My graduation project explores the relationship between memories, perception, and Soviet-era architecture. The project site is the former "Turist" foreign currency shop in Tallinn, built for the 1980 Summer Olympics. As a Soviet-era building aimed at those with foreign currency, it symbolizes the inequalities of the Soviet regime.
Despite years of trials, the government has failed to secure heritage protection for the building. An architectural competition plans to replace it with a high-rise, which would cause a significant loss to architectural heritage and additionally intensify Tallinn’s existing issue of constructing without regard for urban context and human scale.

An alternative to the current demolition plan is proposed - preserving and transforming the Turist shop while honouring the past, present, and future. Memories and perception in architecture serve as a foundation for reimagining the space and for guiding the design proposal, transforming the former shop into an inviting community centre. The form, scale, proportions, materialization and detailing of the new extension contrast that of the communist monument, maintaining a balance that avoids overshadowing it. This is achieved through a composition characterized by rhythm, simplicity and a strategic interplay between closeness and openness. An atrium between the two buildings is the heart of the project, where the past and the present exist together.
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This research focuses on the transformation of the Groningen gas field region, which has transitioned from a symbol of national pride due to its vast natural gas reserves to a region grappling with the significant impacts of gas extraction. With the permanent closure of gas production, the region faces ongoing challenges such as land subsidence, earthquakes, and socio-economic shifts. This study aims to explore sustainable and commemorative landscape-based transformation strategies to address these issues and redefine the identity of Groningen.

The research identifies two primary areas of concern: the existing gas extraction sites and the broader landscape affected by environmental changes and social disruptions. By analyzing the current state and potential of these sites, the study proposes design interventions that integrate industrial heritage into public spaces and enhance regional resilience.

Three representative sites—Slochteren, Ten Post, and Noordbroek—are selected as case studies. Slochteren, the first gas extraction site, is considered for its potential to become an open-air museum, akin to the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park in Germany. Ten Post, located in the most seismically active and subsidence-prone area, and Noordbroek, one of the first sites undergoing cleanup, offer insights into how design can mitigate environmental impacts and foster a sense of place.

The theoretical framework incorporates principles of landscape architecture, the concept of guilty landscapes, and post-industrial landscape transformation. These theories provide a systematic approach to understanding and addressing the multifaceted issues associated with the Groningen gas field. The goal is to create a cohesive strategy that connects these sites to their surrounding landscapes and communities, turning them into meaningful public spaces that reflect the region's history and identity while promoting sustainability and resilience.

This research contributes to the broader discourse on post-industrial landscape transformation by demonstrating how integrated design approaches can address environmental, social, and historical challenges. The findings aim to offer a replicable model for other regions facing similar transitions from industrial heritage to sustainable future landscapes. ... Read more

This research addresses the issue of low social attachment of residents in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the Netherlands. These neighbourhoods face problems, such as high crime rates, poverty, and poor living conditions. Residents in these areas often feel disconnected from their surroundings, which can worsen issues like anonymity, reduced social cohesion and well-being of residents. While community involvement initiatives are widely believed to help increase social attachment, there is limited empirical evidence on which specific initiatives are most effective in achieving this goal. Therefore, the research question is: What can be learned from initiatives focused on community involvement and their effect on social attachment in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the Netherlands? The study employs a mixed-methods approach, including quantitative data analysis of the social attachment over the years, and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders from Utrecht Overvecht, the disadvantaged neighbourhood that was selected as a case study for this research. Key findings indicate that successful community involvement initiatives do enhance social attachment by fostering social interactions and connections among residents. However, for these initiatives to yield sustainable results, they must be regularly implemented and structurally embedded into the community. Addressing broader social issues, such as poverty and mistrust in government, is essential for residents to move beyond "survival mode" and engage more fully in community activities and participation projects. The research highlights the low trust in governmental organisations in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and its importance of rebuilding trust between residents and governmental institutions through transparency, genuine engagement, and inclusive processes. Smaller-scale, regularly embedded projects and simultaneous efforts to tackle underlying social issues are critical for fostering strong social attachment, according to the expert interviews. The study concludes that while community involvement can significantly improve social attachment, its success is contingent on a multi-faceted approach that includes structural support and ongoing efforts in addressing broader social issues simultaneously. ... Read more

This paper uses different classification methods to make an overview of different demountable connections in current architecture practices. Then based on the typologies and literature research, it built an assessment system to evaluate the connections in a circular building economy. ... Read more

This speculative project named “Bridging Heterotopia” is named as such because it draws from the guiding principle that is juxtaposition in real space, of many spaces together that would normally be incompatible. This principle materializes through a bridge which will be a facilitator for different cultures in Rotterdam to find a common space. In this project, the identity of Rotterdam is explored through architectural entities connected to the city’s social and economical history and a future vision is materialized into a living, changing bridge to reverse the current disintegration in the society. To illustrate the inner workings of the design, three cultures were selected. The architectural components of these cultures were then dismantled based on historical importance and current identifiable values that they represent for the members of these cultures. The ties between the common denominators of these seemingly far apart cultures, both architecturally and socio-geographically, were analyzed and represented within the continuous feedback loop between architecture and cultures of societies. The project builds upon the state-of-the-art technology that is available at the time of its conception by analysing the core principles and reflecting the plausible advancements onto the future realm of possibilities. ... Read more

Facing to the conflict situation in Urban Village, I was trying to use the computational and parametric design method to establish the symbiotic system and to improve the quality and possibilities of the life in urban village. ... Read more