The Maldivian Islands are facing multiple challenges, including sea level rise, coastal erosion, and poor waste management. This research explores the development of a future-proof system using recycled plastic waste in order to protect the islands. The developed system includes an engineered artificial reef design, which is acting as wave breaking structure. This artificial reef is capable of withstanding extreme conditions, which occur more often as a result of global warming. Plastic waste will be recycled to construct the wave breaking structure, transforming the excessive waste problem into a solution. The system addresses a wide variety of problems, such as waste management, coastal erosion, and floods. It also creates awareness among tourists and local population, because it will make the island more attractive for eco-tourism and it will create more jobs on the island, which will affect daily lives of the local population. All together, the system offers protection to the coastal areas and preserves ecosystems. This pilot version of the sustainable and resilient system offers adaptability to other islands and incorporates traditional architecture for cultural preservation and future user needs. This leads to economic benefits, job opportunities, and increased
awareness of waste management and environmental conservation. This research is providing a strong foundation for the development and implementation of a future-proof system that contributes to the preservation and protection of the Maldivian Islands. By researching the possibilities of recycled plastic waste and integrating it into the designed system, a more sustainable and resilient future for the vulnerable islands and its communities is created.

Sint Maarten is a Caribbean island that is located in one of the six tropical zones were hurricanes may develop each year. The island deals with a limited resilient housing stock due to the lack of building regulations and affordable materials and contractors. This results in a community that needs to rebuild the housing stock every time a hurricane hits. In addition, most people lose their jobs after a hurricane because the numbers of tourists drop. This project attacks this problem by making resilient housing with plastic roofs. Plastic waste can be harvested locally and be used as a building element. This way a newindustry is developed and creates more local job opportunities. By designing understandable units, that are close to the traditional way ofbuilding and are prefabricated and supervised, the resiliency is guaranteed. This project let to promising results in reusing plastic as a building material for resilient housing. Additional research could be performed on the more technical effect of wind forces on recycled plastic roofs.  

In 2017 the island Sint Maarten was hit by hurricane Irma. Approximately ninety-one per cent of the build environment was damaged. This made the existing housing shortage, caused by a growing population, even more significant. Now, three years later, the residential area of Philipsburg is mostly deserted. With the departure of its residents, the sense of community in the neighbourhood also vanished. Throughout history the island is connected to natural disasters. To rebuild after a natural disaster, self-building was commonly used within the local building culture. However, this tradition disappeared in the last three decades. This research is looking into opportunities to reintroduce a form of organized self-help housing (OSHH), to contribute to the answer against the housing shortage and turn this district of Philipsburg into a lively neighbourhood again. Within OSHH the community have to build themselves, so residents need to have time to realize the project. Unfortunately, this is not the way things are done on the island, so the project will not be accomplished. A possible solution is found in the bottom-up approach of a Collective Private Commissioning (CPO). The design objective during this project is to examine whether urban densification is an opportunity to meet the demand for extra housing. This is often accompanied by extra paved surface which can provoke the heat island effect. Due to the hot climate and the urbanization, residents prefer to stay in their homes with the air-conditioning on. Within this project the goal is to reduce heat accumulation and stimulate the outdoor life. This combination can reintroduce and encourage the social interaction and strengthen the sense of community on Philipsburg.