The Escalating City is a public highrise project located next to The Hague central station. Due to the lack of buildable space, a different suitable location had to be found. The potentials of an infrastructural node nearby the station were interesting to me. Seemingly it is not a place to make a building, due to the neclegted state. But it is full of opportunities to connect the new public building to the flows of the city and allowing optimal access. The building rests on 4 super columns (or cores), supporting the whole structure. This structural strategy opens up a variety of possibilties. Firstly, it creates the possibilty for the tunnel, roads, tram tracks, cycling paths and buslanes to flowing underneath the building. Secondly, the absence of a central core provides lots of freedom on the floorplans and made it possible for the diagonal elevator tubes to go through.

In an era where public spaces often lack the warmth and accessibility necessary to foster genuine connections, and on a site dominated by closed buildings and transitional spots seen as non-place, this vertical campus emerges as a counterpoint—a destination in itself rather than a mere transition between destinations. By prioritising social interaction, engagement, and inclusivity, it becomes a dynamic catalyst for community cohesion.

To achieve this inclusivity, accessibility is a central point of interest, ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, can navigate its spaces with ease. Furthermore, central to the building’s ethos is the concept of shared spaces—areas where individuals can come together to connect, collaborate, and celebrate. These spaces will not just be functional; they will be designed to evoke specific emotional responses through the strategic use of colour, texture, and form. Warm, inviting hubs evoke feelings of comfort, while bold pops of colour inject energy and vitality into the space. Shared spaces will be designed to serve diverse needs and preferences. From green patios that invite relaxation to bustling communal hubs that celebrate cultures and social interactions. These spaces will serve as the lifeblood of the building, fostering a sense of community and belonging among its occupants.

Collaborative use will also be encouraged, with flexible spaces that can easily adapt to a diverse range of activities and events. From art exhibitions to community workshops, the building will serve as a canvas for creativity and expression, fostering a sense of ownership and investment among its users.

Nowadays, urban campuses can form entire neighborhoods and be integrated into the city by including cafes, coworking spaces, cultural centers, parks, and sports complexes, taking into account the needs of residents and guests of the city. A high-quality educational infrastructure is not only an integral component for the development of universities but also a critical center of urban public life. University and city are living organisms and symbionts. Like any living organism, they are characterized by the complexity of the organization, by the specialization and close interrelationship of their parts, and by the opportunity for evolutionary development.

Games and physical activity can be one of the key elements for campus-city symbiosis. Contemporary researchers are convinced that spaces for physical activity and play on a university campus can not only be presented as separate sports centers but can also be directly integrated into academic buildings. Changing activities, movement, and play techniques help to acquire information at any age.

The research will confirm or refute the hypothesis that the Hague Central Station forms a multinational community with diverse cultures, and sports can become a starting point for a dialogue between them. Public spaces with the amenities for games and contests as a place for this dialogue will integrate the campus into a dense urban environment, make possible the symbiosis of the city and the university, and give rise to innovative ideas. The research will be the
basis for the architectural project of the Vertical Campus, including educational, office, sports, wellness, and recreational programs. The hybrid complex project will include new construction and reorganisation of the existing building of the Universiteit Leiden.

How can mental and physical activities coexist in the vertical campus of the future? What outdoor and indoor public spaces with amenities for sports and other physical activities can be included on this campus?

Historically, university buildings did exhibit a certain prestigious identity, as seen in the campus in Oxford for instance. Identity is shaped by the combination of behavior, communication, and appearance. Its meaning is determined by the collective, not the individual (Grouls et al., 2007). Similar like the clothes we wear, buildings we occupy say something to the outside world about the people we are. University buildings exemplify this idea of identity. (Sun, 2017). Different identities of university buildings, primarily arising from the physical setting and spatial characteristics, result from a varied mix of 'solid' (traditional), 'liquid' (flexible), and 'gas' (on demand) composition (Den Heijer, 2021). The study sheds light on the impact of the contemporary architectural identity of various universities, which often remains limited to the internal program and aesthetics of university buildings. However, today the distinctive features of these faculties, that in general are mainly only accessible for the affiliated students, are scarcely found inside most of these structures. The banality in the aesthetics of those ‘solid’ academic architecture, often characterized by monotonous glass facades - as for instance observed in the AvB Tower, near the Prins Clauslaan in the Hague - disrupts the identity of university buildings.
References indicate that currently a lot of methods of university construction detract from the prestige and distinctive characteristics of the faculties and other internal university functions, which were previously expressed with ornamental interventions, programmatic peculiarities, or other unique architectural ingenuities. In general, the facade is one of the most crucial elements, perhaps the most important one, for the representation and identity of those occupying the building, as well as for the identity of the city (Jurgenhake, 2016). Functions behind the facades are hardly recognizable today due to this aesthetical anonymity. Only the large signs with the names of the respective universities reveal what is happening behind the facades. This increasing anonymity of these university buildings and the negatively reduced dialogue between the urban environment and its associated social cohesion downplays interaction between users. The overall identity of university buildings must become more ‘liquid’ and ‘gas’, where universities are more flexible, shared and filled with opportunity and openness to the outside world (Den Heijer, 2021). A search to a good balance between solid, liquid and gas must be the goal.
The Hague Central Innovation Dirstrict (CID) will be the location for the future vertical campus. This location becomes even more significant when considering The Hague’s future vision of densification. The Hague, like many cities, is increasingly focusing on making better use of its limited urban space by densifying key areas. The CID has been identified as one of the city’s main hubs for innovation and development, with plans to integrate more offices, residences, and academic institutions to make it a more vibrant district. The negative impact on social cohesion is exacerbated by the surrounding governmental buildings along Prins Clauslaan, which, with their isolated (archipelago) structure, create a detached and solid identity. Additionally, the Utrechtsebaan highway acts as a traffic barrier, dividing the Centraal Station area and Bezuidenhout neighbourhoods. This results into a strong individualism and isolation, not only among the building typology, but also the people who occupy the buildings and the surrounding neighbourhoods. It is crucial for social bonding to get rid of this barriers and to have a public condenser, where the people of these ministries, neighbourhoods and campus can physically connect.
Moreover, interviews conducted in this area also reveal that various target groups emphasize the absence of diversity in building functions and spaces for playing, learning, and socializing. Therefore, the design aims to navigate university identity through a vertical campus with a flexible solid-liquid-gas composition, expressing with the ambition to include both a partly public and university identity. It This strategy intends to function as a hybrid urban condenser catering to diverse target groups within the connected neighbourhoods of the the Hague Central Innovation District, where individuals of all ages can engage and live together. To establish a vibrant central educational hub that unifies diverse these neighbourhoods and students, the design will prioritize diversity, visibility, interaction, adaptability, flexibility and movement, fostering an environment to play, learn, and socialize together.

This graduation report examines the potential for an open and inclusive university campus situated in the heart of The Hague. Within the framework of the Public Building Graduation Studio, the vertical campus concept redefines how learning and interaction occur within and beyond the university setting. This exploration led to the development of Fusion Scientia, a guiding principle that embodies the vision of a dynamic public campus. More than merely a design for a new building, Fusion Scientia represents a transformative approach to education, fostering collaboration, accessibility, and lifelong learning within the community.

In response to the growing need for connectivity between academia and society, the design embraces an inclusive ethos that invites both direct users, students and staff, and the wider community to engage in a shared learning environment. This is achieved through a carefully crafted programmatic layout of vertical and horizontal spaces, ensuring collaboration and cohesion among various functions. Key areas such as the Mountaintop, Waterhole, Campfire, and Cove create vibrant hubs for interaction, enhancing the overall educational experience.

To promote a healthier and more inviting atmosphere, the design features a porous facade that breaks up the massing of the building, allowing for greater transparency and interaction between levels. The carved-out spaces create unique floorplan layouts, fostering spontaneous engagement among users. Incorporating green elements throughout the campus, such as terraces and indoor greenery, further enhances biophilia, promoting well-being and a connection to nature.

Sustainable climate design, including underfloor heating and ventilation systems, ensures a healthy indoor climate while reducing the building’s environmental impact. The project also emphasizes the importance of reusing existing structures, transforming early to late 1900s office buildings from grey and dark environments into a vibrant and light public space. This approach not only honors the architectural heritage of the area but also contributes to a more dynamic urban landscape.

Ultimately, Fusion Scientia serves as a concept that transcends traditional boundaries, redefining the role of the university in the 21st century. By integrating education with the urban fabric, the project aspires to create a more educated society through collaboration and engagement.

Since 2020, when remote working became standard practice worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries, including the Caribbean Island Curaçao, have introduced remote working visas targeting digital nomads to boost their local economy. As a result, the phenomenon of digital nomadism has seen a rapid increase in the last few years. Digital nomads are mobile professionals who use digital technologies and leverage workplace flexibility to perform their work remotely, while travelling on a (semi-)permanent basis living a nomadic life. Two years after the introduction of these visas, local communities of popular digital nomad destinations are protesting the negative consequences in the socio-spatial context resulting from the unrestricted access given to digital nomads. Since the economy of Curaçao is partly dependent on tourism, this thesis aims to investigate what spatial interventions in Curaçao can facilitate mutually beneficial co-existence between digital nomads and local communities beyond the potential economic benefits.
Henri Lefebvre’s spatial triad theory was used to systematically investigate the social, economic, and spatial practices of digital nomads in juxtaposition with the social and material infrastructures of Curaçao. The analysis followed the structure of the model for planetary-scale computation The Stack by Benjamin Bratton. The results include an overview of the full spectrum of spatial externalities of digital nomadism as well as an evaluation of the affordances of the island’s infrastructures to support a multiplicity of mobilities. Furthermore, the juxtaposition uncovered ‘pursuit of knowledge’ as common ground between digital nomad and settled communities. The material expression of this common ground was then imagined as a civil (knowledge) campus. The civil campus as a concept is a vision for the conscious and active involvement of all citizens and visitors to adaptively shape social spaces together based on shared values of collaboration, purpose, and a mindset of continuous learning. As a material place, the civil campus is an inclusive and porous knowledge-focused hub. It is formed through bottom-up adaptive processes that serve both the locals and the digital nomads, thereby enabling local communities to benefit from knowledge exchange with this global community. The public library acts as central knowledge node and meeting place, and spatial interventions in the public realm on the micro (furniture), mezzo (architecture), and macro (neighbourhood) level activate and support social interaction and active knowledge exchange between digital nomads and settled locals.

The project deals with a changing territorial environment on the Île aux Épis in Strasbourg, France, on which an urban (residential) masterplan has been drawn with a set of stipulations by the port authorities on the island. These stipulations introduce, among other things, a road that is to maintain the connectivity of the port to the highway infrastructure of France and Europe while avoiding the newly-introduced functions of the masterplan as much as possible. Consequently, the road as drawn in the masterplan negates much of its surroundings and thus, if left untouched, may generate conditions of residual spaces reminiscent to Ignasi de Solà-Morales' "Terrain Vague." The project, a bus transfer station, which is to facilitate the flux of tourists and passengers that arrive in or traverse through the city of Strasbourg, thus attempts to use the qualities of such residuals by creating new spaces in-between different sets of urban, infrastructural and natural conditions on the project site.

The section of the street, being a constitutive unit of every city, as a design task requires constant reworking and adjustments according to changing socio-political conditions. The society of the 21st century looks different than it used to, the authorities changed along with social stratification models, technological solutions evolved and, hence, the surrounding urban tissue needs to be updated. The street design of a 21th century European, democratic city needs to be reworked in order to host its citizens’ activities and needs most appropriately, otherwise it may turn out too restrictive. Remodelling the street in the spirit of democratic expression, whether it means agreeing or disagreeing, became the main premise of the project.

The project assumes reworking of the street profile, reaching beyond its traditional surfaces of a pavement and a facade, by adding depth and topography to the street and reusing existing buildings and adjacent empty plots as protest-related infrastructure edifices. Architectural solutions assume the creation of multiple ways of framing the protest, creating plurality of perspectives, providing both panoramic and immersive experience of the crowd. Carefully designed surfaces of the street pavement and varying ceiling modules provide orientation for the crowd. The subversive use of small architecture, i.e. benches, lamps is inherently contained in their design. The space is meant to provide all the infrastructure for protest as well as to allow for multiple creative uses of space through appropriation.

The project devises a system of protest street, which in its universality may prove replicable in various contexts and is not bound exclusively to the chosen location of Allee de la Robertsau in Strasbourg.

Rome is a city that has always been described as an eternal city. This eternal character can be found through the many traces that Rome contains of former states within its physical environment. When researching these traces, an interesting conclusion can be drawn; almost all physical elements have either fallen into decay or have continuously moved with the city to meet the needs of new social structures. But nowadays with the declaration of the city centre of Rome as one large monument, this is no longer possible. While at the same time the current social structure is crumbling. This is particularly visible with all of the Roman churches. Christianity is losing relevance fast and these church become nothing but museumpieces in the city that are no longer contributing to the current social structure of Rome. That is why this thesis proposes a radical move; to provide space in the city center for new architectural experiments by moving 10 of the 400 churches to a new location outside the city center. With the collection of 10 churches also a grand experiment will be conducted, creating a gigantic second hand religious market, using the historical logistical character of the new location. Continuing Rome is about giving the city the impulse to restart the layering that makes Rome great and to give Rome back to its own citizens for a new eternity.

The division present in Strasbourg’s urban tissue is a direct result of the fortifications systems that were implemented, reshaped and mostly demolished between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. As a border city between France and Germany, it was always under the threat of a sudden attack. My proposal is a bridging structure that connects in a straight line city centre with a green belt, a remnant of the former fortifications, and adds to it with a botanical and an open garden.
The heterogeneity is typical for the surrounding and the proposal, which together allows creating a series of “threshold moments” with an elevated passage. It encourages you to explore the unknown other side and reinforces the feeling of rediscovering some exceptional, forgotten quality of the city.

The HUB is a design which aims to raise the quality of life of the inhabitants of HongKong, in the district of Mong Kok. This is done by implementing daylight simulations, walking-paths simulations and multiple parametric design tools. The Hub will replace an existing building called; 'the Sincere Building', and will provide commercial space, residential space and public space.