A house is not a home

Exploring the role of the architect in creating a sense of home in new living environments

Master Thesis (2025)
Authors

M. van Wouw (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)

Supervisors

Harald Mooij (TU Delft - Public Building and Housing Design)

R.S. Guis (TU Delft - Teachers of Practice / A)

E. Karanastasi (TU Delft - Teachers of Practice / AE+T)

Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment
More Info
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Publication Year
2025
Language
English
Graduation Date
14-01-2025
Awarding Institution
Delft University of Technology
Programme
Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Advanced Housing Design
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment
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Abstract

The idea of home, while uniquely personal and familiar to each person, is somewhat elusive. Despite its intangibility, it captivated my interest. Returning from living abroad, I was figuring out what home means to me, and this made me think about how this feeling of home is reflected in current housing design. My interest in the concept of home deepened, partly due to my research on home ownership in Amsterdam during the first weeks of this graduation studio. As I discovered, ownership can manifest in different things, such as owning property or as a feeling known as mental ownership. It is a tricky concept: how do you turn that intangible feeling of home into something one can grasp and understand? At which scale does the feeling of home operate? Is it primarily at the individual dwelling or building levels, or does it extend to the broader city?

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