Many buildings from the Dutch post-1965 stock are judged through their deterioration rather than through their transformative potential. This project proposes another perspective.

Blakeburg is approached as a collection of deposits: physical and immaterial traces that have accumulated over time.

Rather than treating these conditions as problems to be corrected, they become starting points for design. By curating existing deposits and creating space for future ones, the project explores how ageing can become a design driver for the transformation of post-1965 architecture. ... Read more

This graduation project investigates the transformation potential of the Bellevue office building in The Hague, a post-1965 office building currently threatened by demolition and redevelopment. The research addresses the question: Through what interventions can the Bellevue office building be transformed while preserving its distinctive characteristics and responding to current location specific challenges?

The study is based on a research by design methodology and combines architectural, urban, historical, and spatial analyses. The research identifies Bellevue’s most distinctive quality as its role as an urban transition between low rise and high rise scales. Additional analyses focused on the façade composition, programmatic expression, and spatial organization of the building, particularly its circulation and office layout.

The resulting transformation proposal reinterprets Bellevue as a public university building centered around political engagement and democratic participation. The design introduces new stepped volumes containing student housing, educational functions and public programs. A central public atrium and vertical circulation route connect the program components inspire, explore, and express, culminating in the student’s rostrum: a public platform for political expression. Through these interventions, Bellevue regains urban, architectural and societal relevance. ... Read more

This thesis investigates how adaptive reuse can establish architectural continuity in post-1965 concrete office buildings. Using the Sijthoff Building in Rijswijk, widely known as the “Eierdoos,” as a case study, it addresses the contested status of late-modern concrete architecture, which is often regarded as obsolete and therefore vulnerable to demolition. Through a combined analysis of perception, material condition, and spatial typology, the building is understood as part of a continuous process in which past identity, present conditions of vacancy, and future potential, coexist.

Vacancy is interpreted not as failure, but as a transitional state that reveals latent architectural, cultural, and urban capacities. Based on this, a reuse strategy is developed through three interrelated dimensions: urban, material, and spatial continuity. Urban continuity is established by reconnecting the building to the public realm through greater accessibility, permeability, and programmatic activation. Material continuity is achieved through the reinterpretation, damage analysis, repair, reuse, and recycling of the existing prefabricated façade system, transforming the building’s own materials and elements into an internal circular system in which components are disassembled, restored, and reassembled into new architectural configurations. Spatial continuity is pursued through the reconfiguration of the interior by introducing voids, clarifying circulation and movement, and creating flexible and sustainable spaces that follow both function and form.

The proposal demonstrates how a vacant, mono-functional office building can become an active urban actor while preserving and transforming its architectural identity.
Ultimately, the project positions adaptive reuse as a process of continuity, arguing that post-war concrete buildings should be understood not as expendable relics, but as integral components of the contemporary city capable of accommodating change over time. ... Read more

The youth of Amsterdam-North face pressing socioeconomic challenges, including poverty, social exclusion and limited access to education and recreational facilities. These conditions contribute to stress, loneliness and a weakened sense of community, exacerbated by gentrification and stigmatization. This research examines how a youth center can serve as a supportive space for empowerment, social interaction and mental well-being among vulnerable youth. Central to this research is the role of architecture in creating such a center. The research introduces a three-part framework - social, social and spatial dimensions - to analyze how architecture can respond to these complex needs. A set of architectural parameters, including transparency, flexibility and appropriation, guides the assessment of the case studies. The findings are intended to inform architectural strategies that promote empowerment and inclusion through youth-focused design in Amsterdam-North. ... Read more

This graduation project, "Layers of Belonging," addresses the challenge of designing a civic center in Buiksloterham, Amsterdam-Noord, an area experiencing rapid gentrification and socio-economic shifts. It critically examines contemporary practices of historical representation and community expression in architecture, introducing a layered design strategy that intertwines historical narratives with present and future narratives. The intervention preserves and emphasizes historically significant architectural features and spatial qualities of the existing building, "De Ruimte," and integrates them with new architectural additions, allowing past and present to coexist dynamically. Central to the design is the concept of 'unification,' fostering interaction between the diverse, dividing users groups of Buiksloterham, makers and residents, through strategically placed communal and overlapping, interactive spaces. Moreover, the project balances architectural control and user appropriation, empowering users to personalize and take ownership of their spaces within defined architectural boundaries. Ultimately, "Layers of Belonging" proposes a nuanced, resilient model for integrating heritage, historical symbolism, social cohesion, and flexible design in rapidly transforming urban settings, aiming to protect both the tangible and intangible legacies of Amsterdam-Noord’s industrial communities. ... Read more

Molenwijk is part of the Dutch heritage of post-WWII urban planning. Built in 1968, the plan consists of 1,256 dwellings in 15 slabs, each cluster of four centered around a parking garage that once promised social interaction. Nearly 60 years later, the garages are inaccessible and dilapidated. This design seeks to fulfill the social promise of the Molenwijk Plan by reimagining one garage as the civic heart of the neighbourhood. It is treated as if it were a monument, preserving half its original function while transforming the rest into a civic center facing a market square. By layering new programmes onto the structure, the project honours the memory of the car without erasing it. Step-downs in scale reintroduce the human dimension. A modern interpretation of the classical Greek temple offers orientation within the abstract plan, while appropriable surfaces and adaptable features invite future users to shape the space as their own. ... Read more

The project explores how an alternative narrative of monumental heritage can be proposed. As part of a broader discourse on the renovation of 20th-century heritage, the project focuses on the Zonnehuis — a civic monument located in Amsterdam North.

The renovation addresses the tension between authorized heritage and everyday experience. The new intervention introduces elements of daily life into a structure that historically symbolizes authority, while preserving its monumental significance. This negotiation takes place in the spatial interface where authority and everyday life intersect. These tensions are articulated across both tangible and intangible layers.

By proposing the narrative themes of Deliberative Democracy, Creative Emancipation, and Civic Ritual, the project introduces a range of creative and communal spaces on either side of the building. These spaces enable civic issues and histories to be actively negotiated, while the renovated event hall and gallery spaces serve to present them to the wider public. The overall aim is to reclaim the building as a platform for democratic civic participation.

In addition, drawing from Stewart Brand’s Shearing Layers theory and Rigel’s Heritage Value Set, the project introduces a new evaluation framework to guide design decisions. This framework acts as an experimental tool for optimizing renovation strategies by intentionally evaluating both the original and transformed values within a clear theoretical structure. ... Read more

This report discusses the principles of threshold spaces, which could potentially lead to more porous places in the city. The developments of neoliberalism and gentrification threaten to make the city increasingly polished. The scripts that determine how spaces should be used are more strictly imposed, creating a homogeneous streetscape. This can lead to the exclusion of population groups that no longer want or can relate to this "perfect city." These developments become visible in the future plans for the Buikslotermeerplein in the North district. A situation threatens to arise in which the original residents disappear, and no connection is made with the future residents of Buikslotermeerplein. Buildings that do not fit into the "perfect" scripts, such as the Bowling on the Buikslotermeerplein, are in danger of being lost, while these buildings form the character and social anchor of the neighborhood. In order to make the Bowling future-proof for the expected changes this report searches for a new strategy for the Bowling, based on threshold spaces. Through the theoretical framework, which delves deeper into the political and social context, a theoretical foundation is formed for the remainder of the report. This framework shows that threshold spaces are important intermediate spaces in the urban and built environment. They consist of ambiguous spaces that can be both private and promote social interactions. Examples include niches, canopies, arcades, gateways and spaces at entrances. The collective memories of a place, formed by the rhythmic discontinuity, can encourage users to form new relationships, and thereby reinforcing the threshold space. Within the interior, threshold spaces translate into important pieces of furniture that promote the flexibility of the space.

Through case studies, fieldwork and interviews, threshold spaces are analyzed and how they manifest themselves in the reality of Amsterdam-North. This shows that types of thresholds, such as arcades, niches and canopies in combination with multiple zones and floor textures, promote the placement of elements and increase the adaptability of the space. Furthermore, the case studies show that programming, routing, various patterns, height differences, stages and interior elements make the space a threshold space. In doing so, they provide a more porous place within the urban fabric and at the building level. The personal experiences of the residents of Amsterdam-North support these findings, as evidenced by the interviews conducted.
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Adaptability, in contemporary architecture, is defined as the capacity of a building to effectively accommodate the evolving demands of its context, thus maximizing its value through life. On the other hand, there is the concept of cultural significance, which addresses the attributes and values of cultural heritage buildings and justifies their designated status.
The negative reputation and/or lack of recognition received by these typologies of housing have an impact on the protection of these buildings today. Although parts of the urban design of Amsterdam Nieuw-West have received recognition of significance, unfortunately, this is not the case for all the architecture of the buildings, of which many have been demolished or transformed without consideration of their potential cultural significance. Potential obsolescence, changed demographics, and rapidly growing demands for energy efficiency, as well as new living standards, all threaten these buildings with demolition or modification before their historic or artistic attributes can even be recognized. Many of the issues stated above continue to be common today, showing a lack of advancement towards adaptable post-war housing.
This research report tries to integrate research methods on attributes with research methods on adaptability. This kind of approach could diversify concepts and reveal complementary characteristics regarding the significance of post-war housing blocks by linking them to adaptability.
The framework used in this research is divided into two distinct parts. Firstly, the classification of building layers and elements; subsequent internal and external connections and attributes; and secondly, the interpretation of all the aforementioned in a dependency structure matrix, revealing relationships, areas of synergy, and associated attributes.
By fusing these different methods, an integrated approach was developed to study post-war housing blocks and reveal the connections between significance and adaptability. To find areas of synergy between these two domains in order to contribute to the development of architecture that genuinely uses change for greater significance.
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With the growing population, high rates of migration together with de high demand for housing, densifying the existing built environment is inevitable. For this, countries are looking primarily to post-war neighborhoods because of their spatial layout and low density. However, the densification of these neighborhoods threatens the loss of potentially valued heritage and in addition, densification can diminish livability. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to answer the following question: How can a post-war neighborhood be densified while improving its livability and preserving its heritage values? As the case study of this thesis, the Louis Couperus neighborhood was chosen in the Western Garden Cities of Amsterdam New West.

On the basis of literature research and comparisons along with observations, different methods of densification are discussed and a framework has been established that can be used for measuring livability. In choosing the most appropriate method for densifying post-war neighborhoods, present heritage values are leading. These values may also play a part in improving the livability of neighborhoods. Based on these three interconnected topics, a design strategy is formulated in this thesis. This design strategy was subsequently applied to an open courtyard parcellation consisting of duplex typology dwellings within the chosen case study.

Densifying post-war neighborhoods contributes to the current housing crisis and reduces potential heritage demolition. Less demolition, in turn, contributes to a circular economy and deals with existing buildings in a sustainable and resourceful way. Improving the livability of neighborhoods ensures the long-term wellbeing of individuals and communities. This in turn leads to more attractive and suitable areas for communities to live in.
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Every building is designed differently, therefore there is no set way of how building transformations can be carried out. The current state must be figured out for each building, and therefore the exploration and design phase of transformation projects takes a long time. For this reason, buildings are often demolished rather than being transformed. However, many of these buildings are important because of the value of essential history, shared ideas, and the physical environment. In addition, many buildings are vacant while there is a shortage of space for housing. By accelerating the design process, more buildings can be transformed instead of demolished. This will ensure that more housing can be created through the sustainable method of transformation.
The purpose of this research is to establish design strategies that can entertain and accelerate the design process of building transformations. For this purpose, the following research question was formulated: What design strategies can be used during the design process to preserve a building when it is split into smaller segments, and to what extent do these design strategies help in designing a building to be transformed?
To answer the research question, three case studies of transformation projects were analyzed and a comparison method was conducted. From these comparisons, five design strategies were extracted that help in the design process of a building to be transformed. The five design strategies are: 1) The space plan of the building should be kept the same in the main design as much as possible. In addition, a distinctive part of the building should remain unchanged. 2) More services will need to be added with a change of function, here some of the general service areas should be kept. 3) The facade should be kept as much as possible and only subtractions in the roof should be made where people gather. 4) The structure should remain visible where it was already visible, and in doing so the structure should be kept where it is still adequate. 5) The site can be added, removed, or remain the same. This should consider the possibilities of the surroundings and the new function of the building.
The five design strategies were tested on an assessment building. It followed that each of the strategies can be applied to the building and it facilitates and accelerates the design process of the transformation. In addition, the design choices made by the strategies are well-supported. Thus, using the strategies will benefit the design process of transformation projects. ... Read more

Urban vitality is a concept reflecting the synergistic interplay of complex conditions that create a city's liveliness and significantly influence its livability. Distributing central area density becomes important in cities like Amsterdam, which face challenges such as housing shortages and overtourism in central areas. Consequently, enhancing the livability of areas outside the city center is essential. Livability also contributes to conserving the historic urban landscape and affects the city's sustainability. This study focuses on urban vitality as a means to enhance livability.

The primary objective of this research is to identify the conditions that affect the urban vitality of a neighborhood center and explore how these conditions can be applied to redesign. The case study focuses on Plein ‘40-‘45, a historic square and neighborhood center located in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Enhancing the urban vitality of this square is expected to improve this area's livability, alleviate Amsterdam’s urban problems, and positively impact the conservation of the historic urban landscape.

As a methodology for this research, a comparative case study was conducted to examine how to improve the use composition of this square. The comparative case is Spui, located in Amsterdam Centrum, a touristic place and already a lively square, where a comparison of the diversity and density of uses was made. In particular, the observation method was used to examine the relationship between uses and pedestrian activities. This method is particularly useful for identifying public life characteristics in a relatively small urban area like a square.

Meanwhile, the Amsterdam Nieuw-West, also known as the Western Garden Cities, has been recognized by The Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands for its urban and green environment and structure as having historic significance. Therefore, a literature review was conducted to study how the square redesign should improve the green environment while respecting the urban and green structure.

The conclusion of this study shows that Plein ‘40-‘45 is primarily focused on residents in terms of use. For this square and neighborhood center to develop into an urban center, it needs to offer diverse and attractive uses for visitors and tourists. Additionally, improving the diversity and density of the green environment and providing green connections in the area are important from the perspectives of urban and green structures. ... Read more

This report researches the adaptive reuse of Christian religious heritage to improve resident satisfaction in Amsterdam New West. As the adherents of Christian denominations are decreasing in Western nations, the contemporary use of Christian religious heritage is becoming one of the greatest challenges of sustainable development. The resident satisfaction is determined every two years in neighborhoods in Amsterdam and Amsterdam New West has annually the lowest resident satisfaction. This study employs a qualitative interview method, using the Ballarat Imagine method, where local residents are asked to envision their surroundings from a positive perspective. The participants' referenced attributes are classification in the qualitative Value Framework by Pereira Roders. The conducted interviews and analysis led to the following conclusion. When establishing a strategy for adaptive reuse of Christian religious heritage in Geuzenveld-Slotermeer and Osdorp, the following attributes should be retained and enhanced: the greenery, the multiculturality, the peace, the interaction with others. In the same strategy attention should be given to the attributes that residents need, such as safety, generational harmony and diversity in shops and facilities. ... Read more

This master’s thesis was written as part of the graduation studio “Heritage & Architecture: Adapting 20th Century Heritage: Resourceful Housing” at Delft University of Technology. The cultural significance of buildings is increasingly recognized, with heritage structures offering glimpses into the past. Building preservation is evolving from simple protection to an integral part of sustainable urban growth, with adaptive reuse being a more effective approach.

In the Netherlands, schools are rapidly disappearing, primarily due to demolition driven by the new “Frisse Scholen” initiative by the RVO. Additionally, the declining number of students in both primary and secondary schools is causing further issues. According to Rijksoverheid (2023), merging two or more schools is a proposed solution to address the decrease in student numbers. This process leaves one or more school buildings vacant, presenting an opportunity for adaptive reuse projects.
Furthermore, the Netherlands is currently facing a housing shortage, with almost 400,000 dwellings needed. The current housing crisis demands more typologies and space for new homes. By combining the preservation of (post-war) school buildings with the need for housing, adaptive reuse strategies can transform heritage school buildings into residential spaces. Research on the intersection of these issues and the transformation of school buildings is still limited.

This thesis employs a mixed-method approach. A general comparative case study was conducted using the four approaches to building transformation by Hans Ibelings and Diederendirrix (2018). This framework was enhanced with a grid and spectrum system to classify and analyze the research cases. Further analysis utilized the "black/yellow/red" method to illustrate building adaptations. The value framework by Pereira Roders (2007) guided the identification of primary values. The research classified all cases as having either a repurpose or regenerate approach. Overviews of interventions were created, highlighting added and removed materials for one case.

Translating research into design, the Rendorpschool was studied to assess the impact on building fabric and environment of various typologies. Scenarios were evaluated based on three aspects: living quality, cultural value, and resourcefulness. The findings indicated that variants with better living quality had slightly less added volume, thus requiring fewer resources.

This thesis holds relevance for other designers. The school building intervention overviews provide a concise, visual summary of all interventions and can serve as a starting point for evaluating the comparative qualities of various interventions. It ensures that data for the three key features—interior building fabric, exterior building fabric, and function—is available. This research contributes not only to the societal impact of strategies to reuse vacant buildings but also offers professionals a tool for assessing interventions in school transformations into housing. The conclusions from the design phase can help apply results to other school transformations, understanding the impact of decisions on building volume and environmental impact, and aiding in the selection of appropriate typologies for their projects.
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Hoptille in the South-East of Amsterdam was created to foster a sense of human-scale architecture amongst the high-rise manifestation that was the Bijlmermeer project. Fourty years later this neighborhood still exists as a modest yet dense neighborhood flanked by an increasingly densifying Amsterdam.
This neighborhood is one of the more fragile areas of the city socially and economically. With new housing planned all around the region will there still be a place for everyone in the city?
To effect change the point of attention is the area where systems meet. An intermediate space between the individual and the industry or larger urban network. This project explores how cohousing can benefit Hoptille, socially, economically, and ecologically. And proposes a strategy to do this. ... Read more

Without realising it, a building can have a lot of impact on user health. Using literature studies and interviews in two case studies, we looked at how physical elements in a building affect the user's experience. These physical elements are nature, material, air, light, dimensions, smell, sound and temperature. These interviews took place in shopping malls. As it happens, more and more shopping malls are becoming vacant. The design case for this project, the Oranjerie, also experienced this. Located in the city centre of Apeldoorn, this shopping mall has been battling this vacancy for ages. In this design, I propose adding more nature, applying healthy (bio-based) materials where necessary, reusing or recycling materials, connecting indoors with outdoors more, creating multiple meeting places and mixing different functions. By opening up the traffic area, but still keeping the roof, an adaptable space is created with a climate that changes throughout the seasons. Through these interventions, I hope to create a healthy environment where people feel comfortable and can meet. By creating multiple types of spaces, it creates a lively area where people can shop, live, eat or just unwind. ... Read more

In recent years, shopping malls are facing an increasing amount of vacancy problems, due to the rise in online shopping. The research within this project looked into the visitors’ perspective concerning the functional, architectural, identifiable and social values of three shopping malls in the Netherlands. The outcome of the research shows that the visitors value the functional aspects of the mall most often, with everyday values such as ‘the grocery stores’, ‘the fact that the mall is nearby’ or that there are ‘a lot of shops’. From the outcome of the research, it could be concluded that the emphasis at the mall is on the necessary activities.

To create a place where a broader spectrum of activities will take place, the re-design of the Mall of Schalkwijk (Haarlem) focuses on a mix of functions with the addition of different dwelling types, offices, shops and green spaces. The connecting element in the project is the passage, which is repurposed from a closed traffic space to an open place to stay. The passage connects the shops and restaurants with a new square at the location of the old expedition space of the shops. An important factor in the design is the implementation of green to reduce the UHI effect and to increase human comfort at the site. Important interventions in the re-design are a boulevard with a green colonnade, façade gardens, green roofs and the quadrupling of the amount of trees on the site. To conclude, this re-design is an attempt to value what is already there and improve, making it ready for the future.
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This paper explores the balance between heritage values and new identities in the redesign of 20th-century Dutch shopping mall skins. The skin of a building plays a crucial role in its external identity and communicates its history, style, and cultural context. Shopping malls, in particular, require constant redesign to keep up with changing trends and provide a fresh stimulus to consumers. However, there is a lack of strategies for balancing necessary updates while preserving heritage values. Using the case study of Hoog Catharijne shopping mall in Utrecht, the research highlights the transformation of various tangible attributes of the HC skin, such as materials, patterns, signage, and elements, as well as intangible aspects like context relation, exterior and interior character, and perception. The results indicate that the redesign significantly transformed the mall’s appearance, leading to increased footfall and commercial success. However, there are mixed opinions about the new design, with concerns about sustainability and the loss of historical and cultural values. This research contributes to the field of heritage architecture by providing a framework and guiding principles for achieving a balanced and effective skin redesign in non-listed heritage buildings. By encouraging designers to explore the cultural and historical values embedded in building skins, the study aims to reduce casual demolition and promote sustainable and circular design practices. ... Read more

The easily accessible location, the comfort of various facilities, the architectural quality and the space for meeting, all this created a new typology that could not be thought out of everyday life anymore. The mall gave a glimpse of a modern future, where the mall functioned as merely a place to shop; it functioned as a center for cultural enrichment, education and relaxation. However, it turned out that many
of these malls soon developed into commercial paradises. There was little room for social functions and meeting space, the only thing to do was shopping. An important reason for the failure of this typology may therefore be that shopping malls were never implemented as they were intended: as social beacons within the community. Use changed over the years, leading to many vacancies and a growing sense of social unsafety.

To preserve the existing typology of the mall, it seems important to strengthen its local relevance. Initially, the mall was designed as a social space, a place for cultural enrichment, education and relaxation. Somewhere along the way, this social value gradually disappeared; the mall is now mainly focused on shops. This research
tries to find which architectural elements can support the local relevance of the mall. It analyses the social value of the mall by the presence of place attachment. The level of place attachment is researched by different functional and emotional architectural attributes. Showing that the combination of diversity in public space, program, activity and people and more social safety will lead to a higher level of place attachment and therefore lead to more social value within an area. ... Read more