Poyang Lake is a seasonal lake located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. During the wet season in summer, it reaches its largest water surface and highest water level, appearing as a lake. Conversely, during the dry season in winter, it shrinks to its smallest surface area and lowest water level, resembling a river.

Local people utilized the unique seasonal hydrological processes, topography, and natural resources of Poyang Lake to develop the traditional water system, a cyclic production system adapted to water dynamics. Agriculture is developed in the polder during the wet season, fishery in the sub-lake during the dry season, and animal husbandry in the wetland, while taking into account the harmonious coexistence with migratory birds and the recycling of resources. This system embodies the original systematic and dynamic thinking of local residents about the landscape and realizes the harmonious relationship between humans and nature in the context of that time.

However, due to the emergence of new influences in the new era, Poyang Lake has faced numerous challenges, including floods, droughts, ecological degradation, and loss of livelihood. As one of the world's most important habitats for migratory birds, Poyang Lake holds significant ecological value. Its unique and varied landscape typologies also contribute to its spatial value. Therefore, this thesis aims to address these issues through landscape architectural tools to enhance ecological value, improve human livelihoods, and ensure the spatial interest of Poyang Lake.

The design project is grounded in systemic thinking, focusing on water, ecology, and livelihood as its main dimensions. It introduces the concept of a rural self-circulation and mediation system, aiming to harmonize the relationship between people and water, as well as between humans and nature, and to operate and circulate autonomously, revitalizing rural areas while protecting the city. The system utilizes the three major landscape typologies of Poyang Lake—polder, sub-lake, and wetland—as spatial carriers, and is designed with continuous scales. Based on specific strategies and design frameworks, diverse spatial principles are logically integrated to ultimately establish a sustainable circular landscape system. ... Read more

“Waste does not start as waste; instead, it is useful material in the wrong place” as explained by philosophy professor Michael Thompson in his book Rubbish Theory (Thompson, 1979). With the increasing population, industrialization, and rising human standards of living, waste generation is also increasing. The UNEP’s Global Waste Management Outlook 2024 projects that by 2050, the world’s waste generation will have increased from 2.1 billion tonnes in 2023 to 3.8 billion tonnes, emphasizing the need to transition from the garbage era to one where waste is transformed into resources. A breakdown of world’s municipal solid waste composition in the report indicates that a large amount of waste comprises of food and garden waste, paper and cardboard waste, glass, metal, and plastics. While food and garden waste, paper and cardboard are biodegrade and ,glass and metal have infinite recyclability, the major issue arises with plastic, which is a growing global concern. Plastic has become essential in daily life due to its cost benefits, but the complexity of recycling lies in identifying its diverse compositions, contaminants, and fillers. The construction and demolition industry significantly contributes to Europe’s plastic waste generation.

The thesis entitled “Re-P-Tile” focuses on the challenges that hinder the recycling process, specifically targeting the PVC waste stream in the construction and demolition industry. The aim of the thesis is to find alternative utilisation paths of this waste, by crating architectural products.

To fully understand the complexity of the plastic waste management problem, particularly in Europe, a literature review was conducted. This review involved examining online data and consulting with research experts, industry professionals, and fellow master thesis students. The study aimed to identify the challenges associated with recycling plastic and analsye plastic material flow. All types of resins were evaluated, with an analysis of material properties including the cost of virgin plastic, mechanical properties, flammability, and waste production percentage and PVC was chosen to study further.

Based on the identified plastic waste streams, PVC was found to generate greater amounts of waste than other resins, with particular concern regarding construction and demolition waste.PVC windows and pipes have material qualities that allow for their disassembly and segregation at the source, making them suitable for cascade recycling to manufacture other components instead of ending up in landfills. The idea of recycling PVC windows with UV-resistant chemicals and sewage pipes with calcium carbonate fillers is an example of transforming waste into a treasure.

Considering the high quality of PVC waste of windows and pipes, the second part of this thesis is dedicated to exploring the potential of recycling PVC for developing architectural components for cladding purpose. The thesis aimed to engineer a PVC sheet material as an architectural component. The composition, impurities, additive content, and thermal behavior of the waste samples were experimentally characterised, along with experimenting with different production tests to find a feasible production technique. A heat press was used to produce the tiles, and the influence of the production parameters was optimized. This included optimizing operational parameters such as temperature, pressure, and dwell time, as well as the effect of shred size and composition. The samples were evaluated for mechanical strength testing through the application of ASTM 970 standard procedures, microscopic visualization, and UV resistance testing.

The findings of these experiments indicate the material’s potential to be used as a façade panel, offering an alternative to conventional cladding materials. The mapping of waste management hierarchy and the carbon footprint assessment of the material, benchmarked against conventional materials, show promising results for the application of this material as a façade panel. The design freedom of the panels could potentially be used for dual façade cladding, particularly for artistic expression. For instance, these panels can produce an expressive visual statement on facades that incorporate dynamic wind or movement and can function as a screen on a white surface. After all, a façade is a canvas for expression, much more than just the exterior of a structure.
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The building sector is a big contributor to environmental problems. It is responsible for the extraction of 24% of earths raw materials, it generates 40% of total waste and 40% of the total energy use comes from the built environment. The building industry focusses on production rather than lifespan, leading to materials not being separable. This means a shift towards a circular economy is necessary.
This thesis aims for improving the circular potential of additive manufactured mono-material façade elements through the design of a demountable connector. This was achieved through both circular analysis of an additive manufactured façade element, Spong3D, and research through design of a demountable connector.
Through literature it was found that additive manufacturing has the potential to produce circular building products. Through reducing material use with shape optimization, and the ability to make mono-material elements. And the ability to make complex shapes, which allow for demountable connectors and thus reuse.
The Spong3D panel was analysed on its circular potential and compared to the circular building product Hempcrete. It was found that the Spong3D element was not designed with circularity in mind. However, the current design can be improved upon to improve its circular potential. It is already mono-material, which allows for reusing and recycling. Further improvements include using recycled materials, and optimizing the shape, thus reducing the raw materials used. Lastly, a demountable connector adds reusing potential.
This connector was designed in the prototyping stage of this thesis. Multiple designs were made and evaluated in a decision model consisting of circularity requirements for the entire lifespan of a product. The final design, C-cure, consists of the Spong3D panel and a locking element, two sides of the panel connect together, and the locking element rotates into a recess, locking the panels into place. The design fulfilled all circular requirements.
The C-cure connector uses little energy to produce. It allows the Spong3D to assemble and disassemble and is a reliable connector in use. ... Read more

In recent decades, the relevance of the railway as a more sustainable alternative for (inter)national commuting has increased significantly. Moreover, contemporary railway stations are becoming not only important mobility hubs where national and local transportation systems are interlinked but also new city centres offering a variety of functions and attractive places to live and work. However, there are still missing links in the European railway network. One of them, the connection between Poland to Finland through the Baltic states will be implemented by 2030. After completion, Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania, will become an important railway node. The thesis investigates how to exploit the potential of the Rail Baltica project and use it as a catalyst for the development of the city. To achieve this, personal experiential knowledge is combined with the data-driven approach to propose a visionary plan for Kaunas railway station and its surroundings that would accelerate the transition towards sustainable, safe and accessible mobility for all and would integrate the area into the existing urban fabric. The proposal suggests that large blocks, similar to Kaunas New Town, could ensure the continuity of the urban fabric, integrate existing heritage into the new structure and allow phasing. The densification framework defines the parameters of each block, aiming for a higher density towards the mobility hub. In addition, changes in street network and profiles are suggested to prioritise public transport and active modes of mobility. The key elements of the masterplan are detailed including the mobility hub where both railway and bus stations are combined and the hub is expanded towards the opposite side of the railway tracks. Moreover, standards for new blocks and streets are defined to ensure high-quality development which promotes high-density neighbourhoods while preserving local identity and heritage. Lastly, the regional impact study is used as an evaluation tool. It concludes that due to the limits of population growth in Lithuania, there is a need for collaboration between Rail Baltica cities to develop their railway station areas in a way that would complement each other rather than compete. ... Read more

The essence of my project is to present a prototype as a statement against the ridiculousness of building a permanent stadium used only or mostly during a major international temporary sports events. In which the inhabitants of the place gain no real benefit from the investments of such a building after the tournament is finished. My prototype of a modular stadium aims to be that benefit for locals of all ages. Where they can play a wide arrange of different sports and enjoy different events organized in the year. This could range from a food festival to extreme sports, from daily sports and leisure activities to being a platform for experimentational architecture or art exhibitions. The stadium provides the building blocks to form that basis.

The objective is to research modularity to find design principles for the design of a multifunctional and adaptable stadium. Modularity can contribute to the circular economy through the use of a modular design and optimization of modules, generating benefits that can contribute to the implementation of strategies for the circular economy in order to maximize the lifecycle of a product. It is a way of giving order and solutions to complex problems of achieving adaptability. Such strategies will be researched for a new stadium typology. Which accommodate for the afterlife use of a stadium for a major temporary sports event. That could benefit the city and its community on the long term. The context in which this will be designed is, the what-if scenario, of The Netherlands one day hosting the FIFA world cup or the Olympics.
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‘Circularity for Educators’, and a second platform for interaction and direct exchange that we call ‘Educators for Circularity’, are part and parcel of the Circular Impulse Initiative (CII), a project intending to enhance the integration of circularity in BK education. Whereas the first provides with content on either circularity or pedagogy, the latter offers the opportunity for all of us to meet and share our experiences and learn from one another. More than 40 professors and researchers have contributed so far with videos and additional resources that are open and accessible to all. ... Read more

Large amounts of material waste resulting from the renovation of post-war housings pose a great challenge for managing waste through destruction. Applying the concept of the circular economy may allow the opportunity to reuse these materials that would otherwise be thrown away due to renovation. The article explores the possibility of embedding Buildings as Material Banks (BAMB), a circular economy concept, at the neighborhood scale. Through holistic macro planning, BAMB will be embedded in the renovation process of the post-war neighborhood in a step-by-step manner to realize the reuse of materials. Although the article investigates some cases of reuse of old materials, due to the limitation of length, the study did not make detailed adjustments and adaptations to the site, Western Garden Cities. Specific materials from the Western Garden Cities will be studied in future studies. ... Read more

The present thesis discusses social, cultural, economic and environmental aspects of problems related to heritage building depreciation, homelessness and lack of affordable housing, with a focus on the more vulnerable social groups. It additionally argues the mitigation of the impact of the cities and the building sector on climate crisis. The aim of the thesis is to find a sustainable, in terms of longevity and feasibility, connection between the unexploited building stock and the shelter-less people, for the benefit of the users, the society and the environment alike, through zero-energy design and circular adaptation.

The study analyzes the possible approach of renovation and adaptive reuse of the existing, untapped, residential buildings in order to meet the current climate regulations and future occupants’ needs. A literature review examines three main domains separately: zero-energy design, circularity and collective housing. A case study analysis of alternative collective housing models in particular monitors the porosity of this plan and its ability to be combined with zero-energy and circular principles. This research offers the opportunity to recognize possible methodologies that can then be applied on a specific case study.

Research is consolidated in the case of the refugee settlement complex of Alexandra’s Avenue (1933-36), in the city of Athens, and seeks to propose a number of recommendations for its renovation, energy upgrade, redevelopment and reuse. The fact that the research refers to listed buildings, constitutes the biggest limitation, in terms of design decisions. The case study it-self, clearly depicts the afore-mentioned issues in the Athenian context, and alongside includes building, social, historic and other characteristics that compose an ideal example for an energy efficient, user-oriented, adaptive reuse.

A step-by-step approach is adopted in order to develop (re)design methodologies for the energy transition and circular adaptation of the case study. In addition, a possible network of interactions between the involved stakeholders is proposed so as to create a holistic and functional business model. Ultimately, the thesis proposes an inclusive and integrated framework for the renovation of the existing, old, heritage, building stock, driven by zero-energy and circular principles, for the less-favored, towards a new typology of social and collective housing. The development of this framework is based on facts and data that can make it potentially applicable to similar cases elsewhere.

Further research on the topic would help facilitate the transition to integrated frameworks of renovation processes. ... Read more

Due to the limited quantitative and qualitative supply of elderly housing and an increasing demand for alternative housing forms, more and more resident initiatives arise in the Netherlands. However, it is evident from these resident initiatives that municipal processes lack focus, cooperation and experience with resident initiatives such as collective private commissioning projects. Therefore, this research aimed to explore how municipalities can better facilitate collective private commissioning (CPC) to respond to the increasing demand for elderly housing in urban areas.

Literature review and desk research were conducted to create a theoretical framework; and to gain more insights into the concept, demand and useful instruments to facilitate CPC projects. CPC can be defined as a social project development method in which a group of future residents jointly have decision making authority and full responsibility for the use of the land and/or the building, the design and (re)development of their own private and public spaces, and sometimes even facilities, in a transformation, renovation, or newly-built housing project.
Based on the theoretical framework, a qualitative study was conducted to discover the motives and experiences of municipalities when facilitating CPC. Seven municipalities were interviewed to create an overview of barriers and opportunities. These barriers and opportunities were made clear based on the theoretical framework.

The results are presented in the form of a list of barriers and opportunities in relation to an instrument quadrant. The findings support the philosophy behind the quadrant: that more than one quadrant results in effective steering. Therefore, the general conclusion on how to better facilitate CPC projects is: to make use of multiple governance and maximize the soft steering aspects. The opportunities that are identified can help (radical, or soft) to better facilitate CPC projects.
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