This graduation thesis is divided into four parts. The first part explores the existing culture, through local materials and an analysis of housing in Bangladesh. Then, it looks into which waste streams have potential for the construction industry, to then optimize existing local materials by incorporating these waste streams. Lastly, it explores how to use these optimized materials in the design of a high-density housing complex that can help address the housing crisis and be resilient to current and future climate challenges.

The thesis explores the feasibility and optimization of local materials in Bangladesh, focusing on three main categories: existing materials, raw materials, and innovative alternatives. The study places particular emphasis on the brick industry, a cornerstone of the country’s construction sector, which accounts for over 1% of global brick production and employs approximately 1.6 million people. However, this industry is also a major contributor to air pollution, topsoil depletion, and socio-economic vulnerabilities, particularly among rural cottage industries. Sustainability within affordable housing is a harder task to achieve as the people in need of affordable housing have more immediate needs. This makes it our responsibility as designers to design with social and environmental sustainability in mind, making sustainability a natural by-product instead of a separate challenge.

Throughout the course of the graduation the student developed a mixed-use building complex for the Hawkers Market site in the city center of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Working within the scope of the Global Housing studio, the focus was set on creating a building composed primarily of dwellings that works in the challenging climate and socio-economic context of the location. Within this scope special emphasis was laid on researching and designing the implementation of the architectural concept of “incremental housing” within a high-rise structure.

The results of the research into similar projects and relevant case studies informed the design. This design integrates a conventional “ready-built” portion, catering to middle- to high-income residents, with a more unconventional open-volume section designed for lower-income residents. The latter consists of completely empty duplex units stacked vertically, forming a series of unoccupied building plots in the sky. The innovation lies in how the two parts of the building are interconnected, benefiting one another while maintaining completely segregated circulation paths for different user groups.

In Bangladesh, rapid urbanization, rural-to-urban migration, and climate change converge to intensify the vulnerability of slum residents, particularly in regions like Sylhet. Slums are characterized by overcrowding, substandard housing, and limited access to essential services, leaving residents highly exposed to disease, poverty, and natural disasters. Climate change compounds these challenges through rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and increasingly frequent floods and cyclones that destroy precarious housing and disrupt livelihoods. Despite the urgency, many government-led relocation and upgrading initiatives have been ineffective, often failing to account for local needs and causing further social and economic disruption.

This research explores the urgent need for affordable, climate-resilient housing solutions tailored to Sylhet’s slum residents, with a focus on in-situ development that avoids forced relocation. It examines how housing can be designed to be both culturally appropriate and adaptable to the residents’ livelihoods, using locally available materials and construction techniques that enhance flood resilience. The study seeks to define affordability in this context, identify design features that improve climate resilience, and propose implementation strategies that maintain community stability during construction. By centering the specific needs and aspirations of slum residents, this research aims to inform practical, sustainable, and inclusive housing models that strengthen community resilience to climate change while addressing urban poverty in Bangladesh.

This master’s thesis explores how adaptive architectural strategies can help address recurring overspill flooding in the pre-urban areas of Sylhet, Bangladesh. These regions face growing challenges due to the combined effects of climate change and rapid, unplanned urban expansion. Based on in-depth fieldwork in Shonatola Village, the project identifies key vulnerabilities—including seasonal flooding, weak infrastructure, and rising land pressures—and proposes design solutions that support long-term resilience, affordability, and community self-reliance.

At the village level, the project introduces a phased development strategy that enables gradual transformation without displacing existing residents. A cross-subsidisation model ensures financial sustainability: higher-income households contribute more, helping to fund affordable housing for lower-income groups. Land security is managed through a Community Land Trust (CLT), which protects collective ownership and keeps housing affordable over time.

On the cluster scale, housing is arranged into three types tailored to different user groups: seasonal workers, low-income families, and mid-income households. These clusters are organised around shared courtyards and integrate existing ponds and drainage systems to manage water during floods. This layout promotes both social interaction and environmental resilience.

At the level of individual units, three modular housing types are designed using local materials and simple, low-tech construction methods. Features such as raised floors, flexible layouts, and bamboo wall panels help residents adapt their homes over time and stay safe during floods. Decentralised water systems—including rainwater harvesting, greywater treatment, and biogas production—further reduce reliance on external infrastructure and strengthen community.

The research combines literature review, case study analysis, fieldwork, and iterative design to develop a grounded and practical architectural response. By working across different scales and embedding local knowledge and participation into the process, Rising Grounds offers a replicable approach for flood-prone regions. The project demonstrates how architecture can move beyond short-term fixes to support lasting resilience and social equity in vulnerable communities.

Many people believe that urban children enjoy a higher quality of life than their rural counterparts. Paradoxically, impoverished urban children often face more severe living conditions and lower standards of living than rural children. Bangladesh has recently experienced rapid urbanization, with increasing numbers of families migrating from rural areas to cities. As a result, many poor urban children end up living in slums, where they are among the most vulnerable, directly affected by the harsh realities of slum life. These challenges not only impact their childhood but also limit their future opportunities as they grow older.
While many studies have addressed these problems from various perspectives, there has been little discussion about solutions, especially architectural ones. Additionally, most research has focused on Dhaka’s slums, even though cities like Sylhet face equally severe slum issues. Consequently, children in Sylhet’s slums suffer from dangerous living conditions, which have been largely overlooked.
This study prioritizes an architectural approach to solving the problems faced by urban poor children, focusing specifically on Sylhet city, to address the challenges of children living in non-capital city slums. Through the housing design research, the study aims to improve the overall well-being and living conditions of impoverished urban children, while ultimately providing better opportunities for their families. The goal of the research is to meet the need of children and create child-friendly neiborhoods through new housing design.

Bangladesh, a riverine country shaped by the yearly monsoon, where dense cities continue to grow as people leave the flooded rural areas in search of shelter and income.

Situated along the Surma River in Sylhet, a city in the north of Bangladesh, this project explores how to design within an unfamiliar context, with the temporality of the monsoon in mind. The site, currently an informal settlement of Hindu and Muslim communities, floods each year as water flows into their houses and daily life moves onto the streets.

Acknowledging the position of being an outsider and the generations of experience in living with the monsoon, the research took a ‘learning from’-perspective. By analysing how people build, live, and adapt to the water, these practices were mapped in detail to understand patterns and principles. This became the foundation for the design; building in clusters with shared courtyards, keeping the dwellings close to the ground floor, integrating Bangladesh-specific elements into the floorplans and making room for the monsoon in the landscape. A raised plinth protects the buildings during high water, allowing life to continue even during wet season.

Rather than relying on imported resources, the design uses local materials so that the project’s investment flows directly into the community, supporting local economies and craftsmanship.

Bangladesh its housing crisis is fueled by rural-urban migration. Climate change stimulated the rural-urban transition, leading to rapid urbanisation and the formation of informal settlements. Focusing on the Shonatola village at the peri-urban transition near Sylhet, this thesis proposes a research-based design strategy that is incremental, flood-resilient, and fit for the socio-cultural context of Bangladesh.

Incrementality poses one of the most promising solutions for affordable housing in the Global South. Incremental housing strategies of the past, such as sites and services, can serve as lessons on their design and management to inform contemporary models that allow for new, scalable site-specific interventions. The key factors for a successful strategy rely on the security of tenure, qualitative urban design, a base scenario with proper infrastructure, foundations, and load-bearing elements, as well as a final-growth scenario that allows for a middle-class DNA. Furthermore, bottom-up, community-organised, participatory processes should be matched with top-down, citywide planning.

Combining architectural design, urban planning, and water management, the proposal unifies these principles into a scalable, participatory model for affordable housing. Through an extensive literature research, case study analysis, ethnographic research, and fieldwork in Bangladesh, a framework is developed to integrate construction techniques, spatial typologies, and social structures. The design proposal consists of a phased masterplan, flood-adaptive building typologies, and a community land trust-based management strategy.

As Sylhet, Bangladesh, experiences unprecedented urban growth, the tension between rapid housing provision and cultural continuity becomes increasingly acute. This graduation project investigates how the adaptive intelligence of vernacular Sylheti architecture can be combined with modern construction techniques to create affordable, resilient, and culturally responsive housing.

Focusing on the redevelopment of the historic Hawkers Market, the project proposes a hybrid design framework that merges elevated, flood-resilient concrete structures with spatial features drawn from traditional homes, such as courtyards, verandas, and modular layouts that accommodate evolving family needs. By layering a clear hierarchy of spaces, from public commercial spines to private dwelling terraces, the proposal supports both community interaction and individual privacy.

Extensive research underpins the design, including fieldwork, climatic analysis, and case studies of contemporary housing models. Drawing on the principles of John Habraken’s open frameworks, the project challenges the rigidity of standardized construction by embedding opportunities for incremental adaptation and resident participation within a contemporary structural system.

A cross-subsidization strategy enables higher-income residential and commercial components to fund affordable housing units for low-income groups, fostering an inclusive urban fabric.

Ultimately, this project demonstrates how bridging vernacular architecture and modern construction can produce housing that is not only technically efficient and environmentally responsive but also socially rooted and capable of evolving with the lives of its residents.

The quality of life and dwelling conditions of the Shonatola village community, living in a peri-urban settlement outside of Sylhet city, is under significant threat. The Shonatola villagers experience significant housing challenges, infrastructural barriers and economic insecurity due to climate-induced environmental distress and the impacts of Sylhet city’s sprawling urban development on their way of life. This research investigates how a situated participatory housing design approach can be applied to improve dwelling conditions of the Shonatola village community. This project proposes a three phase design approach to address the defined research question. Phase one addresses infrastructural upgrades to the existing community; phase two confronts a reactive approach to in-situ housing improvements to the existing village and phase three proposes a proactive design approach to densify the Shonatola settlement by expanding west, beyond the current village limits. This results in three reactive and two proactive design schemes. This project provides a systematic method for development, by offering housing solutions which promote and uplift villagers within Shonatola by improving their current living conditions and supporting their ability to keep living on the land they have lived for generations, while also addressing the need for future expansion and densification of this peri-urban site.

Late life depression is a common problem among seniors. It is estimated that up to 25% of people over 75 experience depression. The consequences are not limited to a having a worse mental state, but include a variety of physical comorbidities. Therefore countering late life depression will not only help the individual, but it will also reduce pressure on the healthcare system. Depression should be treated with medication and psychotherapy, but since many seniors spend the majority of their day at home, their moods will be affected by their living environments. Currently senior housing typologies are notorious for being somber and institutional. Therefore this thesis aims to establish which design factors can contribute to the alleviation of late life depression in senior living environments? The factors have been derived through an interdisciplinary approach; findings from a literature review of Evidence Based Design were combined with psychiatric perspectives on late life depression. Finally housing preferences of Dutch seniors were considered, since meeting their needs might contribute to feelings of life satisfaction. In order to illustrate how these design factors could be implemented in architectural design, case studies have been performed of state-of-the-art psychiatric hospitals and retirement homes. From these methods eighteen mental health-promoting Design Factors have been derived. These Design Factors can be categorized into three groups:

1)Environmental Design Factors include: Central Location, Views of Nature, (Morning) Light, Noise and Air Quality.
2)Building Design Factors are comprised of: Social Spaces, Intergenerational Relationships, Physical Activity, Dementia Spaces, Positive Distractions, Staff Spaces, Appropriate Size, Outdoor Spaces and Home Ownership.
3)Finishing Factors include: Accessibility, Privacy, Control and Homelike Environment.
Integrating these factors into the designs of senior living environments might contribute to the prevention or alleviation of late life depression.

Families of young people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (YAIDD) reported that poor safety, social skills training and the un-readiness of the parents delay YAIDD from becoming autonomous adults. This research is based on literature study, fieldwork, site visits and interviews; and it is aimed to improve Independence, Social participation and Wellbeing of the target group, to create a stimulating and welcoming environments specific to IDD. The study offers a recommended framework that could prepare YAIDD for autonomous living and the design for a Youth Development Hub facility in Laakkwartier (The Hague, Netherlands). The main functions that are present in the project are: short-stay residences, classrooms, community center and recreational areas. The following design concepts are addressed in detail through literature study and applied to the design at varying scales: Legibility and wayfinding, Prospect and refuge, Territoriality and control, Privacy and choice, Design for senses, Design for routine.

Due to the numerous problems families with chronically ill and/or disabled (CID) children encounter in their daily lives, taking a break from the ongoing care and worries becomes even more important for them than for “typical” families. However, travelling is related to many more complex difficulties since their sick child is usually reliant on very specific equipment. So far, the literature focuses on the consequence of the high care needs on the family system, the development of Dutch holiday parks and the spatial needs for the target group, but the combination of these elements has not been analysed in the architectural context before. Thus, this project’s goal is to provide caregivers with relief by creating an opportunity of real recess from constant care for the child, through architectural solutions and thereby improving their well-being.
This thesis investigates how the architectural environment of a retreat for families with disabled and/or chronically ill (CID) children can provide relaxing time together while supplying a potential benefit for the child.
To determine what a potential recess environment for families with CID children should look like, special attention is paid to the analysis of past architectural solutions, the spatial needs of the target group and on analysing how the architectural environment can provide a benefit for the child and its entourage. To that end, several methods were used. First and foremost, observations were made during a fieldwork at a daycare facility for disabled children in Luxembourg. During this fieldwork, the possibility was given to talk to staff members like therapists and nurses and see several treatment rooms for the children. Furthermore, talking to parents of CID children provided valuable knowledge and insights to their lives. Lastly through the use of surveys additional information for example regarding the well siblings needs were gathered.
The outcome of these investigations shows that several design guidelines can be developed. Those can be classified into different levels of detail, such as guidelines on an urban level, for the neighbourhood’s design and focussing on the interior, and they offer insights into the ideal architectural setting for a recess centre for families with CID children.

Despite the predicted increase in the number of dementia patients, the Dutch government has opted against building any extra nursing facilities in the future. Individuals, families, healthcare institutions, and society as a whole may suffer as a result of persons with dementia remaining in their homes or neighborhoods that are unsuitable for their needs.

Making existing neighborhoods dementia-friendly will result in a safe and inclusive living environment, which is required to accommodate the rising number of dementia patients and avoid future issues. Architectural solutions and small-scale initiatives can help reduce the progression of dementia and enhance the quality of life. Meaningful and supportive settings in neighborhoods or households improve health. Giving people environmental control and fostering strong communal bonds positively impacts their well-being. Implementing these procedures guarantees that the elderly with dementia can live in their own homes for as long as possible.

The thesis aims to investigate the role of the built environment with the help of design elements, in promoting mental health among young adults. The study will focus on how architectural design choices can contribute to- wards normalization and de-institutionalisation of mental healthcare facilities for the youth. The academic paper aims to explore the impact of the built environment on mental health in an ever changing modern society. The research will examine several literature studies, academic writings, case studies and primary sources through fieldwork, observations and interviews. Social and environmental factors which might influence the youth and how design choices can address these factors will also be analyzed. Overall, the thesis seeks to provide insights on how architects can create spaces that not only prevent mental illnesses but also promote mental wellbeing among young adults. While mental health is a very prominent topic currently, this thesis aims at providing an alternative approach towards the topic through architecture.

Coinciding with the decline of post-war neighborhoods and the housing shortage in the Netherlands the trend towards individualism and one-person households has emerged since the 1950s. This report investigates the densification and reinvigoration strategies
of these post-war neighborhoods by using co-housing as a strategy. In the past co-hous- ing has been tried as a solution for social injustice and vulnerable groups within a society.
To develop these strategies, case studies of postwar renovation projects have been analyzed as well as co-housing spatial principles and fundamentals to combine into a design strategy for the renovation plan of IJssel- monde. The results are a design approach
for densification of a postwar neighborhood that takes into account the current resi-
dents while providing suitable housing for new residents and connecting them through co-housing.

The driving force for this research was the rising need for additional supported living housing for intellectually disabled adults steering towards their social inclusion; besides all the efforts so far, there is a strong necessity to improve the architectural environment offered to this population.
The study of the relevant literature and the fieldwork conducted based on ethnographic methodology guided this inquiry towards biophilic design, a tool that can improve the quality of life of residents in supported living settings.
Taking into consideration the rights of this vulnerable group to independent living, social interaction and well-being, the main research question that guided the whole process leading to the formulation of the qualities on which the design process will be based was: how can biophilic design be implemented to improve the quality of life of adults with intellectual disabilities who live in supported living environments?
The findings of this research indicate that a small-scale living facility located in the heart of a neighborhood, accessible by public transportation and close to public functions, seems ideal for intellectually disabled residents who live in supported living arrangements. The program can benefit from hybridity, combining dwellings with recreational and therapeutic facilities that can enhance the health and well-being of both the intellectually disabled population and the neighborhood community.

This paper has argued that the absence of inter-generational contact and a deficit of care-taking in communities leads to the societal exclusion of the elderly and increases the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, dementia and depression. Dementia is a pressing problem of our time. The number of people with dementia is constantly rising and will triple by 2050.1 The understaffed healthcare system can no longer provide enough care in nursing facilities. Therefore, this thesis aimed to discover how to prevent the development of cognitive impairments by implementing design strategies on the neighbourhood and housing block scale.
The main research question to be addressed in this thesis was what inclusive design strategy can encourage daily inter-generational contact, strengthen communities and prevent cognitive impairments?
The research included primary research on the target group’s social needs and future-proof living space design through a one-week observation study, three semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire conducted among 18 participants.
Additionally, secondary research was conducted by analysis of two case studies of community-based design projects.
This study has identified a correlation between staying socially and physically active and has found that the combination of fostering social contact and encouraging physical activity can delay the illness by several years. It investigated the needs and wants of different generations regarding neighbourhood and housing design. It identified that a need to feel like a part of a community is the most important overlap between all age groups.
It also examined how to use the principles of ‘Active design’ and ‘Architecture for encounter’ in a housing block.
As a result, the research provides answers on how the architectural design of a housing block can prevent the development of cognitive impairments and thus enable healthy ageing in place. Conclusively the research identified that it is indeed possible to encourage daily inter-generational contact, strengthen communities and prevent cognitive impairments through a design of a housing block which revolves around the community.

Some researchers claim that the modern landscape of psychiatric treatment is mechanized to approach healing of the patients through the form the chemical treatment (Rhi, 2001). This method does not prove to be efficient for every patient, leaving them in a burdening psychological state. Elements such as holistic practices and spiritual rituals can offer an alternative which is patient-centered, and addresses the patient as a whole (CAN ÖZ & DURAN, 2021). Psychiatric facilities often neglect the need of the user in relation to the healing space. The approach in this field of architecture is often staff-centered, focused on control and safety, but often lacks the qualities that are associated with a holistic view of healing (Connellan et al., 2013). In order to understand and analyze the positive effect that buildings can have onto the patient, case studies, interviews, visits and reference reviews were conducted, which were summarized into design themes that serve as a basic framework for creating spiritual and healing environments. The design themes matrix outlines the qualities of architectural spaces on three different scales, representing the experience and feelings of each location. The most common features were elements such as minimalist, synthetic spaces, emphasized by either monochrome or complementary color schemes, are orchestrated through light and darkness. Thus, immersing the user into the architectural space opens them towards the possibility of experiencing a mystical experience.