This thesis aims to revisit the conventions of digital mapping, by undergoing the theoretical endeavour to understand digital mapping beyond the convenient dichotomy, and find our position as readers. Two theoretical lenses are borrowed from the field of anthropology and art history, first being the “thick
description” from Clifford Geertz, and latter being the “open work” concept from Umberto Eco. The thesis concludes by emphasizing the significance of the role of the “reader” in digital mapping, for the greater public as well as the discipline of architecture could then reclaim our agency in the flood of data with a shared “digital literacy”.
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Anthropogenic development is the main actor in the destruction of our planet.
Urbanization, industrialization, and agriculture have been expanding exponentially at a global scale in an attempt to create prosperity and progress. Still, in the process of this never-ending pursuit of betterment for the human race, we are killing native biodiversity and entire ecosystems.
This graduation project in Urbanism and Landscape architecture will portray the current issues resulting from anthropogenic development, taking the Guanajuato, Mx, central region as a case study and reflecting on the challenges, scenarios, and possibilities for the future.
This thesis project aims to reflect and understand the current environmental, ecological, and social issues generated as a result of anthropogenic practices in the central region of Guanajuato, Mexico. Through research and resources such as literature, governmental projections, urban and geomorphological analysis; the thesis gives an understanding of the current conditions of the state of Guanajuato, MX focusing mainly on the central region of the state and in cities of Irapuato, Salamanca and Pueblo Nuevo as well as highlighting the disconnection between the built environment and the native biodiversity and nature.
The urban, industrial, and agricultural expansion in the region has completely neglected the state’s ecological elements and the role they play in our ecological cycles. As of now, the central region has annihilated most of the native biodiversity. The constant exploitation of the soil has resulted in erosion and compaction throughout the region, and the existing aquifers, lakes, ponds, and rivers have been extracted until their last drop.
Therefore, to react to a symbiotic change, the goal is to create a regional proposal that focuses on mitigating ecological and environmental problems in the region as well as enhancing the biodiversity in the landscape and the development of sustainable agriculture that supports native ecosystems as well as integration and balance in the urban areas through the halt of large cities expansions transitioning into a network of ecocities through sustainable compact towns redevelopments.
The aim is to find a regional strategy that enhances the native species through their ecological territory and designs and intervention for towns to develop and grow sustainably by creating a balance between people, animals, and plants. ... Read more

A Flat Theory presents a first step toward a yet-to-be-completed, larger project: a genealogy of apartments. While centering on the historical formation of apartments, it does not offer a straight-forward history of apartments or flats. Rather, as a contribution to a wider history of the present, it draws together the first synthetic study of the complex processes through which apartments have initially taken form. To do so, it proposes an eco-systemic and assemblage-theoretic extension of genealogical modes of inquiry so as to draw together an epiphylogenetic mapping of this complex process. After situating and specifying this approach, A Flat Theory charts three converging lineages that mark the ‘material-discursive’ formation of appartamenti and appartements as an (I) architectural concept, (II) spatial phenomenon, and (III) residential system during the 1540–1780s in western Europe ... Read more

This thesis is made during my graduation project within the studio Explore Lab at the Technical University of Delft on the Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences. Since the writing of my first master thesis, the fascination for the topic arose. At the Architectural Theory department under guidance of Andrej Radman I wrote; ‘Biomimicry: Mimicking biology in architecture to achieve sustainable development’. Although there was so much more in this thesis then just the idea of using nature’s ingenious solutions to serve human needs. I was already thinking in a much broader sense how we ever ended up in this climatological crisis? And how we could be able to solve it? Are we as individuals even able to change anything within this metastable system? With these questions in mind I dived into a research process with Peter Koorstra my research mentor, nevertheless he also gave guidance during the design process. The thesis is an elaboration of my first master thesis and functions as a source for design occurred parallel to my graduation project; ‘The Temple of the Natural Delights’. Robert Nottrot and Jan van de Voort supervised the design, even though they were also involved in the thinking process of this thesis. Through research a specific kind of philosophy is developed, to achieve a certain goal. The architectural design is just an imagined posture of this philosophy on a moment of time. ... Read more

Preliminary to this design, a careful research was done on the proportional theory of Dom Hans van der Laan. Based on how we perceive space and measure things this system offers a way to create harmonious architecture. What can we learn from this theory for today's architecture and what is the relevance?

Starting from the ideas of Dom Hans van der Laan concerning proportion and perception, this design for a modern monastery in Rotterdam is a statement towards our mental health and the importance of careful design in relation to that. ... Read more