This project creates a safe-haven for the homeless women of Madrid, addressing both homelessness and gender-based violence. It explores the stigmas surrounding homelessness in Spain and the lack of dedicated facilities for women in Madrid city centre. Drawing inspiration from case studies like the Beguinages from the Netherlands and traditional Spanish patio house typology, the project emphasizes the importance of community, privacy, and safety.
The chosen site in the neighbourhood of Tetuán aims to revitalize a neglected area while providing shelter, support, and a path to independence for vulnerable women. The design integrates into the local context, fostering a supportive environment for healing and empowerment.

This research explores the design of a future-proof building for Groningen, focusing on energy efficiency and climate adaptation. Given the rising sea levels and climate changes, the study investigates urban, local, building, and detail scales to develop sustainable design strategies that will later be implemented into an architectural design. Historical and present-day challenges of water management in the Groningen area are examined, leading to an urban concept on how to make the Groningen Reitdiep area future resilient.

The study outlines three future urban scenarios: living on mounds, adapting existing arable farming on terps, and utilizing mixed farming in a dike landscape. Each scenario addresses infrastructure, energy systems, and building typologies. Key strategies include dry and wet floodproofing, passive solar design, and integrating wind and water for energy generation. The research concludes with guidelines for designing resilient buildings in flood-prone areas, emphasizing the importance of combining traditional knowledge with modern sustainable practices to create liveable environments for future generations. This comprehensive approach aims to ensure that future inhabitants of Groningen can coexist with rising water levels.

The final design will be created within one future urban scenario, focusing on a cultural community centre that is water resilient even within 100 years from now in 2124.

This research addresses the critical challenge of climate change and sea level rise, with a specific focus on the Netherlands, where sea dikes play a vital role in protecting the low-lying regions. Building on the recommendations of Van Den Dobbelsteen et al. (2009), the study examines the need to raise the sea dikes by at least 2 meters, with the possibility of even greater elevation in response to uncertain global CO2 reduction efforts. The research explores the implications of such height increases, including the transformation of dikes into significant landscape elements. An alternative scenario of abandoning certain regions due to flooding is considered but deemed economically catastrophic. The core of this research lies in investigating the potential for habitation on elevated dikes, proposing the concept of living on the dike as an innovative continuation of Dutch water management traditions. The research questions focus on identifying the most suitable foundation types and structural systems for buildings on dikes, optimizing these elements for future dike reinforcements, and determining the appropriate architectural language. The methodology includes a comprehensive literature review, case studies, and design research, leading to the development of design principles and a design brief that integrates research findings into practical architectural solutions. This study not only envisions a future where dikes serve as more than just protective barriers but also provides a framework for designing resilient, multifunctional dike structures that accommodate both safety and habitation.

This project reimagines cinema spaces in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district as community-oriented environments that resist the socio-political erasure caused by gentrification and state-led urban transformations. Beyoğlu’s historical role as a cinematic and cultural hub serves as the foundation for exploring cinema as a social common. This concept positions cinema spaces as inclusive public arenas for collective memory, cultural exchange, and democratic engagement.
The design draws inspiration from the rich legacy of Turkish cinema, which was deeply rooted in Beyoğlu. By referencing its themes, settings, and cultural significance, the project builds an understanding of the spatial and social dynamics that shaped the district’s identity. Site-specific architectural interventions are employed across abandoned buildings, open spaces, and intimate interiors. These interventions engage Beyoğlu’s diverse urban fabric, reviving its cinematic legacy and architectural character. By reactivating underutilized spaces, the project fosters environments for film viewing, social interaction, and public dialogue. The approach emphasizes the district’s layered history, using its unique ambiance and narratives to create spaces that inspire new encounters and strengthen communal bonds.
The project operates at three scales: interior rooms, urban landscapes, and a network of in-between spaces. It focuses on thresholds between public and private realms, transforming them into vibrant links within the urban fabric. Each intervention responds to its specific context, creating connections that integrate Beyoğlu’s historic architecture with its evolving cultural needs. These designs remain subtle yet intentional, preserving the district’s heritage while fostering its continuity.
Through this framework, the project positions cinema as a tool for urban connection, cultural resilience, and democratic participation. It offers a model for honoring Beyoğlu’s historic identity while shaping inclusive spaces that enrich public life.

This project explores a revalidation strategy for a neglected and contested neighborhood in Tirana, Albania, whose physical state narrates the historical, political, and social conditions of the place: walls dividing once large gardens, symbols of individual desires that came after the fall of the communist regime, informal extensions to traditional houses, all paired with significant damage from top-down initiatives for grand architectural projects.

Acknowledging limited labor, financial constraints, and time pressures, the project advocates for a capacity-driven approach. The strategy comprises a series of scalable architectural and urban interventions. These range from small modifications, such as brick-supported openings in walls to reconnect divided spaces, to more ambitious projects like a Neighborhood Center that serves as a communal building. Collectively, these interventions act as catalysts, creating a system whose impact grows through interconnectedness and active use. The project demonstrates how intentional design can enable meaningful urban transformation while respecting the complexities of difficult contexts.

The project investigates Uzvaras Park (Victory Park) in Riga as a narrated urban figure, focusing on the themes of contestation and reconciliation. It analyzes the park’s role and form in the changing socio-political context and, with the means of spatial design, proposes an alternative vision for its redevelopment from a conflicted demolition site into a unifying habitat of nature and culture.

Based on conclusions taken from the research, the design method manifested itself as the selection and combination of historical layers together in a collage of spatial fictions, playing with and reframing existing dichotomies between their forms and meanings.

All layers were perceived as equally important, that way removing the former hierarchy between them, which was so characteristic of the previous approach to the park – when with each new ideology the previous layer was put into oblivion, as the regime desired to oppress nature into its image. By treating all former visions of Uzvaras Park, completed/only imagined/devalued/destroyed, as reference material for constructing the new park – the project strives for the much-needed reconciliation between these conflicting visions and allows them to coexist harmoniously in this use-wise no longer monumental space of prosaic recreation.

We, as humans have undergone profound transformations over time, with an incredible amount of change occurring in just the past century. In this short span of time , we have evolved intellectually, our technology has advanced at an unprecedented rate, nature itself has been altered, and our perception of life and its limitless possibilities has shifted. Now, try to imagine what further changes could unfold over the next 100 years. Everything around us is in a state of constant flux. Change is not a temporary phase; it is the essence of life itself, unfolding perpetually.

In this ever-evolving landscape, aesthetics play a crucial role. Our appreciation of beauty, harmony, and design - profoundly influences how we experience the world. It’s not just about how things look; it’s about how they make us feel. In architecture and technology, the way something is designed can significantly impact its acceptance. When a design speaks to our senses, we are more likely to embrace it, no matter how novel or advanced it may be.

As our surroundings evolve to meet new demands of society, sustainability, and climate, the importance of aesthetic appeal will grow. The future will not only be about innovation but also about the visual and emotional appeal. Ultimately, what we build will reflect the nature of human experience. Just as we have reshaped ourselves and the world around us, so too will our built environment continue to change, reflecting the fluid and ever-evolving nature of human life.

This research attempts to develop a space in the city that, outside of the dynamics of consumption, but not denying the dialogue with the city, seeks to intertwine with its overlaps, by defining the public space of dialogue and representation. On the morbidity of performance and expectation, we might say that the contemporary Utopian intent, this thesis, regards defining a potential place, and its interpretive structure, devoid of expectations
– an in-efficient place.

In case you feel confused, this is an architecture project based on research which in total took one year. The process was never linear, but the narrative has to be.

For the first six months I studied the essential values of collective housing in post war period, how they prompted to solve housing crisis and how they embraced the collectivism in Europe and China. It turned out that most of them did not maintain the original function as a collective housing for working class. However, the concept of collective living continued to influence urban life. In response, the design approach for renovating the 1952 Workers' New Village in Shenyang, China aimed to demonstrate the potential for reviving this old form for communal living. Minimal intervention and adjustments to thresholds resulted in the creation of a series of spaces ranging from private to public, catering to the demands of the free market and post-urbanization.

This study explores the potential application of architectural considerations from three Dominican priories—St. Dominic Church, Sainte-Marie de La Tourette, and the Dominican Motherhouse— emphasising their reflection of divine transcendence as a design narrative for the adaptive reuse of St. Dominic Church to multifunctional Art Complex Het Steiger. St. Dominic Churchʼs introverted design offers opportunities for reinterpretation, emphasising hierarchy and contemplative qualities. Sainte-Marie de La Touretteʼs mystical themes suggest diverse lighting interventions and preserving a mystical atmosphere in Het Steiger. The Dominican Motherhouse poses challenges regarding user groups, spatial hierarchies, and integrating circulation and exhibition spaces in Het Steigerʼs redesign. These priories contribute nuanced design strategies, offering valuable considerations for Het Steigerʼs transformation into a harmonious coexistence of existing and new architectural layers.

National Monument Christus Triumfator church in Bezuidenhout, the Hague was designed by the team D.S.B.V. under Geert Drexhage in 1959-1962, however, among three churches under Drexhage's, only Christus Triumfator church survives in the secularization and shrinking religious community in the Netherlands. The design of Christus Triumfator church reflects a time of Dutch postwar modern architectural profession shifting into a capitalized environment, confrontation between new theories and old tradition, group standardized design for mass clients, and cooperations of professional consultants. The research aims to point out the linkages between Christus Triumfator church and its postwar modern architectural theories and traditions background for a redesign proposal.

For a contemporary redesign and intervention to respond to that from the 1960s, one of the subjects is to treat carefully in the sequence, space order, and materiality in the Christus Triumfator church by understanding the facts and meanings behind, and another one is to react to the mass production pattern matured in the era. A new zero-waste design challenge might be to set away from the producing loop, reduce and revital the form to that just meet the need, and reclaim from the past production in a tengible or intangible way that triggers reflections of the past and the future.

This paper is aimed at investigating the design of care homes for independent elderly people within a former church building. With the growing vacancy rate of churches, the aim of this research is to see if they can complement the housing need present among the elderly. In the Netherlands, a quarter of all religious buildings have already been transformed into a new function at this moment in time, which will only increase over the years3. In the case of elderly housing, this percentage doesn’t go above four per cent of the total transformations4. This article reveals the reasons why care isn’t at this moment of time appealing to host in a former church, as well as the design strategies that can be followed in order to make care functions more attractive to facilitate within a church. In addition, I also believe that the social character of the church can contribute to facilitating care facilities. This is due to the church already having a social role in society which can be complemented by taking care into consideration. Therefore, I would like to explore what we as architects can do with these buildings to provide the elderly with sufficient living space where they can live the rest of their lives and where their mental well-being is stimulated.

This interdisciplinary research project focuses on the adaptive reuse of Het Steiger Rotterdam church, employing a comprehensive approach integrating extensive research and cohesive design strategies. The study begins with a thorough analysis of contemporary churches' architectural and urban context, emphasizing spatial appropriateness in religious architecture. A distinctive methodology is applied to conduct a value assessment, offering profound insights into heritage values intrinsic to the church's architecture and its historical significance. Tailored methodologies and design strategies are devised to expand and transition the existing structure while preserving the perception of religious space and monumental value. The design prioritizes aesthetic beauty, proportion, and a lasting structure, diverging from the 'zero church' concept, with careful consideration of sustainable material usage and minimized carbon footprint. This research showcases a significant advancement in sustainable architectural interventions, exemplifying the harmonious blend of sustainability and aesthetic appeal. The project sets a notable precedent for preserving and revitalizing religious architecture in contemporary society through meticulous research, innovative methodologies, and thoughtful design choices.

Based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the project deals with the unearthing of spatial and cultural layers of the historic city centre, focusing on the modern urban fabric which was built on the relics of the Judengasse, the centuries-old Jewish ghetto.

The project’s mission involves the reinterpretation of ordinary, seemingly insignificant buildings and urban environments into spaces which carry a layered past, but possibly also a hopeful future for different social groups in the city of Frankfurt. This attempt expands the means through which architectural heritage can be understood and appropriated; by doing so, it invites the contemporary local Jewish community, along with other publics, to reclaim a lost chapter in the city’s history, and to continue writing its story while fully embracing the complexities and conflicts it might bring forth.

The current study focuses on the development of a new façade system which introduces greenery as part of brick walls. The main aspects of the proposed system are sustainability, moisture and materials, water supply and structure stability. The goal is to achieve a balanced relation among these aspects and reflect those into the product design. The current report consists of design and experimental research, aiming to explore the potential and tackle the challenges of designing a complete façade system. By identifying existing experimental and design research in relevant literature, a new green façade product is proposed. The stability of the system is based on a non-mortar solution, utilizing the Drystack® elements for the wall assembling. The design phases led to the integration of the system components, focusing on the use of a passive irrigation system. This is further analyzed with a building case study for better understanding its functionality and manufacturability. The different elements constituting the system, drystack, greenery, soil substrate and irrigation, are then decided based on theoretical research. Finally, experimental work is conducted in order to validate the project decisions and propose further improvements.

This design project explores the local values and mentality of the inhabitants of the French village Embres-et-Castelmaure, and the contrasting perspectives of the village by tourists, immigrants and temporary workers. There is an intriguing theoretical duality between fundamental and superficial cosmopolitanism, cosmopolitanism being described as an attitude/behaviour towards the use of the village. The fundamental attitude prioritzes interdependence between humans and nature, conviviality and collectivity (locals) whereas superficial cosmopolitanism views transform the village into a commodification. Currently, the village is consumed by tourists in an efficient and functional way, in the sense that tourists buy wine and then leave the village, granting instant gratification, However, this generalizes rural villages, flattening its local specificity and disregards its true spirit. My project thus focuses on the power of anticipation in contrast to instant gratification which we have become accustomed to in the 21st century. A collection of local observations (interviews, photography, sounds recordings) have informed the design decision to transform the old local church Chapelle de St. Felix and the old castle wall ruin Castelmaure to a local self-sufficient food laboratory and sleeping accommodation. The objective is to extend tourists's visits and give them a taste of the local living conditions and mentality, while stimulating the collective attitude among local inhabitants, and facilitating self-sufficiency, their dependency on seasonal produce and their collective love for food.

This project is about the revitalization of the cultural center: “the Zuiderpershuis”. The complex of buildings is marked as a heritage site and represents an important part of the city of Antwerp and its history as an industrial harbor city. The current lack of used space on the site and its seclusion from the city fabric prevent the place from presenting itself as relevant place to the public of the city. By attaching a new build volume which is beneficial programmatically as well as economically and by altering the urban fabric this place could be the cultural center that it deserves. This is all done while honoring the idea and history of this building complex. Only then it can once again aspire to be a place that brings together people interested in the arts and crafts, but also many more.

Om in 2050 een energie neutrale woningvoorraad te hebben is renovatie belangrijk. In deze scriptie is onderzocht hoe portiekflats gerenoveerd kunnen worden. Hiervoor zijn zeven scenario’s gesimuleerd: spouw isolatie; voorzetwand; binnen isolatie met Kingspan panelen; voorzetgevel; buiten isolatie met Rc-panels en een nieuwe gevel. Deze scenario’s deze beoordeeld op vier aspecten: de kosten, de energie prestatie, de mogelijkheid voor lage temperatuur verwarming en het implementatie gemak. Hieruit kan geconcludeerd worden dat lage temperatuur verwarming mogelijk is vanaf 4 m2K/W. Wanneer de ramen en ventilatie ook worden verbeterd (bijvoorbeeld met driedubbel glas en ventilatie met warmteterugwinning) zal dit misschien veranderen.

The project deal with the urban variation of Borghehout in the city of Antwerp. It is the project of an archive with a sequence public functions