The former site of Kloos Kinderdijk in Alblasserdam is transformed into a mixed-use area, combining housing, recreation, retail and public outdoor space. The aim is to create a liveable environment for the residents, the neighbours and visitors. The transformation combines the translation of the heritage values, the social needs of Alblasserdam and spatial improvements. ... Read more

This study examines the relationship between design elements and how visitors perceive exhibitions to assess how architectural interior design influences visitor engagement in museums. In light of the post-pandemic spike in museum visits, the study attempts to close the information gap regarding the connection between evolving exhibition narratives and architectural principles for creating immersive spaces.
Through fieldwork and literature reviews, this study investigates the complex relationship between visitor engagement and architectural design. The theoretical basis highlights the significance of layout, traffic flow, and how spatial design influences visitor behavior.
The Maritime Museum in Rotterdam and Schoenenkwartier in Waalwijk serve as two case studies that highlight these concepts by showcasing how to integrate additional functions, achieve a balance between structure and freedom, and arrange interactive features effectively.
The research concludes that architectural interior design significantly influences visitor engagement through thoughtful layouts and varied installations. Achieving success requires establishing a balance between direction and liberty, catering to a variety of audiences, and integrating digital content into the exhibition. The outcomes offer architects and curators beneficial insights into designing impactful museum environments. ... Read more

On the periphery of a dike, a maritime industrial area between Alblasserdam and Kinderdijk in the Netherlands, a former windmill and ship manufacturer operated during the 19th and 20th centuries. This narrow 250-meter-long hall, known as Kloos Kinderdijk, is defined by its spectacular length and characterised by its spacious and light atmosphere. It is situated between two contrasting Dutch landscapes: on one side, the typical sophisticated, delicate, horizontal polder landscape with UNESCO World Heritage windmills at Kinderdijk; and on the other side, the robust river landscape, once pivotal for the maritime industry and still significant today. Kloos is one of the few remaining shipyards. However, not for long as Kloos is now waiting to be demolished. With the demolition of this building, the last visible maritime-industrial remnant will be lost.

Maritime-industrial heritage is in danger of being lost. It is crucial to transform these sites with a reinterpretation towards the future. This research is a new way of thinking about heritage and moves away from conservative preservation methods. It illustrates how undervalued buildings can be saved, reinterpreted for future significance, and thereby gain visibility by adding value through a more radical architectural adaptive-reuse approach.

In the case of Kloos Kinderdijk, the area has struggled with water issues for years, and these problems are expected to worsen due to rising sea levels. Therefore, Kloos' design involved building a floating volume above the existing. This floating volume is flood-resistant, maintains the spatial openness of the polder landscape, and offers panoramic views of both the polder and river landscape. The construction of the floating volume radically breaks through the existing structure, to enhance the building's visibility from the river landscape. ... Read more

This thesis examines how TU Delft could adapt its study places in generic educational buildings to meet current and future demands. This research is done through a literature review and an examination of three representative cases at TU Delft and in-depth, semi-structured interviews.

Despite the expectations of a pandemic-induced shift to online learning, this research emphasises the continued significance of a high-quality on-campus environment. Findings reveal a surplus of study places, urging qualitative enhancements, especially in aspects like community feeling.

Future prospects suggest a move towards interdisciplinary learning, requiring a diverse mix of study places. Recommendations encompass effective scheduling and smart campus tools, redefining quality parameters for study places, and creating adaptive learning environments. The findings advocate for a balanced approach, accommodating both quiet, focused study places and dynamic, socially engaging meeting places.

In conclusion, TU Delft is advised to holistically adapt study places, integrating quantitative and qualitative insights, as detailed in the lessons learned from the general educational buildings.
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The civilization and urbanization of Kathmandu Valley started with the Bagmati River but rapid urban expansion in the 21st century has brought many problems-the direct discharge of wastewater, solid waste in the river, encroachment of riverbanks by squatter settlements, and declining groundwater levels, they together contributed to the decline of this sacred river. It resulted in a loss of connection between people and it, which ultimately led to a decline in living quality for the people who live in the Kathmandu Valley. The government is currently taking several separate technique measures to address these issues. But these measurements alone are not enough. They don’t work together. More efforts need to put into the ‘process of change’ to improve the living quality of the
Kathmandu Valley.
This project explores the role of landscape architectural means to integrate the separated, mainly technical measures, as part of a spatial design that rebuild the connection between people and Bagmati River and achieve the improvement in living quality in the Kathmandu Valley. As a large region with complex environmental issues, it is difficult to achieve all changes at once. The concept
of an “Urban Catalyst” is chosen as the framework of the project through a slow landscape transformation guided by phasing and involvement of inhabitants to gradually make the river livable. The theory “Urban metabolism” helps to form spatial strategies which in the theory of “Urban Catalyst” is called catalyst point to transform the linear and unsustainable flows into circular and sustainable flows to restore the ecological condition of Bagmati River. With the intervention of the
catalytic points, the Bagmati River will slowly be restored, from the intervention area to the entire river system, reconnecting people to it and ultimately impacting the valley and improving the quality of life of its inhabitants. ... Read more

Our world is going through several transitions at the time of writing. One of them is the digital transition. The digital transition changes the way we interact with each other, it gives us new ways to learn, new ways to work. It changes how society functions on a global scale. The digital transition makes people more individualised. It means lack of consensus and uncertainty. This will inevitably also change the role of the urban designer and architect. How we can design for such an individualised ever-changing society? This thesis explores how the digital transition affects both the design process and the design itself. Approaching the changes brought forth by the digital transition from the perspective of the individual. It uses storytelling to give shape to individuals that all have very different needs, but are able to design together through the use of pattern language. It shows how co-design must play a much larger role within our design process. As for the design itself, it breaks the notion of having an end product as design. Design becomes a perpetual cycle that gets adapted by its different individual users over time. Within this cycle, the urban designer, or architect, has the role of mediator, a person who is able to bring forth creative solutions and someone who speculates on future changes that might occur in the design. ... Read more

The project has been created from a strong fascination of the author who came from the developing country in South East Asia. A rapid change of a city from urbanization and over-growing population have somehow eradicated the traditional way of living. One of the best examples is in Ho Chi Minh City, in the South of Vietnam. The city is located in the prime location of the Saigon Delta, and it is the biggest city in Vietnam. Within the last 30 years, the population rose from 4 million people to 10 million people. This led to severe environmental problems and housing shortage. Consequently, local people began to settle their houses illegally along the canal to live with the water as their traditional way of living. This so-called informal settlement has expanded all over the water structure of the city, and they are continuing to grow. The current situation has triggered me to explore the potential of landscape architecture to create design interventions to redefine the zone of informal settlement as an opportunity for Ho Chi Minh City and the environment to ‘breathe.’

The test site has been chosen in the area with the highest density of informal houses in Doi-Te Canal. The design strategies are composed of four layers which are Collect, Purify, Connect and Adapt. The first two layers are contributed to waste management and water purification. The floating waste on canal surface is captured and separated before transferred to the Biogas station which will be transformed into biogas for community cooking purposes. All of these procedures involved the design intervention which is operated by the community. At the same time, the polluted water is diverted to the purification park, it is directly delivered to 10 different biological ponds before released back to the canal. The third layer referred to the social aspect; the two sides of the canal are linked by the proposed pedestrian routes. The different experiences along the routes together with design interventions created interaction between a diverse group of people and brought the social space back to the Canalside. Lastly, the design also concerned about the adaptable ability to tackle with the unexpected future in the “Adapt” layer. The entire area has been studied to find the possible sponge surfaces to hold the water in case of excessive water. Furthermore, the zone of informal settlements also proposed to function as a low dike to protect the urban district come flooded.

Through the process of research by design, the zone of informal settlement is being redefined and integrated into the city. The project has revived the existing landscape and enhance the entire area into a living system which is not only created a better environment but also offered a better quality of life to community and Ho Chi Minh City inhabitants. Most importantly, the intangible quality as the culture of “life with water” is being represented and preserved for the future generation.


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The thesis explores the site of Niuewe Meer in the context of the near future of 2050. The research deals with the new urban phenomena of airport cities - their urban qualities and the issues they pose for development of expanding city borders. On the case of a new passenger driven typology - the airport hospital, it investigates how future airport city amenities could perform as an interface between global demands and local urbanity. The project is based on the notion of acceptance of airport city development by common culture but provides a critical stance toward spatial repercussions of hyper commercialized territory and pseudo-urban space. It proposes one solution to this issue, in which development is oriented to site specific program, aligned with the economic and logistic ambition of Schiphol but reaffirming the specific qualities of the area. The project investigates the hospital as an urban type and applies it to the questionably urban condition of airport cities. The ideology of constant technological progress is leading hospitals to extreme specialization, therefore the organ factory takes the form of a condensed medical campus which can process and supply patients from a wider European region. ... Read more

De tentoonstelling toont het vergelijkende onderzoek naar de ontwikkeling van de universiteitscampussen van Delft en Eindhoven, recent gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift OverHolland 18/19. Dit onderzoek is aangevuld met een overzicht van de ontwikkeling van de naoorlogse TU Wijk, samengesteld door de TU Delft Library. Ook wordt er vooruitgekeken naar de toekomst van de campus in een bijdrage van Facilitair Management & Vastgoed. De rode draad van de tentoon-stelling wordt gevormd door een uiteen-lopende verzameling kaarten die de geleidelijke transformatie van polder naar campus illustreren. De tentoonstelling toont het vergelijkende onderzoek naar de ontwikkeling van de universiteits campussen van Delft en Eindhoven, recent gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift OverHolland 18/19. ... Read more