Living in Transition
Transitional housing for safety, autonomy and social inclusion in the Spaanse Polder
S. Maruf (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
Robbert Guis – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
O. Klijn – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
D. Adlakha – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
This graduation report investigates how transitional housing for individuals and families exiting crisis shelters can be architecturally and spatially integrated within the transformation of the Spaanse Polder in Rotterdam. The research addresses the gap between emergency accommodation and permanent housing, focusing on the one- to two-year transitional phase in which residents need safety, stability, autonomy, and gradual social reintegration.
Rather than approaching transitional housing as an isolated care facility, the project proposes a mixed collective housing model embedded within an emerging urban district. The design combines a balanced resident composition of one-third students, one-third residents aged 55+, and one-third people receiving a transitional housing place. Each residential floor is organised as one large shared apartment with approximately ten furnished private bedrooms. Residents share bathrooms, circulation spaces, outdoor areas, kitchens, and collective living rooms.
At the architectural scale, the project creates a gradient from private rooms to collective spaces and public neighbourhood functions. At the urban scale, a public library activates the two-story plinth and connects the building to its surroundings. In this way, the project positions transitional housing as part of ordinary urban life: safe, affordable, socially inclusive, and non-institutional.