In the architectural profession we often encounter the notions of the unjustified distinction between research and design, putting them in the antipodal categories of science and art. During a lecture in 2017 on Methodologies of Architectural Reuse, Martin de Jong brought up the highly discussed issue of the relationship between the two aspects and if they affect each other within the architectural process - does being a good analysist make you a better designer and vice versa. [1] Buildings, as part of our living environment, are always situated within a certain context, be it man-made or natural. Through their superimposition they react to the present surroundings, affect and change them, therefore become active components of the setting. In order for the architect to design an edifice that responds to its locale and creates a pleasant user experience, one must learn how to extract knowledge not only from the present context, but from as many practices as possible. Design and research are interdependent practices that cannot be separated by hard borderlines within the field of architecture. They complement and inform each other on the way towards a humanitarian built environment that successfully responds to the needs of its users. Just as the traditional notions of science and art do not exist in detachment, since even in the scientific context every new, not yet proven theory or paradigm is a product of a creative process [2], in architecture design is the tool which asks the right questions while research provides with the right answers.

The Mental Island project is a new public realm which is proposed for the city of Genoa. As the contemporary city reveals a fluid system where everything is trapped in it. The Mental Island becomes the other side of the city for citizens to escape from the hybrid conditions. By mental isolation, the lodging units on the island offer a space for citizens to rethink their life on the artificial land and to call them back.

Rome is a city that has always been described as an eternal city. This eternal character can be found through the many traces that Rome contains of former states within its physical environment. When researching these traces, an interesting conclusion can be drawn; almost all physical elements have either fallen into decay or have continuously moved with the city to meet the needs of new social structures. But nowadays with the declaration of the city centre of Rome as one large monument, this is no longer possible. While at the same time the current social structure is crumbling. This is particularly visible with all of the Roman churches. Christianity is losing relevance fast and these church become nothing but museumpieces in the city that are no longer contributing to the current social structure of Rome. That is why this thesis proposes a radical move; to provide space in the city center for new architectural experiments by moving 10 of the 400 churches to a new location outside the city center. With the collection of 10 churches also a grand experiment will be conducted, creating a gigantic second hand religious market, using the historical logistical character of the new location. Continuing Rome is about giving the city the impulse to restart the layering that makes Rome great and to give Rome back to its own citizens for a new eternity.

Genoa is positioned on a very narrow piece of land, squeezed in between the mountains and the sea. This provides a topography in which the port and the city are forced to live very close to each other. Whereas in other port cities the port recedes itself from the city center, this is not possible in Genoa due the the mountainous hinterland. Thus the large-scale port is directly adjacent to the medieval city.

On the dividing line between port and city is an elevated road located, the Sopraelevata, a transborder that has somehow also become a boundary, but an unclear boundary that is sometimes easy, but sometimes impossible to cross. The area of the Sopraelevata, the interweaving of the two worlds is what creates the interscalarity: The intermediary between two scales. What are the consequences of a wrangle between port and city, between large port objects and small residential buildings, for Genoa? What happens on this division line and how can architecture be implemented?

Reprogramming this line in order to enhance new public functions might be a solution to make the bridge between the different scales. The public building as an interscalar program in-between industrial and residential buildings.

In this project the theme of the studio "Reclaiming Rome" was interpreted with different research and design methods, which resulted in an elaborate design of not only architecture but the environment. One of the leitmotifs of the project was taking inspiration from historical evidence of Rome, implementing the arches of ancient Roman viaducts into a contemporary design; or using a courtyard as a way to frame the brownfield, which is the area itself, and, in this way, emphasise the the urban experience.

On an old industrial site along the Tiber river, a extreme sport campus will reasteblish the interaction between city and river. By using inundation, the site will be activated and act as a entrance towards the Tiber.