This graduation project aims towards a new understanding of intimate and domestic space through an experimental hands-on research method and a thorough analysis of the black box theatre stage to reveal layers, scales, dimensions, transitions and connections that define dynamic atmospheric space with the use of light, movement, perspective and reflections.
Part of the research outcome is then translated into the Tiny HomeStage. A small scale theatrical house that creates Wonderment on the threshold of domesticity, and in which almost everything is adjustable to the moment’s need. The project is designed mainly with the method of thinking through making, which resulted in a 1:5 model of the entire design.

The transformation of Knil Magazijnen into a creative and learning cluster of plastic waste constitutes my attempt to explore the boundaries of heritage adaptive re-use in Bandung, Indonesia and how through the design of an inclusive and healthy environment, social and environmental challenges can be addressed in a more integrated way. In a built environment like the city of Bandung where social segregation between the formally structured communities and the more organic kampung villages dominates the city scape contributing to a significant extent to most of the urban challenges like environmental pollution the projects strives for inclusion. The project's ambition was to show how by understanding the context and by putting first the people and their needs, architecture and heritage adaptive re-use can contribute to healthier and more resilient cities. More specifically, the project unfolds with the integration of a plastic waste recycling cycle combined with a more communal environment, with creative spaces and educational facilities that not only makes people aware of the issue, the consequences but also allows waste to become part of the daily routine and thus for the people to explore the possibilities around its re-use and up-cycling and thus create business opportunities in a inclusive environment for all. The combination of bottom up and top down approaches both in terms of the programme but also in the physical materialisation of the design offers the means for change. Architecturally, the project explores the relationship between waste and people between working and public environment between openness and enclosure in various different scales. From city scale with the transformation of the former railway into a new tram line accompanied by a green belt, on a neighbourhood scale with the transformation of Knil Magazinjen into a creative and learning cluster of plastic waste, while on a building scale this integration is explored through architectural design and building technology. Even though the programme addresses the current urban challenges the development and materialisation of the design strives for flexibility and adaptability in order to enhance the qualities of the existing site.

In the context of the H&A Shared Heritage Lab, which I am part of, crucial built heritage issues are investigated in the city of Bandung, Indonesia. Bandung has many Indonesian-Dutch heritage sites and buildings as a result of the long period of colonization by the Dutch. They are part of both Dutch and Indonesian history and have become part of the expanding cities and changing landscapes of modern-day Indonesia. The challenge of this studio is to give new meaning and use to this environment, in order to realize an inclusive, thriving and healthy city, taking past, present and future into account.As part of the Heritage & Architecture team in this Shared Heritage Lab, I focused on the development of the Railroad, and its impact on the city. While initially it was on the borders of Bandung, during the years and the expansion of it, the Railway line ended up being a dead zone in the center of the city, splitting it into two, enhancing segregation and obstructing normal every-day activities. A transformation of the Railway line into a “green belt” is proposed, that includes public and green spaces, cycle path, and a new tram line. My project is located in a former military complex along the Railroad backbone, and attempts to tackle the existing problems on a neighborhood scale. The site holds both tangible and intangible values of the shared past and is transformed in order to serve current societal needs. Through the merging of traditional and modern activities with education, the aim is to maintain and develop the cultural identity and critical cultural knowledge and practices of the community, and to create the necessary environment to equip locals with skills and motivation towards their future.The architectural process is used as a tool to empower the local communities. So the whole concept is about two things - the process and the project, centralizing the users in each phase. The design explores the values of honest materiality, craftsmanship, expressive tectonics, and vernacular sensitivity. Through the deliberate selection of materials and construction methods with the potential to be adapted by local workers, the construction process will serve as a mode of capacity building and livelihood training. The transformed complex will provide much needed space for collective activities for the surrounding communities, and at the same time it will get a new life. Involving the users in the process of making the space will create a total new meaning for them regarding this place. It will become a symbol of change manifested through their effort. Empowering local people to find their own voice, will shape the citizens of a future resilient city, while important sustainability principles integrated in the project will direct the users’ behaviors towards a greener living environment for the future. The colonial heritage is both a means and a goal in this project. It provides the necessary space, and it raises awareness at the same time. The project is not only about the building of a community center, but rather, the building of a community.

In the next three decades, the lanet’s rate of urbanization will increase at a fast rate, adding 2,5 billion new dwellers to the current urban o ulation. To accom¬modate this demogra hic growth, the world needs to tackle the many challenges of sustainable and fair urban develo ment. Right now, urbanization in the Global South ha ens in mainly unsustainable ways, with a roximately 850 million eo ¬le living in slums in 2014 (1/3 of all urban dwellers). Rethinking the current systems of affordable housing roduction is a major challenge that needs urgent actions. The stakeholders involved in housing roduction, in general, and the architectu¬re disci line, in articular, need a critical evaluation of their rocesses, methods and strategies to answer some ressing questions. Where will all these new urban dwellers live? More im ortantly erha s, how will these new urbanites dwell? What will be the role of architects and urban lanners in this rocess? The graduation studio Mixing Mumbai: Affordable Housing for Inclusive Develo ¬ment aims to stimulate the artici ants to contribute answers to these questions, engaging with ressing dwelling and urban issues in develo ing territories, as well as with the increasing cross-cultural character of contem orary architectural rac¬tice.