In a society where food poverty is affecting more and more people. The presence of social food initiatives, such as community kitchens, is of growing importance. This paper investigates London’s high streets in search of tools to achieve the acknowledgement of social food provision in the everyday life of society. Something which is still not widely accepted but necessary. The high street is the chosen vibrant multicultural context that can assist and make use of this necessary transition. To provide transition is to consider transition and there the transitional moments of the high street social experience are investigated. After setting out the different meanings and scales of transition and thresholds, a socio-spatial urban and microanalysis of several London high streets is performed. The changing daily activities and rhythms of the high street experience point out that it is important to consider the high street as a social space which holds a great variety of social transitional factors but could benefit from a broader reservoir of possibilities. I further conclude that the material and sensory experience influences the degree of intimacy of the lived experience. The possibility to choose from different intimacies grants people the opportunity to control their degree of anonymity and inclusivity. After years of underinvestment, the high streets could consider a reciprocating program such as a community kitchen among other possibilities. A place which gives to society and the society that gives back to the high street. ... Read more

This research explores the entanglement of relations of bodies and cities, in the heterogeneous contemporary city. Wherein, the othering of bodies has become an increasingly (problematic) complexity, due to its relations with obsolete embodiments of (historic) notions of power. The research question that is investigated, questions how we can create an architecture of affect, within the in-between relations of bodies and cities, that could establish renewed ideologies amongst bodies which may go beyond the practices of othering.
The research reacts and continues the work of earlier philosophers that have expressed on this entanglement, and probes how to go beyond theory to find applicability of these theories to spatial research and design.
Theories by Michel Foucault are put in relation to theories by Elisabeth Grosz and Donna Haraway. Herewith, the heterogeneity of cities and the in-between relations of power, bodies, architectures, and cities were researched in its potentials and applicability. Subsequently, following a positioning towards othering practices, with the use of the Greater City of London as case study.

The relations of bodies and cities are considered from the in-between of their relations, specifically determined by the model of relations which specify their conditions. What results, is a continuously changing accumulation of reciprocate processes that shape cities' heterogeneity. Conducted through relations of power, as institutionalism, hierarchical bodies-cities relations provide a systemics of othering within different layers and scales.

Following the potential of heterogeneity, the essay proposes an intensification of the cities' heterogeneous conditions as diffusion of in-between relations. Consequently, the conditioning, strategization, and operationalization of the in-between was investigated, to determine how a reconstruction of the in-between through architectural intervention could be affective.
As a result, the essay proposes architectures of fragmentation that reuses the divergence of (existing) in-between relations, to complexify the concatenation of processes. With additionally, the materialization of constrasting experiences and sensations, to have the potential to establish affective (architectural) relations with bodies.

Within my graduation project "In-Between Others", the architecture re-establishes relations between dichotomies of different typological bodies (human, urban, architectural, power), exploring the potential of (spatial) in-betweens. While simultaneously, it reflects on the relations of bodies of others (urban, machine, natural, animal, architectural). With this, the conditioning of bodies' confrontations, in order to control their conceptions and performances. Ultimately, to establish the beyond of othering, both through, as within, (spatial) disciplines. ... Read more

In a fast moving metropolitan city like London, urban pockets that alter the rhythm and synchrony of life can be described as heterotopias. Cemeteries are such sites that slow down and collect time. They sediment memories of the lived past and the potential future and are therefore regarded as spaces of another realm that operate between the spatial and the temporal. Historically, these sites were found entangled with the living city’s core where people gathered to exchange shared experiences. Today, the speed of the city, along with its rapid expansion, no longer allows for such spaces to occur within the living realm. Spaces that hold memory are detached from other urban systems, and therefore, appear as isolated memory islands. The problem is, without the interaction of people and their use as collective public ground, these spaces are threatened by the loss of memory and can no longer facilitate experiential memories. While the creation and disappearance of new layers of memory can be regarded as a natural cycle of any city, the continuous expansion of funerary spaces outwards means that there is no room in the contemporary city for new memory spaces to be formed.

This research examines the role of the cemetery as a memory space that can act as an interface between such dead and living memory making practices, and challenges society’s changing attitudes towards death that, over time, transformed funerary sites from collective public space to secluded necropoli. In an effort to disrupt the pattern of exclusion of death and memory from the urban fabric, and to accept death as a part of everyday life, this research is guided by the following main question:

How can the contemporary city accommodate new memory spaces within the programs of everyday life without compromising their inherent heterotopic nature?

By exploring the intersections between the layers of individual, collective, and experiential memory, this research defines what a new memory space in the contemporary city entails. ... Read more

In the case of the 2017 Grenfell Tower, the fire affected those who were already socio-economically underprivileged. Many residents of the Grenfell tower did not just become homeless or lost personal belongings, approximately two-thirds suffer from post-traumatic stress. Such layered and systemic disparities in the built environment as well as their consequence are often obscure due to systems’ complexity and dependency on external influences. Disparities and potential effects remain largely hidden.

Disparities have been found to be particularly present on six planes: sound, reflection, social, exchange, recreation, and accessibility. Together the disparities on the planes form an assemblage of disparity. The asymmetric condition of disparities depends on the degree of affluence and deprivation of the analysed territory or machine. Disparities express themselves as asymmetric membranes, which can be both material and immaterial. To a largely extent they determine the accessibility to the membrane’s territory – which may or may not perpetuate existing disparities.

The intent of the design is to address the existing dichotomy and polarity between territories of affluence and deprivation, to challenge asymmetric membranes that perpetuate deep-rooted disparities. The middleground acts as its own agent, its own territory, that provides continuous impulses challenging existing disparities. The middleground itself, ironically, also consists of a sequence of asymmetric membranes. These membranes, however, intend to address and potentially disrupt the disparities found on the six planes.

The middleground aims to challenge the trends of perpetual inequalities, fragmentation, and exclusivity. Designing the middleground as a multiplicity of membranes creates a sequence of spaces that mediate in varying degrees between public and private. This proof-of-concept intends to show how the middleground approach can promote inclusivity on the various planes considering the multiplicity and complexity of disparities.
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In the eighteenth century, the city centre of the metropolis of London was the most chaotic due to its immense industries and excessive noise and smell. This sensorial overstimulation brought and still brings potential unsustainable health and well-being effects on its urban participants.

This research explores the redefinition and mapping of city intensities and follows the process of creating an urban sensescape through different scale levels in London. The root of the problem lies in the experience of city intensities as perceived by the senses of its drifting participants. It appears that there is an imbalance between vibrant public spaces and more tranquil public spaces in the contemporary city of London. This disparity in space, together with the ocular-centric view of society, will result in an imbalance in the sensory systems of its drifters and thus a disregard for their bodies and senses. This research is guided by the following main question:

How can the design of a sensescape in the urban public realm evoke an inclusive, embodied, and multi-sensory experience for its participants, achieving balance in the perceived city intensities?

The implementation of a sensescape in the urban public realm could create an inclusive, embodied, and multi-sensory experience in order to curate a balance within the vibrant and tranquil public spaces on the spectrum of city intensities. The design recommendations made through the different scales will constitute a critical reframing of architectural design concerning an user experience (UX) centered society within the urban public realm of London or other large cities in economically developed countries. This will allow the overemphasis on the intellectual, aesthetic, and conceptual aspects of architecture to disappear, making room for the tactile, sensual, and embodied essence of architecture to emerge. The knowledge gap between the built environment and its impact on society is being narrowed by designing for the balance between vibrant and tranquil public spaces with a sensorial and empirical design approach.

The foundation for future research and design into the interdisciplinary link between psychology, urban design, and inclusive sensory architecture is laid by this thesis in which the city intensities of London are being curated with and for the senses. ... Read more

The increasing popularity of the city of Rotterdam has resulted in a number of spatial and ecological challenges. Public space is already scarce north of the Nieuwe Maas, with demand increasing due to densification, and the large amount of paved surface results in heat stress. Despite harbour functions having shifted from the city centre towards the North Sea, quays within the centre remain paved; creating a hard boundary between people and river. Additionally, main city boulevards are intersected by the traffic barrier of Westblaak-Blaak, which contains eight lanes of car traffic and subsequently results in dangerous and unattractive intersections (e.g. Eendrachtsplein). Furthermore, natural habitat loss has resulted in a biodiversity crisis affecting the entire ecosystem.

This research project, Rotterdam as Urban Tidescape, explores the potential of exploiting the unique tidal characteristics of the Nieuwe Maas within an urban design for Westblaak-Blaak, Rotterdam, with the goal of transforming it into a resilient and dynamic public space for people and animals alike, whilst contributing to the mobility transition and restoring biodiversity.

Through the design process, researching an integral solution to the aforementioned challenges, it was found that incorporating tidal nature within the urban area would benefit people in a variety of ways (e.g. providing healthier public space, creating unique experiences, and reducing heat stress). Natural gradients as a result of tidal cycles provide an array of animals with more and unique (tidal) habitats, which contributes to countering the biodiversity crisis. By adding to the mobility transition of Rotterdam through a significant reduction of (the surface for) car traffic, the resulting freed up space can be transformed into a healthier urban environment - from rooftop to underwater.

With the unique tidal habitats, the migration of animals, and the increasing salinity of the river water over time, Westblaak-Blaak has the potential to become a resilient and dynamic hotspot which evolves along the day, throughout the seasons, and over the years. Key findings have been collected into an Urban Tidescape Toolkit for reference within similar urban landscape design assignments, and an overview of essentially endangered red-listed and icon species along with their respective habitats has been enclosed. ... Read more

This thesis redefines craft as a social action anchored in play that intervenes in existing material and immaterial flows. A circular and sustainable architecture follows naturally from this definition. The architectural project operationalizes this new definition to rewild the old industrial site of the Lea Bridge Waterworks in London. The project is a glass blowing workshop, greenhouses, and rewilding research facilities which act as a catalyst to transform the site to connect with a larger green structure, as well as support other craft activities in the valley. ... Read more

How can the integral and multifunctional use of public space, subsurface, and buildings—within a densified urban environment—create space and value that contribute to an attractive and future-proof living environment? International interdisciplinary students from Delft University of Technology have outlined various design solutions by tackling this question. Manifest in all cases are the spatial bottlenecks on the level of public space. The hybridization of the urban and architectural program requires a cross-section thinking. The six real-life cases the students studied on are the result of a Flemish-Dutch collaboration of the project Stad × Ruimte: Leuven, Amsterdam, Oostende, Maastricht, Mechelen en Rotterdam. ... Read more

In a time where themes such as sustainability highly influence the built environment, it becomes ever more important that construction projects achieve strategic success. For securing a project’s long-term strategic success, the importance of the front-end phase is increasingly recognised. In the front-end, fundamental decisions are made under high uncertainty. One of these decisions is the choice of the project concept. The chosen project concept is the initial idea that responds to the problem/need of the client/owner (organisation). It sets the basis for strategic success, and should be aligned with the organisation’s strategies and users’ needs (strategy alignment). Although the development of project concepts in the front-end has long been recognised to be important, little is known about how project concepts are created and chosen in practice. As the project owner is responsible for the project within the client/owner organisation, this graduation research aimed to explore the project concept creation and decision-making process to identify critical aspects for project owners to focus on in creating and deciding on project concepts in practice for projects related to accommodating organisations. A theoretical framework was developed by performing a systematic literature search on studies about the project owner in relation to the project front-end and strategy alignment. This theoretical framework was used to analyse project concept creation and decision-making processes in two case study projects around accommodating organisations. Data was gathered through performing multiple interviews and reviewing documents. Finally, the findings of the two cases were compared in a cross-case analysis. Here it was found that project concepts are created on different levels/in phases, that take place consecutively or in parallel, covering most of the front-end phase of a project. It is a continues and iterative strategy alignment process where stakeholder management is key. By comparing and discussing the case study findings, three critical aspects for project owners to focus on in creating and deciding on project concepts in practice were formed. These aspects all revolve around creating and maintaining urgency and support for the project (concepts). Here it is first of all considered critical for project owners to understand the hierarchy, culture and history of the client organisation. Secondly, achieving strategy alignment requires project owners to be translational and communicative. Thirdly, who to involve, how and when, are important questions to ask concerning active stakeholder management/involvement and can and should be planned and evaluated in creating and deciding on the different project concept levels. ... Read more

Booklet containing the program of the event Stations of the Future that took place in Paris on the 15th and 16th March at Atelier Néerlandais. ... Read more