"House of the Muses" begins with a critique of the traditional art museum and its systems of collecting, exhibiting, and archiving knowledge. In my research, I argue that museums are patriarchal, colonial, and capitalistic discursive institutions whose monumental architecture reflects these values: imposing facades and sterile interiors that make visitors feel as if they need to behave a certain way or have prior knowledge. Through architectural design, I propose an alternative logic and system: a post-museum based on intersectional feminist values of care and repair.
To achieve this, I reclaim the muse, a figure traditionally considered passive inspiration for the male artist. I argue that one can be a source of inspiration and a creator simultaneously. In the House of the Muses, everyone and everything can inspire one another. This concept is reflected in the design of the Katoenhuis renovation, where an industrial cotton storage building in the harbor of Rotterdam is transformed into a generative machine of relations and collective transformation.
My design is informed by the four textile processes of spinning, weaving, stitching, and natural dyeing. These processes have been considered secondary due to their gendered nature, but I reclaim them as a universal language and medium. Through textiles, the House of the Muses takes shape and is inspired by and inspires human and non-human agencies of the urban environment.

https://lindadelrosso.com/house-of-the-muses-1
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Grounded on the work of French psycho-analyst and activist Félix Guattari (1930-1992) and his attention to the practice of architecture, the seeds of curiosity of this research were planted in questioning the value ecosophical and ethico-aesthetic practices could have in relation to architecture and what it could mean to trade the position of the Dutch/European architect under today’s conditions. Through a neo-materialistic and posthumanistic framework, these curiosities have grown into chaosmic flowers by means of linking-together (mapping) trans-disciplinary under-standings on how to trans-form the mentality under-lying the etho-political grounds an architect acts-with and how to train an eco-logical response-ability towards heterogeneous worldings; different styles of living and dying: the under-ground(ing) riddles of relational architectural existence. This research resulted in a reseach-design tool and a project surrounding the collective milieu of Maashaven, Rotterdam (NLD) where the small design interventions attempt to empower new activities and positive ecological relations. ... Read more

Mexico City currently faces several challenges deriving from historical social inequalities and ineffective governance, which hinder equitable access to water. The centralisation of water supply and drainage systems has largely failed to address local needs, leading to the marginalisation of vulnerable communities, especially populations dwelling in areas ecologically essential to the functioning of the Basin. This research argues for a renewed understanding of water’s ecological and cultural importance in the city based on water’s historical importance to Mexico and the modern misconceptions surrounding it. In this context, this work analyses the potential of a park landscape intervention in Mexico City’s cultural remains of Xochimilco, to explore new water management alternatives. Landscape architecture is presented as a critical strategy for fostering a renewed understanding and a medium-scale infrastructure based on circularity, while revealing layers in history. This thesis provides insights into how awareness, responsibility, and active engagement with water management can be promoted. It proposes that collective engagement can restore essential components of Mexico City’s hydrology, while mitigating some of the most crucial water issues, and inspire community-driven actions toward sustainable practices. Ultimately, the results put focus on the inclusion of local knowledge, strengthening the connection between people and water for an increasingly uncertain future. ... Read more

The present work is an exploration on the ontogenetic character of images. Through a series of intuitive photographic essays, I explored three port cities: Buenos Aires, Istanbul and Naples via the lens of decoloniality. The objective (if any) was not to uncover an underlying truth but to image a praxis that is not only diffracted in these cities but also in a (meta)resulting Simondonian object-diagram that challenges the object-subject divide, scalability and the point of view. ... Read more

Nakuru, situated in the East African Rift Valley, is a rapidly growing city nestled between the Menegai Crater volcano and Lake Nakuru. The fertile yet loose volcanic soil as a result of past eruptions, is supporting agriculture, while Lake Nakuru sustains diverse wildlife, including its famous flamingos by the algae in the lake ,with the lake historically supporting over one million birds at a time as recently as 2000（Byrne, Aidan, et al. 2024）. However, accelerated urban development has resulted in land sealing, deforestation, soil erosion, and ecological degradation—causing a dramatic decline in flamingo populations to just 6,000 by 2021 (Byrne, Aidan, et al., 2024).

The rapid expansion of the city has disrupted the hydrological balance of Lake Nakuru, leading to frequent flooding, increased surface runoff, siltation, and deteriorating water quality (Water as Leverage Nakuru – Setting the Scene, DeFacto, 2024). Compounding the issue, demand for freshwater is expected to rise by approximately 500% (Acacia Water, 2019).

This thesis argues that a spatial strategy integrating water management and urban agriculture, based on nature-based solutions (NbS), can contribute to a more sustainable future for Nakuru. Focusing on the peri-urban area, which holds significant potential for rapid urbanization, the research explores how seasonal streams and rainwater can be effectively utilized within communities and agricultural zones to support more resilient urban development. Rather than allowing rainwater to flow directly into Lake Nakuru which will result in rising lake levels, rain water storage can help address water shortages during the dry season. Based on the analysis of soil types, wetland agriculture and agroforestry can be applied as new approaches to support reforestation and increase income. Guided by principles of resilient design, this project aims to establish a new balance between rapid urban growth and the preservation of a diverse natural environment. ... Read more

This graduation project represents an exploration of the potential for underground urban developments and develops a vision for these as an extension of the urban fabric. The final architectural representation of the project is a mixed-use complex situated above and around the
existing Farringdon underground stations. The design is predicated on transforming existing buildings, adding extra underground space, and connecting them to the context. The design incorporates the primary concepts of blurring the boundaries between above- and underground spaces, creating a public ground floor realm in the middle, and an idiosyncratic architecture that responds to the needs and opportunities of the underground addition. ... Read more

This socio-architectural research is a critical reflection upon post-war rehabilitation methodologies and outcomes. The paper observes the current national and international aid response, and other involved actors to the war in Ukraine. Concepts such as “taking responsibility” and the “ability to respond” serve as guidelines for assessing and critiquing different stakeholders and actors. It also looks at what influences the outcomes of post-war recovery, as well as the importance of citizens involvement in the different stages of planning and project developments. It is through the identification of different means of communication and the reach of emergency responses that we can explore and analyze the needs of the citizens, their resilience and hopes for the future of Ukraine. Moreover, the study aims to break down the ambiguous relationships between response-ability, becoming and com-munity resilience to create a clearer connection between the three. This would allow the architectural research to narrow down on post-war resilient design, going beyond the traditional route of emergency/temporary housing or shelter provision, and valuing community resilience, as well as flourishing local economies and public participation. ... Read more

Soil extraction results in different material qualities. Some products, like coal, are affiliated with industry and pollution. Others, such as marble, equal to perpetual wealth and aesthetic. In the region of West Macedonia, in the North of Greece, those qualities coexist in the form of mines and quarries, creating a material network. With starting point the difference between marble and coal, the research investigates extraction practices as a multilevel topic, an ever-growing field where artificial and natural landscape blends. In the possibility of extraction sites closure, questions emerges in regards for the impact in city, environment and humanity sites towards a future transition. Those sites wound create a new archaeology, signs of an era of Anthropocene and a wounded nature.

Hence research circulates around three themes. First it examines the Hinterlands as a system of operations carrying industrial production, following by the sites of extraction and the narratives around them, in pursuit of the spirit of place. The third aspect is a cognitive examination of the human position into those practices. A placement of human through craft proposes a rethinking of materiality and nature as active agents. This affiliation with non-human entities underlines a transition of culture into a caring state, creating an ecosystem sympathy. Goal is to find answers about the recovery of post-mining territories, the revival of this inert anthropogenic environment.
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Linking Worlds – Rewilding the Netherlands represents an ecological approach towards the architectural design practice. By utilizing interdisciplinary methods, the project proposes an architecture that is concerned with the relation of all living organisms to one another and their environment. Therefore, the focus shifts away from a mainly human benefit to an inclusive life-promoting purpose at its core.

Building upon conservation biology theory of rewilding it addresses urgent matters such as population management issues and species extinction to accomplish a resilient and self-sustaining ecology within the Netherlands. Proposing habitat expansion and connection spanning from the Oostvaardersplassen, over the Horsterwold up to the Veluwe the goal is to create a diverse range of unmanaged land that facilitates natural migratory flows and behavior. The wolf as keystone umbrella species is granted access to new territories, where the carnivore can serve as natural manager through predation on large grazers.

The central architectural structure is an ecoduct or wildlife crossing bridging the A28 highway located between Ermelo and Putten, where the travelling human becomes a witness of architectures agency serving non-human needs. For a moment animal mobility becomes the main actor and therefore center of attention in a place that was claimed for exclusively human activity. A place of danger and potential death for all species is transformed into a place and symbol for concession that connects worlds. The project reveals that coexistence can be solved in a way of overlapping worlds for different species designing a path of less resistance. Beneficiaries are all the participating parties. The architectural result of this project can be seen as a metaphor. A human-made structure to facilitate animal movement. An inanimate object facilitating life on it and across it. A living bridge that promotes life.

The basis and underlaying motivation for this project was the quest for a newly gained attitude towards design, through an exploration of personal spirituality. Linking Worlds advocates for a new worldview. A worldview that demands a shift in perspective, lifts the value of life above all, is inclusive rather than exclusive, fosters a feeling of kinship amongst all species, welcomes diversity and facilitates coexistence. ... Read more

Extractive and productive landscapes are the backbone to contemporary
urban life. However, they are commonly overlooked by the fields of spatial
studies and practices. One amongst many, Cubatão’s petrochemical hub
reveals the systematic ecological degradation resulting from resourceintensive
commodified politics, couched in the widely diffused rhetoric
of development and progress and distinctly linked to events of the Global
North. Impending global shifts, such as the retreat of fossil fuels and the
increase in renewable energy sources, raise questions on the vulnerability of
these places and on their abilities to evolve spatially, ecologically and socially.
Through a critical review of what has been conducted so far in terms of
design, planning and policies and a reflection on the agency of Architecture,
the research speculates over new forms of space production that engages
with the complex spatial conditions and the diversity of agents on site. ... Read more

This doctoral thesis examines the militarization of the Southern border of Hungary as a process of spatial formation, expanding the debate on borders from the political to the architectural arena. Combining spatial theory with empirical research on the case study, the thesis rethinks the border as a complex spatial system, with an agency of its own. From this perspective, it contests the enforcement of spatial boundaries from the above and related ideas of fixity. It brings attention to the agency of space in the advancement of a material becoming; the role of migration in the redefinition of meanings and functions of space; and the action of technologies in the strategic manipulation of measures and scales. While conceptualizing the border as a space in formation, this thesis builds a diagrammatic method of study and moves the research in an onto-epistemological direction. With the aim of fostering a change in those structures that control the partition and governance of space, this doctoral study calls the discipline of architecture to review its questions, methods, and practices. It invites to use architectural knowledge to engage with borders’ complexity and challenge their established meanings and makings. ... Read more

This research and drawings focus on the recent post-Soviet history of Tbilisi, Georgia and the production of architectural and urban interventions as they coincide with larger political processes (i.e. the collapse of the Soviet Union, the shift to neoliberal economic policies, etc.) and social phenomena (i.e. production of ethno-nationalist narratives) as they affect the production of the city. The elaboration of an architectural process which is a result of an expansive investigation of the contemporary issues facing Georgia, can provide an approach to cultural conservation in contexts that confront the problem of subverted narratives. The historical section will in-part be informed by data collected over a period of five years through anecdotes, and conversations with local researchers, activists, and political actors. The technical procedure which is a result emphasizes the value of local intuition and the production of space which occurs in the years post-Soviet collapse to arrive at a solution for conservation which attempts to overcome nationalist narratives which can be exploited by power structures. ... Read more

From Mine to Mine is a research and design project that confronts the concept of the house and the domestic with its emerging context of data transmission and resource extraction. In the middle of the Atacama desert in Chile, the house of the miner is confronted with the physical outgrowth of our global data industry: Copper, the material underlying any kind of digital connection, is extracted in the world‘s biggest open-pit mine, while the mining industry is destructing and contaminating a whole territory.

Thinking towards a time of copper depletion, From Mine to Mine, envisions in three chapters transitions for these copper landscapes - turning them from destructive into productive ones while giving agency to the house of the miner itself. From there, the miner of the future enters remotely through screens the three chapters - “The Toxic Forest“, “The Baquedano Oasis“ and “The London Mine“ - all mines in their on right, that materially and programmatically feed into the house. This way, the house becomes both consumer and constructor of a context in trans-ition, a context that is being “mined“ trans-territorially, trans-temporally and trans-disciplinarily. ... Read more

Among many other aspects, digitalisation and an increasingly globalised collaborative society are challenging the outdated premise of the solitary architect as an authoritarian genius and thus the author of his work. Several theorists and architectural scholars have consistently discussed the issue of authorship (in architecture), as this question addresses a fundamental question to the essence of and engagement in the discipline. As both the artistic and the scientific inherent notions of the profession attribute different functions to the user, architecture appears as a hybrid, mediating intellectual property of the thought, ownership of the product and collective property through engagement. The interpretative dependency of each component’s implication on the notion of authorship is sequentially explored in its linear allocation. Essentially, the whole discourse pivots on the chicken-and-egg argument, for the existence of an author implies per se the emergence of a previously non-existent idea. Establishing a collaborative essence of thinking and a separation of the profession's scope from the entitlement to the built product can result in both the service group’s economic stability and the preservation of cultural production. ... Read more

Locating many of the contemporary architect’s flaws and shortcomings in its own process of becoming-subject, the Manual of the Anthropotekton aims at activating and situating the architectural student, practitioner, and educator in the position to launch an affirmative deconstruction of their own individuating Ego. This is accomplished through an exercise of semi-biographical introspection carried out by the author in which the ego’s structure along with its detrimental implications and inherent fragility is examined. A special emphasis is placed on the role that the ego plays in producing, via the consecration of authorship, the figure of the contemporary architect as a major obstacle for the productive and democratic proliferation of spatial knowledge, as well as one that perpetuates the extractivist and exploitative systems of economic and social production. This will lead to the proposal of an alternative construction of human subjectivity and, by extent, of the architect, that rejects the omnipotence of the architectural hero and embraces the notions of serendipity and the accident as the most important methodological drivers of sensible, suitable, and successful architectural interventions. By virtue of placing the accident in the foreground of architectural praxis, both the architect and its knowledge are liberated from the authorial chains of the ego, maximizing the proliferation of spatial strategies and the activation of local agents and communities, allowing for a collaborative, collective, inclusive and structural approach to any spatial conflict, which is much harder to provoke through traditional praxis. Lastly, a new partial axiomatic system based on a triple embodiment of presence is developed from within the subjectivity of the accident. ... Read more