This graduation project investigates how landscape architectural interventions that invite play can enhance the spatial, ecological, and social qualities of urban interstitial spaces. Interstitial spaces are understood as undefined and residual urban spaces that exist between formally designed and regulated environments. Although often perceived as abandoned, unsafe, or meaningless, these spaces can contain important ecological, social, and spatial potential.

The research focuses on Rotterdam, a city strongly shaped by infrastructure, post-war reconstruction, industrial development, and fragmentation. Through a mapping-by-exclusion method, urban interstitial spaces within Rotterdam were identified and analysed. Daltonlaan in the Blijdorpse Polder functioned as the primary case study and was explored through a Deep Map approach combining phenomenological, multisensory, and ethnographic methods.

The research positions play not as a fixed programme or activity dependent on traditional playground equipment, but as an open spatial form of interaction between body, movement, imagination, and environment. Through literature research and precedent studies, the project investigates how informal and open-ended environments can stimulate play, social interaction, ecological awareness, and spatial appropriation. This resulted in six design principles related to inclusivity, movement, openness, ecological integration, informality, and experiential spatial quality.

Using a research-by-design methodology, these principles were translated into several landscape architectural interventions in Rotterdam, including Daltonlaan, Waalhaven, and Quarantine Terrain. The projects demonstrate that interstitial spaces can be activated through minimal, landscape-based interventions that strengthen existing ecological and spatial qualities while preserving openness and indeterminacy.

The research concludes that landscape architecture can play an important role in making urban interstitial spaces more accessible, meaningful, and ecologically valuable without fully formalising or controlling them. In increasingly optimised and programmed urban environments, interstitial spaces can remain important places for spontaneity, ecological succession, informal interaction, and alternative forms of urban life. ... Read more

Urban life has become increasingly fast-paced and mentally demanding, intensifying the need for environments that support psychological restoration. While natural environments are widely recognised for their restorative effects, many cities contain overlooked interstitial spaces, informal, fragmented areas shaped by infrastructure and residual planning, that remain underused despite their ecological and experiential potential. In Rotterdam, these interstitial spaces often exist close to everyday urban life but lack visibility, legibility, and intentional engagement.

This thesis explores the relationship between interstitial urban spaces and psychological restoration from a landscape architectural perspective. By drawing on theories from environmental psychology, this research investigates how environmental experience, natural qualities, and spatial characteristics can contribute to restorative experiences. The project focuses on Rotterdam as a case study, examining how interstitial spaces might be revealed, interpreted, and thoughtfully engaged with through design.

Rather than aiming to fully transform these spaces, the research seeks to understand how their existing qualities can be acknowledged and expressed, and how landscape architectural design can support psychological restoration while respecting their informal and ecological character. In doing so, the thesis positions interstitial spaces as a meaningful component of the urban landscape and as a potential network of restorative environments. ... Read more

This thesis investigates how the latent contemplative and ruinous qualities of interstitial landscapes along the Schie in Rotterdam North can be spatially framed as an armature for contemplative attunement with nature. The research starts from the observation that residual infrastructural spaces are often dismissed as leftover, unsafe or illegible, while they may contain strong ecological, atmospheric and experiential value.

Through literature research, precedent analysis, repeated fieldwork, deep mapping and design experiments, the thesis examines how contemplation, ruinosity, fourth nature, succession and tree architecture can inform a landscape architectural design attitude based on restraint rather than replacement. The Schie interstitial is read not as empty ground, but as a living ruin: a landscape already shaped by water, infrastructure, spontaneous vegetation, informal use, weathering and time.

The design proposal for Stadspark-West introduces a minimal spatial armature of routes, thresholds, tree structures, steel edges, pause moments and adaptive maintenance. Rather than producing a finished park image, the design prepares conditions in which visitors may slow down, stand still and become more attentive to ongoing processes of growth, decay and care.

The thesis argues that landscape architecture can support attunement not by controlling the interstitial landscape, but by making its existing temporal, ecological and spatial qualities perceptible. ... Read more

In a world that is constantly changing, architecture and the building practice are typically rigid and static. The landscape architecture approach inherently copes with dynamics. The notions of palimpsest and process are explored regarding the case studies of river Aire, Marker Wadden and park Frankendael. These principles are translated to architecture, specifically to the transformation of existing buildings. The theory is combined with research on contemporary building practices, such as site-derived architecture, wabi-sabi, adaptive reuse and building for uncertainty. The case of Keileweg 26-28 is used to explore the research findings by design. The half-vacant building has an eventful history and a variety of actors. This results in a building that grounds on the palimpsest, embraces decay and has space for life and unpredictability.
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This project focuses on the interstitial spaces in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, asking why they should be valued and how they can be meaningfully experienced. These left-over urban spaces are often overlooked, stigmatised, and framed as meaningless, unsafe, or in need of control. At the same time, they hold aesthetic, ecological, and experiential values that remain largely unrecognised within dominant urban narratives. These spaces offer alternative readings of urban nature and prevailing ideas about who and what is considered a legitimate neighbour in our city.

The project aims to give an alternative theory and design framework on how to look and deal with the left-over spaces of the city, one that reaches beyond dominating ideas on functionality, aesthetics or ecology. Central to this framework is the notion of access, understood not only in physical terms but also as a visual and mental condition. By addressing access on these three interconnected levels - physical, visual, and mental - the project seeks to enable engagement and care with interstitial spaces while preserving their openness, ambiguity, and self-evolving character.

The research aims to understand the existing qualities of these fringe spaces from social, ecological, and experiential perspectives. The theoretical research frames the language and existing social and ecological knowledge surrounding interstitial spaces, while critically questioning the role of design and its aesthetics. It sets apart a selection of values found in interstitial spaces as well as a set of ‘designerly approaches’ to work with and access the interstitial space.

An immersive site analysis is conducted across a selection of fringe spaces in north-east Rotterdam. This analysis is based on continuous wandering, reading informal uses and entrances, and developing speculative narratives rooted in long-term observation. Through this method, detailed portraits of users, plants, and spatial affordances are produced, revealing how human and non-human actors co-inhabit and shape these landscapes.

Building on this research, the design component addresses the question: How can interstitial spaces be accessed in ways that evoke wonder, care, and engagement, while maintaining their freedom of use and ecological autonomy? The project introduces a set of design guidelines, termed the Rules for Enchantment, which imposes actions and interventions to take in order to unlock the potentials of the in-between pockets of greenery, as well as restrains that prevent them from losing their freedom, their looseness, their Interstitiality.
the metropolitan city of Rotterdam that is able to exist through appreciation and care.

The project culminates in a city-wide vision for interstitial spaces in Rotterdam, supported by a context-specific design proposal at the neglected Spoordijk Spangen site. This intervention increases accessibility and engagement while safeguarding the site’s fragile social and ecological dynamics. Ultimately, the project reframes interstitial spaces as an unconventional form of green infrastructure, capable of fostering wonder, care, and long-term stewardship, and contributing to a more socially and ecologically inclusive public landscape for the city of Rotterdam. ... Read more

How do shared residential gardens change over time, and what can these changes teach us about designing spaces for collective life? This book explores these questions through an in-depth study of shared gardens as lived, negotiated, and evolving landscapes.
Grounded in long-term, on-site research, the dissertation approaches shared residential gardens as residential commons: spaces shaped by design intentions, everyday use, care, and collective governance. Adopting an ethnographic perspective within landscape architecture, it attends to small-scale transformations, incremental adjustments, and moments of negotiation through which gardens are continuously reinterpreted and reshaped by human and non-human actors alike.
Using landscape transformation as an analytical lens, the research examines how spatial composition, social-ecological practices, and governance arrangements interact over time. Shared gardens are treated as landscape laboratories in which patterns of change can be observed, traced, and reflected upon, revealing how design and governance co-evolve in practice. The study is based on fourteen shared gardens in the EVA-Lanxmeer neighbourhood in Culemborg, the Netherlands, and is complemented by two comparative cases: De Kersentuin in Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht, and Vrijburcht on Steigereiland, Amsterdam, totalling twenty-three shared gardens.
The findings show that the long-term quality of shared residential gardens depends less on fixed design solutions than on the capacity of spatial frameworks and collectively negotiated rules to accommodate change. Rather than treating design and governance as separate domains, this book understands them as interrelated and reflective practices that continually inform and reshape one another. In doing so, it positions landscape architecture as a time-based and relational discipline, offering insights for researchers and practitioners engaged with collective spaces and everyday landscapes. ... Read more

This booklet describes the process of work carried out by a group of students within the On Site Studio of the Department of Landscape Architecture at TU Delft (Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences)in the spring of 2024. The students
have different academic backgrounds in either architecture, urbanism or landscape architecture and have been divided into dynamic sub-groups focusing on different approaches to analyse and design, but the work is the result of an effort by the group as a whole.

As the title of the studio ‘ON SITE: Scenes in Stadspark West’ suggests, this project took place in Stadspark West (SPW), a unique location in Rotterdam, however it is not an officially recognised geographical name. The initiators behind SPW refer to it as ‘an idea’ and ‘a fictional park that actually exists’.

This document is divided into three elements, the first part, Analysis and Research, deals with the embodied on-site analysis of the site and the theoretical research that underpins this analysis. The main aim of this part is to get a better grip on the multifaceted area of Stadspark West and to find better ways to describe, define, discuss and work with this area from a landscape architectural perspective. The second part of this booklet focuses on exploring and transcending the outcome of this analysis to a wider audience. In the project we achieve this goal by designing an intervention in the landscape. As the findings of our analysis have come from our first-hand embodied experiences, the aim is to present and extend these impressions from the same perspective. In the final part we use these findings to create an overall vision for Stadspark West. ... Read more

Outdoor play is declining, with negative consequences for children’s development, physical health, mental well being and social relations. More action is needed than the presence of a singular playground in a neighborhood to make outdoor play popular again in this digital and urbanized century.

This thesis studies how an urban environment can be transformed into a child-friendly and playful environment that ensures a liveable future. By finding spatial solutions for not only a playground, but different interventions through different scales. The necessity for a variety of design solutions arises from the differing needs of children from different age groups, varying play personalities and orientations towards either biophilia or videophilia. A range of eyes on the streets, accessibility, mix of nature and variety of play are all essential elements in the design of outdoor play spaces. Connecting different play areas enhances accessibility and encourages exploration, enriching the overall experience for users.
Incorporating comfort-focused play structures and nature-inspired play structures is essential to meet the needs for the range of target groups. The integration of these structures into one spatial design represents an effective step towards successful play areas in this digital and urbanized century. ... Read more

By exploring the intersection between post-war ruins and the city of Den Helder, history and memory, this project will examine the potential of post-war ruins in dealing with the fading history and memory of the past. Based on Pierre Nora's concept of sites of memory (lieux de mémoire), with the landscape biography study of Den Helder’s defence line, the research proposes that Atlantic wall ruins, as carriers of history, can become new sites of memory in Den Helder. The design outcome will elaborate a new type of modern memory: experiential memory, which is freshly generated in ruins, based on people's understanding of history, direct experience and spontaneous reflection and subjective imagination.
Based on the notion of landscape palimpsest, Alois Rieg's definition of monument values and case studies related to post-war ruins, this study proposes a design approach that starts with the qualities of ruins, that is to enhance the ruinous qualities during the decaying process and the decaying effect on the surrounding environment. The attention will be paid to the historical function and construction methods of the Atlantic wall ruins, the landscape context, current spatial characteristics, materiality and sustainability.
To sum up, this project promotes a more open attitude towards post-war ruins and accept the fact that things decay and disappear. Ruins are our direct contact with history, therefore participating in the process of decay is our direct memory of the intangible history. This project regards ruins as a process rather than just an object on a physical level. It further explores how landscape components, spatial atmosphere and public participation reveal the value of the ruins and influence the decaying process of ruins. The post-war ruins will be used as a medium to remind people to reflect on the past and look forward. ... Read more

This research design project is aiming to explore the spatial and temporal continuity in Den Helder’s Defence Line boundary area which is acting as a transitional area in-between 3 main residential areas. There's a lot of history behind this defensive line area (hidden boundary) that people don't know. And sometimes this linear space is not clearly seen or easily distinguished by people.
The boundary space not only serves as a separation, but it also acts as a bonding agent to connect the two sides as a transition space for people and everything might meet here. In this project, the boundary space is proposed to be divided into four dimensions (length, width, height, and time), and for each, the design strategy is proposed and integrated into the specific design site to enhance this boundary character of the city in these linear spaces and improve these transitional spaces. ... Read more

"As Countless Unconspicuous Elements Build an Urban Landscape, City Memories and Personal Memories Are Spontaneously Formed and Influenced."
The research investigates the potential for benches, a ubiquitous element of urban landscapes, to be reimagined as living memorials, thereby amplifying public awareness of urban identity and creating individual significance. Through immersive observation, the concept of "benchscapes" is introduced, encompassing both the perceived and conceived dimensions. The design of the conceived benchscape necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the urban public space, utilizing the proposed "Four-relation Model".
The study focuses on the city of Den Helder, which faces challenges regarding the erosion of its unique identity. Drawing inspiration from Avril Maddrell's "Third Emotional Space" concept, the design framework explores three distinct scales: benchscape as a whole system, benches as key players in benchscape, and bench as a living memorial in benchscape. Furthermore, by considering movement patterns and the specific requirements of different characters, the design seeks to achieve a delicate equilibrium between the perceived and conceived benchscapes, an aspect referred to as benchscape affordance.
Ultimately, the whole benchscape family design represents a deliberate response to the main research question, effectively demonstrating how memorial benchscapes can effectively frame diverse "Third Emotional Spaces" within partially defined memorial places. By harnessing the power of benchscapes, this approach enables the construction of a cohesive network of city memories while evoking or nurturing personal recollections. ... Read more

The urban spaces that arise as a result of urban shrinkage and decay are loosely defined (Franck & Stevens, 2007). The ambiguity of these spaces provides a potential outlet for accidental or spontaneous encounters, informal activities and alternatives to our increasingly commodified, controlled and privatised 'open' urban spaces. Many topographic unions, particularly those that are easily accessible and large enough to contain interesting physical features, have the potential to become 'dynamic 'indeterminate spaces'' or 'slot areas' (free zones).As undefined ambiguous places, these sites are highly inclusive of environmental renewal within and outside themselves. This means that interstitial sites temporarily or non-temporarily allow for any movement to take place in the city. The design task begins with an urban memory path based on void and leftover places.The understanding of the sites as carrying memories depends on the audience. They can be anyone, human or non-human. So, let's make the audience the players. And we, the designers, are the directors. ... Read more

Over the past decade, within many fields, there has been growing interest in thoughts and theories from the commons. In commons theory, the conceptualisation of something as a commons, is a way in which a common resource can be protected from enclosure, overexploitation or neglect by connecting it to a community which uses, manages and (re)produces the resource in a sustainable and socially just way, creating added value for the community as well. With the commons being originally connected to landscapes and natural resources, but the way we experience, use, and value landscapes has been changing, it is relevant to explore a contemporary relation between landscape and commons, and possibly using commons theory within landscape architecture as well.
This thesis explores the role of landscape architectural design in transforming landscapes into commons, with the particular focus on landscape edges. The study is focussed on the city of Den Helder which, being surrounded by the North sea and Wadden sea, has a valuable and intriguing land-water edge. However, this landscape as a resource is under threat of enclosure and neglect since the design and occupation of this edge limits its use by both humans and non-humans.
This research provides a framework for contemporary landscape commons consisting of ‘Landscape as Commons’ and ‘Commons in the Landscape’, and defines important factors and values to create landscape commons for both human and non-human communities. From a design exploration in the Wadden sea coast of Den Helder, general principles are derived to transform landscape edges into commons for both human and non-human species.
From the combined research can be concluded that ¬the landscape architectural design predominantly works on the level of resources, and has limited influence on the components of community and social practices. Through landscape architectural design, suitable conditions can be created for human and non-human communities to experience, make use of, appropriate and manage landscape edges as commons. This provides an important starting point for the transformation of landscape edges into commons, and provides a framework that balances different landscape values that need to be considered for landscapes to operate as commons.
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This booklet is the attempt to synthesize the work developed by a multidisciplinary group of Master students from TU-Delft during the Landscape elective course OnSite. The course revolves around the design and the construction of a temporary project in a landscape setting, preceded by extensive exploration of the site. During the course, the students were given the unique chance to experience the land in multiple forms, and later on, feel the impact of their intervention.
We were assigned to work in the area called Land of Chabot, located in the north of Rotterdam, where the famous painter Henk Chabot (1894-1949) used to live. The area is constrained by the Rotte River on the north, an untouched forested area on the right and a relic of the original agricultural polders and on the left. It is currently being cut in the middle by the construction of the A16 motorway, which leads to deep structural and symbolic transformation of the landscape.
Chabot used to paint this landscape, evoking the essence of the land by his raw, harsh, and bold brushstrokes. Another powerful characteristic of his
work are the different viewpoints from which he paints the land, bringing the viewers to experience its openness and contemplate the land to its fullest.
Today, the land of Chabot is a fragment of an open farmland tissue that once surrounded the whole city of Rotterdam, and that has been profoundly changed over the years. The reason why this specific piece of land remains, is the construction of the A16 motorway that is now happening, after 30 years of planning. A huge contradiction arises due to the fact that the highway that is disrupting the land by carving it in the middle, is the very same reason why this land has been kept preserved over the years.
During the design process of our intervention, we aimed to tackle the cultural and symbolic significance of this place, and mostly, what new meanings and ways to see this landscape could take place now, given its inevitable current transformations. We dived into Chabot’s paintings and tried to capture his shifting horizon - that is different when viewed from the Rotte than when viewed from the dike, from the house where Chabot lived and worked, or from the polder floor. Our intervention became an attempt to descend into this land in order to see it. ... Read more

In July 2021, heavy floods hit the Dutch province Limburg after days of rainfall in south-west Germany, the Ardennes and southern Limburg. Rivers like the Geul, the Roer and the Maas couldn’t discharge the large amounts of water. Many parts of these regions flooded, and approximately 50.000 people have been evacuated from their homes (Task Force Fact Finding hoogwater 2021, 2021, pp. 8 - 10).
How safe residents feel in the river landscape is affected by the floods. The sense of safety people get from the landscape depends on how they perceive that landscape and how they perceive their safety in it. How landscape and safety are perceived relates to the relationship residents have with their landscape. Due to centralized supervision, local communities are increasingly cut-off from their water system, and they are changing from active workers to passive users. Ultimately, their knowledge of the water systems is forgotten. Another aspect of perceiving a sense of safety is related to the Dutch water management strategies. Optimizing and directing water has dominated the Dutch attitude. Engineering strategies including dikes, storm surge barriers and regulated polders are dominant in the Dutch landscape (Metz & Van den Heuvel, 2012, p. 281). With these strategies, the Dutch have outsourced their water safety to engineers and water boards. As water safety is primarily the concern of professionals, people themselves are decreasingly aware of their dependence on these defence systems, and simply perceive dikes and other defence systems as objects in the landscape (Metz & Van den Heuvel, 2012, p. 79).
As a result of this strategy, the relationship between humans and river has become a rigid one. Humans dominate water by force, pushing it away hard as possible. However, because of the changing climate water is now pushing back, which resulted in the floods of 2021. Changing how we relate to rivers, and water in general, can help to establish a new spatial relationship that is not based on dominance but rather on equality.
In light of the recent floods in Limburg, this graduation project deals with the question of perceiving a sense of safety in river landscapes. The research project deals with the leading question “What is the role of architecture in perceiving a sense of safety in Dutch river landscapes?”. Central in this project is a cycling trip from Delft to Maastricht, including research methods like interviewing, immersive analysis, sketching and annotating.
The design project deals with a public building that provides a safe evacuation centre in times of high water, while in the everyday functioning it expresses its position in the water landscape and in turn provides a lens on the water conditions in this landscape. Chapter 8 elaborates on the resulting design project, in which a permanent platform provides the base for a temporary evacuation centre. Together with other design objects (a hiking trail, a bridge, water basins) the project addresses river dynamics and flood dangers in Valkenburg aan de Geul, in Limburg. ... Read more

Brownfields can bring forward unique spatial qualities in the urban environment: spatial exceptionality, re-usable infrastructures & imperfection that could bring forward the experience of being in a whole other world, while being in the middle of a city. However, these sites are often deconstructed, because they lack a direct financial or infrastructural benefit and are seen as ‘rubbish’.

A trend which is reflected in the Binckhorst, The Hague, where an ensemble of two brownfields is planned to be demolished. Why? The Binckhorst is transforming from an industrial area into a dense mixed-use residential area, housing 5000+ dwellers and 5000+ workers. However, with more and more people living in the same environment the demand for restorative environments increases: spaces that help recharge our cognitive batteries. Simultaneously, with the industrial program moving, there is an opportunity to restore the ecological quality of this area.

Urban forestry has proven to be able to bring forward restorative qualities for human nature. On the one hand, by providing soft fascinations for people. On the other hand, by being a vital component to increase biodiversity in cities.

This thesis researches the potential of the brownfield-urban forest. More specifically, how the integration of these modern ruins and the natural backbone of the city could bring forward restorative environments for human nature.

The result, the spatial design of the Patchwork Oasis in the Binckhorst and a concluding design guide, supported by precedent analysis. Both, showcasing why we need more green ruinscapes in our lifes and how the needs of human nature are much more similar than we often think. ... Read more

A guide for the landscape architectural design of an urban forest that helps create realms of experience in order to make people more aware of our connection to nature.

The imbalance between how we live and how the natural world around us works leads to a disconnected relationship with nature. Because of this many people see nature that is far away as idyllic, while they see nature that is nearby as a nuisance. If people keep seeing nature as a destination it fuels the belief that real nature is separate from daily life, which creates the feeling that caring for nature is not people’s responsibility or within their power. Therefore this guide contains a method for the design of an urban forest to help people experience nature in daily life. The method is illustrated by a design example through realms of living, moving and visiting in the Hague. ... Read more

I have always been fascinated by fire. By no means does this mean that I am not afraid of it. As a child, growing up in the Athenian, suburban interface, but also in the Greek, Mediterranean, summery, rural landscape, fire was a familiar event to me. Even so, though, that doesn’t make it something less shocking, scary, and unwanted. Every time, every summer, the fear of a fire in the forests, in the mountains, in the pastures, a fire that spreads uncontrollably, and that can destroy landscapes, properties, lives, is deeply rooted in the Greek souls.
However, it was, is, and will continue to be a natural part of the ecosystem. Yet, it is the human actions that are responsible for the most destructive, unnatural, fires and wildfires, intentionally or not, directly or not, in the current times. And along with the global problem of climate change, the consequences on all aspects of nature and non-nature are devastating.
One of these most severe wildfires happened in Greece in 2018. The tragedy of Mati, in Eastern Attica, a once green, summery paradise, is recorded as the second-deadliest wildfire event of the 21st century, with 102 people confirmed dead.
And it was this tragic event that changed everything. People were killed, thousands of homes were destroyed, and tens of thousands of acres of forest were burned. Mati will not be the same again. And three years now, the memories are still there, painful memories that are engraved on people’s souls, and recalled by the also battered landscape.
This thesis project focuses on the two traumas that this fire caused, the Human Trauma, the human wound, caused by the fire experiencing, and the loss, and includes the Individual trauma, and the Collective-Community trauma, and the disrupted relationship of people and nature, and the Landscape Trauma, the trauma of the landscape that includes the direct and indirect tangible consequences of the fire, and the indirect tangible landscape degradation, when fires are repeated at relatively short intervals at the same place, and delay its regeneration.
But what is the role of space and design in the healing processes of both traumas? How to imprint and express on-site the memories in a cathartic way, in a way that the design itself can contribute to the recovery of people and the landscape, and the restoration of their relationship, even in avoiding the same mistakes?
The design intention is to create a public locus, a didactic, non-static, Living Memorial that will express and imprint these memories, contribute to the tangible and intangible healing processes, integrating fire-resilient, landscape design tools, in order to achieve atonement and a better relationship with nature and its phenomena, in order to show that fire is part of nature, destruction and loss is part of nature, we are part of nature, but the important is to bounce back every time, recover and heal, continue the cyclical journey of life, forgiving and learning from, but not forgetting, the past.
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