This graduation thesis is divided into four parts. The first part explores the existing culture, through local materials and an analysis of housing in Bangladesh. Then, it looks into which waste streams have potential for the construction industry, to then optimize existing local materials by incorporating these waste streams. Lastly, it explores how to use these optimized materials in the design of a high-density housing complex that can help address the housing crisis and be resilient to current and future climate challenges.

The thesis explores the feasibility and optimization of local materials in Bangladesh, focusing on three main categories: existing materials, raw materials, and innovative alternatives. The study places particular emphasis on the brick industry, a cornerstone of the country’s construction sector, which accounts for over 1% of global brick production and employs approximately 1.6 million people. However, this industry is also a major contributor to air pollution, topsoil depletion, and socio-economic vulnerabilities, particularly among rural cottage industries. Sustainability within affordable housing is a harder task to achieve as the people in need of affordable housing have more immediate needs. This makes it our responsibility as designers to design with social and environmental sustainability in mind, making sustainability a natural by-product instead of a separate challenge.

Urban microclimates have a great impact on the thermal comfort of city inhabitants, with the Urban Heat Island (UHI) and the Subsurface Urban Heat Island (SUHI) effects posing a growing challenge under the accelerating impacts of climate change. This thesis focuses on investigating the UHI and SUHI effects and exploring potential mitigation strategies within a controlled urban environment, specifically the ”Heat Square” at The Green Village in the Delft University of Technology. The Heat Square serves as an experimental urban environment designed to analyse various urban cooling measures. To capture the spatial and temporal variations in soil temperature within the Heat Square, Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) technology was deployed. DTS measures high-resolution temperature data, which allows for detailed analysis of the soil temperature response to different cooling scenarios, including the implementation of green infrastructure, shading, and reflective surfaces. These in-situ measurements were then compared with urban microclimate modeling results using ENVI-met, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool for modeling urban microclimatic conditions. ENVI-met, along with other urban microclimate models, can predict the impact of urban design on local temperature and thermal comfort indices. The findings of this research highlight the significant potential of green infrastructure and shading as effective strategies to mitigate the UHI effect. Specifically, the introduction of vegetation and shading elements resulted in noticeable reductions in both surface and air temperatures as well as Mean Radiant Temperature (Tmrt) within the urban environment. These findings were supported by performing simulations of different urban scenarios of the Heat Square. However, the study also highlighted challenges in accurately modeling urban microclimates, as shown by discrepancies between the DTS measurements and ENVI-met simulations. These differences suggest the need for further refinement of model parameters to better approximate the complexities of real-world urban environments. Overall, this thesis contributes to the broader understanding of urban cooling measures and their role in enhancing the resilience of cities to climate change. The insights gained from this research are intended to inform urban planning and design practices, promoting the development of more sustainable and climate-resilient urban spaces as well as the applicability of urban microclimate monitoring tools. Future research should focus on refining the ENVI-met model of the Heat Square to enhance its accuracy in properly simulation real-life responses of the urban environment to climatic variations. Additionally, exploring a broader range of urban cooling strategies, including water-based solutions and varying surface materials, could broaden knowledge on heat mitigation strategies. Studying soil thermal responses in other urban environments with DTS would also be valuable for studying indirect effects of the SUHI effect. Collaborations between researchers, urban planners, and policymakers are important to ensure that scientific findings are translated into practical applications that increase climate adaptability of urban environments.

This thesis addresses the challenge of designing architecture which fosters student communities while integrating with a wetland landscape. It explores the environmental and social implications of transforming the peat polders of Midden-Delfland in the Netherlands, which are subsiding and emitting significant amounts of CO2. The thesis builds on the masterplan by the architecture firm ZUS, which proposes converting these polders into a green buffer zone, combining productive landscapes with urban parks and wetlands to halt subsidence and CO2 emissions.

The primary research question is: “How can architecture create a place for student communities that connects to, and protects from, its surrounding wetland landscape?” This is divided into two sub-questions: one focusing on the design of student community spaces and the other on integrating architecture with wetland environments.

Through literature review on student housing, different urban concepts and the preferences and needs of students in student housing are defined. With case study analysis of projects that have a close relationship with a wetland landscape, the thesis identifies design strategies that protect and connect architectural spaces to water landscapes.

Key findings suggest that there are two main urban concepts for student housing, college, and campus design. For students housing proximity to school complexes are important, as well as dwelling floorplans that are practical and mix private bedrooms with shared facilities and common spaces. Creating raised living planes and incorporating landscape features into design can effectively protect residents from and connect them to changing water landscapes.

This research contributes to the broader understanding of sustainable architectural practices in wetland areas, providing insights into how to design adaptive and resilient community spaces.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ’s 2021 report, the recent sea level rate has nearly tripled in the last few decades compared with 1901-1971. It estimates that the sea levels may rise by 20 cm in the next thirty years or up to 80 cm by the end of 2100. The increase in sea levels poses serious questions and challenges to the housing infrastructure in flood-prone areas. Two locations that have been severely affected by the tidal and fluvial floods and typhoons are the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga in the Philippines region. There is a ground level subsidence of up to 5cm per year because of the uncontrolled ground-water level conditions prevalent worsening the floods. The high levels of stagnant waters causes unsanitary conditions in these areas. In 2017, Pieter Ham, co-founder of Finch Floating Homes, developed a floating house model suitable for the Philippines’ climatic conditions. After the prototype construction was proven successful, they are now venturing into creating a floating neighborhood in Hagonany, located on the island of Luzon. This research topic aims to study the urban physics context of the floating homes neighborhood. Alazne Enchaniz Jurado, as part of her master thesis in 2021 at Delft University of Technology, designed resilient coastal neighborhoods for the city of Hagonoy, Philippines. After extensive research on the geographical, social, and cultural context, she designed floating neighborhood models suiting the needs and requirements of the people. However, the urban physics parameters of these concepts are to be further studied to determine the thermal and wind comfort of the occupants in the outdoor areas. This is because of the high-temperature tropical climate present in that region. Therefore, the primary focus of the present project, this MSc thesis, is to understand the role of urban physics in floating community development. It focuses on the influence of vegetation and urban form configurations on the outdoor thermal comfort and outdoor wind comfort of the open spaces, as they serve as the primary gathering locations for the residents. After analyzing the results, it concludes that increasing vegetation decreases the daytime temperatures, thereby improving the comfortability index. Additionally, the urban form also significantly plays a role in influencing the micro-climate of the region.

Most contemporary cities are currently unable to adapt fast enough to the constant change in demands. Rapid technological advances have significantly altered the way humanity interacts with its surroundings – with a sedentary lifestyle becoming more common – while climate change and ecological degradation threaten to do unrepairable damage to our urban ecosystems. These trends will – without drastic change – ultimately lead to increased social isolation, more people living an unhealthy lifestyle, an uncomfortable urban microclimate, and a lack of resilience regarding environmental shocks and stresses.

This study aims to determine how urban green – with its different qualities and attributes – can be applied to mitigate these potential future effects and develop a future city that is more liveable, resilient, and biodiverse. In this context, urban green can be defined as all urban land covered by vegetation of any kind – irrespectively of size, function, and ownership.

To effectively research the diverse benefits of urban green, a case study approach was applied, in which the city centre of Schiedam was selected. Additionally, the following research question was chosen: ‘’How can the implementation of urban green in the inner city of Schiedam contribute to resolving issues related to ecological degradation, climate adaptation, social isolation, and vacancy in an integrated and inclusive way?’’

Literary research and case study reviews were conducted to assess the different ways urban green can be implemented, with their subsequent benefits. Furthermore, spatial analysis was conducted to gain a better understanding of how the aforementioned problems are manifested in the case of Schiedam, together with how the literary findings can be implemented in a real location.

The research showed that a multiscalar development strategy is required in order to utilise the concept of urban green to its full potential. On the scale of the inner city, five distinct types of pocket parks were developed that each focus on a specific target group. The goal of these park types is to minimise the barrier for people to come outside – giving them a high-quality social green space for whatever purpose they need within a five-minute radius. Furthermore, pocket parks contribute to creating a continuous ecological network, as well as provide environmental benefits.

On the street scale, an objective evaluation method was developed, which can be used to assess the current social, environmental and ecological quality of any street type. Additionally, an intervention toolbox was developed that provides the necessary tools to redevelop the street types accordingly.

By utilising the different potential qualities of urban green through a multiscalar development approach, the future inner city of Schiedam will become a rich, biodiverse urban territory that promotes social interaction and a healthy lifestyle – all while being resilient and climate adaptive.

The active museum of art: During this Graduation project I search for a new way of positioning an art museum in the 21st century in Rotterdam south Tarwewijk. An Art Museum changes the local environment of its surrounding area. It can have a positive influence by developing neighbourhood assets but it also can lead to gentrification and displacement. To increase these neighbourhood assets this graduation research search for an active museum that integrates art in the daily lives of people and local neighbourhood by focusing on theme of participation and interaction. Creating an inclusive public space for a dynamic collaboration between the art, artists the audience and the environment. Where the design concept results in building a connection between Rotterdam south and the rest of Rotterdam. Reflecting the city structure and history. Merging art disciplines, building as performance (active building), openness, transparency, porosity, strong centre point for encounter and free choice of routing.

Katoenveem is a former cotton warehouse in the Merwe-Vierhavens area of Rotterdam. As a harbour heritage site it has a high cultural and historical value due to its unique past function and the systems that were installed for the transshipment of cotton, but also for the innovative construction method that was used and the resulting overall architectural setup. Unfortunately, after the building lost its function about five decades ago, it has not been maintained and therefore has deteriorated significantly. The aim of this graduation work is to propose a possible solution for the question on how the building can be adapted in order to implement a cultural program, while preserving the buildings' historical narrative, as well as maintaining the possibility to adapt to future needs. The resulting design is a proposal of the architectural interventions needed to adapt Katoenveem. In the design the focus is on the short term perspective in the process of future development of the building, implementing a adaptable, demountable and therefore reversible modular system to create ateliers for the makers, innovators and creatives to be attracted to the location.