In Oxford and Cambridge, higher education arose around the 13th century and has undergone major developments. One of the first colleges in Oxford was Balliol College started as an act of charity in 1260 by the King of Scots, John Balliol, where Balliol housed poor students in a house rented by him (Jones, n.d.). Over the years, several colleges have been built, each with its character and identity and mostly horizontally organised. These colleges are, sometimes, connected by footbridges but are mainly self-contained complexes. The complexes are organised out of several courtyards to which university facilities are attached. The resulting colleges are introverted due to the courtyard-facing facades that create close street frontages and have little connection with the public realm. Many campuses continued developing using the traditional layout and are mostly still segregated from the surrounding city fabric. The densification of cities necessitates the integration of campuses into the city. This ensures that cities are open and more accessible and spaces and programmes of the city and campus can reinforce each other and contribute to challenges within the society (den Heijer & Curvelo Magdaniel, 2018). As an answer to the studio brief, the Temporary House of Representatives of The Netherlands in The Hague was selected as a project site for the new campus. This building is an obsolete office building that is, due to its function, for many parts closed for the public. The new campus will accommodate lecture halls, workspaces, housing and other public functions. These programmes have specific requirements and dimensions and therefore the building needs to be transformed. However, in The Hague’s densely built Central Innovation District (CID) there is little room for a horizontal extension and creating a horizontally oriented campus as in Oxford. In fact, in the future, the Municipality of The Hague plans to densify further the CID (Municipality of The Hague, 2021), leaving even less space for buildings and public spaces. On the other hand, it creates opportunities for more multi-use high-rise buildings with different types of public programmes and spaces. Therefore, the campus needs to grow in height which causes implications for the more “traditional” circulation patterns between different floors and functions within and around the campus. How can vertical circulation be created by breaking through the stacked floors as Musiatowicz (2008) argues? Additionally, at the moment the building of the Temporary House of Representatives of The Netherlands, colloquially named the Monkey Rock, is seen as a monotonous closed structuralist building. Although the building has a distinct identity and is part of “the unity of the archipelago” (Koolhaas, 1994, p. 296), how can the new campus incorporate the local identity which could be represented by the kiosk typology of The Hague, which is now lost in the high-density area? ... Read more

This thesis explores the rapidly changing landscape of education and the necessity for adaptable educational environments highlighting the stagnation in current educational systems, particularly universities, the study calls for a reevaluation of their societal roles. Universities have transformed into transnational bureaucratic corporations, contributing to advanced capitalism by commodifying education. The research is driven by primary and secondary questions focused on designing future-oriented educational systems and spaces. It examines the architect's role in these systems and the future role of university campuses. The methodology combines practical building analysis with theoretical research on educational systems, historical examination of education spaces, and current educational theories to predict future trends and propose a model for lifelong learning. Conducted within a studio project framework, the thesis involves designing a hybrid building for higher education in The Hague’s central area. Project aims to foresee the future of education and urban development, emphasizing architecture's role in addressing complex challenges. The proposed building design prioritizes adaptability and flexibility, aligning with the agenda of incorporating multiplicity in design to create resilient, transformative spaces. The relevance of the proposed university campus is underscored within broader social, professional, and scientific contexts. The strategic site at The Hague's Central Station involves repurposing an existing building (The Stichthage) to create an additional 30,000 square meters of space. This adaptive reuse approach minimizes CO2 emissions and material waste, enhancing sustainability. The architectural concept comprises two main components: the existing structure and a superstructure supported by four cores. The superstructure includes generic adaptable spaces, hybrid public spaces, and archival areas, forming an open architectural system designed to adapt to future uncertainties. Sustainability is a central focus, with passive ventilation systems and primarily timber construction. In conclusion, this thesis proposes a hybrid building for higher education that emphasizes adaptability and sustainability. By repurposing the existing building and creating flexible, transformative spaces, the project prepares for the evolving educational landscape. This model envisions a progressive educational building and establishes a framework for continual evolution, advocating adaptability as the future of architecture. ... Read more

This study investigates Bengaluru’s Chamarajpet Eidgah Maidan as a proxy of Hindu-Muslim religious communalism manifesting in public space. The maidan has been a ground of controversy since June 2022 due to a conflict over its use for (religious) ritual activities. The incumbent Hindu-nationalist BJP government fails to mediate such contestations of socio-religious public space between Hindu and Muslim groups. The main risk, among others, is an escalation of communal violence.
However, other major risks include the disenfranchisement of Chamarajpet Maidan’s everyday existence, and by extension, of its everyday stakeholders. A failure to understand these tensions will exacerbate the megacity’s existing infrastructural and social woes. This study explores how public space could address religious communalism. It has been found that, in addition to exploring the religious and ritual meanings of the maidan through analytical cartographies, an analysis of its ‘worldings’ - through media representations and physical-social realities - were invaluable to produce a countercartography of the maidan. These countercartographies were possible with reference to books, journal articles, news articles, historical maps, site observations and interviews. Public architecture could address religious communalism if the maidan’s religious conflict is addressed alongside its everyday social needs. A longterm view necessitates the integration of (unanticipated) stakeholder uses and clear governance for infrastructural resilience. Politicised religions, which normalise a Muslim versus Hindu antagonism, is becoming ever more rampant in India. To understand its spatial ramifications is a first step in addressing a nation-wide problem. ... Read more

Extractive and productive landscapes are the backbone to contemporary
urban life. However, they are commonly overlooked by the fields of spatial
studies and practices. One amongst many, Cubatão’s petrochemical hub
reveals the systematic ecological degradation resulting from resourceintensive
commodified politics, couched in the widely diffused rhetoric
of development and progress and distinctly linked to events of the Global
North. Impending global shifts, such as the retreat of fossil fuels and the
increase in renewable energy sources, raise questions on the vulnerability of
these places and on their abilities to evolve spatially, ecologically and socially.
Through a critical review of what has been conducted so far in terms of
design, planning and policies and a reflection on the agency of Architecture,
the research speculates over new forms of space production that engages
with the complex spatial conditions and the diversity of agents on site. ... Read more

Hong Kong is known for its skyline and urban context, interpreted through colonial history. However, its past, present and future are entangled with that of almost 700 villages scattered across the New Territory land and preceding the current Hong Kong population. With recent proposals to further develop the currently ‘rural’ northwest of Hong Kong through the Northern Metropolis proposal, the tangible and intangible dimensions of the village society might be sacrificed to accommodate for a growing population and political interests.

The study aims to examine how traditional society is being reinterpreted in the face of change and loss, particularly in relation to the shifting notion of a village and its role within rural society. It seeks to redefine countryside conservation strategies in the context of the northwest New Territories by moving beyond the cataloguing of the past and embracing progressive, future-oriented practices. The research proposes a framework for self-managed design processes that actively protect community values, offering an alternative approach to the current revitalization strategies limited to eco-tourism and open-air museum projects.
The proposal accommodated for needs of both indigenous and ‘new’ residents, at the same time maximizing the use of existing developed land, and protecting the surrounding natural context. The possibilities of inter-village collaborations suggested through the project encourage the wider application of local skills and the protection of local businesses. Together come to be a strategy for the active preservation of rural cultural heritage, allowing for the change to achieve continuity.
... Read more

The use of artificial intelligence (AI), digital tools and fabrication technologies in architecture has followed a paradigm shift, enhancing its design and construction processes and performances. While it has enhanced the performability and efficiency aspects of architecture, it has removed the aesthetics and symbolism of ornamentation and individuality of buildings. This research questions what the new relationships and arrangements for architecture and ornament are, specifically focusing on the use of AI and digital technology, to understand how these instruments can be used to bring craft, structure, functionality, and symbolism back to contemporary ornamentation in architecture. ... Read more

This design is a graduation project of the public buildings studio called "Music Marvel". It deals with designing a public space within an area, Binckhorst, that is switching from an industrial to a residential district. The increase in density has consequences on the existing buildings resulting in demolition and thus a loss of identity. According to Aldo Rossi the evolution of a building is the user experience. But what happens with the demolished parts of the evolving process? Could they be re-used and relocated while transferring part of its former identity? This project explores the re-using of parts of the hidden beautiful concrete structures found in the former auto halls in Binckhorst. These parts are relocated to a new area near the only green space in Binckhorst, the cemetery zone. This area feels isolated and the design aims to open up this park. The new music venue aims to make this public space more accessible. And by giving the historic artifacts space in the new music venues, they will contribute in the musical experience of visitors. Each venue will have demolished pieces of the auto hall organized in a different way to create a different experience for each venue. ... Read more

There are places you have never been, yet you learn about them once you are there. There are also places you have never even dreamed possible, yet even after visiting them, your imagination never limits. One of these is Tbilisi.
Persians, Byzantines, Ottomans, Russians, and Soviets all contributed to the construction of the image of Tbilisi and had an impact on its birth, death, and continual resurrection. As a result, the city is what Boris Pasternak referred to as a chimera—a fantastical creature with an Eastern body and a Western head. Pasternak describes Tbilisi as the place that transformed his life and made him feel as though everything was in motion. I had the same impression; everything was taking place as a result of everyone's efforts.
The purpose of this study is to highlight the significance of Tbilisian intangible heritage as well as social dynamics and their direct impact on how the courtyard house's space is configured.
In its most complete form, Tbilisi's urban layout could be referred to as a palimpsest. Every empire's ideology has left its mark on the city's layout, allowing the urban grid to be read as a timeline, from the old town's winding streets with Persian influences to the Haussmannian grid of the 19th century with Russian influences to the wide alleyways with large housing complexes from the Soviet Period. Nevertheless, the newest urban layer is being built upon the old town, by altering and destroying centuries of memories and formal alterations made by the inhabitants. ... Read more

As the Soviet Union's territories spanned across 30 countries, the prefabricated apartment buildings (Panelka) have tattooed numerous cities across Europe.The ideological “leftovers” of the typology, together with their predetermined lifespan, the decaying material state, and the fragmented ownership create difficulties for big-scale interventions. As a result, 170 million Panelka inhabitants face the possibility of demolition of their homes.

The graduation project focuses on the revitalization of the Panelka through the case study of the Trakiya district in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Supported by in-depth research of Panelkas’ development, the project aims to reimagine Trakiya through the local vernacular characteristics of the globally mass produced Panelka. The research showed that although Panelka’s perception is influenced by the negative connotations due to its ideological past, it is in flux due to constant recreation by its residents. The project’s approach is sensitive to Trakiya’s latent opportunities, and resulted in a framework, which can spatially as well as socially correspond to the needs of the residents. In order to improve the living conditions and tackle the negative perception of Panelka, a set of interventions founded on circularity aspects is proposed. ... Read more

(re)Displaced in City explores the link between architecture and human rights concerning newcomers’ (refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants) marginalization and degrading treatment in Paris. A specific focus is drawn on newcomers who have limited or no resources and are “trapped” in the complex bureaucratic system that limits access to fundamental rights, expulse from society and leaves no alternatives but to live in degrading conditions. The research brings an argument that universal rights do not align with state territorial politics and that architecture attributed to helping newcomers is a product of the current politics that keeps feeding the faulty system rather than tackling the problem. Opposite of this, rights-based architecture to overcome newcomers’ marginalization and degrading treatment not just provides a shelter but architecture that empowers social changes of acceptance and a co-living mindset. The research leads to the architectural intervention in the square de la Chapelle alongside the boulevard de la Chapelle in the north of Paris. One of the most reclaimed spaces by newcomers since 2015 where inhuman living conditions, repeatable re-displacement social expulsion and violence against newcomers are evident in the urban fabrics. The proposed design aims to show how architecture based on a social-mixed-shared program could be used to strengthen the social bond and a sense of collectivity to overcome newcomers’ marginalization and degrading treatment urgency. This research-based project is structured in three main parts: (re)Displaced – the research, (re)Position – the link between research and architectural design, and (re)Shape – the architectural intervention. ... Read more

The city of Trieste has been filled with ageing urban fabrics and abandoned industrial buildings due to obsolescence. Witnessing the decay of the city excusably provoked the pessimism of the locals as it made them conscious of the fact that their life and pride are degrading. The negative labels associated with decay inevitably seized the general definition and cognition. However, deterioration can only be understood as one of the superficial readings of the phenomenon of decay. As depicted in many arts and literature, decay does have its only poetics, aesthetics and intrinsic values that embellish and complement the urban environment and memories. Meanwhile, the degeneration of architecture with symbolic values, be it an intentional or inadvertent incident, would implicate significant political messages and ideas to the society. In the case of Trieste, the meanings of this natural (and occasionally artificial) process are still to be explored and discussed. Is there a possibility that decay could be considered a constructive phenomenon that can sublime as a form of regeneration for the ageing city? The project would then be an experiment that attempts to embrace the material processes, aesthetics and the spatial and programmatic potentials informed by the phenomenon of decay. It searches for alternative answers to the preestablished architectural typologies, meanings and purposes through rethinking on the current preservation approaches and alternative possibilities in dealing with ruins and abandoned buildings in Trieste. As a result of the quick and efficiency-oriented manufacture in the industrial past, architectural obsolescence brought in new artificial materiality and ways of decomposition to the discourse of decay, which are unprecedented in the pre-industrial time. The expansion of the definition of decay implies the misfit of conventional treatments on modern ruins in the post-industrial era. Delving into the phenomenon of decay may introduce a different set of aesthetic/tectonic languages and spatial qualities to the decaying waterfront of Trieste. ... Read more

Exploration on the peri-urban transition zone between Trieste and its hinterland Karst through housing, recreation and transportation infrastructure. The design proposal consists of system of small interventions that take into account the land management problems of the peri-urban hills. ... Read more

The relationship between architecture and music can be used as an extensive source of inspiration within design. While both disciplines deal with different media, both have the power to move people emotionally and to carry across different messages. In addition, similarities exist within the practices of musical composition and architecture.
Located within the Binckhorst area in The Hague, the project focuses to question in what way the identity of the Binckhorst area can be articulated through the musical and architectural expression of the designed concert building.
Within this project, five key principles from musical composition have been identified and used as tools for designing a concert building for symphonic music. Based on the principle form of a classical symphony, the four movements form the zones through which the visitor travels on the way towards the concert hall. The principles of key and harmony, structure, melody and instrumentation are translated into their architectural counterparts and used to design the four separate zones created within the building. Through interaction with the building’s surroundings within different zones, the visitors are encouraged to “listen” to the Binckhorst area in new ways. ... Read more