Today, the building construction sector in the European Union consumes 40% of primary materials, and the same percentage of primary energy, making it an exhaustive industry responsible for resource depletion. At the same time the Netherlands is in need of more affordable housing. Drastic change is needed to produce the necessary housing in a way that is consistent with planetary limits. Timber as a renewable construction material could be a solution. However, careful consideration of the entire timber system is needed in order to make building with timber not just another way to exploit natural resources. This graduation project proposes a possible solution by building social housing with locally sourced timber in the Netherlands.

This thesis ‘Growing Social Housing’ is part of a joint graduation project with Yael van Mengden (Msc Landscape Architecture). This interdisciplinary project proposes a new system from dynamic production forestry to social housing in the Netherlands.

Nature inclusive is a large topic that is still in its pioneering phase. There is a need for clear elaboration and ways of incorporating this new way of thinking into design. In order to have a functional nature inclusive design one must fist
know the existing ecosystem to contribute to this. The research question: how can a designer analyze a Dutch city to find the existing ecological structure and nature inclusive potential? Will be answered by making an analysis method. This analysis method will use insights of literature and ecological knowledge in combination with already broadly known analysis methods. By combining the way of analyzing of designers with the knowledge of nature inclusivity, a method is formed that will help create an nature inclusive design vision. The method can also be used as a tool to talk to city ecologist in order to make a well balanced ecological plan. This research limits itself to the animals of the Dutch city. Use of the method will apply best to cities comparable to the city of Rotterdam, which is used as example city in the research. The outcome of the analysis method is a clear vision on the nature inclusive potential of a site. Using visual aids and a list of recommendations this vision can be used in the start of the designing phase.