Timber Town is one half of the industrial area in Winterswijk, which was built in the 20th century to support the village’s textile industry. Currently this part of the area is not used to its full potential. The other half of the area still contains a functioning textile factory: Gaudium. Here the profession and skills of working with textiles are present and therefore Gaudium embodies the craftmanship of the past. As for the other half, the focus of the project will be to transform it into an area about future craftmanship. Together the areas will form the new pride of the village. The aim of the project is to react on multiple studies which are conducted on the topic of demographic decline and the measures which can be taken in order to counter this, as Winterswijk is experiencing that. In the first place, the creek will be exposed and will function as the backbone of this project, since it appears to be important for Winterswijk and the industrial area and has great value. A bike lane and parallel walking routes connect the town centre towards the hinterland, where the area functions as transitionary space. Secondly, there will be an introduction of new functions in the area to stimulate mixed-use. The general connecting theme will be timber, hence the name of the project, with a shared timber workshop being the heart of the project. A large part of the other new functions accommodated according to the different typologies of the buildings and accompanying characteristics, have a connection with timber (craftmanship). The whole project will be developed through different stages in time, where it is important for such heritage projects in villages like Winterswijk to grow slowly. Here the goal is to provide something new, but also to keep the memory of the past alive. People of Winterswijk, but also visitors are invited to enjoy the lively public space, the commercial activities and leisure possibilities facilitated in Timber Town. Also, with the use of timber as a building material and the focus on circularity, the topics of sustainability and durability can be made visible and tangible to the wider public and function as an example for the future.

The textile industry has been in Winterswijk since the 18th century. It is part of the city's cultural legacy. Due to the decline of industry and the expansion and development of city center, the old industrial area, which is now located near the city center, is no longer suitable in the perspective of urban planning. The textile culture slowly starts to fade. Within the context of the industrial area in Winterswijk, while it is searching for a new position in the society, it’s lack of open space for public, disordered site leads to vacancy and lack of activity. Located in the middle of the dwelling area, enclosed, self-defend appearance, make citizens difficult to utilize this area.

The Heritage studio methodical line of inquiry revolves around 3 aspects, the cultural value, the architecture and the building technology. The scientific relevance of my thesis project is reflected in the design, as the entire research process was closely related to the three themes. I started off my thesis with the research question of the character of my site, i.e. the Head of the Cape. Along this line of inquiry, I evaluated the existing buildings around my site by their typology, structure, spatial quality and also materiality. I realized from the results that they are the crucial components to cultivate the industrial atmosphere, the greatest cultural value of my site. To translate the findings into an architectural design that inherits the industrial character, I took the building typology as a design starting point. The former ammunition factory is made of four consecutive and identical 70-meters long curved shell tubes, a profile of repeated components which is typical for the factories built in 1950s. A new tube with the same curved profile is added and attached to the factory on its southern side. The idea for the transformation is to create a gradual change in spatial experience throughout the building, from solid to transparent, from closed to open, from dark to bright, from indoor to outdoor, from rough surfaces to fine finishes. In order to distinguish the new intervention and the existing building, the new tube is made of transparent material, creating a contrast to the existing brick facades. A new time layer is added with respect to the old ones. The third aspect of the studio is building technology. The new intervention is more than a repetition of the existing shape; it is also a statement of being innovative. As the ambition of my project is to inspire innovation, I was convinced to integrate innovative solutions that can make the building more climatically sustainable, yet at the same time still retain its qualities. It aligns with the central theme of the heritage studio, the exploration on how to give an old building a new life. The new tube can be opened and closed to regulate temperature in different seasons. In summer time, the glass box is open to allow breeze into the building and thus enhance natural ventilation. In winter time, the glass tube will be closed completely and create a sun space to mitigate the cold weather.

This graduation report is a summary of the architectural analysis, design interpretation and reflections of the Dutch Structuralism Movement. By using Leiden Humanity Faculty designed by Joop van Stigt (1976) as a case study, the researches were conducted through various perspectives which range from architectural/urban design strategies, techniques, and limitations. Those studies were aimed to provide an essences transformation frameworks and intervention strategies for the future alteration of this university campus. The relationship between research and design will be illustrated through both significant tangible and intangible perspectives. In fact, a further elaboration on the intangible aspects analysis is very crucial for this graduation studio. Since the structuralism movement was originated by the humanity ambitions, critical assessments on the design philosophies will gradually lead to a set of logical approaches which influence the intervention decisions and offering guidance to all aspects of the adaptive reuse scheme. The synthesis of the collective information will be a key to the appropriate framework of structuralism architectures protection. In addition to the architectural adaptive reuse, this redevelopment project is also aimed to be a prototype for the later development of the study procedure at Leiden University. Throughout the four centuries, this university has mainly relied on the text-based research methodologies. Literature and written document investigations have been introduced as the preliminary devices of the study here. This method has always been a reliable information for some specific field of researches. In contrast, this authentic methodological approach may not be fully applicable in the fast-changing society in the current situations, especially in the art and cultural studies. Taking these thoughts into consideration, the new approaches to the study procedure at Leiden University will be set as another ambition of this graduation project. Also included are the critique and reflection on the original Van Stigt’s Humanities Faculty buildings and Dutch Structuralism Movement on various scales. While preserving the cultural values of this architectural movement, this graduation project was also aimed to challenge preconceptions about heritage architecture adaptive reuse. One of the most appropriate schemes was selected and elaborated in details as shown in the chapter-"Strategies & Design Proposals" of this graduation report.