Global Navigation Satellite System is a spatial data acquisition technique, mostly used in navigation and positioning. One of the main components of this technique is the satellite visibility, which refers to the connection between the satellite and the ground receiver. It is known that the GNSS positioning systems are not as performing in urban areas due to the dense coverage of obstacles (buildings, trees, high terrain etc.). These obstacles can obstruct and reflect the lines of sight between the satellite and the ground receiver which can affect the quality of the performance of the GNSS service. The geometry configuration of the satellites above the receiver is another important aspect that has to be taken into consideration.

This research focuses on implementing a simulation similar to that of GNSS mission planning tools, but using point cloud data as the 3D representation of the surroundings of the receiver and using only the GPS constellation of satellites. Due to the large size of a point cloud sample, two visibility algorithms have been implemented to filter the necessary 3D data. The main output of the simulation are the dilution of precision values which give further information about the satellites' positions. The main purpose of this research is to understand the dilution of precision values, which are directly related to the geometry of the satellite configuration above the receiver. Understanding the behaviour and how the receiver's environment influences the DoP values can result in leading GNSS surveying missions with better results.

This output is then compared with the data acquired from a GNSS receiver in a real scenario. While the results are not favorable for the implemented simulation, it gives a better understanding of the surroundings of the receiver's location by using point cloud data than the already existing online GNSS tools.

The current sustainability crisis requires a shift in the way material availability is currently considered. The current trend is to dispose of material easily after it has served its first purpose, while often the material still has potential to be reused. The construction sector is a large contributor of the extraction of virgin resources, leading in the case of timber to deforestation. In The Netherlands alone around 1.740 kiloton waste wood is collected annually. 23% of this wood consists of solid non-glued or treated reusable timber, translating roughly to a waste stream of 450kton of reusable wood that is discarded. The current design approach requires shift, instead of design for manufacturing designers should focus on designing with what has already been manufactured. The design concept of discrete timber is well suited for this design approach as it involves building a structure or element out of smaller parts. This method allows for direct reuse and repurposing of a varying stock of discharged timber pieces, effectively enhancing the life-cycle of timber from a currently down-cycling scenario into a circular loop. Moreover a discrete system is not beholden to the traditional implication of uniform an rectangular cross-sections and a geometry can be easily optimised to the acting forces by leaving out parts on lower stressed area’s. Using programming and optimisation techniques, this thesis focusses on creating an efficient and adaptable structural system from a varying stock of reclaimed timber pieces while maximizing the future reuse potential of the used parts. The main computational problems addressed in this research are efficiently filling a design domain with available stock and minimizing cutting losses, and structurally optimising the design domain. An algorithm is created in the visual programming environment Grasshopper in combination with Python. The algorithm discretizes a given design space into the pieces found in the database by sequentially solving three combinatorial problems. The algorithm optimises the placement of the pieces so that higher strength grade pieces are placed in area with higher stress levels. The assembly is optimised by removing all non-vital structural parts resulting in a final efficient structure. The algorithm's performance is tested on stability of results, optimisation method, size influence of parts, filling rate of the design space, strength grade influence and buckling. This work serves as a prove of concept for designing with a highly versatile stock of reclaimed components.

One million homes will be needed in the Netherlands by 2030. Prefabrication in the construction industry can contribute to construct affordable houses, but that results often in standardized and not customized designs. These repetitive designs can be overcome through the introduction of mass-customization in architecture. Computational Architectural Design offers the possibility to tackle mass-customization through developing tools to let the user easily customize a design while providing guidelines and feedback towards a successful building design. This can be done by discretising a building into building blocks that can be controlled through a computational workflow. This thesis elaborates on the potential of developing a design tool that allows the customization of houses through discrete building information modelling. Since the housing design process is a complex and multi-layered problem, the process is broken down into the sub-problems of topological design, building product development, configuration, and data export. For these steps, algorithms from the gaming industry are tested to improve the participation of the end user trough a simplification of the design process. Through design grammars, a relational data structure is created that is compatible to the BIM environment of the industry. The evolved methods are applied to the test case of a rowhouse design in Delft to predict the possible impact of the design tool. The results of this are set in the context of the AEC industry.

System Design in the built environment is one of the most influential design paradigms in architecture and construction. This paper seeks to amalgamate empirical design strategies with various architectural principles, including the notion of “open buildings” or “open-ended architecture,” as well as Structuralism, all within a computational design framework employing discrete aggregation. Structuralism, articulated by Herman Herzberger, represents a “concept rather than a style” distinguishing the structure from the infill through individuality. It is important to note that the advanced technologies available for data collection and analysis did not exist during the 1960s Structuralist movement. Thus, this paper endeavours to forge a novel methodology, drawing inspiration from historical system design practices in architecture. The design research took place in the Merinterin Amsterdam due to its uniqueness and importance.

Design for a co-housing development near Lelylaan station in Amsterdam, based on the concept of the Homo Ludens. The design is supported by thematic research into the use of a design game for the co-creation of co-housing.

A master thesis what researched the visualization of phase change materials (PCMs) with augmented reality (AR) for different 3 different user groups. The user groups are researchers, maintenance and customers. The research question is "How does AR contribute to the understanding of the behavior of PCM for science, maintenance and customer groups?". With simulations in Comsol and an experiment the AR possibilities were validated. The AR gave insight in the behavior of PCM and was applicable for each group.

Due to population growth we need more buildings, but due to urbanization there are hardly any opportunities to densify in highly concentrated cities. While we inevitably need more buildings, we have to also take into account that the construction industry is one of the major contributors to climate change. In order to prevent further damage on the climate we need to rethink the way we design our buildings. The concept of highrise is a possible solution because you can densify within a relatively small footprint, but highrise buildings are not sustainable at all due to the need of extensive materials, installations and other demands. I want to prove that a highrise building can be designed significantly more sustainable than traditional highrise buildings, while also making sure that it contributes to liveability and inclusivity. That's why I want to find out if it is possible to design a sustainable highrise concept for an urbanized modern city to account for population growth and climate change while also making sure that it contributes a liveable and inclusive city and building environment. After conducting my thesis in the form of a thematic research and highrise design, I concluded that it can be done to a great extent, but we still have to remain critical since the use of extensive materials and appliances is inevitable. Also I believe that the concept of sustainable highrise can be optimized even further and therefore more research is needed

At the moment there is an increasing shortage of raw materials. The approach of a circular economy can be used to reduce the need for new materials. This includes design for adaptability. During interviews and a literature review, methods that are used to increase adaptability were determined, including oversizing elements and demountable connections. Oversizing elements leads to an initial increase of material use but removes the need to make changes to the structure during the building’s lifespan. On the other hand, demountable connections don’t increase the material use, but do lead to a need for changes being made to the structure. Therefore, there is always a balance between material use and adaptability. The main research question of this project is thus: “How can a computational workflow be used to increase the amount of adaptability in the design of a building’s structure, while minimizing material use?”.
The method of scenario-based design can also be used to increase adaptability, by anticipating how the building could change to meet the user’s needs over time. Scenario-based design can be combined with a computation workflow, which makes it possible to easily test many scenarios. The main reason why there are still limited adaptable buildings being constructed is the higher costs of these buildings. For instance, due to the higher material use of over-sizing elements. To lower the costs, it is possible to only apply adaptability measures where they are needed. 
During this project a computational workflow is created to determine where the measures are required, by applying scenarios to a preliminary design. The workflow can also be used to compare multiple grid-sizes, as this is an important aspect relating to both adaptability and material use. The workflow uses an optimization process to determine the minimal number of changes that are required for the structure to adapt to the different scenarios. Another optimization approach was also used to determine the minimal mass of the structure, after the structure has been adapted. However, this second approach was unsuccessful. 
The optimization process results in the minimal number of elements that need to be demountable or over-sized. The workflow creates a list of which elements need to be replaced with a larger cross-section for each of the scenarios. By combining these lists, all elements that might have to be replaced can be determined per design variant. By comparing mass and lowest number of demountable elements, the most suitable design variant is determined.
A test-case is used to determine whether this approach is beneficial for material use of the structure. From this test-case it was found that the structures optimized by the workflow can result in less material being used over the building’s life span if the scenarios are correctly anticipated. In case the scenarios from the workflow don’t match with the scenarios that will actually take place, the structures from the workflow offer no benefit over the traditional structure. The functionality of the workflow therefore depends on the scenarios that are determined during the design process.

Filtering and differentiation at borders shape the composition and multiplicity of living labor, as well as the formation of often exploitative labor regimes. The relation between migration and the garments and textile Industry in the area of Istanbul, the center of textile and garments production and simultaneously a destination and hub for migration is exemplary of this condition. Transnational economic, labor and migration policies are reflected in the spatial manifestation of the textile and garments sector in the area of Istanbul. This leads to a heterogeneity of practices in the organization of the production system with main suppliers, subcontractors, retailers, home based worker’s networks and logistics, creating dense industry clusters extending deep into residential areas converting them into assembly lines, turning neighborhoods into machines. While technology is advancing rapidly labor conditions have remained problematic and outdated production models account for overproduction and waste.
Architecture can address these socio political and economic issues and these in turn shape architecture therefore it is worth it to make an experiment and let the systems networks and methods of garment production contaminate architecture: How is architecture transformed by using and reshuffling networks and production processes of the garment industry? What does a hybridization of these production processes and systems uncover about them? Which parameters can be manipulated for architecture to act as an agent in improving labor conditions and production processes?
This context sets the frame for discussing issues such as transitions in labor and production models, genericness, mass customization, flexibility, high-tech versus low-tech sparking a debate on how we fabricate architecture.

The building industry is responsible for a large amount of CO2 emissions. With an estimated 11.7 GT in 2020, the building industry emitted 36% of the worldwide CO2 emissions (Bertin et al., 2022). This results in the need to efficiently use the current material supply. A way to achieve this is by transitioning from a linear economy to a circular economy. Within the principles of the circular economy, materials are kept in use by creating closed loops. This results in the prevention of waste. Examples of strategies that comply with the circular economy are repairing, reusing and recycling of materials or components (Brütting et al., 2019).
Recycling of steel components has become common practice over the years. Reusing steel components is less common. Reusing structural steel components can reduce overall emissions. This is because it excludes the highly impactful manufacturing phase (Yeung et al., 2016). Structural steel is suitable for reuse because members are often connected by reversible connection principles. Additionally, the steel industry has a high level of standardization and prior to reuse the structural integrity can be easier guaranteed through testing or available certification in comparison to concrete (Fivet & Brütting, 2020). When talking about the efficient use of materials also the gridshell topology is interesting to mention. Because of the double-curvature a gridshell is able to span large areas with less structural mass (Schober, 2015). Both the use of gridshell topologies and the reuse of steel are combined in this research. The question this research tends to answer is formulated as follows:
“How can computational optimization contribute to the design of gridshell structures consisting out of a finite stock of reclaimed steel beam members with the goal to improve the eco-performance calculated in embodied greenhouse gas emissions?”
From the literature different forms of structural optimization methods were found that related to the gridshell structural topology. In the literature sizing-, shape-, and topology optimization are mentioned (Li, 2018). Sizing- and topology optimization are most relevant within the scope of this research. Within this research sizing optimization is limited to stock-constrained optimization. This form of optimization optimizes according to a finite stock. Topology optimization can be divided into rationality-based optimization and structural-based optimization. Within the research of Brütting (2020) optimization of structures out of a finite stock is conducted according to the scenarios of deconstructing and reusing steel and the new production of steel. From additional research another scenario was identified. This is a scenario where a third party or a party via a material database offers their stock. Within this research this scenario is called the stockpile scenario...

The Erasmus Medical Center (EMC) campus is working on an intensification of functions for the new Masterplan of 2050. Since densification is only possible vertically due to the enclosed location, there is an increase of 5000 employees and only 650 physical parking spaces, leading to lessened accessibility by car. Simultaneously, vehicles are restricted from the city itself to make Rotterdam more livable by taking away car lanes and decreasing speed. While moving through the city, recent patient journey research shows, that patients are worried until they reach the main entrance and do not feel relieved by the current way of traveling towards the Erasmus MC. These findings lead to researching which mobility scenarios are possible and suitable for inclusive accessibility to the future EMC Campus and how spatial interventions can relieve stress during the last mile in Rotterdam and arrival at the masterplan site.

This is done by assessing perceptions on urban stress and restoratives and digitally researching scenarios by the use of personas. Personas are created to react to mobility aspects, resulting in a multi criteria analysis. The motivations summarized are basic needs, personality lifestyle preference, disability, and stress and restorative level. A procedural model in Houdini of the mobility network of Rotterdam, including future scenarios, is used to assess the behavior of the created personas traveling towards the EMC Campus by calculating the weighted sum per route. The output of the simulations shows the taken route, the chosen mode, and the stress and restorative level at arrival from specific personas. The most suitable and preferred routes based on the 4 motivations show significant differences in stress and restorative levels. Spatial aspects in the city influence mental health and design requirements can be advised to minimize urban stress. Previously collected city restoratives and urban stressors are being evaluated by 65 participants in an online survey. Doing stressor and restorative spatial implementations in the simulation shows how personas prefer different routes to potentially improve their wellbeing. Design requirements of the Masterplan can be based on how certain personas perceive the environment differently from others. For people approaching the building by car, it could be more beneficial for the stress and restorative level to have a more monochrome facade and for people approaching the building by slow traffic to have a fine grain facade. The digital model gives a perspective on where the individual personas approach the campus, which influences the master plan differently from all angles. What do persona based design requirements on urban stressors and restoratives derived from digital simulations mean to the design of our future cities?

In 2017, 1610 million kg of waste wood was collected in the Netherlands. The building and demolition industry was, and still is, the most significant contributor. The estimation is made that in 2017 23% of this wood, 370 million kg, consisted of solid waste wood. This solid waste wood has the potential to be reused as a building material without having to shred it. The current commonly used timber frame construction methods in the Netherlands are not suitable for construction with waste wood. Waste wood has certain characteristics that differ from regular wood for construction on a larger scale. It is possible to create an exterior wall element from waste wood, but this is a time-consuming process. Manual labor is expensive in the Netherlands. Therefore, it will probably not be an economically feasible solution to construct the wall element. A carpenter that needs to modify every piece by hand to get everything in the correct dimensions will probably be more expensive than buying new wood. Using digital fabrication combined with a parametric model can offer a solution to the challenges of constructing an exterior wall element with waste wood. The characteristics of the waste wood are obtained and digitally stored in a database. This database can communicate with a parametric model and generate all the separate 3dm files required for digital manufacturing. The final design was made parametric so that it could communicate with the database. Using Rhino, Grasshopper and Python, a prototype of the exterior wall element tool was made that bridged the parametric model with a waste wood database and gave the user some insight into the waste wood statistics of the design. Python scripts were used for an efficient selection procedure whereby additional material waste could be minimized in the exterior wall element. With the exterior wall element tool, it is possible to create a national database with waste wood. The sellers of waste wood can be the demolishing companies but also the waste wood processors. A contractor can use the exterior wall element tool online to create an exterior wall element from waste wood. Here the user, in this case the contractor, gives the desired dimensions of the wall, and the tool generates a design of an exterior wall element. Additional information is given about the cost, the amount of wood required and where the wood is located. The contractor can adjust the parameters of the model and choose, for example, the cheapest option or the option where all the wood is closest to the building side. In the end the tool generates a list with 3dm files for every piece of wood that has to be modified. These 3dm files can be used for digital fabrication.

With the advent of virtual reality (VR), the process of (re) designing buildings and rooms becomes more accessible in 3D. The software is able to design spaces, whilst standing in the environment itself with directly high render qualities. This offers a great opportunity for a better design process between architect, companies and clients.