In my research, I explored how foundation models (artificial intelligence) might be used in architecture. The outcome of my research is a 2D scatter plot of 2500 architectural images, with each point on the plot arranged based on the vector embedding (created by the foundation model). This can be extrapolated and seen as arranging images on 2 axis loosely based on the atmosphere of the space in the image.

With the ability of creating a 2D scatter plot that clusters images based on architectural atmospheres, I wanted to make use of this in an architectural design process.

Specifically I had an interest in designing something that is related to sacred spaces. I always wondered whether for instance: a church spatially feels sacred, mostly because of religion, or because of its architecture? Is there such thing as ‘sacred architecture’? Would a church feel like a sacred space when religion and beliefs are not projected onto it?

This led to my design brief: ‘A Monastic Passage in the Landscape’, which is a space people with a terminal illness diagnosis can visit in order to reflect on mortality. This brief, with the theme of facing mortality, allows me to explore the possibilities and atmospheres that architecture can create when its aim is to address the transcendent and sublime.

Relating to the research, with the 2D scatter plot that clusters images based on atmospheres, the idea is to follow the method of putting in images of the design project into the scatter plot (through the foundation model) to see where the design would land in the 2D plot. From the position in the plot, I hoped to more accurately evaluate and control the resulting atmosphere in my design project.

In the face of climate change, we are confronted with both rising water levels and water scarcity almost simultaneously. These challenges have brought new attention to rivers as crucial elements in urban planning. Yet often in architectural design, rivers are treated as existing elements on site rather than actors that can express their needs in shaping the city. This research constructs a narrative of the Vistula River’s voice in Warsaw, interpreting its needs through its social and ecological significance. It explores how reimagining the river as an active participant of planning debates can inform more responsive, context-sensitive urban design and architecture.
The paper addresses the question of what it means to design with the river, rather than merely around it. It challenges the dominant paradigm, which often disregards the complexity of the environmental role of the water bodies. Instead, the research highlights the intricate relationships between water, land, and community. The emerging global movement of granting legal personhood for rivers has expanded environmental protection, especially in the Global South. The presented approach focuses on building engagement and a personal relationship between the river and people as a key step to protect riverine ecosystems.
The goal of this research was to come as close as possible to the voice of the river – what the Vistula in Warsaw would say about itself and its future. Through qualitative research methods - on-site observation, audiovisual documentation, and interviews with stakeholders connected to the river - the study generated individual narratives that were analyzed and interpreted poetically to construct a collective voice for the river.
Findings reveal that the Vistula’s voice is one rooted in biodiversity, historical identity, and inclusivity. While its interpretations differ across user groups, there are aspects that are common and can be defined as the core of the river’s voice. Vistula gives life and seeps into its surroundings, influencing the biological richness of the area that it flows through. Animals are seen as the river’s primary users, but the Vistula welcomes all living beings, and responsible human activity. Its voice advocates for unregulated flow and improved water quality, while opposing development driven by short-term economic interests. At the same time, it encourages to keep a safe distance from sensitive areas, but bring people close enough to observe nature and be willing to protect it.
The study proposes a design approach grounded in attentiveness to natural rhythms and traditional practices, such as those of the Olęder culture. By shifting perspective toward the river’s own voice, designers and policymakers can increase sensitivity to the impact that their project will potentially have. It can also help them build more sustainable, respectful relationships between urban life and the river. The methodology offers potential applications in environmental education, legal frameworks, and further research on rivers in similar contexts.

In the face of changing climate and the increasing threats of flooding in low-lying Dutch polder landscapes, the demand for new development in adaptive residential architecture becomes crucial. This research explores the development of a lightweight amphibious building concept, designed to dynamically respond to changing water levels in the flood-prone wetlands of Groningen. The study delves into living with water typologies, construction techniques for amphibious buildings, and the utilization of paper and wood as a building material in lightweight constructions. The central hypothesis posits that a combination of a dynamic semi-floating foundation, coupled with paper as a sustainable and lightweight building material, offers new possibilities for future buildings in the floodplains of rivers. The research question addresses how buildings can effectively adapt to fluctuating water levels in Dutch polder landscapes through the incorporation of a lightweight biobased building construction and an adaptable dynamic floating foundation.

The objective is to identify key elements by forming a series of design requirements for an amphibious building concept that tackles climate challenges by new construction techniques and biobased building materials. The thesis is carried out by a literature study of floating constructions and paper constructions, a precedents study and an experimenting phase through research by design. The findings indicate that an amphibious construction could be implemented in various ways, depending on the situation and location. When the river’s floodplain is submerged, the building will start to float. It should be considered that everything is connected flexibly, and access roads remain accessible. Paper constructions contribute to a stable, more sustainable, and cheaper building, enabling larger-scale buildings to be executed amphibiously. Paper constructions, with the right design, can meet the construction standards of traditional building materials and also score well in terms of recyclability and disassembly. However, paper as a building material poses additional risks in comparison with the traditional building materials. Also, the practical longevity of such structures remains a matter of debate. For an amphibious building that is specifically aimed at adapting to the future, it is important that the building materials can last a long time. Paper as a building material is a good alternative, but in the application of amphibious living it could be inadequate due to its lifespan.

These research results are used in the design assignment of an amphibious housing complex in a water-rich neighborhood in the Reitdiep area in Groningen. This building implements aspects such as sustainability, technical features, adaptability to climate change and collective living community.

This graduation report explains and illustrates the graduation project of Simone Hermans, entitled De Wadloper. The graduation project is part of the Technologies & Aesthetics graduation studio, a studio of the Form Studies chair. The graduation report consists of three parts: the research, the design and the technical foundation.

The Wadloper is a project focused on landscape-based design, with a focus on the implementation of technology and aesthetics. In the research, the landscape of Groningen was analysed, after which a master plan was designed for the region. This master plan includes space for a new research and visitor centre, located in the restored Lauwerszee. This centre, De Wadloper, consists of two parts: the visitor centre positioned against the Zoutkamperdijk, and the pavilion, placed in the Wadden Sea. In particular, the design focuses on the pavilion; a unique and innovative structure. De Wadloper innovatively relates to the effects of tides and rising sea levels by allowing it, like its visitors, to walk across the mud flats.

In Sculpting Sensations, I embark on an exploration of how architecture can transcend the purely visual to engage the full spectrum of human senses. This project delves into the psychological and emotional impact of sensory-rich environments, uncovering how the interplay of materials, light, sound, and texture can shape our experiences and evoke deep emotional responses. Through research and design, I demonstrate how sensory synergy can be used as a method to create spaces that resonate on a personal and emotional level. The journey begins with an investigation into sensory perception, exploring how we interact with and are influenced by our surroundings. This research phase lays the foundation for a series of design interventions that culminate in a unique museum concept, where each space is sculpted to evoke specific emotions and sensations. Sculpting Sensations is not just a reflection of an academic journey; it is a manifesto for a more empathetic and human-centered approach to architecture. By bridging technical innovation with sensory and emotional considerations, this work paves the way for creating built environments that are not only functional and aesthetically pleasing but also profoundly enriching to the human experience. Join me on this inspiring journey and discover how architecture can touch the heart, engage the senses, and sculpt the sensations that shape our lives.

100 Years of Summer: A ski area brownfield as a testing ground to explore ways of how humans and nonhumans can thrive in a warming alpine landscape, together.
This project started with a romantic fascination for the mountain landscape in my home country, and with wondering what would happen to all the infrastructure in ski areas once there isn’t enough snow anymore to run them profitably.
I soon discovered, however, that there are some much more fundamental questions to tackle first - mainly concerning how we position ourselves as humans in this world: Are we as autonomous from other beings as we like to think? How does our experience of a (brownfield) landscape differ from that of a bird, goat, or flower? What is our role - both our responsibility and agency - in alpine ecosystems? What is the role, big or small, of each other thing? What does it take for the landscapes to be resilient and full of life despite the pressure applied by climate change?
The final exhibition does not answer all these questions. It creates a spatial framework for experimenting with possible answers and tries to expand the (architectural) narrative: from a solely human experience of the landscape, architecture, and activities, to one that acknowledges the role and experience of nonhuman beings like animals, plants, soil, rain, materials,...

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.

Nowadays, air ducts components for ventilation used in offices, hospitals and schools are made from non-renewable materials mainly sheet metal and plastics. Continuing to feed the high demand of metals is a challenge and could result of depletion of natural resources. This raises the importance to look into renewable resources with a lower environmental impact and contribute to the transition towards a circular economy. By rethinking the material usage for the duct components, solutions should be found in bio-based materials such as agricultural waste, cardboard, bio-composites or bio-plastics.

This research aims to explore the potential and limitations of bio-based materials for the applicability of air duct components. Therefore the following research question is formulated: What are the potential and limitations of bio-based materials to replace sheet metal for the construction of air ducts by maintaining the same quality?

Relevant literature reviews are conducted to give an understand of the construction and relevant requirements of sheet metal ducts. As well the circularity approaches and the categorization of bio-based materials and related manufacturing methods. A method is developed to classify the bio-based materials according their manufacturing efficiency per type of duct component: linear component, joint, bend and t-component. In addition, an assessment is described based on key criteria to select a suitable material per duct component in which the carbon footprint assessment and comparison is crucial.

In conclusion, the potential for linear bio-based components made from Tetra Pak is more advanced than complex components including joints, bends and t-components. This relates to the production efficiency and the LCA of the analyzed materials. Bio-plastics and composites as potential materials for complex components resulted in a relative high carbon footprint which made recycled plastic as non-renewable material a more realistic alternative.
The limitations lie by achieving a similar quality as sheet metal in terms of moisture resistance and chemical emission. Due to the porous character of most bio-based materials they are sensitive for humidity, increasing the risk of mold growth overtime making the use of bio-based materials and the design of the connections between components challenging. Furthermore, the lifespan of the bio-based materials is unknown which is crucial for an accurate LCA in terms of carbon footprint. Low lifespan indicates more replacements leading to potentially a higher carbon footprint overtime compared to sheet metal.

How can we design a low-energy house in the
post-industrial context with the use of environment and
technology and still keep heritage and expression of the past
or machine architecture?

This graduation project aims towards a new understanding of intimate and domestic space through an experimental hands-on research method and a thorough analysis of the black box theatre stage to reveal layers, scales, dimensions, transitions and connections that define dynamic atmospheric space with the use of light, movement, perspective and reflections.
Part of the research outcome is then translated into the Tiny HomeStage. A small scale theatrical house that creates Wonderment on the threshold of domesticity, and in which almost everything is adjustable to the moment’s need. The project is designed mainly with the method of thinking through making, which resulted in a 1:5 model of the entire design.