The focus of this thesis is on the phenomenon of the informal settlement and its
informal economy. The location of the graduation project called Tarlabası is an informal settlement in the middle of the city centre of Istanbul. The neighbourhood has been a shelter for the poor, refugees and minorities for generations. The district functions as its own hidden and self-regulating world.
This has created an informal economy that is inextricably linked to the rest of Istanbul, such as the waste/recycling industry. It cannot exist without the informal branch of waste pickers, who are responsible for 80% of recycling in Turkey. The unique district of Tarlabası is seen as bad and criminal by
the authoritarian neoliberal city planners. Therefore, the neighbourhood has already been hit by gentrification processes, ignoring the unique characteristics and social roots of this neighbourhood. Urban renewal or gentrification or however you want to name it, is seen as a necessary tool to erase certain parts of social and physical identities created in the last 50 years via programs of demolition and resettlement. Residents are evicted or given unfair compensation to leave their homes or workplaces. As a result, the gentrification processes result in a displacement of the poor, driving them away from the city centre and their informal work. In 2009, at least one million residents in Istanbul were under threat of forced eviction due to the Urban Transformation Project. The unique characteristics, such as creativity, flexibility, intrinsic value and self-regulation are ignored by the top-down view of modernization, leading to generic neighbourhoods without economic flexibility and with social segregation, but also resulting in a further decline of informal settlements. This thesis aims to take a critical look at the current neoliberalist modernization processes of
urban areas around the world through the case of Istanbul. Urban informality is receiving more and more attention in the literature, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about how we can deal with this phenomenon in urban design and architecture.

This graduation addresses the need to improve living conditions in informal settlements, while also preserving the cultural and social identity of the communities living there. The question of how to improve the living conditions in these settlements while also respecting the cultural and social identity of the residents is a complex one. It requires a holistic approach that takes into account not only physical infrastructure and services, but also the social, economic, and cultural context of the community.
Addressing this research question could have a significant impact on the lives of people living in informal settlements, by improving their living conditions and promoting sustainable development. It could also serve as a model for addressing similar challenges in other cities and countries. Furthermore, it also requires a delicate balance between the preservation of cultural heritage and the need for modernization and improvement of living conditions.

An increasing massive volume of wind turbine blades are coming to end-of-life in the Netherlands. These components contain mostly fibre-reinforced plastics, which has been banned from landfill and incineration. Since then, companies and institutions have spent their efforts to expand the lifetime of this material by developing a circular wind hub with various circular strategies. While some strategies, such as recycling or recovery, are less desirable due to low-quality outcomes and environmental pollution, repurposing seems to be a potential option, which uses decommissioned blades in certain products, such as building elements in one-off applications. This strategy can be enhanced by reprocessing the applications through multiple-use cycles. This research will investigate that concept based on the building layers principle to figure out its feasibility and the potential to extend the lifetime of the end-of-life material.

The building industry waste and transportation can be reduced by reclaiming building components. Building 22, Applied Physics on the Campus of TU Delft can be transformed into student housing and public functions by using reclaimed building components of the existing building, in order to achieve the environmental ambitions of the TU Delft and to strengthen the relationship with the city regarding. This research assesses the potential of various interior building components by means of R-strategies for the future functional needs. By distributing the building components amongst the five R-strategies, a basis for a vision of the future of this building can be derived. This case could be an example for reducing costs and be a road towards a more sustainable building industry.

Overpollution with plastic waste is becoming a leading concern globally, but even more so at island destinations popular among tourists. Tourists generate 3 times more waste than local residents, overuse local resources, and often lead to a change of the identity of the location (the so-called “disneyfication”). This project combines the topics of using recycled plastic elements in architecture, conceptualising more sustainable tourism patterns, and empowering local communities to become active participants in the fate of their land. The island of Bali, Indonesia, is used as a case study, as due to its international popularity, the symptoms of overtourism are apparent and already under discussion.

The object of the project is a community centre for an existing community on the island, which is growing in popularity among locals and aims to attract more foreign visitors- both as a source of income, and as a way to learn about the world first-hand. The design is developed in a way that caters both to the needs of the local community and the likings of temporary visitors, and facilitates meaningful interaction between them. The technical part of the research is focused on determining the availability of the plastic materials in the island’s waste, assessing its potential based on existing recycling technology and relating it to the architectural demands of the island.

The structural concept involves a combination of bamboo with vernacular connections and innovative plastic elements, all suited for community participation during the design process. The goal of it is to be easy to construct and be transferrable and adaptable to various programmes and locations with similar needs and characteristics- from Southeast Asia to the Caribbean islands.

A new product is developed and prototyped as part of the project: a plastic roof tile, which can serve a number of functions depending on its assembly, and which uses the inherent qualities and durability of the plastic material as shaping factors for its design.

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

The site is located on Heertjeslaan, TU Delft Campus South. The main problem is the contradiction between social needs and the campus development plan. On the one hand, the student housing corporation DUWO plans to build student housing on the site, which can help alleviate the student housing shortage in Delft. On the other hand, TU Delft is developing the Campus South area into an innovative hub, providing more places for institutes and companies. The campus claims that the student housing can only serve for 15 years until the arrival of the companies. However, it is unreasonable to demolish the existing student housing due to the increasing student amount and housing demands. The project aims to design an adaptable timber building that is convertible and expandable from student housing towards a mix-use community with a low cost. In the first 15 years, the project will be affordable and livable student housing (Phase I). After that, the site will be developed into a research & business area as a part of the 'innovative hub', accepting institutes and companies to settle in. The building can be partly transformed into offices, labs, and studios for the institutes and companies and can gradually expand if needed. Finally, the building might develop into a mix-use community with residential, research and business programs (Phase II). In this way, Campus South can become an innovation hub as planned and, at the same time, takes responsibility for the student housing shortage.The research is closely connected with the design part. It aims to evaluate the adaptability of multi-storey timber buildings by analysing the independence of shearing layers, mainly focusing on the joint design between building elements. The paper compared two cases, the Library and Seminar Centre (Case 1) and Pile up Giesshübel (Case 2), to determine how joint design affects the adaptability under the scene of altering the function using the Dependency Structure Matrix model. The clustering analysis studied the dependencies between the building elements and classified elements into shearing layers. It found that Case 1 has fewer dependencies between elements and can be better decomposed into independent layers than Case 2. The impact analysis studied the propagation impact of chosen elements in the space plan, skin and services layers. It proved that Case 1 is much more adaptable than the other case when changing the space plan and services due to its relevantly detached joint design in critical positions. Besides, the two cases both show good adaptability when changing the skin. The paper provides a methodology, based on Brand's 'shearing layers' model, to verify an existing building's adaptability or assist in designing a new adaptable building.

Sustainability in its development is increasingly focusing on nature. However, this research shows that through positive development, benefits are not only gained in nature, but are actually viewed as a common good. From this emerged regenerative development and design, in which there is a judgement from a whole system perspective. Through the knowledge of place, a strategy is first developed within the design process, in which oak regeneration can respond to the respective site patterns. This knowledge should then be used to design in harmony with the larger patterns of place. This is achieved through a partnership between the place (as a living being) and other various living systems. Herein, such a partnership is presented between place, humans and oak forest regeneration. This partnership brings forth new activities and growth through co-evolution, and is made permanent by bridging with viticulture. The regeneration of wood is passed down over several generations, using it not only as a building material, but also with the manufacture of wine barrels. In doing so, this research shows how this material works and is produced, and what other uses, if any, are available at the time the material depreciates.

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.

In face of climate change, a large challenge was posed to the construction section as the European Union introduced requirements to reduce CO2 emissions; these must be reduced by 40% before 2030, and all member states have to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. At the time of writing, the construction industry in the Netherlands is respon¬sible for a large part of CO2 emissions, and due to the lack of significant changes in the industry in recent decades, a meaningful reduction of emissions in the coming years seems unlikely. The difficulty of lowering emissions is further amplified by the major housing shortage, for which it is estimated that one million homes must be built before 2030 to meet the population’s demand in the Netherlands. Furthermore, the construction sector is far behind in terms of environmentally conscious innovation when compared to sectors such as technology and transportation. Architects, contractors, engineers, and civil servants therefore have to join arms to implement large-scale in-depth reforms and accept much-needed innovation.

The booklet, paper and posters present the results of an innovative building system that can contribute to the sustainability of the construction sector. This concept was developed based on six months of research in which nine timber building systems were tested for their degree of flexibility and demountability. A framework was then created, where a chosen system was further developed, step by step, into a building concept that can be applied on a large scale. An attempt was made to incorporate every aspect that a building must satisfy without compromising simplicity. The development of the system has a generic and an applied phase. In the generic phase, the basis of the system is laid, which in theory is the same for every building. In the applied phase, the system is further ela¬borated based on the design assignment, which in this case concerns a temporary student building that must be transformed into laboratory and office functions after 10 years. Although the two phases are separate, the gaps in the generic part become vi¬sible when the system is tested in an actual design, resulting in a generic and specific phases that have continuous exchange and influence on each other. In practice, such a standardised system that is to be applied on a large scale is further fine-tuned after it has been realised and experimented with many times.

Events of recent years highlighted the need and the urgency for increased local and regional resilience. 83% of the total EU area considered ‘rural’ will play a vital role in this challenging transition. Those areas not only present a massive opportunity in producing bio-based circular materials for the new economy at scale but also offer a rich body of knowledge and unique cultural experiences available to many.

While facing interlinked problems of soil degradation, ageing and declining population and lack of diverse economic opportunities, rural areas desperately need new models of living – inspiring optimism and stimulating long-term social and economic perspectives.

The project investigates the evolution of the Polish countryside settlements from early-capitalist through socialist to late-capitalist models. While deducting that the ways of organising territory are always closely tied and shaped by socio-economic climate, it poses a question of what the countryside could be like as we shift towards a circular economy.

Complemented by focused thematic research investigating how timber tectonic language is shaped by advancements in manufacturing processes and design workflows, the project analyses those findings in light of local forestry and manufacturing potential. It explores careful adaptive reuse paired with a more industrialised way of producing quality housing while returning to locally sourced pine as the primary construction material.

The result is a revitalisation strategy model proposing a re-development of former State-Owned Farm typologies - once popularised around Germany and Western Poland - now often abandoned; they present a unique opportunity to revive the rural areas while helping already established communities.

Proposal located in Budachów village in Western Poland explores an innovative model of regenerative communal living combining housing for seniors, permanently occupying the site, with a rich educational, cultural and touristic programme for visitors in areas of local expertise in permaculture and dining.

Circl – Centre for Innovation in Regenerative Communal Living – aspires to create a wide range of new economic opportunities for the area while providing much-needed housing for seniors and more responsible food production and resource management models. By combining physical interventions with smart sensors - measuring and optimising consumption and local production of resources – such neighbourhoods could develop their digital twins helping us to better understand and predict our impact on the 83% of the land that sustains us. If applied at scale, the model envisions a more locally produced, globally-connected, economically competitive and self-sufficient future for the countryside in a circular economy

A structure is expected to remain for 30-300 years. Building services are most likely integrated into floors and wear out or become obsolete every 7-15 years (Brand, 1995). Currently, 58% of all timber products are landfilled (Lucas et al., 2017). To ensure timber structures’ long and useful service life, adaptability and integration with building services should be considered (Rogeau et al., 2021). A modular, adaptable shape, capable of integrating and replacing building services should be the outcome of this research. Many timber structures are expected to be built. Let’s prevent an environmental disaster of building waste in 2050 by answering the question: What disassembly and manufacturing improvements are necessary for timber floor systems to increase adaptability and circularity for building services in dwellings. The aspects to design a fully circular timber are circularity, manufacturing and structural. From the literature research, the following criteria are found that are related to these objectives: Modularity, Simplicity, Disassembly, Adaptability, Density and Slenderness. Summarized these objectives make: Easy Adaptive Reuse. A multi-criteria analysis (MCA) is used to grade the timber floor systems with the criteria found, the socalled grading tool. The outcome of the grading tool is a ribbed floor that can be disassembled into parts and connected by mechanical or shaped connections. The result is a final prototype by experimental design based on the criteria and improved through surveys. The final product is suitable for the construction industry and fits into mass customization to increase its impact. The engineering part uses the ribs for the ULS and SLS to shape a composite structure. By making a demountable mechanical connection the structure increases its circularity and stiffness, so it takes the best of both worlds. FlexHolz is a flexible system that increases circularity and is suitable for mass customization.

As space in urban environments becomes more precious, planning for a nature inclusive infrastructure needs to be considered using a multi-layered approach to ensure effective urban foresting. Therefore, this research focusses on the integration of urban ecologies, forest ecologies and the ecological relationship with the individual, to create circularities on a neighbourhood scale. A qualitative research method is used consisting of both a literature review and interviews with experts. The individual’s ecological values and identity are determined by their living environment and can be stimulated through ongoing holistic interactions between residents, buildings, and the surrounding environment. The forest ecologies can be integrated in the urban environment to create local circularities for water, energy, materials, and food flows within the neighbourhood.