The Netherlands is facing a double crisis: a shortage of affordable housing and rising levels of loneliness. Traditional housing at the moment does not seem to help mitigate loneliness and isolation. Cohousing — an approach that combines private living with the sharing of space, amenities and ideologies — offers a potential solution. The graduation project explores if and in what ways cohousing could effectively address both housing affordability and social isolation. Subsequently, findings from the research are applied to a design for a housing complex in the neighbourhood of Tanthof, Delft. ... Read more

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. ... Read more

Hospitable Movement results from a research and design-based search towards a form of temporary inhabitation of the Dutch Peat polders. Many of these polders are now dealing with subsiding peat and releasing greenhouse gas emissions by draining the landscape. A new way of cultivating the landscape is required, by raising the water level and changing to wetland agriculture. Changing the landscape in this rigorous way doesn’t happen overnight, leaving the landscape unused in the process. A form of temporary housing is sought to fill this time gap, utilizing the precious landscape in its transition years. By various means of research, varying from surveys, literature reviews, testing out variants, and calculations temporary hospice has been designed on a specific site. Even though palliative care is the outcome of this research and design project, many other forms of temporary housing can be applied to similar sites, enabling us to release pressure from certain housing problems, buying time in the permanent problem-solving process. ... Read more

In a time when the future is constantly revealing itself to us, the wisdom of the past provides us with indispensable lessons for the here and now. This thesis explores the deep-rooted lessons from traditional architecture of long forgotten eras and how they can help us create affordable, inclusive and sustainable residential buildings for the modern world and contemporary demands. By looking at centuries-old building methods, materials and community-oriented designs, one can discover a wealth of knowledge that not only remains relevant, but is crucial in our quest for a better world. In this thesis lies the key to an architectural future that is guided by the richness of the past, with the goal of a livable, sustainable and affordable world for us all. ... Read more

Our site is located in the countryside between the cities of Delft and Rotterdam. My group selected an existing village to improve. There are few original residents here, and most of the land is used for agriculture. My intervention in building a residential project on this site started with an analysis of the existing problems. The residents here are generally old and they live in an island-like village, which made them experience the problem of residential loneliness more or less. Is there any way to improve their current situation?I paid attention to the students who had the same housing shortage problem, so I tried to make a picture of students and the elderly integrating into the same community, forming a kind of intergenerational life pattern that is a solution for social inclusion. ... Read more

The aim of this research paper is to redefine the current state of working and living developments that oftentimes result in gentrification and deindustrialization. It recognizes the importance of keeping these developments affordable, especially in the context of Merwe-Vierhavens, an old industrial port area in Rotterdam. The redevelopment plan that proposes to mix dwellings and production in this area lacks the ambition to create affordable housing or to keep low-tech industries on the site, and is at a high risk to become unaffordable over time. As a way of providing affordable housing, I proposed a combined model of cooperative co-housing and zero-energy housing. By incorporating waste management facilities into this development as the production space, I explored the synergies with dwellings. The findings from the site analysis, academic sources, interviews, and case studies showed that in addition to contributing to affordability, zero-energy housing, cooperative co-housing, and waste management systems all entail a social potential by co-existing in the same space. ... Read more

Unpacking concepts of collaborative living and mixed-use typologies, this project investigates how dwelling types can respond to modern household constellations and how the productive and reproductive realms can co-exist both at the urban level and the scale of the dwelling. Research findings are synthesised into an architectural proposal comprising a maker/educational programme and a housing programme, with the latter exploring strategies for inducing social interactions, gaining by sharing and future-proof spatial planning. ... Read more

Lighthouse is a housing project which aims to address the patterns of patriarchal dominance that persist in conventional dwellings by exploring an experimental approach to co-housing. Focusing on the issue of domestic violence, the research investigates the potential of architecture to facilitate healing processes and challenge existing housing norms. The lack of affordable housing, the crisis of care, and the disconnect between domestic and productive spheres leaves few suitable housing options for those who do not conform to traditional family structures. While some households can mitigate the challenges posed by current housing patterns, those in crisis, such as those who have experienced domestic violence, are particularly vulnerable to these limitations. To counteract gendered, social, and economic inequality, a paradigm shift in housing production is necessary if we are to move towards a caring city. By exploring alternative co-housing models, this project aims to contribute to this transformation and inspire a more inclusive and equitable built environment. ... Read more

Social infrastructure is crucial in repairing the fractured societies of today. Fragmentation of lifestyles has resulted in limited social networks between people from different backgrounds. A robust social infrastructure is critical to provide social connections and prevent friction between social groups, especially in multicultural settings. This research aims to identify the conditions that contribute to a robust social infrastructure when combining residential and manufacturing spaces.
The focus is on the social infrastructure within a neighborhood, a mixed-use building block, and a residential building. The research is divided into three parts, developing a theoretical framework, investigating the neighborhood of Kralingen West in Rotterdam, and analyzing mixed-use and dwelling case studies. The neighborhood investigation contains participant observations. The participant observation gives insight into the spatial and programmatic qualities that resonate with social interaction.
The research supports a design assignment in Merwevierhavens Rotterdam, which involves a mixed-use development combining urban manufacturing, residential settlements, and public facilities. The findings are translated into design strategies for the project.
Public amenities are essential in promoting social cohesion in multicultural neighborhoods by providing opportunities for social interaction between different social groups. The layout of dwellings, where the dwellings are connected with the pubic environment, and specific spatial conditions also significantly stimulate social interaction and build trust between residents.
Mixed-use development promotes social inclusion by encouraging public contact between different social groups. Transparent manufacturing and a common architectural language can contribute to a shared identity and promote a sense of belonging. At the same time, a central pedestrian area with spatial conditions that encourage social interaction is essential for encounters between user groups.
Promoting social encounters and interaction in residential developments is essential for community building. An open circulation system and shared spaces provide these opportunities. The cooperative model allows for incorporating a generous circulation system and shared spaces by being user-oriented. Efficiently designed dwellings compensate for generously designed circulation and shared spaces. ... Read more

Standardisation in dwelling architecture has led to mass housing projects to be built within a short period of time. With increasing standardisation, the needs of the actual user of the building have been lost. Adaptable housing is a way of creating a more useroriented approach within the architecture of buildings. This research paper explores the concept of adaptable architecture design which all started with theories of Habraken and Brand. These were picked up by other theorists Schmidt III and Austin, and Schneider and Till who searched into implementations of adaptable architecture design with the actual benefits to the user. Four contemporary residential building projects are analysed of which are two greatly adaptable in dwelling plans and the other two are adaptable in matters of use. This research gives guidelines for the implementation of adaptable architecture to design with a user-oriented approach for a design project of working and living in the Merwevierhaven in Rotterdam. ... Read more