As humanity prepares for long-term lunar habitation, the design of extraterrestrial habitats must evolve beyond functional efficiency to prioritize human well-being. The bulk of existing space architecture research focuses on optimization and safety, resulting in rigid, standardized environments that overlook consideration for psychosocial needs. This research explores how user-defined spaces based on human-centric design principles can create a heterogeneous lunar habitat that balances social interaction and private boundaries, to foster the psychosocial well-being of long-term living in an isolated environment.

The project departs from examining human behaviour living in an isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environment, drawing insights from analogue missions, space station precedents, lunar surface expeditions, and related experiences – through which one of the leading causes of frustration is found: lack of variation in privacy. By extrapolating the research into personas and activity-based design, this project set design parameters to support social integration while preserving personal space. A key objective is to create distinct transitions between functional spaces, allowing different social interactions to occur, thereby catering to the inhabitants’ personal preferences and social dynamics.

The research employs computational design methods to explore possible spatial configurations, integrating In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and component-based construction for scalability and adaptability. A bottom-up design approach ensures that user needs, activities, and interactions drive spatial organization, with activity-based design shaping program distribution and form optimization. The project also speculates on future construction methods, combining robotic assembly and mass customization for efficient yet personalized environments.

By shifting the focus from purely functional to humanized lunar habitation, this research contributes a novel architectural approach that enhances astronaut well-being. The findings offer valuable insights not only for lunar bases but also for terrestrial architecture in extreme environments, redefining how spatial design can support interaction and individuality within isolated habitats.
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With the start of the Artemis project, the creation of a permanent Lunar base has been set as a goal, which has made it relevant to explore and consider all aspects of this new form of architecture, which will require a whole new set of criteria adapted to this unfamiliar Lunar landscape. Due to the dangerous conditions out on the surface, any long-term settlers will be mostly confined to the Moon base, with only their fellow crew members to interact with. This will have a great impact on their mental wellness. Research has identified nearly 70 stressors created by space travel, ranging from the real possibility of dying to boredom and from crew tension to isolation. Even looking out the window will not show the varying blue and green views we are used to, but a colourless, rocky landscape similar to a black and white photograph. Solace will need to be found within the habitat itself. MoonSane will investigate how human spatial perception can be used in the design of Lunar habitats, to mitigate the negative mental health effects of living long-term on the moon.
Through various studies, it has already been established that architectural spaces can influence human emotion and mental wellbeing. On the Moon, these psychological aspects of architecture will be even more important and must be utilised. Various spatial interventions, that have been proven to positively impact the mental health of inhabitants/users, are combined into a fully functional Lunar habitat. The interventions include dynamic lighting, spatial geometry and permeability as well as internal and external views. They will be implemented into a small scale Lunar base for a crew of 6 people. A meditation space is added to the general program of requirement, that utilises a phenomenon called the Overview Effect; viewing the Earth from space can have a positive emotional impact. All the architectural interventions are integrated with the safety requirements of a Lunar base, considering radiation, a life support system and adequate construction strategies, based on a stacked component system with in-situ resource utilisation principles. ... Read more

This research explores the concept of a climbing-based lunar habitat as an alternative to conventional static environments, focusing on human body interaction in reduced gravity. Inspired by the natural formations of lunar lava tubes, the project investigates how irregular, vertical, and multi-directional surfaces can redefine movements and spatial engagement in extraterrestrial architecture. By studying the ergonomics of movement in low gravity, including climbing, hopping, and other dynamic body coordination, the research challenges the sedentary work-life paradigm commonly found in on-Earth architecture. A key aspect of the study is the relationship between human movement and architectural form, informed by both computational design and material exploration. Comparative analysis of terrestrial lava tubes and human adaptability in extreme environments provides insights into spatial design strategies for lunar habitation. Additionally, fabrication method such as 3D printing is explored to develop construction techniques suited for lunar materials.

Ultimately, this project aims to create a playscape-inspired habitat that not only supports basic functions of survival, but also enhances physical and psychological well-being through active engagement with the built environment. ... Read more

Continuous or repetitive exposure to physical and psychological stressors can lead to a range of health problems caused by resulting malfunctional allostasis. The field of neuroarchitecture focuses on the relationship between architecture and neuroscience, and the specific neurological changes shown in biomarkers that can result from the built environment. In extreme environments, where exposure to stressors is heightened, the deliberate use of physical architecture and indoor environmental quality - for a positive influence on short and long-term stress response - is of even greater significance. Previous research investigated architecture as cause for stress, post-stress relaxation and for physical recovery. Still, architecture as acute countermeasure (reducing relative stress reaction) based on individual neuroendocrine response to prevent a shift to malfunctional allostasis is not well investigated. The thesis aims to help closing that gap by investigating the effectiveness of visual quality features as countermeasure to stressor exposure shown in biomarkers. It focuses on inter-individual reaction and the alignment of neuroarchitecture with functional requirements of architecture in extreme environments. The methodology for this is three-fold. A research framework was developed considering study design (including necessary infrastructure, stressor simulation, study conduction and data collection), and study outcomes (data analysis and data application). The framework was applied to a pilot study with human subjects focussing on colour correlated temperature (CCT) and heart rate variability (HRV). In addition to HRV, basic physical data, the participant’s stress over the last month, chronotype, perceived stress/workload during the experiment and test performance were recorded. The study data were processed through different computational models (including multi-criteria decision analyses and Bayesian linear effects models) analysing inter-individuality, the effect of confounding variables and the use of transient stressor simulation. The findings - while not generalizable due to the small data sample – indicate baseline-, stress-, and recovery-HRV were higher under warm CCT, but the HRV-change from stress to recovery was greater under blue CCT. Despite this, CCT did not show a significant counteracting effect reflected in the change from baseline-HRV to stress-HRV. The most relevant findings relate to the development and exploration of the methodology, providing directions to address inter-individuality of stress-response and cause-effect ambiguity in cross-sectional research on the effect of visual quality as countermeasure. The data were further used for the demonstration of a future application - using a microgravitational space station as case study - detailing Multi-Sensor Data Fusion and Bayesian Reinforcement Learning for a system that considers confounding influences, spatial limitations, functional requirements, accessibility, individual- and group-needs and long-term trends in biomarkers. The research framework can be extended and applied to future neuroarchitectural studies, the results of which could inform the development of adaptive systems in extreme environments. The aim of this thesis was the development of research methods and their preliminary validation that can contribute to future research on neuro-adaptive architecture as countermeasure to physiological stress response. ... Read more

The current project represents the creation of space for a new paradigm in Olympic sports: the introduction of virtual cycling, enabled through the latest technologies in indoor cycling and offering the capacity to connect athletes from all over the world. On an architectural level, it challenges the white elephant phenomena, concept used to coin large Olympic stadiums that remain unused post-event due to lack of repurposing or difficulty of re-scaling. Through a small intervention on the side of the river Seine, well integrated in the Olympic Masterplan and the urban fabric of Paris, the venue will continue to be a training hub for cyclists around the city also post-Olympics.

Similar to the way an athlete trains for a competition, improving gradually each aspects of their performance, "A cyclist’s reinterpretation of movement at the Olympic Games" aims at the gradual optimization of a computational design process when confronted with the architectural program, through continuous feedback loops. The final configuration with its specific formal language, based on Voronoi diagrams, is the result of trainings, or iterations in computational design terms. ... Read more

In the current times, the world context is focused on trying to incorporate hybridity into various industries. There is a certain research gap between architecture and soft robotics where inflatable architecture has been implemented and architectural robotics has also been implemented but a combination of pneumatic robotics has not been explored much. In this aim, my thesis explores the possibility of integrating Soft robotics into an architectural design approach leading to the symbiosis of digital and physical.

The goal of the thesis is to develop a computational design approach for integrating spatial experience into design. The Intersection of robotics and spatial design explores a new tangent in architecture where the relationship between the human and space is constantly challenged and enhanced using sensors, actuators, responsive materials and ambient intelligence. The design represents an ever-changing living environment where human social behaviour not necessarily with space dictates the plasticity of the environment. The soft robots would be used as a means to highlight and explore how spaces could react to humans on a material scale. ... Read more

The world around us is rapidly changing and evolving. In a new report by the World green structure committee, the building and development industry are liable for 38.8% of all CO2 emissions internationally, with operational outflows (from energy used to warmth, cool and light structures) representing 28%. Our designed structures depend upon many resources during the construction or operational phase. So it is clear that the design decisions we make now for our built environment have a significant impact on the future. As the population increases, the need for freshwater, electricity, and other urban resources grows exponentially. It constantly increases pressure on the urban resources and infrastructure needed to run our cities smoothly. Self-sufficient buildings can be a crucial solution to urban problems like increasing energy demands and poor air quality, which we face today. It is less dependent on active energy systems like mechanical ventilation and electricity from the grid; it is more inclined towards passive energy systems. Integrating vegetation into the built environment has proven in many instances that it increases the self-sufficiency of the users' buildings and well-being, according to R.Hassell, 2017.

Nature has always provided inspiration and ideas for the field of innovation. It has always inspired newer living and green solutions for the future, environmental, economic, health, and community benefits. The integration of green vegetation into the buildings has various psychological and physiological benefits over the users

To summarize, integrating green building strategies can increase the self-sufficiency index in our structures. The research has explored various computational methods used for similar contexts and related them with green building strategies to design a self-sufficient habitat.
The research question mainly revolves around developing a design process that explores computational methods in green buildings and landscapes. After careful deliberation, all investigations are moving towards understanding different aspects and finding the overlaps between these two emerging fields because innovation and new ideas can be explored in that overlap. To summarize, the research question is "How to integrate green building strategies using computational methods to design self-sufficient buildings."
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Hospitals fulfill an important function within the healthcare systems, providing complex and specialized care. Healthcare continues to evolve into more effective forms of care and thus benefiting those in need. While care changes the physical hospital rarely does, resulting in hospital architecture which leaks the quality to contribute to and improve the users wellbeing. This design thesis explores a large scale architectural intervention strategy that improves the hospital architecture of the AMC Amsterdam through means parametric and computational design. The intervention focuses on spatial redistribution of function based on trends and innovations in healthcare. Resulting in vacant space available for spatial interventions. In order to increase wellbeing the intervention focusses on the themes of nature, exercises, sight and daylight. Creating an biophilic experiential structure that connects vertically and horizontally on the various floors. Enabling patients to move, stay and experience the intervention each on their own manner, while simultaneously creating an healing environment that improves patients wellbeing. ... Read more

The master's thesis explores the possibilities of reusing abandoned post-industrial structures and objects of architectural heritage. Objects, which are usually difficult to renovate due to high costs and their poor physical condition, could be filled with new inflatable volumes and thus be filled with new space, function, and life. The work is inspired by designs from the 1960s and 70s of temporary and easily deployable inflatable installations, as well as the latest developments in soft robotics. Pneumatic structures equipped with sensors and activators would allow the creation of a responsive and interactive architecture evolving in time. ... Read more

The story started from the invisible river Senne on the urban scale of Brussels, concentrating on the wall which is both spolia on site and the identity of my youth center. The archaeological idea of Spolia keeps me discovering the existing value, then constantly thinking of collecting, composing and re-using. Once existing fragments collide with new ones, the process of bricolage comes up.
The wall on site is the ghost of Senne that could be seen as spolia on immaterial, but now it became the backdrop of people’s lives in the neighborhood, where the youths there are facing issues such as stigmatization. The strategy of the urban proposal and architectural part is to use the wall as a frame to turn the situation from segregation and at the meanwhile to break youths’ mental wall. The old wall owns the collective memory, speaks for space. That’s why the walls teach. ... Read more

In a quest to breathe new life into public spaces and engage with its today’s increasingly (inter-)connected users, robotic architectural components seem to open up possibilities to give agency to building component. A new field of research has been involving multi-agent robotic systems in the architectural design and/or fabrication process. They require a new understand the built environment as an “adaptive ecology” composed of autonomous agents that interact with each other and their nearby environment (users and context). I am proposing the examination of a multi-agent system composed of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) that can collaborate together to self-assemble into structures that are user-interactive and responsive to the local climate conditions. These structures are composed of a many of these ‘drone-bricks’ that form shelters that can grow and morph to accommodate users’ changing positions and movements through time. They are able to modulate environmental conditions such as wind and rain shelters, daylight penetration and the acoustic resonance of the space. This architecture is directly informed by the users’ activities, environmental conditions, and other information flows. It relies on principles of emergence, indeterminacy and generative design. This architecture has no blueprint but is self-organising; it is processual, indeterminate and continuously in formation, as opposed to the dominance of static, predetermined forms and functions in the organisation of the environment today. How to translate these architectural intents (performative and qualitative metrics) to a swarm of UAVs in an attempt to create a robotic architectural ‘species’ where autonomous agents collaborate to form temporary shelters that respond to local environmental conditions and human interactions? The research, simulation and prototyping rely on a behavioural and praxiological approach to architectural design that establishes a feedback loop between the algorithmically-encoded robotic capacities (behaviours), the material properties (morphogenetic processes) and sensing capabilities (neurological processes) of the agents and the emergent interactions and their self-organization in the environment in real-time. This project attempts to look at the ways these behaviours are digitally coded and physically expressed, as well as evaluate the overall agency granted to the system through the implementation of these behaviours with the overarching aim of developing new relationships between space and users through multi-agent robotic systems. ... Read more

With the thorough penetration of Internet, everyone has a dual identity in contemporary urban life. On one hand, urban survival pressure and high-density, planned forms of living consume the vitality of young generation; on the other hand, streaming videos, social media and online games establish their existence in another dimension. The Toronto School and other many media theorists have foreseen the impact of the Internet as a medium on behavior and society in the last century. Since the 1990s, architects and urban designers have begun to imagine the integration of architecture space and cyberspace. Later practices, in the name of interactive architecture, explored certain possibilities of architectural interactivity. But until today, the real revolution has not come in a larger scope. Research and design are aim to the impact of various interactive media derived from the Internet on living and how to use their interactivity to take the intelligence and delight of built environment to a new level in contemporary urban context. The results of study will be presented as a public building design, which is an urban cultural complex with the theme of interactive media, including functional spaces such as exhibitions, interactions, game events, esports, creative workshop, sales, and cafe, let visitors experience the knowledge, applications and trends of cyberculture. The choice of functions takes it into account that this theme has practical meanings for leading interactive architecture experiments. And its exterior and interior design embed cyber-physical system and show the characteristics and interactivity of the cyberspace to get the unity of theme and space experience. As a cyber dominant zone, it serves as a prototype to illustrate the possible impact of the Internet on society and lifestyle in the future. ... Read more

This project is based around myself (student/young professional) and the need for a quality house after graduating, because the current housing demand of affordable high quality housing does not meet the availability. One cause of this problem is the rather old fashioned construction industry that cannot meet the required amount of housing units that have to be built. Therefore more high tech equipment on the construction site is introduced, while also opting for more sustainable materials. These interventions are based in the city center of Rotterdam, on parasitic like empty building plots. By looking at the target group, tiny houses are suited best for this particular case (this target group). A mobile 3D printer is used to print buildings in-situ, with a sustainable construction material called basalt fiber reinforced polylactic acid. This material is made from renewable and natural sources and can be used in a circular material economy, while it can still be separated to its original raw materials. The design of the building is completely parametrically, meaning this procedure can be used for multiple small locations within the city, but can also be applied to other cities. All these interventions (3D printer, Parametrically designed, a new sustainable material, parasitic tiny houses) could possibly help reduce the housing crisis. ... Read more

The average weekly working hours within the European Union has been decreasing very steadily over the last decades, as a result of the automatization of the economy. This seems to suggest a disappearance of the necessity to work. In his New Babylon project, Constant Nieuwenhuizen has imagined a society in which the inhabitants, the Homo Ludens, are completely free of any occupational obligations. How can an architectural intervention transform an existing building in order to integrate in such new kind of society? This design question was accompanied by a research that emerged from a personal fascination. The question from this perspective was: How can certain natural processes be abstracted and translated in simple rules in order to use them in computational tools in the design process? An intervention in an remnant from an industrial era has been designed in order to suit this new kind of society. The intervention creates a new route through the building, the floors of the existing parts contain the program. This program aims to provide technological additive manufacturing tools and render them accessible to a wider public. It strives so by providing interactive user interfaces and human-robot collaborations. The intervention has been developed in close relation to the research. The computational tools created in the research have been used to design the structure. First a main volume was created which determines the composition of the atria as well as the structure. Structural analysis was applied to inform the composition and thickness of the beams. Consecutively, analysis of the utilization of these beams is used to inform its cross sections. Details as railing and balustrades are the design with the aim to extend the emerged architectural language. Because of the close relation with the research in natural processes certain art-nouveau characteristics emerged in the architectural language of the intervention. However, rather than merely decorative, they are informed, performative and functional. The emerged architectural language therefore may be referred to as ‘informed art-nouveau’. The research concludes that it’s important to acknowledge the complexity of natural processes and that they are always a part of a larger entangled system. Therefore, in order to use a natural reference in the development of computational tools it is essential to abstract an aspect that seems relevant for the project, which than needs to be translated, adjusted, and complemented in simple rules. By doing so the natural processes become merely inspirational in the architectural design. Yet they have been fundamental in the development of this project, which is evident in the emerged architectural language. For a more elaborate description as well as the animated presentation see: http://100ybp.roboticbuilding.eu/index.php/project09:Final_Presentation ... Read more

This graduation project focuses on creating small yet spacious dwellings. Offering unique dwellings to live in. Designed and build with a robotic design and assembly strategy. Creating commercial areas on the ground floor, with dwellings above it. Separating dwellings for these families from the public and increasing the feel of safety for them. While still maintaining a strong connection with the park on the south. The volumes of these dwellings have been distributed by a computational model, based on solar and view performances. Locating sleeping areas in climatic colder regions, while placing the living areas opposite of that. The interior offers an acoustically optimized wall to reduce noise. Integrating the interior paneling with that of the exterior with a spiderweb-like structure. This structure is optimized by their local forces, and thereby minimizing a material need. Throughout this structure the windows are placed that line up in between the steel tubes. Thereby providing sufficient daylight for all the spaces. Certain windows are still being able to be opened and closed manually, thereby increasing living comfort. The negative spaces between the dwellings are used for routing the electrical, pluming and ventilation. Integrating a high degree of customization with the practical needs associated with building dwellings. As last a robotic assembly strategy is being shown in combination with a local optimized node. Integrating a ‘off the shelve’ solution combined with a customized 3D printed node. ... Read more

The following project is an exploration of computational tools, parametric design and robotic fabrication in the context of the AMC hospital. This multi-functional and complex structuralist building is due for renovation, both in terms of sustainability but also innovation, technology and place-making. It was an ideal testing ground for the way these new technologies can improve the healing qualities of space, quantitatively and qualitatively (i.e thermal comfort, acoustics, light properties, vegetation, ergonomics, etc). My design consists of a parasitic intervention or pavilion within the public areas of the AMC that integrates several parameters through variable scales and porosity and can be materialized through additive manufacturing. It also displays the interesting dynamic of how non-standard architecture can enhance standard architecture. The research and methods utilized can be transferred to other fields as well, since the scripting and algorithms developed are applicable through a wide array of projects. ... Read more

his project is a reflection on the Bauhaus and its possible implementation 100 years later in current society. Most importantly a response on the educational system of the master and how current technologies can be found translated in architecture. Through a research on the Bauhaus educational system and contemporary educational systemz, the statement is made that the student is the new master. Removing the clear hierarchy that existed within the Bauhaus university. From this research the function of the building is defined as, an inter-disciplinary school where the student is its own master. The personal development of the student is then separated into staying, learning, collaborating and sharing, in which each theme has its own defined functions. Following the removal of hierarchy, the spatial sequence of the building follows this idea of a dynamic network. There is a dynamic society within the building, where all rooms play a role within the education. No hierarchy between the spaces. It is a continuous space where all the spaces are linked together. Instead of one big building, it will become a collective of spaces. Building as a community. Based on the adjacency scheme of these functions a simulation was run to define the optimal functional distribution of the functions. The qualities of these simulation results were then analysed and used to establish the design rules on macro scale. Then different design methods were used to explore the suitable architectural language for the project. Set up similar to a Bauhaus workshop the methods included; simulation, scripting, digital design and computational design. These results were then synthesized into one final design. A continuous building that activates both internal and external spaces, that connects multiple building blocks through a contemporary design language. The connection is shown through an increase in fragmentation of the building, growing from orthogonal to a fragmented façade, that grows into a curvilinear interior. Based on the concept of visualizing the possibilities of architectural language in which mass-customization allows for more design freedom. ... Read more

IN-FLOW deals with a context driven research into the unique ephemeral nature of a temporary pop up city in India. The site is situated in the northern city of Allahabad[now Prayagraj] at the confluence of two river, Ganga and Yamuna respectively. The site facilitates the gathering for religious festival called “The Kumbh Mela”. It is the largest public gathering in the world, drawing 150 plus million pilgrims over the course of three months. The site functions on a set of temporal cycles where the site is under water during rainy season, the city materialises during the dry period once the water subsides and after the festival is dismantled the farmers use the same plots for farming. The Thesis deals with a system where the site goes through various differential states and hence leads to flow of architecture and material structure from one state to another. This reversibility could serve as a rich case study to examine the working behind a temporary pop up city. The thesis is carried out at the Robotic Studio, with emphasis into the various robotic tools available to form a design intervention which adheres to the social and material culture of the site. The specific research question raised here is: Can Innovative tools (Robotic fabrication) further the craft of local construction principals around the site? ... Read more

It is known that the global impact of solid waste is becoming more worrying day by day; however, the application of reused materials in the built environment is not yet fully embraced. In particular, plastic composites are now fundamental for the global world economy but the organization of their end life needs to be improved.
Therefore, the research investigates the possibility of reusing plastic in the built environment through means of robotic fabrication and computational design. Thus exploring different design possibilities based on reclaimed plastic objects, testing their structural stability and robotically modifying them. In order to create a design system for a pavilion made of reclaimed materials, based on a computational workflow.

Throughout the course of the research project, physical testing and software simulations have been performed to assess the properties of the robotically fabricated geometry, in order to retrieve design guidelines. Moreover, a digital workflow was developed including performance-driven design, performance evaluation and geometry generation for robotic fabrication.

To conclude, the study emphasized how rather than employing new resources in the fabrication of a pavilion structure, it is possible to promote the use of reclaimed material using digital techniques and reversing the design process. Instead of designing a shape and consequently choosing a material, the design will start from the choice of a reclaimed material and the analysis of its potential, in order to originate a structure according to it. Besides the research project aims to facilitate the process through the creation of a computational workflow that can be applied to multiple reclaimed objects and shapes. ... Read more

Vacancy is and remains a serious problem in today's office landscape. Many spaces and buildings are unable to adapt to the modern knowledge economy is shifting towards. This project attempts to provide a solution for disconnected, vacant offices spaces, particularly through the integration of parametric architecture. The redevelopment of the vacant floors of the Marconitowers, situated in the Merwevierhaven in Rotterdam, is the end result of this proposal. ... Read more