In response to the environmental challenges posed by the construction industry's extensive use of concrete, this research focuses on the reuse of load-bearing concrete elements from end-of-life buildings. Emphasizing the 'Design for Reuse' (DfReu) principle, the study aims to integrate reclaimed concrete into new construction projects. Four chapters delve into construction techniques, concrete reclamation methods, demountable integration, and a practical case study of the former Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. The findings mark the feasibility of reclaiming structurally sound concrete, with the case study revealing substantial environmental benefits. This research contributes valuable insights to the global call for circularity in construction practices, urging a paradigm shift towards sustainability and adaptability.

The tourism industry has experienced significant growth over recent decades, resulting in overcrowding and carrying capacity issues in concentrated tourist areas (mass tourism). This influx strains local resources, especially water supply systems, in regions prone to scarcity, such as (semi-)arid and remote areas like islands. Many Thai islands, reliant on tourism, face water shortages exacerbated during high tourist seasons and periods of low rainfall. Inadequate wastewater management further pollutes local ecosystems as untreated wastewater is discharged into the sea, contaminating seawater and groundwater alike. The growth of mass tourism on these islands not only leads to ecological damage but also erodes cultural heritage, as traditional structures are increasingly replaced by modern resorts. My graduation project, “Modern Sala,” addresses these impacts by transforming a site into a recreational space for local residents. It emphasizes environmental awareness through sustainable water management, local material use, and natural integration. Modern Sala seeks self-sufficiency by cultivating food, reusing water, and purifying seawater for safe public swimming, restoring part of the environment to the community. Flexible, multi-purpose spaces adapt to evolving needs, positioning the project as a model for balanced, community-focused tourism development.

Coal mining closure as part of the energy transition and global shift towards sustainability will have significant impacts on society, especially for coal-producing regions in developing countries that not only have to deal with the technical aspects but also the complex social, environmental, and economic dimensions. Comprehensive planning and intervention are therefore needed to ensure a just and seamless transition to a better life for the local people. On the other hand, this future planning of the coal mining region presents a massive opportunity for architects and designers to reflect and move beyond conventional practices toward a non-extractive building culture. This new culture entails taking into account the elements of place and time in the process of planning, designing, and sourcing materials. This project investigates the possibility of integrating the energy transition plan, land reclamation process, and agroforestry culture into a regenerative development strategy in the soon-to-be-closed mining area by envisioning a circular Post-Coal Community in Muara Enim, one of the oldest and biggest coal regions in Indonesia. Supported by thematic research on urban metabolism using material flow analysis to map the problems and potentials related to energy and materials in Muara Enim, the results of this project underscore a range of strategic interventions—from site planning the former mining pit for agroforestry, reclaiming the unused mining infrastructure for building materials, to developing a building system using phytoremediation plants and fast-growing timber with small dimensions that go hand in hand with the replanting and reforestation process of the mining area.

Steel production stands out as one of the most energy-intensive industries globally. Shifting towards a more circular system could be achieved by component reuse. Unfortunately, there is lack of information on how to assess the reuse potential of diverse steel components. This research paper focuses on developing an assessment method for the reuse potential of thirteen common steel product groups. Components found in three case-study buildings on the TU Delft Campus are categorized into these product groups and assessed for their reuse potential. The research process includes: compiling an inventory of components, identifying factors impacting the reuse process and conducting a value assessment. A design for a new circular campus building was made with the suitable components. The goal of this design project was gaining more knowledge on how to implement reused steel components into a design, experience the complications involved, but also explore the possibilities it could offer.

Urban and agricultural lands occupied more than 40% of all land surface globally in 2022. Most of these areas are managed through industrial processes that deplete the soil, pollute the water, annihilate biodiversity, and contribute to runaway carbon emissions. It’s all anthropogenic sprawl. Large scale ecological and hydrological restoration, by way of transforming anthropic land use, is essential if we hope to prevent further climate catastrophe.
Focusing specifically on soil health would have implications that reverberate throughout the entire ecosystem. Soil stores more carbon worldwide than is contained in all plant biomass above ground. Healthy soil prevents erosion and mitigates drought and flood due to its ability to absorb and store high quantities of water. Soil is a living composition of multispecies entanglements that determines the viability of plant and animal life above ground. Humans are agents in soil production as much as ants, worms, bacteria and fungus, and thus locate our place within these systems of exchange, rather than without.
Gunkspace is a methodology that demonstrates how agroforestry principles that promote decentralized modes of soil care infrastructure can be integrated into urban and agricultural areas with the hydrological basin serving as a scaling device that zooms in to the narrowest street and all the way out to the entire planet: it’s all connected! What’s more, it can all be done within the existing frameworks that govern much of our anthropocentric space today — in the interstices where gunk already accrues or where it could.
The first case study is the Matanza-Riachuelo river basin in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is the most polluted waterway in the country. In other words, if this basin can be restored, any basin can be.

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.

This paper investigates the potential of passively lowering the operational energy requirement of performance buildings in the Central European Climate. The energy consumption of this typology is largely caused by mechanical ventilation to cool and ventilate the theatre during shows, necessary for the thermal comfort and ventilation requirements of the audience. Mechanical ventilation in theatres needs to significantly over-provide ventilation air in order to cool, and the exhaust air is not allowed to be mixed with incoming air, making them are inherently inefficient. Passive design strategies can lower the energy requirement of buildings during operation, by efficiently using ambient elements and simple laws of physics. Berlin, which perfectly embodies Central European’s climate, experiences strong seasonal climate variations. In the hotter summer months, there is a low ambient cooling potential. However, the climatic conditions are sufficient for a direct connection between the theatre and the ambient air, which would result in no need for HVAC during operation. There is a high ambient cooling potential in autumn, winter and spring. This potential can be fulfilled by efficiently integrating thermal mass, indirect evaporative cooling in the roof of the theatre, radiative cooling in the ceiling of the theatre, natural ventilation through buoyancy stack effect or wind-driven cross ventilation. These methods are addressed on macro scale and deserve micro scale validation of a site before implementation.

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.

Seaweed is a promising potential building material, but so far in 2022, very little market ready seaweed-based building products are available. Because of the success of the sargassum adobe block in Mexico by Omar Vazquez, the potential of a seaweed loam bricks in the Netherlands is researched in this paper, called the seaweed brick. The realization of this seaweed bricks hinges on the seaweed having multiple purposes (water filtering, educational and bricks) and the use of waste streams from the proposed seaweed farms and other manufacturing processes. The production and beneficial functions of growing seaweed in harbor areas are shown in the design of Wierdok. Wierdok is the transformation of the former Petroleumhaven in Amsterdam to a Seaweed farm, Seaweed loam brick factory and exploration site for everyday people. By acknowledging the transforming neighborhood of harbor City and Westpoort, Wierdok transform in the same tempo as it’s surrounding creating the overlap between Industry and Recreation in an appropriate speed. In the meantime it exposed normal citizens to the option of sustainable building materials by highlighting the production process of the seaweed loam brick and the architecture it can create without diminishing the existing industrial harbor elements.

Research: Transportation of food, meat consumption, land use for agriculture, and food waste significantly impact our environment and climate change. This paper proposes a co-housing community that produces its own food on-site in Amsterdam. A plant-based diet is taken as the basis for crop selection. Different urban farming methods are described, and the most efficient ones are chosen for growing crops in the proposed building. The impact of this is analysed in terms of land use, CO2 emissions, Water use, Energy demand and Architectural, Social and Educational impact. The proposal positively affects all of the mentioned subjects except for energy use. The use of energy is increased by 7%. That can be compensated by sustainably harvesting energy. The proposed community can have a positive environmental effect and could become a new main housing typology.

Design: Globally we will face water and food stress. The agricultural industries contribute 26% of all greenhouse gas emissions. 4 sub categories of these emissions are land use, meat and dairy consumption, transport and supply chain, and crop production. Besides this, food waste contributes significantly. I therefore propose to eliminate the supply chain by designing a building that produces food and houses the people that consume it. The design consists of a Plant Factory, 4 glasshouses and 100 housing units that house about 200 people. The building is self-sufficient in water, food and almost self-sufficient in energy consumption. Shared spaces are added to provide residents with a space for gathering, and learning about food production, consumption and preparation. A market and educational center are added on the ground- and first floor so that the building can become an attractor for neighbors. Here they can also learn about the value of food, and how to become self-sustaining too. Lastly, the green roof is added for additional leisure activities as well as learning about healthy and sustainable food growth practices.

Urban Transplant is a tool for post-capitalist architecture. The circular approach, supported by in-depth research into reuse of in-situ structural concrete as components, offers transformation methods in the built environment. A dual site in Brussels, the World Trade Center and a post-industrial terrain, provides a proof of concept for the idea of a donor-site and a host-site.

The project questions current regulation and cultural habits in face of the urgent climate crisis by explicitly laying the relation between our comfort and excessive use of natural resources. By that, the architecture is the link between circular economy principles and day-to-day practices. The Urban Transplant demonstrates an approach that acknowledges scarcity of natural resources and strives for social equality. Considering the operation phase as well, it provides a holistic climate concept and a programme to enable a circular lifestyle.

This paper concerns the deconstruction of buildings as an alternative for demolition. Deconstruction has environmental, social and economic benefits since it allows the reuse of existing materials. Reuse within the construction industry has the potential to reduce waste streams while decreasing the demand for excavation of natural resources. The paper proposes a system for reusing in-situ concrete in new construction. For that, it provides a first exploration of the various aspects pertaining to such a system. As the preliminary findings show that the phase of cutting is technically viable, an estimation of possible energy saving is made. The analysis compares energy consumption of cutting methods for reuse in comparison with common recycling methods. This estimation tests whether the proposed method is favorable in terms of energy. The conclusion is that further research and testing are required in order to determine the feasibility of the system as a whole and the conditions and effects if coming into practice. Furthermore, a standard method for reuse must be developed in order to introduce the system to the market.

Keywords: deconstruction, concrete deconstruction, concrete reuse, concrete recycling

Moving towards the Dutch circularity goals of 2050, this project aims to diminish the amount of construction waste released by the demolition of 282 post-war dwellings in the Nieuwenhuysenbuurt in Amsterdam West (1954). Through the use of a flexible and demountable building system, construction waste is diminished now and in the future.

With the current energy transition in full effect smart ways to integrate sustainable systems are a must. Instead of looking at individual solutions per household or building, this thesis explores the possibilities of a neighbourhood energy system and how it can benefit the community. The social impact of large sustainable measures are often neglected, while if they are taken into account during the development, a mutual benefit can be achieved. The architect plays a key role in this integration process and can be the bridge between often separated developments. This thesis is one example of a concept which can be applied everywhere, but is still able to produce unique and exiting architecture for each individual project. By looking at the possibilities of a context, integrated with the necessities of the energy transition and combined with solutions for social challenges, architecture can provide the symbiosis among these topics to create a mutual benefit on a local, but also on a broader scale.

The Marabunta Farmer Market (Petani Pasar) project is a fish market design proposal for water-related integrations in the coastal community of Bandarharjo, Semarang. Located on the north coast of Java, Semarang city was an important port and centre for food trading activities. These local activities, such as fishery, markets, street entertainment, are still parts of Semarang's daily lives. The main problem in the informal urban areas of Semarang is the lack of healthy water infrastructure. Introducing a more green environment is a crucial element in the design proposal; it is a fundamental issue for developing the industrial area that provides income for most of the kampungs inhabitants. The design stimulates the reconnecting living with its scenery. The ecology that used to be the primary support for the economy has lost its value; the groundwater got overexploited, clean water is scarce, the rivers are polluted, the sewage system is unhygienic, and floodings often happens. Additionally, there is a shortage of income for the residents in the kampungs resulting in poor living conditions. The graduation project aims to improve the local work environment in a healthy ecological way. The project invests in promoting the relationship of the community with water and integrates a low tech approach to building technology with local and reused materials. It provides a new source of circular clean water recycled from sewage- and rainwater with environmental and economic profit such as urban farming, a market with street food possibilities and public space that can be flexible and adaptable in extreme flood risk situations.

Since the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuels have played, and continue to play, a dominant role in global energy systems, and thereby in the social, economic and technological developments worldwide. Unfortunately, these energy sources have their negative side-effects: local air pollution and global CO2-emission. The latter has never been this high, resulting in an extra, more negative, important role for fossil fuels: in global warming. Not to mention that these fossil sources of energy are depletable resources; once we’ll be running out of them. The project ‘Repurposing the Port’ combines this issue with the challenge of port-cities to house the expected growth in number of citizens, reach their climate goals ánd bring back the former intimate connection of the city and the port. In this project the Petroleumhaven in Amsterdam, symbolically being the first port outside the city and the first fossil fuel-specialized port, is transformed to a future-proof, mixed-use neighborhood. In this transformation both the existing structure of the area, and the available building structures (and materials) are reused to make it a fully circular redevelopment. The flexible wooden building system provides for a community-driven realization and on top of that for a carbon-negative footprint of the project. To do so, the aboveground steel storage tanks (AST's) in the area are analyzed in the research paper, and used as the main starting point for the design project.

The TU Delft (strategic framework 2018-2024) aims to have a CO2 neutral and circular campus that departs from the linear economy to closed material cycles by 2030, meaning that the campus becomes climate neutral. Currently, the TU Delft is accountable for 47.957 tCO2-eq emissions, uses 166.038 MWh of energy for electricity and heat , and is for approximately 5-15% circular. There is a need to improve in order to meet the goals set by the TU Delft. On campus the Applied Physics buildings consumes the most energy, equivalent to 12.873,2 MWh or 425 kWh/m2 in 2018 for electricity and heat combined. The technical state of the building is mediocre and is in need of a thorough renovation to meet the current standard. The goal of the graduation project is to develop a re-design and renovation strategy for the Applied Physics building, by re-using as many of the existing materials and closing the energy flows on a local level. Architecture – reuse existing The building is designed by the architecture firm Roosenburg, Verhave and Luyt and built in 1963. It has an area of 43.100 m2, making it one of the largest buildings on campus. The building is located in the centre of the campus next to the Aula and the Library. It is embedded in the urban fabric of the TU Delft with a 175-meter-long rhythmic façade facing toward the Mekelpark. The concrete façade has a sense of monumentality however, it has quite a closed look and is not overly inviting to visit. The new architecture starts from the existing building and the desire to reuse as many of the existing materials as possible to reduce the CO2 impact of the renovation. An inventory of the materials present in the structure and façade has been made. 93% of the materials analysed are in the concrete structure and therefore this will be completely reused. The remaining 7% of the materials are located in the façade and they will be carefully harvested. Prefab biobased façade panels, based on the existing structural grid, will be attached to the existing structure. On site the harvested materials will be re-used to clad the newly insulated façade. Energy flow To move away from an energy system that runs on fossil fuels, there is a need to introduce so called cyclifiers to create a closed loop system. Firstly, the energy consumption needs to be reduced by introducing a well-insulated façade and a smart building system that regulates the temperature and ventilation. The remaining energy needs to be produced sustainably. A biogas plant is introduced that turns waste into three valuable products, namely biogas, fertiliser and clean water. The biogas plant runs on waste from the sewer system as well as on algae, which are integrated in the roof of the atrium that is added to the building. The algae serve a triple purpose because they provide sun shading in summer, absorbed CO2 and are a renewable energy source. PV panels are added to the roof and facades of the building to produce even more renewable energy. The heat for the whole campus is supplied by a geothermal source connected to the already existing heat grid and a heat and cold storage is added to the building.

Strandeiland, as an expected housing project on artificial islands in Amsterdam, is hoping to ease the housing pressure as well as recover the natural identity for the IJburg district. The objective of this research is to design a reedbed filter system for the island that can circular the wastewater into freshwater. This water system set up a landscape framework regionally. Presenting as a showcase, the design focus on a reed factory that manufactures reed building materials for house construction on-site, which are the most important by-products of this reed system. This development not only strengthens the water resilience, recover the island's natural identity, but adds more extra value to the whole neighborhood.

On September 6th 2017 hurricane Irma hit the island of Sint Maarten leaving 90% of the build environment destroyed and the tourist based economy to collapse. Funding for reconstruction stagnated due to corruption and a lack of proper building materials and building knowledge leads to poor reconstruction. Especially the poorer communities are left exceptionally vulnerable to natural disasters. Solutions to address their needs were the starting point for this project. The proposed intervention is there for an affordable hurricane resilient building system that firstly transforms Sint Maartens linear economy to a circular economy. By using local waste materials, and producing new building products from waste it improves the urban metabolism of the islands economy. Secondly it improves the socio-economic resilience by bringing together different actors to create a more resilient and productive actor network. On an urban scale the system can grow incrementally. In the final stage the program contains housing units with a communal space, a decentral recycling hub, a communal garden and commercial spaces.

Many people do not see waste as a necessity, not being able to see that it has become an unavoidable part of our daily lives. Everything we do involves waste and even in seconds the things we use are considered as waste. The design of a waste facility in a high-density work-live area can create more awareness about waste management and material recycling. Additionally it can serve as a public space, increasing the social value of such a place. To realize such a facility and reach sustainable goals, collaboration on every possible scale in every possible system is necessary. This can by realized by breaking through transportation systems, circular building systems, social systems, economical systems and political systems and integrating them in the design. With this project, I have shown that waste-awareness could be created in a positive way, trough the design of a waste innovation centre.