so successfully for this community?

In a building never intended for living, leaking roofs, awkward staircases, and narrow hallways turned out to be “effectively inefficient”: imperfections that unintendedly triggered social interactions. What at first glance loos like architectural obstacles instead brought people closer together, turning friction into connection. These so-called shortcomings became subtle design forces, guiding movements, encounters, and everyday rituals. It suggests that what architects are trained to “correct” or “resolve” can be the very thing that gives space its social intelligence.

Therefore this project doesn’t aim to re-design but to re-read. Here, seemingly inefficient architectural details are not interpreted as “flawed” technical junctions but as successful social ones. Through a non-linear, foldable storybook/map the building’s human and architectural “voices” unfold through scale and interconnect in all directions without a set beginning or end. This way, each fragment stands on its own, but (through folding out) always in relation to the bigger whole. Not as a fixed format or static object but, like the building itself, as a layered and living network of human stories.

Understanding space through social life expands the boundaries of what architectural education considers valuable and opens new ways of seeing, practicing, and representing architecture.

With the rising numbers of people with dementia and unsuitable houses for people with dementia there is a need for alternative housing for people with dementia. Previous studies are focussed on designing for people with dementia and not on their caregivers and the caregiver’s burden. This research focusses on decreasing the caregivers’ burden and finding a way people can stay at their home longer. Through literature studies, interviews, fieldwork and floorplan analysis I analysed how people with dementia and their informal caregivers experience their current living spaces and how they conceptualize future ideal possibilities for housing. Results indicate a design complex that allows people to move within the complex helps people to stay in their familiar environment. Furthermore, informal caregivers can rely on neighbours who are in similar situations. This research is necessary addition to current research because of its focus on people with dementia and their informal caregivers as duos who want to stay together.

Making an Oasis is a master’s thesis about transforming a Hong Kong shopping mall into a sequence of gardens. In a city where retail facilities have replaced public squares, this project reimagines one of Hong Kong’s commercial centres as a place for healing, nature, and connection.
The project brings together mental health, shopping malls, and nature in the city of Hong Kong. What began as a personal reflection on well-being and architecture developed into a design that challenges the role of consumption-driven public spaces in cities.
Set in the Franki Centre—an early 1980s shopping mall—this thesis proposes four interconnected gardens that reclaim the building as a non-clinical, accessible space for mental well-being. Drawing from research, lived experience, and the complex urban conditions of Hong Kong, the project treats the mall not as an enclosed commercial facility, but as an exterior landscape.
Part research, part reflection, and part architectural proposal , Making an Oasis offers a prototype of hope for cities around the world. It reimagines not only what architecture is, but what it can become—a bridge between people, nature, and the possibility of renewal.

The proposal reimagines the Zoological Garden in Warsaw, Poland as part of Vistula's ecological corridor, blending human spaces with rewilded landscapes.

This research explores the lost architectural approach of how to design and construct a large number of standardised homes, focusing on the appearance of facades and urban space. The combination of the large building blocks of Berlage’s ‘Plan Zuid’ and the highly concentrated architectural style of the Amsterdam School with its many ornaments and facade elements makes it a suitable location to examine case studies. Consequently redefining the role of ornaments and other facade elements, offering new design principles to revive the grandeur back to residential housing and answering the main research question: How does the Amsterdam School use ornaments and other facade elements to partition dwelling blocks in ‘Plan Zuid’?
Before analysing the case studies, it is important to gain a deeper understanding of the circumstances in which both ‘Plan Zuid’ and the Amsterdam School were created, as well as the factors that influenced their outcomes. The broader social and architectural context of the early 20th century played a significant role in shaping both ‘Plan Zuid’ and the Amsterdam School. Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation of cities created an urgent demand for affordable housing, leading architects, like Berlage, along with critics and social reformists, to advocate for fast and efficient construction, often at the expense of ornamental design. However, the monotonous and utilitarian nature of such developments sparked a reactionary movement, embodied by the Amsterdam School, which sought to give the rationalism of Berlage a more vibrant, exuberant and sensitive aesthetic. This tension between functionality and ornamentation reflected the competing priorities within architecture at the time. As the 20th century progressed, the architectural discourse shifted towards functionalism and minimalism, prioritising efficiency and standardisation while rejecting said ‘unnecessary’ decoration, which aligned with the needs of industrialisation and economic constraints.
The different elements of two building blocks, chosen for their significant size and amount of different elements, are examined on their use and effect on the facade and urban appearance. Derived from this catalogue of elements and their analyses 12 principles are given in a toolbox, which plead for the reintroduction of several elements particularly in the design of multistoried dwelling blocks. This implies redefining ornaments as more than mere decorative elements; they become integral components of architectural design that can help define and organise facades, enhance engaging features, and contribute to the overall appeal of urban spaces. The toolbox balances standardisation with individuality, providing techniques to create distinctive sections within building blocks, giving each section unique elements while maintaining overall cohesion with the surrounding urban fabric.
Further research could consider the economic implications or potential cost associated with implementing these elements and could address how these tools can be adapted to other architectural styles or regions with different historical, cultural, or environmental contexts. It could also address how modern issues like sustainability, environmental impact, or current construction methods might integrate with the principles outlined in the toolbox. Since the diversity of elements within the Amsterdam School is guided by individual architects, further studies on buildings would expand the catalogue of elements and could add more principles and different techniques.
In conclusion, the Amsterdam School represents a lost approach to architectural design, one that combined standardisation with a particular focus on the appearance of facades, using various ornaments and other facade elements. Through research and the development of defining design principles, it is possible to revive this approach and create future ‘palaces’ that enhance the urban environment, restoring a sense of recognition and character to modern housing.

1.7 Earths currently, 3 in the next decade.
That is the worth of resources that we are using yearly, and the estimated doubling of it,
by the end of the following decade. Two-thirds out of all those extracted resources end up as waste.
It’s kind of ironic and paradoxical that we go to all that trouble to obtain these valuable resources and materials, design them, form them to become something, just to become nothing, worthless, waste, by a simple toss into the garbage bin.
But one can be wasteful only in abundance - this abundance, however, breeds a carelessness towards consumption, accumulation, and ultimately, destruction.
This is an exploratory (design) thesis that delves into how to reevaluate waste conceptualization, and what would be needed for a collective to do so. How to create a space where the Ethos of Care and Repair becomes (one of) the method(s) of this reconceptualization, and rethinking relationship with waste.

The proposal, titled “Forum for the Built Environment,” surged in response to the observed deficiency of physical spaces conducive to reflection, gatherings, and citizen participation in the city. It was prompted by Estonia’s post- independence trajectory characterised by a shift towards digitalisation. Its primary aim is to function as a platform for democratic dialogue among Tallinn’s citizens on matters of public interest within the domain of the built environment.

Consisting of four distinct buildings, each distinguished by unique architectural features, the project encapsulates the multifaceted essence of Tallinn. These architectural variances symbolise the diversity of perspectives and identities inherent within societal structures, embodying the principles of democracy. The primary objective of Forum for the Built Environment is to establish a neutral ground for open discourse while facilitating collaboration between the city planning office and citizens, ensuring continuous engagement and dialogue. Furthermore, the project is not only experienced within the buildings but also in its outside environment. The project functions as a pathway, crossing through a city block. People can wander off and walk past different architectures. In addition, the ruinous garden is positioned on the eastern side of the project, which offers a space of tranquillity for reflection.

Functionally, the four buildings serve specific programmatic purposes: a Forum space for exhibitions and discussions, an Office for the City Architect for input and opinion gathering, an Archive housing physical and digital materials for city history research, and a children’s day-care facility to support parental engagement in civic activities.

This is an extension project for the radio building complex (Raadiomaja) in Tallinn as a multimedia studio providing both supplementary facilities for the staff and communal spaces for nearby residents. Through sensitive treatment of material, integrated design of sound, light, and nature, and principles of order and proportion, the project tried to provide an apolitical perspective for people to understand the monumental value in Raadiomaja and thereby Tallinn city. At the same time, it creates a warm and peaceful place where people can enjoy art, music, and social activities.

One of the most important concerns of the design is the T-shaped threshold space in between sheltered by an adapted cassette ceiling structure. It carries multiple climate strategies including acoustic, lighting, and ventilation and guides the circulation of different groups of users, realizing both functional and aesthetic values.

Linking Worlds – Rewilding the Netherlands represents an ecological approach towards the architectural design practice. By utilizing interdisciplinary methods, the project proposes an architecture that is concerned with the relation of all living organisms to one another and their environment. Therefore, the focus shifts away from a mainly human benefit to an inclusive life-promoting purpose at its core.

Building upon conservation biology theory of rewilding it addresses urgent matters such as population management issues and species extinction to accomplish a resilient and self-sustaining ecology within the Netherlands. Proposing habitat expansion and connection spanning from the Oostvaardersplassen, over the Horsterwold up to the Veluwe the goal is to create a diverse range of unmanaged land that facilitates natural migratory flows and behavior. The wolf as keystone umbrella species is granted access to new territories, where the carnivore can serve as natural manager through predation on large grazers.

The central architectural structure is an ecoduct or wildlife crossing bridging the A28 highway located between Ermelo and Putten, where the travelling human becomes a witness of architectures agency serving non-human needs. For a moment animal mobility becomes the main actor and therefore center of attention in a place that was claimed for exclusively human activity. A place of danger and potential death for all species is transformed into a place and symbol for concession that connects worlds. The project reveals that coexistence can be solved in a way of overlapping worlds for different species designing a path of less resistance. Beneficiaries are all the participating parties. The architectural result of this project can be seen as a metaphor. A human-made structure to facilitate animal movement. An inanimate object facilitating life on it and across it. A living bridge that promotes life.

The basis and underlaying motivation for this project was the quest for a newly gained attitude towards design, through an exploration of personal spirituality. Linking Worlds advocates for a new worldview. A worldview that demands a shift in perspective, lifts the value of life above all, is inclusive rather than exclusive, fosters a feeling of kinship amongst all species, welcomes diversity and facilitates coexistence.

This thesis is concerned with the search and exploration of Juxtaposed Interiors - a form of Public Interior, however localized in the exterior. It seeks and finds in it the theme of Care, which it further develops in both Theory and Design. It represents a protest against the expanding influence of the private in the public sphere - but, paradoxically, precisely through the introduction of elements and agencies belonging to the sphere of the private (Interior) - Juxtaposed Interiors.

It’s August 4 when Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, is hit by one of the largest non-nuclear explosions the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, this explosion that damaged and/or demolished more than half of the city is not the first crisis it has to deal with. Several catastrophes have already plagued Lebanon and its capital during the last century such as (civil) wars, financial, health and other crises and a corrupt government. The research into the Salam Emergency Station looks into architectural adaptation within a hostile environment. It does so in one overarching building that facilitates the police, fire brigade and ambulance. The research mainly focuses on safety design, while also looking for a balans with approachability.

Keilewijk is a collective housing design for one-parent families in the M4H region in Rotterdam. The M4H is an area where, in the past, heavy dock work was carried out. Space has now been made to expand residential Rotterdam with high-density housing and facilities and to transform the area into a working-living environment. Children and their families’ presence in this future city is essential for the vitality of it, and quality of life in it. At the same time, a family home does not consist out of one type. In recent decades the composition of the standard family (the family of a father, a mother, and an average of two children) is fragmented into a wide variety of family compositions. The one-parent family, a family in which one parent raises one or more children without a second parent in the picture, is one of them. This type of family has an increasing share in our society. In addition, a large number of these families live in Rotterdam. It would be beneficial to keep it that way. The Keilewijk design offers housing for one-parent families in future Rotterdam. Keilewijk pays attention to a clear division between the domain of the public, the collective, the family and the individual. The design offers suitable homes and collective spaces for one-parent families, which at the same time -based on American sociologist Richard Senett's theories of the Open City- can contribute to the support of inclusiveness in future Rotterdam. Keilewijk represents a design in which a wide variety of suitable homes stacked together form an intimate vertical neighbourhood. A design that offers room for children to, step by step, take distance from their front door and to gradually get to know their city of Rotterdam.

Engineered Moso bamboo has favorable mechanical properties and shows great potential for large scale application in European architecture due to its high renewability. However, lack of standardization and coherence in test data trongly hinders its practical application. In this research paper, the practical application potential of Moso bamboo in European architecture is investigated and its design implications are quantified.
The study was conducted through literature review and through a quantitative comparison study, in which Moso bamboo building elements were compared to equally performing building elements, made from other commonly used materials in Europe.

Moso bamboo can be engineered into a number of forms, each of which is well-suited for a different particular application. Additionally, its unrivaled renewability, relatively low cost and excellent mechanical performance can give Moso bamboo a significant advantage over other renewable and non-renewable building materials. As such, large-scale application within European architecture as an alternative to wood-based or unrenewable materials appears viable.
The data and conclusions from the quantitative comparison study (Appendix 2) were compiled into a practical tool that provides designers with relevant information about using bamboo-based or other renewable building materials and helps them quantify their material design choices.

The project site is called Hembrug and is located in between Zaandam and Amsterdam. Hembrug used to be a military production site that functioned as the logistic heart of the Stelling van Amsterdam (Dutch defence strategy) since 1895, but lost its original function in 2003 when the Eurometaal factory stopped the ammunition production. Since then the site has been abandoned and has become available for new users. In order to make the site suitable for these new users, adjustments will have to be made without losing the military production background. In the past, the Hembrug site served as a military factory in a secluded area, whereas now developments are being made to turn the Hembrug site into a public area for artists and creative entrepreneurs. Creating a new main entrance to the site and thus changing the orientation contributed to the improved accessibility of the site. As for the future, the vision is to integrate the Hembrug site in the metropolitan region of Amsterdam, giving it the potential to become thé arts, crafts and design centre of Amsterdam and the Zaan region.

This graduation project is about transforming Campus North on the Hembrug terrain in Zaandam as part of the studio Heritage and Architecture. Hembrug is a former military production terrain and was the logistic heart of the “Stelling of Amsterdam”. This area was left vacant since 2003, but in recent years new occupants inhabit Hembrug. The municipality has plans to make this area a new living and working neighborhood. For the assignment the Hembrug terrain was split up in several ensembles from which we could choose. For this graduation project the focus lies on Campus North. This ensemble contains two buildings; the weapon depot and the machine hall. These buildings were transformed into a décor workshop and cultural center. This graduation project is mostly focused on the cultural center in the machine hall. Existing out of four departments; an art department, music department, dance department and performing department. This cultural center provides an open accessible space where people are supported in their creativity. Within this project I explored the possibilities within the construction of the machine hall. Every department has its own atmosphere and experience of the existing building, creating an interesting journey throughout the building.

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.