The construction technology (ConTech) sector holds significant potential for digital transformation and sustainable innovation within the global built environment. Yet it remains among the least digitalised and structurally developed industries. This is a direct consequence of the disproportionately low levels of venture capital (VC) investment it attracts, which is the reason it maintains its innovation gap (Klein et al., 2021; Ebrahim et al., 2014). Traditional VC models are capital-intensive in nature and long sales cycles of the built environment generate misalignment with conventional VC return expectations, deterring sustained investment. Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) has therefore emerged as a more fitting alternative, offering patient capital structures and prioritising long-term strategic value over short-term financial returns (Mayer, 2021). However, strategic CVCs face a structural governance challenge: they typically hold only minor equity stakes and lack formal financial control rights, leaving them without the instruments other investors use to manage downside risk. In their absence, strategic fit becomes the primary governance mechanism. Yet how strategic CVCs define, operationalise, and sustain this alignment across the full investment lifecycle in the ConTech sector remains largely unexamined.
This study addresses that gap by examining how strategic CVCs govern strategic fit when investing in ConTech impact startups. An abductive single case study is conducted of TBI Zebra, a steward-owned strategic CVC operating within TBI Holdings, one of the Netherlands' largest construction groups. Data were collected through nine semi-structured interviews spanning governance, legal, sustainability, and subsidiary levels, supplemented by three startup conversations and external validation interviews with CVC professionals active in the broader European CVC landscape. The central finding is a structural paradox: strategic fit is unanimously identified as the primary investment criterion and the main governance mechanism that distinguishes CVCs from other VC types, yet it simultaneously remains the most informally defined and internally contested element of the investment process. Structural tensions between holding-level strategic intent and subsidiary-level enactment further constrain the sustained operationalisation of this alignment. These findings contribute a theoretically grounded, process-level account of mission-driven CVC governance in capital-intensive sectors, and deliver a practical ... Read more

Mass timber is a promising alternative to conventional concrete and steel construction because of its potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to be prefabricated, which can shorten construction time. Despite these advantages, mass timber has not yet been widely adopted in the Netherlands, particularly in non-residential projects. Existing academic literature mainly focuses on technical and environmental performance and is largely internationally oriented, leaving a gap in organisational aspects within the Dutch context. This research addresses the question: What points of awareness are essential for project managers during the initiation, design, and construction phases of non-residential mass timber projects in the Netherlands? Based on the Project Design Cycle theory of Heintz et al. (2016), project management is viewed as a cyclical process of awareness, design, performance, and reflection. Due to the recent emergence of mass timber, heightened awareness is required throughout the project lifecycle, revealing a focus on this aspect of project management. A mixed-method approach was applied. First, a literature study is conducted, resulting in the development of a theoretical process map. This was followed by a comparative case study of four Dutch non-residential mass timber projects supported by semi-structured interviews, resulting in a process map adapted to the Dutch context. Finally, a focus group with project managers validated and expanded the findings, resulting in a validated process map. The findings highlight that in the initiation phase, the key awareness point is mass timber adoption, where material selection is driven by sustainability, circularity, aesthetics, and strategic considerations rather than prescription. Awareness of higher costs, schedule implications, and delivery method selection is also essential in this phase. In the design phase, the most important factor is assembling an experienced, integrated multidisciplinary team. Additional considerations include fire safety, acoustics, installations, permitting, and BIM agreements. In the construction phase, moisture management and logistics are most critical, while precision and early coordination are necessary to realise efficiency gains. The findings demonstrate that successful non-residential mass timber projects in the Netherlands depend on continuous awareness of both material-specific and organisational factors, supported by experienced teams and coordinated decision-making across all project phases. ... Read more

In the field of industrial ecology extensive research has been done on the potential of urban mining to lower raw material demand, CO2 emissions and to strive for a circular economy. However, these studies concentrate on recycling, as opposed to reuse. Whereas, emissions, raw material input and foreign processing can further be lowered through reuse instead of recycling.

This thesis contributes to the urban mining field by investigating: “To what extent can material reuse meet the demand by synchronising material flows in the built environment of The Netherlands from 2018 to 2023?”. It aims to answer this by using a mixed-methods approach. By combining quantitative methods (spatial modelling using GIS and Material Flow Analysis) and qualitative methods (stakeholder interviews), this thesis develops a framework for analysing the reuse potential of material outflows from demolition combined with construction inflows.

It quantifies and spatialises material stocks, inflows, and outflows across national, provincial and municipal scale in the Netherlands through a bottom-up-approach. Furthermore, it analyses a specific Reuse scenario for bricks, comparing it with Recycling and Business-as-Usual scenarios. It combines historical GIS data (BAG 2018–2023), using the new Multi-Temporal Building Stock Analysis, to identify demolished and newly built structures. Furthermore, interviews were held with three demolition companies and one architectural firm. Insights into current reuse practices fed back into the analysis of the material flows and enabled a quantified national Reuse scenario for bricks.

The results show that bricks exhibit substantial reuse potential: under the Reuse scenario, an estimated 26% of the brick demand could be met with reclaimed bricks, leading to about 58% CO₂-eq. reduction compared to the Business-as-Usual scenario. Although data limitations prevented similar quantification for steel and concrete, qualitative findings suggest that heavy structural components could be reused effectively between similar building types. Demolition companies’ views on reuse potential of components vary per reuse chain, with those involved in construction projects more successfully reusing larger steel and concrete components. Significant reuse potential seems to exist for industrial and office buildings, especially for steel and concrete, based on flow ratios and interview insights. Office buildings in particular show strong potential in substituting demand through reuse, as material supply and demand are nearly balanced. Cross-regional exchange could further align supply and demand, which vary by region. In contrast, residential buildings show lower potential in substituting material demand through reuse due to lower outflow-to-inflow ratios and fewer reuse initiatives.

Furthermore, this thesis emphasizes the need to shift analytical focus from materials to components recognizing their diversity, condition, and physicality. ... Read more

This thesis addresses the practical implementation of component-level Material Passports (MPs) in the construction sector to support circularity. While MPs offer potential for material reuse and lifecycle transparency, they face persistent barriers, including lack of standardization (Kedir, 2021) and the need for coordinated stakeholder involvement (Honic et al., 2019).
The objective of this research is to develop and evaluate a structured MP workflow applicable to new buildings from early design to manufacturing phases (RIBA Stages 1–5). A Design Science Research method was used across two iterations. In the first, literature reviews and expert interviews identified workflow objectives and stakeholder responsibilities, resulting in an initial workflow. The second iteration involved improving the workflow and testing it through a template-based data collection exercise within the Stanford AEC Global Teamwork course, where feedback was gathered from multidisciplinary participants.

Best practices observed include workflow clarity, ease of use, alignment with existing carbon accounting practices, and stakeholder agreement on responsibilities. Key challenges include difficulty in disassembly data interpretation, time-consuming manual data extraction, and hesitance from subcontractors accustomed to conventional practices. The workflow currently lacks automation and has limited real-world validation.

The scope focuses on component-level MPs, omits product-level inputs, and is limited to academic testing within a European policy framework. The full lifecycle impact of MPs remains theoretical, and applicability may be limited in regions without supportive reuse markets or regulatory incentives. Despite these limitations, the proposed workflow lays a foundation for future real-world MP adoption and suggests areas for expansion, including AI-assisted data extraction and integration across all lifecycle stages. 
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This research addresses the barriers in adopting Digital Green Bonds (DGBs), which are financial instruments that integrate Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) into traditional green bond processes. DGBs aim to enhance transparency, liquidity, and efficiency, which can potentially reduce transaction costs and improve sustainability outcomes. Despite these theoretical benefits, practical adoption remains limited, leading to an in-depth exploration through a stakeholder-based case study focusing on the landmark ABN AMRO-Vesteda DGB issuance in the Netherlands. Identified barriers in traditional green bond processes include regulatory fragmentation, market inaccessibility, high transaction costs, gaps in technical expertise, and risks of greenwashing. DLT and DGBs show promise in addressing these issues by facilitating real-time compliance monitoring, fractionalization, 24/7 trading, automation, faster settlement processes, and improved transparency and reporting. However, significant obstacles persist, particularly outdated regulations, liquidity constraints, high initial investments, infrastructural and technical fragmentation, and limited market familiarity with DLT applications. Through empirical findings from semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders—including financial institutions, regulatory bodies, and technology providers—this research outlines actionable strategies to overcome these barriers. Recommended measures include developing clear and adaptive regulations, investing in interoperable and standardized infrastructures, conducting pilot projects to demonstrate feasibility, and raising market awareness through education and successful case studies. Ultimately, this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on sustainable finance innovation by identifying practical strategies to accelerate DGB adoption and supporting the broader objective of closing the green financing gap. ... Read more

The Netherlands is facing a significant housing shortage, with a target of 900.000 new homes by 2030. Bouwstromen have emerged as a promising response to accelerate delivery and improve affordability. However, the organizational and collaborative dynamics within Bouwstromen are not well understood. This thesis examines three active Bouwstromen: WoonST 2.0, NH Bouwstroom and Bouwstroom Haaglanden. Through a comparative case study based on interviews with key actors and project documentation, the research explores how Bouwstromen reshape actor roles, collaboration and governance in urban development. In-depth interviews and qualitative coding are applied to analyze these shifts among involved parties. Findings show that Bouwstromen transform traditional roles: housing associations evolve into coordinators of mutli-year projects within a portfolio; municipalities shift to strategic collaborators and builders step into a reactive product developers role. Early alignment and trust foster ‘no-relearning’ efficiencies and facilitate standardization at scale. Yet, challenges remain in aligning municipal processes, clarifying responsibilities and balancing standardization with site-specific flexibility. This study contributes to the understanding of programmatic housing delivery by linking governance structures to collaboration and IC method adoption. The insights provide a basis for improving permit procedures, strengthening partnerships and supporting scalable housing solutions within the Dutch urban context. ... Read more

The construction industry is increasingly turning to industrialized construction in response to societal pressures such as housing shortages, rising costs, and sustainability demands. This transition, from traditional, project-based delivery models to product-oriented approaches, promises greater standardization, repeatability, and scalability. However, despite the technical potential of industrialized construction, many firms face persistent organizational challenges. Bottlenecks in internal coordination, role clarity, and collaboration, can hinder the effective development of product platforms.
This study begins with a theoretical background to establish a foundation for understanding the case later on, using academic papers sourced from Google Scholar. The empirical research adopts qualitative methods, focusing on a single-case study of VORM 2050. Semi-structured interviews guided by abductive reasoning align empirical observations with theoretical insights. Organizational ethnography is employed as a secondary method, involving observations of daily practices, meetings, and project documentation. Finally, recommendations will be developed using workshops with VORM 2050 to collectively reflect on tensions and identify improvements to organizational practices.
The primary goal of this study is to support the transition of construction companies towards industrialized practices. This includes a case study of VORM 2050’s ongoing transition, focusing on organizational practices and enhancing understanding through theoretical frameworks. The key outcome is a set of practice-informed recommendations, offering actionable guidance for integrating platform thinking and improving organizational routines. These insights address the lack of managerial perspective on navigating tensions during platform transitions and are applicable to other construction companies. The findings will be shared with VORM 2050 and broader stakeholders, ensuring privacy while making the outcomes available through the TU Delft repository. ... Read more

The Dutch bridge sector faces an unprecedented renewal challenge, known as the Vervanging en Renovatie (V&R) challenge. Furthermore, the V&R challenge is intensified with shortages of skilled labour, material scarcity and national circularity goals. Traditional, bespoke delivery methods are too slow and resource-intensive to meet the circularity ambitions and V&R challenge. In response to these challenges, there is a growing consensus that industrialised construction methods are a key part of the solution. Among them, Industrial, Flexible and Demountable (IFD) construction is viewed by supply-chain actors as particularly promising. Supported by the recently developed Dutch Technical Agreements (NTA 8085, 8086, 8089), IFD enables modular, prefabricated bridge systems designed for reuse and adaptability.

This thesis explores how the adoption of these unified standards can be promoted to accelerate the IFD transition. An abductive, exploratory, qualitative design was used, combining theory and empirics through systematic combining. The research included a multiple-case study of three IFD bridge projects and 14 semi-structured interviews with supply-chain actors. A custom evaluation matrix assessed each case’s industrialisation, flexibility, demountability, and NTA conformity.

Findings show that IFD and NTA implementation is advancing but uneven. Industrialisation remains limited to prefabrication, flexibility is underdeveloped, and demountability is relatively mature. Collaborative procurement frameworks enable learning and innovation, whereas traditional D&C contracts can constrain progress. Furthermore, interviews revealed seven key barriers (e.g. NTA-specific limitations and lack of coordinated leadership) and three interventions themes (e.g. communication and regulatory instruments).

In conclusion, effective NTA adoption relies on coordinated client leadership with a phased mix of systemic interventions. Building awareness competence and partnering through communication-oriented interventions can help NTA adoption. Also, institutionalising and aligning regulatory instruments by continuous refinement and gradual formalisation of the NTAs within procurement frameworks can enhance consistency. Moreover, economic incentives can improve financial feasibility. Ultimately, governance alignment and sustained public-sector leadership are essential to transform isolated pilots into a unified, platform-based IFD bridge supply chain, enabling large-scale, circular bridge renewal aligned with the V&R challenge and sustainability objectives.
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The construction industry is increasingly embracing industrialised approaches to improve efficiency and reduce fragmentation. This research explores the development and management of product platforms, focusing on how industrialised construction companies enhance ecosystem collaboration to achieve sustainable business outcomes. The scope of the study includes understanding the process flow of product platform development, managing ecosystem boundaries, and ensuring partner alignment. The aim is to uncover the orchestration mechanisms that companies can use to better align their partners and facilitate collaborative platform development.
The findings reveal that different orchestration mechanisms—standardisation, nurturing, negotiation, and ownership—are emphasised depending on the company’s role within the ecosystem. Keystone companies prioritise standardisation and nurturing, while niche players focus on negotiation and ownership to protect their contributions. Additionally, the study highlights how the companies’ business models, company size, and market targets influence their approach to platform development. Cross-case analysis also revealed that effective management of ecosystem boundaries and regional regulations plays a critical role in product platform success.
In conclusion, industrialised construction companies can enhance ecosystem collaboration in product platform development by strategically balancing orchestration mechanisms and aligning ecosystem partners around shared goals, which are based on the company’s role.
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The construction industry, known for its multifaceted operations and inherent complexities, has long sought ways to enhance efficiency, reduce waste and ensure timely project delivery. Risk management (RM) is crucial in preventing unexpected events and keeping projects on track, but current RM practices often fall short, leading to disruptions, inefficient resource use, safety issues, financial setbacks, and time overruns. These issues undermine the purpose of RM and jeopardize projects. Meanwhile, lean construction, grounded in lean thinking, offers a promising solution by identifying and minimizing constraints and inefficiencies. The goals of lean management, like waste reduction and value optimization, align well with RM, which focuses on identifying and mitigating threats to project success. Although there has been extensive research on lean management and RM as separate entities in construction and evidence of their integration in other sectors, there is a significant gap in the literature regarding their intersection in construction. This presents a research opportunity to explore how integrating lean management with RM strategies can improve project outcomes.
This research explores how lean tools can improve RM in the construction industry to enhance the ability of construction organizations to anticipate, mitigate, and respond to risks. It does so by analyzing the RM process to identify gaps and deficiencies in existing knowledge and practices. It then examines the nature and potential of lean tools to address these deficiencies.
The aim of this research is to understand the common issues in construction RM and highlight the potential for integrating lean tools into the RM process to achieve more resilient and efficient operations in the construction sector.
The result of the research is a conceptual lean RM framework, developed based on issues identified in the literature and supported by practical evidence, along with an analysis of lean construction tools and their potential to address chosen RM challenges. The framework spans the tender, planning, development, and construction phases. In addition to the framework, the approach to its application is outlined, including potential short-term and long-term benefits, inherent limitations, and potential integration challenges. The framework’s potential application environment is conceptually explored, and recommendations are offered for construction companies, standard developers, prospective users of the framework and future research efforts. ... Read more

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, traditionally characterized by
hierarchical structures, is undergoing a transformation driven by technological advancements.
Despite these innovations, many global companies in the industry have retained their
conventional organizational and governance frameworks. This study investigates the potential of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) to introduce a bottom-up management approach in the ACE industry, focusing on their transformative impact on architectural design methodologies.
The research addresses a significant gap in the literature regarding the management and
governance frameworks necessary for effective collaboration and distributed architectural
design within DAOs. The study employs an extended single case study methodology, utilizing
semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observations on Discord and Telegram, and a
comprehensive literature review. The case study centers on ArchiDAO, the first architect-founded DAO, and its participation in the Evolo Skyscraper Design Competition 2024.
ArchiDAO's innovative vision and task-based model are examined to understand how DAOs
can manage collective and distributed architectural projects. Key findings reveal that DAOs
can enhance project management through transparent and decentralized decision-making
processes, equitable reward systems, and advanced communication tools. However,
challenges such as role ambiguity, inconsistent task completion, and limited blockchain
utilization were also identified.
This study's outcomes highlight the effectiveness of DAOs in promoting decentralized
leadership and collaboration, reflecting practices observed in young architectural collectives.
These collectives, often formed in response to traditional top-down approaches, emphasize
multidisciplinary and non-hierarchical structures that align with the principles of DAOs. The
research contributes to the adaptability of architecture firms in the evolving AEC industry by
providing insights into the integration of decentralized models for more effective and
inclusive project management. ... Read more

Recently, the academic community has acknowledged the theoretical potential for promoting circularity in the construction industry through the integration of blockchain technology and Material Passports (MPs). Yet, this potential remains mostly untapped in practice, contributing to a significant gap between theoretical frameworks and practical applications. This study therefore intends to explore the potential of blockchain-based Material Passports (BBMPs) by identifying their inherent opportunities and the barriers impeding their adoption into AEC-practice. Based on a comprehensive literature and practice review exploring the underlying concepts of Material Passports and blockchain technology, the research design features a multi-method approach with inductive and deductive logic of inquiry. Method one, semi-structured interviews, explore the first two research questions, followed by method two, a comparative case-study analysis of two early attempts at BBMPs, answering the last two research questions. The PESTLE framework of analysis served as the primary method of analysis to identify and categorize relevant BBMP-adoption barriers. The examined cases revealed a list of opportunities of BBMP-adoption in form of relevant use cases, as well as a final list of barriers for their adoption into industry practice. Aimed at a wide audience, this research contributes to academia and practice by synthesising previously studied aspects, studying early attempts at BBMPs in practice, and highlighting areas for future research by identifying opportunities and barriers of the adoption of BBMPs in AEC industry practice. ... Read more

Industrialised Construction gains traction as it is seen as a solution to create resource efficiencies in the Built Environment. In practice, this increase in industrialisation leads to an increase in standardisation efforts. Meanwhile, the Circular Economy is incrementally being introduced to the Built Environment. Circular Building is often applied through designing or constructing buildings made out of modular components. The combined efforts of Industrialised Construction and Circular Building, often depicted as standardised modular building or Circular Industrialised Construction, are being researched. However, we know very little about the operation and end-of-life strategies of these buildings.

This research examines the strategies three case companies apply for their standardised modular buildings' operation and end-of-life phases. The research is carried out by conducting interviews with employees of the three case companies. The initial selection of case companies, CitizenM, Daiwa Modular Europe, and Home.Earth, is based on their utilisation of industrialised building methods and their assertions regarding circularity. Additionally, the companies are selected by a few diversifying characteristics, such as whether they are owner/developer, the type of real estate they develop, and the type of components they manufacture (volumetric or planar). After the initial within-case analysis, a cross-case analysis is carried out.

The case studies demonstrate that there exist many differentiating approaches to the operation and end-of-life phases of Circular Industrialised Construction buildings. A reason for these varying methods is on which building layers significant efforts are made to circularise the buildings. An important enabler of circularising the operation and end-of-life phase is to appropriate the design phase and extensively collaborate in or with the manufacturing phase. Additionally, some pitfalls are identified for the application of Circular Industrialised Construction.

Based on the initial results, a Circular Industrialised Construction framework is being proposed. The framework combines the different Shearing Layers Concept and the different phases associated with Industrialised Construction and design. The framework categorises the identified strategies in the different phases based on the Shearing Layer Concept. The aim is to provide a directory that allows companies to incrementally implement circularity efforts or adopt an Industrialised Construction approach.
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A construction project is inherently complex, involving numerous stakeholders, lengthy timelines, and intricate relationships, leading to significant risk potential. The increased complexity of construction projects and the fact that a large percentage of projects are still delivered with significant delays and cost overruns has led to the necessity of applying different methods by the project managers and the teams. Agile project management is an example of that as its implementation in construction projects can help increase flexibility, achieve continuous improvement, help the project stay on track without schedule overruns and achieve an overall improved quality through effective collaboration and constant feedback. Despite agile project management's flexibility and continuous improvement benefits, its integration with risk management remains underexplored in the construction industry.

The objective of this study is to propose a framework that could help improve the risk management project by offering a more proactive approach and at the same time enhance people’s engagement with risks. The goal of this thesis project is to support construction companies in approaching risk management in a way that incorporates agile methods.

Implemented in a project and evaluated through questionnaires and a focus group, the framework showed promise in elevating risk awareness and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. However, incomplete implementation of some elements limited definitive effectiveness assessments. Subsequent expert judgment sessions confirmed the framework's potential in proactive risk identification and management, alongside the initial findings of heightened awareness and collaboration. Recommendations for improvement include clearer risk impact depiction and explicit framework objectives communication. Essential for success are targeted risk training, clear vision articulation, and structured step-by-step implementation supported by project managers and risk coordinators.

In summary, the proposed framework merges agile principles with risk management, aiming to cultivate a proactive risk culture, enhance team communication, and mitigate increase engagement with risks. While showing significant benefits, it also highlights the need for adjustments to fully realize its effectiveness in the construction industry's risk management practices. This study underscores the importance of agile methodologies in enhancing traditional risk management approaches, offering insights for future application and refinement. ... Read more

Globalized universities located in small cities are expanding at a rate beyond the spatial capacity of its host city. The resulting presence of student housing in these cities known as ‘studentification’, have cascading social, cultural, economic, and spatial impacts that lead to, in particular, a lack of co-existence and tolerance between the university community and the local community. Existing research have primarily focused on how studentification has materialized in cities through negative consequences. As the influx of students continue to increase in an unprecedented rate in Delft, a need to understand fundamental conditions that contribute to negative consequences arise in order to propose strategic interventions for their mitigation and transformation. This research aimed to thoroughly understand the studentification process in Delft and recommend a long-term strategic plan towards co-existence. The methods used in this research involved delimiting or expanding on practices of other European cities experiencing studentification through the political, spatial, and socio-cultural lens of Delft. Through this research, the urgency and complexity of studentification were clarified and called for a comprehensive approach that transcended conventional practices. ... Read more

The use of bio-based or natural materials has been indicated to have prospective reductions in energy consumption, emissions, and costs. Their beneficial impacts have been particularly studied in walls, insulation, and façades applications. On the other hand, industrialized construction refers to the adoption of manufacturing methods in the construction industry with eight main principles: prefabrication, embedded technical systems, planning and control, integrated logistics, long-term relationships, ICT utilization, reuse of experience, and market-focused orientation. This way, houses are being produced instead of constructed which leads to better quality, shorter construction time, and less waste generation.
The case studies show that the integration of bio-based material is even more difficult in modular construction. It shows that the adoption revolves around wood products due to their proven quality and reliable supply. While acknowledging the potential and benefits of bio-based materials, construction companies perceive material replacement not as the most cost-effective option, making the adoption of bio-based materials to the existing system a formidable task. Additionally, the study also underlines the insufficiency of bio-based materials' performance and capacity to fulfill larger-scale modular building production.
Strategic pathways for IC companies encompass supply chain integration to scale up production capacity and joint R&D to speed up product development. Together with the regulatory bodies, companies can increase engagement in bio-based construction to attract more players and develop clear regulations to mitigate the potential misuse of IC applications. ... Read more