Access to arts and culture plays a crucial role in children’s talent development and social connection. This research focuses on how the physical living environment can contribute to this development, with a focus on Rotterdam-Zuid. Through literature research, case studies and workshops at a primary and secondary school, children’s needs and preferences were identified. The results show that younger children show more diversity in their creative preferences and are less influenced by peer pressure than older children. It also shows that physical living environment plays an important role in stimulating artistic expression. The insights from this research lead to design principles for cultural facilities that lower the threshold for arts participation and promote social interaction. This research contributes to the debate on the role of the built environment in relation to talent development of children and art facilities.

Cross-project learning, the interlinking of knowledge from projects to create meaning and shared understanding, is still challenging for many organizations. Especially, project-based organization in the construction industry, where learning is often considered as an ‘extra’ task, secondary to the project tasks. Due to shortages in materials and an outflow of expert knowledge due to an aging workforce there is an increased need for learning to improve efficiency. Therefore, this research had focused on improving cross-project learning in project-based organization.

The challenges of cross-project learning at ProRail were explored with case study research that included a literature review, interviews and a focus group. Lack of time and goals for learning and a need for a learning culture were identified as barriers. The ‘Project Knowledge Development’ approach was developed to overcome the barriers in an effort to create structured approach to learning from projects in three phases: Information Collection (to improve the value of project evaluations), Knowledge Creation (to actively create cross-project knowledge) and Knowledge Utilization (to improve the use of knowledge in the projects).

Learning by sharing experiences is often seen, both in this case study as well as in existing research, however, learning from projects requires interaction with the shared experiences to create usable knowledge that can be applied to projects. Therefore, improving cross-project learning in project based organization starts with a structured approach to knowledge development to facilitate knowledge creation and the subsequent knowledge utilization with the use of learning trajectories and facilitating the active involvement of project managers.

The Dutch government has envisioned and is working towards a completely circular economy in the Netherlands by 2050. However, studies indicate that the current progress of the transition is insufficient to achieve set ambitions. Transforming the resource intensive construction sector is vital for the transition to circular economy. Since infrastructure projects are primarily procured by public entities, these client organizations can drive the development of a circular construction economy by boosting market demand through strategic purchasing policies. Incorporating changes to transition from linear to circular way of working place significant demands on client organizations. A notable group feeling this pressure is the Dutch regional water authorities. These public organizations are responsible for water management at the regional level. The 21 water authorities, together build and manage huge numbers of infrastructure assets like flood defences, navigable water ways, pumping stations and waste water treatment plants. These organizations directly deal with the consequences of climate change such as heavier rains and prolonged periods of drought. Despite recognizing the urgency for the transition, the water boards struggle to progress beyond pilot projects, increase maturity levels throughout the organization, and align new policies with daily practices. While the technical know-how for circular economy transition is extensively researched, successful implementation requires organizations to also adapt internally to support the transition. Therefore, this study addresses the pressing need for effective change strategies to adjust the internal organization of public clients to facilitate the transition to a circular way of working. The study proposes an organizational change framework, that provides recommendations on what internal changes can be implemented within the water boards to accelerate their transition to circular construction. With strong theoretical foundations from existing planned change management literature, the study offers practical recommendations for change based on case studies of two water authorities- Hoogheemraadschap van Delfland and Waterschap Vallei en Veluwe.

The Cultural City Hub is a social condenser, that blends cultural and educational programs, but also multiple paths of life. In Dutch society, we see that over a quarter of the population relates to a different country, where one parent, both parents or themselves are born abroad.Therefore, we can conclude that ‘Culture’ means ‘Cultures’. When looking at education, the Dutch education system does not represent this multiplicity of cultures, therefore creating an imbalance within the system and society. The Cultural City Hub combines cultures and education into a Vertical Campus, creating the campus for the future.

Urbanization has had a significant impact on Bangladesh and will continue to do so in the coming decades, leading to a shortage of housing in urban area and consequent emergence and expansion of the ‘urban poor’. Among all the ‘urban poor’, children are more vulnerable. At an age when family support, education and other resources are needed, they often lack the most basic living conditions and sometimes even struggle to survive. Therefore, this project aims to explore the potential of housing design on alleviating the issue of urban poor children in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

The research focuses on the principles and features of an ideal child-centric community and children-friendly spaces, and the affordable housing practices in south Asia. In response to the research, the target area for the design project is in Sylhet city, on the south bank of the Surma River, next to the city icon Keane bridge. By adopting a mix-income model in residential building (lower floors for low-income group, upper floors for middle-income group), the design provides housing units and common spaces catering to different income groups as well as incorporating shared areas for activities, to balance the respect for lifestyles and social mix. Additionally, the project introduces diverse indoor and outdoor activity spaces for children at different scales, satisfying the needs of children of different ages, genders and economic backgrounds. Moreover, to adapt to the climate, the project adopts three main environmental strategies, namely green infrastructure, water conservation and climate resilience (particularly in terms of ventilation and solar protection).

Ultimately, the project aims to establish a model of an equitable, vibrant, environmentally adaptive and child-centric community that can be applied to other areas with similar issues of urban poor children.