bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Introduction
Authors: Filippidou Faidra
Published: November 2023

The rapid growth of urban areas has led to the unsustainable use of resources (Langeweg et al. 2000; Bhatta 2010; UN 2014). The impacts of urban areas are evident in regions which supply cities with food, water, energy and absorb pollution and waste (UN 2014). At the same time, the current world population, of 7.6 billion, is predicted to reach 8.6 billion in 2030 and 9.8 billion in 2050 (UN 2017). Moreover, the urban population, in 2014, accounted for 54% of the total global population. This signifies a 20% increase since 1960. In 2014, the majority of people - 54% - were living in urban areas and this percentage is estimated to rise in the future (WHO 2017). In Europe, 72.5 % of European Union (EU)-28 countries inhabitants lived in cities, towns and suburbs in 2014 (Eurostat 2016b). Nevertheless, differences between countries exist. Figure 1.1 shows the urban population growth of the Netherlands in comparison to the EU, Germany, Spain, France, Slovenia and Sweden. The Netherlands is characterised by a high level of population density and a high share of urban land use, whereas in most of the Scandinavian countries and Spain much lower levels of urban land use are present (Eurostat 2016b).

In this context, the main challenge is to accommodate a greater number of people while reducing the impacts on the environment, which are the main cause for climate change (IPCC 2014). Relatedly, the improvement of the quality of life of city residents is a priority (EEA 2015). Households have a large impact on energy intensity and final energy consumption, as Figure 1.2 shows. The energy intensity3 of households, depicted on the left hand side of Figure 1.2, is increasing and at the same time 25.4% of the final energy consumption in the EU 28 was attributed to the sector in 2015 (24.8% in 2016), shown on the right hand side of Figure 1.2 (EEA 2013; Eurostat 2016a). The potential for energy consumption reduction of households is large and is set as a key priority in the policy goals and directives by the European Commission (Paulou et al. 2014; Saheb et al. 2015). One of the most prominent ways to reduce the energy consumption of residential dwellings is through energy renovations.
Acoustically effective façades
Authors: Krimm Jochen
Published: November 2023

The silhouettes of the great European metropolises are characterised by a high density of high-rise facades made of glass, metal or stone. On one hand this density stands for economic power and good employment values. On the other hand, the large sound-reflecting surfaces in the cities are responsible for an increase in sound pollution in their vicinity. They cause the most frequent inner-city sound source, traffic noise, to double in perceived intensity. Direct sound and reflected sound add up in the urban environment. This effect of sound level increase through reflection has been subject of acoustic research for some time. In architecture, however, the topic of noise reflection has been completely neglected. But it is exactly these concentration processes in the continuously growing metropolises that make architects face problems that they cannot solve with their own tools alone. For example, placing bedrooms in the quiet part of a building is only possible if there are quiet areas. But highly concentrated areas as a result of creating additional living space are often surrounded by 4 or more sound sources. Hereby, the noise originating from air traffic further aggravates the situation because this type of noise generally impacts the urban space from above. These developments require us to discuss the topic of the reflective properties of facades within the disciplines acoustics and architecture. The fundamental question was:

Is it possible to develop a design strategy that can be employed by architecture firms, and that enables them to develop facades for a quieter city in challenging urban situations?
In-situ and real time measurements of thermal comfort and its determinants in thirty residential dwellings in the Netherlands
Authors: Anastasios Ioannou , Itard Laure
Published: November 2023

Reducing energy consumption in the residential sector is an imperative EU goal until 2020. An important boundary condition in buildings is that energy savings should not be achieved at the expense of thermal comfort. However, there is little known about comfort perception in residential buildings and its relation to the PMV theory. In this research, an in-situ method for real time measurements of the quantitative and subjective parameters that affect thermal comfort as well as the reported thermal comfort perception was developed and applied in 30 residential dwellings in the Netherlands. Quantitative data (air temperature, relative humidity, presence) have been wirelessly gathered with 5 minutes interval for 6 months. The thermal sensation was gathered wirelessly as well, using a battery powered comfort dial. Other subjective data (metabolic activity, clothing, actions related to thermal comfort) were collected twice a day using a diary. The data analysis showed that while the neutral temperatures are well predicted by the PMV method, the cold and warm sensations are not. It seems that people reported (on a statistically significant way) comfortable sensation while the PMV method does not predict it, indicating a certain level of psychological adaptation to expectations. Additionally it was found that, although clothing and metabolic activities were similar among tenants of houses with different thermal quality, the neutral temperature was different: in houses with a good energy rating, the neutral temperature was higher than in houses with a poor rating.
Research overview of cooling in office buildings
Authors: Prieto Hoces Alejandro Ignacio
Published: November 2023

This chapter serves as a general introduction to the topics explored throughout the dissertation, presenting a panorama of the available knowledge on façade related cooling strategies in office buildings. This was carried out by categorising and discussing reported research experiences from the past 25 years in order to identify knowledge gaps and define current paths and trends for further exploration. Peer reviewed journal articles were selected as the source for the study, given the reliability of the information published under peer-review processes. Several queries were carried out throughout online journal article databases, considering published papers from 1990 onwards. The resulting article database was then explored through descriptive analysis and in-depth review of some articles to expand on specific topics in order to thoroughly visualise scientific interest and tendencies within the field of study for the last 25 years.

Results show the high current relevance of cooling research, having experienced an increase of publications under different climate contexts and varied topics ranging from passive to solar cooling, which is seen as a research field on its own. Also, in terms of research methods, software simulations seem to be the primary tool for cooling research, which makes sense for performance driven developments. On the other hand, the main knowledge gaps identified are the need for specific research regarding possibilities for application and architectural integration of cooling systems; the lack of articles addressing some specific cooling strategies, such as the use of evaporative and ground cooling; and the need for more information about the operation of cooling systems, especially taking users’ perception and their behaviour into account.
Design with forms as well as patterns
Authors: Cai Jiaxiu
Published: November 2023

The research investigates How can the morphological approach in combination with the pattern language approach assist urban designers to achieve historical continuity in urban design both on theory and application levels.

This research overviews the developments and applications of the two approaches worldwide with a special emphasis on the Dutch school. The Dutch morphological reduction technique and the Dutch interpretation of a pattern language are used in the case study—Wuhan, a Chinese city—to study the transformation of urban form and lifestyle. The multi-scalar historical morphological analysis results in an atlas that consists of four series of analytical maps on three levels of scale as well as 13 spatial structuring elements of the city; whereas the public life study results in a pattern book consisting of 20 individual patterns and three pattern languages. The practical implications and relevance for -- the design of -- the future of the city are discussed.

The research is set up in a systematic and symmetrical manner for comparison of and reflection on the two approaches. It concludes that:

• The morphological approach can be used to interpret first space (perceived space) and convey its information into second space (conceived space), whereas the pattern language approach can be used to interpret third space (lived space) and convey its information into second space (conceived space).

• The morphological approach has a tendency to work from large scale to small scale and the pattern language approach tends to be built up from small scale to large scale, whereas urban design works with multiple scales at the same time.

• The morphological approach and the pattern language approach provide means for urban designers to systematically recognize historical layers so as to distil the meaning in the physical and non-physical contexts respectively. Consirately adding another layer that contains the contemporary meaning (design intervention) to these recognized layers is the way to pass down and simultaneously generate incremental change in the tradition of the context. This results in historical continuity and thus in permanence in urban design.

• The morphological approach, the pattern language approach, and urban design are processes in themselves and can be combined into one integrated process.

• The morphological approach, the pattern language approach and urban design are characterized by reduction, abstraction, interpretation, and communication.

• Some properties of the two approaches can be seen as counterparts because the roles these properties play in the design process tend to be similar:

• Individual homogeneous areas vs Individual patterns;

• Structural homogeneous areas vs Anchoring points/ Structuring patterns;

• Secondary connections in homogeneous areas vs Linkages between patterns;

• ? / Typology of homogeneous areas vs Clusters of patterns.
Transformation in Composition
Authors: van der Velde Rene
Published: November 2023

This study enlarges on the notion of composition in landscape architecture. It builds upon the ‘Delft method’, which elaborates composition as a methodological framework from its sister discipline architecture. At the same time takes a critical stance in respect to this framework, informed by recent epistemological developments in landscape architecture such as the site-specificity and process discourses. The notion of composition is examined from a historical and theoretical perspective, before turning to an examination of the brownfield park project realised in the period 1975-2015. These projects emerge as an important laboratory and catalyst for developments in landscape architecture, whereby contextual, process, and formal-aesthetic aspects emerge as central themes. The thesis of this research is that a major theoretical and methodological expansion of the notion of composition can be distilled from the brownfield park project, in which seemingly irreconcilable paradigms such as site and process are incorporated.

By extension, the study elaborates on the disciplinary specificity of landscape architecture as distinct to its sister disciplines architecture and urbanism, propositioning a ‘radical maturation’ of the foundations of the discipline in the period 1975 – 2015, via the brownfield park project. A metaphor for this process is offered by the phenomenon of ecdysis in arthropods (such as the blue swimmer crab), whereby the growth from juvenile to adult takes place in stages involving the moulting of an inelastic exoskeleton. Once shed, a larger exoskeleton is formed, whose shape and character is significantly different to its forebears. The research sketches the contours of a similar ‘disciplinary ecdysis’ in the period 1975-2015, whereby an evolution of design-as-composition praxis in landscape architecture takes place.

In the slipstream of these findings, the research sheds new light on the shifts in the form and content of the city itself in this period, and the agency of the urban park in the problematique of the contemporary urban realm. In the cases studied, the park typology has been able to address problems that much of the traditional apparatus of spatial planning and design has failed to do. By extension, the study reveals that many of the paradigms of urban planning and design are in need of major review in the context of deindustrialization. The urban park typology – in its guise as the brownfield park – also appears also able to shape and qualify larger urban regions. As such, the research highlights the rise of brownfield lands and their impact on the fabric of the city, the life of their inhabitants and the paradigms that dominate urban cultures, in turn fundamentally revising the definitions and agencies of notions such as city, nature and landscape.
An Integrated Approach to Flood Risk Management Management and Spatial Quality Enhancement for a Netherlands’ River Polder Area
Authors: Nillesen Anne Loes , Kok Matthijs
Published: November 2023

In the previous paper, the aspect of including interventions from different flood risk safety layers is explained quite concisely. In this publication, an extended approach for the inclusion of interventions from different flood risk layers are described in more detail.

The paper demonstrates how the Netherlands’ policy shift from a probability-based flood risk target to a risk-based flood risk target increased the range of interchangeable measures for flood risk protection. Though applying a risk-based mindset, the Netherlands’ flood risk reduction targets were, until recently, defined as probability-based safety standards. This resulted in a uniform dike-ring approach in which different dike-rings have different safety standards, based on, amongst others, the perceived economic value of the area, which are applied uniformly to the whole dike-ring. Within this probability reduction based system it is possible to define interchangeable flood risk management interventions at different locations, for instance, by proposing interventions of different scales, as demonstrated in the previous publication. The ‘Room for the River’ project is an example of providing alternative probability reduction measures, since both dike elevation and load reduction reduce the probability of a flood.

However, applying risk-based flood risk targets conceptually considerably extends the amount of interchangeable flood risk measures. Not only does it, next to probability reduction measures, allow for the inclusion of consequence reduction measures (such as flood proofing buildings, elevating areas, and improving evacuation), but compared to the uniform dike-ring approach, it also allows for differentiations in probability standards per dike segment. This conceptually more fine-meshed perspective of the dike-ring extends the amount of variable locations for flood risk management interventions.

In the research-by-design study described in this paper, the examined method for the aspect of ‘changing the layer of the flood risk intervention’ is applied to the Albasserwaard case study area. The paper demonstrates how the Netherlands’ recent shift from a probability standard target towards a risk-based target, by increasing the amount of interchangeable flood risk management interventions for the case study area, strengthens the possibility of deploying the developed method and the use of spatial quality as an ex-ante criterion.
Introducing Comfort, Energy, and Behaviours
Authors: SANCHEZ Marco Antonio ORTIZ
Published: November 2023

There is a need for reducing dwellings’ energy consumption while maintaining a comfortable and healthy indoor environment. This review was performed to provide a steppingstone for identifying new methods for studying everyday home energy use and comfort. First, an overview of comfort is given as seen from different disciplines, depicting the subjective and multidimensional nature of comfort. This is followed by the biological component of comfort, reflected as an emotional, behavioural, and physiological reaction to environmental stimuli. Subsequently, links between comfort, health, and wellbeing are introduced. The second part of the review focuses on energy and buildings, with the connection between energy and behaviours-detailing possible explanations of performance gaps, and the pathways from energy to health. To conclude, human sensation of comfort is more complex than the perception of thermal, acoustical, visual stimuli, or air quality environment. Comfort is a reaction to the environment that is strongly influenced by cognitive and behavioural processes. Habits and controllability have been identified as paramount in the links between comfort and energy consumption. In this holistic view of comfort linked to health, comfort is referred to as ‘wellbeing’. he first steps for new directions of the study of comfort and energy are presented.
Integrating qualitative and quantitative research to develop the final archetypes
Authors: SANCHEZ Marco Antonio ORTIZ , Bluysse Philomena M.
Published: November 2023

To better understand home energy consumption, it is important to study the behaviours of occupants in their homes, especially in relation to their comfort needs. A mixed methods study comprising of a questionnaire, interviews, indoor environmental parameters monitoring, and energy consumption readings was performed to group home occupants based on their behavioural patterns. The TwoStep cluster analysis produced five clusters of home occupant with the data from 761 questionnaire respondents. The clustering model comprised of 28 variables including constructs of emotions, comfort affordances, and locus of control. Then, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted and IEQ monitoring and energy readings were taken with 15 of the questionnaire respondents. The results of the field study were used to substantiate the findings of the questionnaire. The combination of the statistical clusters with the data from the field study resulted in five archetypes: five distinct types of home occupants, differing in their behavioural motivations towards achieving comfort, and their use of energy when doing so. This study shows that a mixed methods approach is valuable for better understanding energy consumption and implementing archetype-customized lines of action to reduce energy use and maintain comfort.
A Multidimensional Typology of Open Spaces in Europe
Authors: Wandl Alexander , Rooij Remon , Rocco Roberto
Published: November 2023

To improve the ecosystem service provided by open spaces in dispersed urban areas is a key challenge for sustainable spatial development in Europe. The typology presented in this article illustrates the different potentials that open spaces in territories-in-between have across 10 cases in Europe. Unlike other typologies, neither function nor form is used for the classification, but the potential interaction of open spaces with social, technical and ecological networks. Therefore, the typology informs regional spatial planning and design about the potential ecosystem services in networked urban regions. Thereby the importance of territories-in-between, which are often neglected by mainstream spatial planning and design, for sustainable development is highlighted.
Landscape Fragmentation and Accessibility of Green Spaces
Authors: Wandl Alexander
Published: November 2023

To improve the positive effects provided by green spaces on human well-being in dispersed urban areas is a key challenge for sustainable spatial development in Europe. This article presents a methodology that allows for the comparison of the potential of green spaces in territories-inbetween across Europe, in a way that crosses the fields of urban ecology and urbanism. The article adds to the existing knowledge and understanding of the relation between the spatial organisation of systems of green spaces and their accessibility to biodiversity and human well-being. Firstly, it adapts the fragmentation index in a way that it can be applied to the specific spatial characteristics of territories-in-between. Secondly, it combines the fragmentation index with an indicator for accessibility of green spaces, in order to integrate aspects of ecology, human well-being and the spatial heterogeneity of the relation between them. The methodology is applied to ten areas across western Europe in order to inform decision and policy makers including urban planners, designers and environmental agencies to be able to assess the potential of system of green spaces for biological diversity and human well-being in an integrated manner.
Introduction
Authors: Smits Joris
Published: November 2023

This chapter provides an introduction to the research. The research topic and the research aspects are briefly introduced. The changing role of the architect in the field of bridge design is analysed in an historical context. The role of the commissioning authorities is introduced. The problem of segregation of knowledge is introduced. The objectives and research questions are stated, a hypothesis is formulated and the methodology is discussed. Furthermore, an outline of the dissertation is provided.
A bridge with a view, a view with a bridge
Authors: Smits Joris , van der Hoeven Frank
Published: November 2023

This paper discusses design considerations for creating high quality civil works with an emphasis on bridges. The authors pursue a design study and analysis approach to highlight the specifics of infrastructure design for regional identity, based on their own work on a series of bridges in the Dutch Zaanstreek region. Subsequently two highlights of the authors work, the award winning Juliana Bridge and the wildlife crossing in Rijssen, are used to illustrate how to create good infrastructure design in sensitive contexts, without making use of a neo-vernacular vocabulary.
Bio-based composite footbridge
Authors: Blok Rijk , Smits Joris , Gkaidatzis Rafail , Teuffel Patrick
Published: November 2023

This paper deals with the design, production and monitoring of a bio-composite footbridge with a span of 14 meters across the river Dommel in the city of Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The specific bio-composite material that was used for this research is a Natural-Fibre Reinforced Bio-Polymer (NFRBP). The goal of the research is to prove that NFRBP can be applied as a load bearing structure in an outdoor environment. For this purpose, a multidisciplinary team of academic researchers from two universities, together with a manufacturer from the NFRBP industry and the Centre of Expertise Biobased Economy (CoEBBE), developed a feasible design that could be produced by unskilled hands in a short period of time and within a limited budget. The footbridge was designed, built and installed within less than one year. In the two years after the installation of the footbridge, the structural behaviour of the bridge was monitored by means of optical fibre glass strands, integrated within the structure, with the purpose of measuring deformations and change in elasticity that occur over time.
Recommendations
Authors: Smits Joris
Published: November 2023

This final chapter closes this dissertation and provides recommendations for future research.
Conclusions
Authors: Balz Verena
Published: November 2023

To design for the purpose of planning was not new when regional design emerged as a distinguished discipline in the 1980s in the Netherlands. On the contrary, to imagine solutions for particular areas and to discuss these for the purpose of planning has been a long-standing tradition that can be traced back to the emergence of urban planning in the early 20th century. However, when spatial planning emerged as a new, more collaborative and anticipatory planning approach in the last decades, expectations concerning performances of design in planning decision-making increased. Design came to be seen as a practice that not only improves the spatial and technical quality of plans, but also enhances planning innovation, clarifies political agendas, forges societal alliances and raises the efficiency of planning through timely consideration of conflicts that planning may cause in societal and political domains. Since the 1990s, regional design underwent a process of institutionalisation in Dutch national planning. The practice became repetitively used and was formally embedded in planning procedures.

Despite more varied expectations and institutionalisation, interrelations between regional design and spatial planning are not well understood. As a result, the performances of regional design are difficult to predict and consequently, often disappointing. Therefore, this research has sought to conceptualise interrelations between regional design and spatial planning. It aimed at an enhanced explanation and prediction of performances. The main research question was: how do the interrelations between regional design and spatial planning influence the performances of regional design? Answers to this question were sought through case-study research. During two consecutive rounds of exploration, two perspectives were taken. During a first in-depth case-study, key performances of regional design were analysed. During a second multiple case-studies analysis, the contextual determinants of these performances were investigated.

Detailed results of this dissertation are embodied in Chapter 3 to 7 of this publication. Below, these outcomes are summarised in order to form one coherent line of argument. Theoretical notions, which were considered during the research but were not mentioned in earlier publications of the chapters in the form of journal articles and book chapters, are added. The chapter also contains a critical reflection on the research approaches that were used. A dedicated section summarises the implications of findings for future research.
Epilogue
Authors: Balz Verena
Published: November 2023

This dissertation investigated regional-design practices that evolved in the context of Dutch national planning frameworks in the period between the 1980s and the 2010s. Questions concerned whether and how practices influenced these planning frameworks, and the extent to which practices were influenced by shifts that frameworks underwent over time. The main aim of the dissertation was to develop an enhanced understanding of interrelations between regional design and spatial planning, so the performances of regional design in the spatial-planning realm can be better anticipated.

The personal motivation of this dissertation lies in my professional experience as a regional designer. I am trained as an architect and gained experience as an urban designer during my early professional carrier. In 2005, I became Chief Designer at South Wing Studio (Atelier Zuidvleugel), a publicly funded think tank which was asked to explore regionalisation and planning in the Southern part of the Dutch Randstad region by means of design. I was used to feeling doubt while designing buildings, public spaces and neighbourhoods. In the meantime, I learned from design theory that it is natural for a designer to doubt. The built environment is an intricate, complex system; there are always a multitude of alternative paths to use during a search for good solutions. However, doubt was accelerated in regional-design practice, due to its concern about large-scale areas and costly public works, and its position in a multi-actor and highly political setting. Every design step accomplished became intensely debated. Every step generated surprises, unforeseen reactions; encouraging at times, discouraging at others.
Theoretical framework for user-focused evaluation in office design
Authors: Kwon Minyoung
Published: November 2023

As was stated in the introduction, a user-focused renovation approach can enhance user satisfaction in offices and the functional quality of the offices while meeting energy performance goals. The first step for this renovation approach is to identify users’ needs and the physical and psychological factors affecting user satisfaction, as input to office renovation projects. The main aim is to identify the factors that are affecting the physical and psychological satisfaction of users, based on what previous research has found in that field. Therefore, this chapter highlights the main parameters currently applied to the evaluation of user satisfaction, including the definitions based on the literature review.

The research approach for the literature review is discussed in section 2.2. Searching was limited to the main key terms of office, work environment, and user satisfaction and comfort. Section 2.3 explores the relationship between office renovation and user satisfaction. The terms user satisfaction and the user’s expectations in workplaces are defined in section 2.4. In section 2.5, the important factors were searched through empirical-based international literature mainly. Based hereupon, section 2.6 discusses the challenge of evaluating user satisfaction. In section 2.7, the findings present ten main parameters to increase user satisfaction in office renovation. The parameters were categorised into three levels based on needs theories to organise the hierarchy of priorities.
Impact of personal control on user satisfaction
Authors: Kwon Minyoung
Published: November 2023

Chapter 4 provided the impact of indoor climate on user satisfaction. Many studies reported that personal control over indoor environmental conditions is one of the influential factors for user satisfaction and environmental comfort due to its physical and psychological impacts. However, it is not clear to what extent users should be allowed to have control over the indoor environment. This chapter aims to identify the relationship between the extent to which users can personally control the conditions of their indoor environment and how satisfied they are with their thermal and visual comfort.

Section 5.2 presents the data collection and assessment methods of occupants’ perceived satisfaction. The relationship between personal control and satisfaction is explained in section 5.3. Section 5.4 presents the dependency of user satisfaction with thermal comfort based on the degree of personal control over indoor environmental conditions, and section 5.5 explains the impact of the degree of person control on the user satisfaction with visual comfort. Section 5.6 discusses limitations of research of personal control, psychological impact of personal control, and how to design the personal control to optimise user satisfaction.
Multiscale spatial contexts and neighbourhood effects
Authors: Petrović Ana
Published: November 2023

This thesis has developed alternative methods of operationalising neighbourhoods at multiple spatial scales and used them to advance our understanding of spatial inequalities and neighbourhood effects. The underlying problem that motivated this thesis is that many empirical studies use predefined administrative units, and this does not often align with the underlying theory or geography. Despite the extensive literature on neighbourhood effects and, more generally, on sociospatial inequalities, spatial scale remains an under-analysed concept. As a response to this research gap, this thesis takes a multiscale approach to both theory and empirical analysis of neighbourhood effects, highlighting the multitude of spatial processes that may affect individual outcomes of people. To operationalise this, we created bespoke areas (centred around each location) at a range of one hundred scales representing people’s residential contexts, primarily in the Netherlands but also in multiple European capitals. Using microgeographic data and a large number of scales combined with small distance increments revealed subtle changes in sociodemographic characteristics across space. In doing so, we provided new insights into ethnic segregation, potential exposures to poverty, and neighbourhood effects on income, all in light of the fundamental issue of spatial scale: The analyses of sociospatial inequalities are substantially affected by the scale used to operationalise spatial context, and this varies within and between cities and urban regions. The aim of this thesis was therefore not to find a single, ‘true’ scale of neighbourhood, but to acknowledge, operationalise, and better understand the multiplicity of spatial scales.
Anchoring the design process
Authors: van Dooren Elise
Published: November 2023

This thesis proposes a framework to address the design process in design education. Building upon the assumption that teachers, being professional designers, do not discuss the design process in the architectural design studio and do not have a vocabulary to do so, five generic elements or anchor points are defined which represent the basic design skills. The validity of the framework and the assumption is tested respectively in interviews with a variety of designers and in observations of dialogues between teachers and students. In the final test the design process is addressed in the design studio: the first experiences show that students’ understanding and self-efficacy may increase. The five elements enable teachers and students to address the designerly attitude. The way designers reason consist of: (1) experimentation; an experimentation-based way of thinking; how to explore and reflect, (2) the frame of reference; a knowledge-based way of thinking; how to work with common and proven ‘professional’ knowledge, and (3) the guiding theme; a value-based way of thinking; how to take a position in the design process. Next to that, (4) the laboratory is the (visual) language or set of means designers use to think designerly, and (5) the domains are the playing field of the designer, the product aspects s/he should address.
Public Rental Housing Governance in Urban China
Authors: Yan Juan
Published: November 2023

Recently, Chinese Public Rental Housing (PRH) provision has witnessed a shift from ‘government’ to ‘governance’: policy making shifted from government steering to mixed forms involving government, market and civic actors to pursue effective and fair policies. In the meantime, this new-era PRH governance is credited with mixed results. However, the existing studies fail to describe the mechanisms underlying this new-era governance of PRH with the rising involvement of market actors and those in civil society and whether the new-era governance is considered to be effective, achieving the objective of stability. Therefore, this PhD research aims to fill the two research gaps through building a better understanding of the PRH governance in the current Chinese context and evaluating PRH governance. To fulfil this aim, this dissertation is underpinned by a theoretical foundation from the governance perspective and adopts a mixedmethod approach with quantitative and qualitative data in the study of Chinese PRH provision. The dissertation reveals the essence of the current Chinese PRH governance by bringing forth a governance model and shows the structures and mechanisms for non-governmental actors to play a role in the governance of PRH. The dissertation also shows the perceived governance outcomes from tenants’ perspective and demonstrates two main governance challenges of Inclusionary Housing, a newly introduced instrument adopted in the Chinese PRH governance. Based on the results, this PhD research theoretically and empirically contributes to the housing governance literature.
Cities in interaction
Authors: Peris Antoine
Published: November 2023

Cities never function in isolation but as nodes in overarching systems characterised by flows of goods, people, and information. To fully understand the evolution of cities, a relational approach is needed, which investigates cities in relation to other cities and urban regions. While a significant part of urban system research has focused on aspects such as the concentration of populations and economic activities, the understanding of the actual networks connecting cities and their impact is still limited. However, the required data is notoriously difficult to obtain. This dissertation contributes to knowledge on the relationship between cities in the Netherlands by exploiting – in novel ways – three data sources: web pages mentioning cities, local historical newspapers, and administrative registers. After providing an overview of the systems of cities literature, the toponym co-occurrences method is explored. This method aims at identifying patterns of relations between cities in a systematic way by looking at the co-mentions of cities in text documents (here in web pages). Using text as data appeared as a great direction for studying urban systems, and elements from this first exploration are used in the next section of the thesis where the past dynamics of the Dutch urban system is reconstructed using information flows retrieved from digitised historical newspapers. Finally in a last empirical part, the potential of information from individual-level registers about professional and residential trajectories for measuring relations between places at multiple spatial scales is investigated. This measure is then used to reveal the nested hierarchy of functional regions in the Netherlands.
Computational Design of Indoor Arenas (CDIA)
Authors: Pan Wang
Published: November 2023

Indoor arenas are important public buildings catering for various activities (e.g., sports events, stage performances, assemblies, exhibitions, and daily sports for the public) and serving as landmarks in urban contexts. The multi-functional space and long-span roof structure of an indoor arena are highly interrelated, which impact the multi-functionality and structural performance and mainly define the overall form of the building. Therefore, it is crucial to integrate the multi-functional space and long-span roof structure to formulate proper forms for indoor arenas, in order to satisfy various design requirements during the conceptual design. This thesis aims at formulating a computational design method, ‘Computational Design of Indoor Arena (CDIA)’, to support the conceptual design of indoor arenas by using the computational techniques of parametric modelling, Building Performance Simulations (BPSs), Multi-Objective Optimizations (MOOs), surrogate models based on Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network (MLPNN), and clustering based on Self-Organizing Map (SOM clustering). In the formulation of CDIA, these techniques are modified, improved and organized into five components and three workflows, to satisfy the demands of the conceptual design of indoor arenas.
How Heritage Learns
Authors: Clarke Nicholas J
Published: November 2023

How Heritage Learns explores the dynamics that come into play when public housing becomes valourised as heritage in the Netherlands and how that, in turn modulates the evolution of this protected housing. It builds on the foundation set by the thesis of Steward Brand, that buildings learn through the adaptation of their fabric to external forces: changing fashion, technologies and economy. This dissertation investigates different key drivers for change: Energy, Economy and Comfort (2E+Co).

To understand how and why the housing heritage evolved over time, an ecology of ideas is developed that sees buildings as organisms evolving and learning in their environments, providing a multi-sided theoretic model for analysis.

Three case studies are extensively explored: the Justus van Effen Quarter in Rotterdam (1921–22) and the King’s Wives of Landlust (1937–38) and Jeruzalem public housing complexes (1949–52), both in Amsterdam. These are all exemplary monuments of Dutch public housing and all three have undergone repeat renovations since their construction. The research not only highlighted their various learning cycles, but also uncovered exciting new information on their origins and histories.

What sets public housing heritage apart is the presence of a Story. However, the case studies reveal that the Stones were modulated by dominant 2E+Co ambitions common to all public housing. Above all, How Heritage Learns shows that past promises of increased performance and efficiency were never fulfilled. Without structured reflective observation we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. Such lessons are all the more important at a time when the built environment stands at the cusp of another revolution driven by environmental imperatives.
Smart Campus Tools
Authors: Valks Bart
Published: November 2023

In recent years, the density on the Dutch university campus has increased substantially due to a continued growth of student populations. Campus managers face the challenge of accommodating the university’s students and employees mainly in the existing buildings, which are used ineffectively and inefficiently. In order to improve the space use on campus, campus managers need better information about space use. Therefore, this PhD dissertation proposes the use of Smart campus tools: a service or product with which information on space use is collected real-time to improve utilization of the current campus on the one hand, and to improve decision‑making about the future campus on the other hand. The main research question is: How can smart campus tools optimally contribute to the match between demand for and supply of space, both on the current campus and on the future campus?

To answer the research question, this PhD dissertation explores the use of Smart campus tools in Dutch and international contexts, at universities and other organisations. Then, it researches how information from Smart campus tools can be properly connected to campus decision‑making processes. The results from this research are used to inform existing theories and draw lessons for practice.
Developing circular building components
Authors: van Stijn Anne
Published: November 2023

A building consists of building components, such as a kitchen, façade and roof. By replacing building components with more circular ones during new construction, maintenance and renovation, we can gradually create a circular built environment. In this dissertation, we develop and test 8 circular building components for housing renovation together with Dutch social housing associations and industry partners. Combining ‘Action Research’ and ‘Research through Design’ approaches, we generate knowledge on the development of feasible, circular building components. We present a design tool, assessment model, environmental design guidelines and identify key stakeholder choices. This research makes scientific contributions to circular design theories, management models for the built environment, and research methodology. We recommend 4 changes in practice to implement more circular building components.
Facades-as-a-Service
Authors: Azcárate-Aguerre Juan F.
Published: November 2023

Facades-as-a-Service (FaaS) is a systemic innovation model aiming to accelerate and enhance the energy and comfort performance improvement of our buildings, while safeguarding the availability of material resources for future generations. The circular economy and clean energy transitions in the built environment have respectively dominated the academic dialogue in architecture, engineering, and real estate over the last decades. While significant progress has been made, and many fine examples of more sustainable architecture exist, the process has been hindered by traditional systemic models for the planning, contracting, financing, construction, and management of building projects. If we are to meet the ambitious climate-change mitigation goals and material resource preservation challenges of our generation, it is crucial to re-think the way in which we build, operate, and decommission the built environment. Product-service systems (PSS) are a promising model for realigning environmental risks and responsibilities with financial and business objectives, while promoting much deeper and long-lasting collaboration between all parties involved in a building’s life-cycle.
This thesis focuses on the building envelope, as one of the most performance-determining systems in our buildings. It then questions the technological, managerial, financial, and legal contexts which often perpetuate unsustainable linear practices despite the urgency for - and technical feasibility of - more energy- and resource-efficient alternatives. Facades-as-a-Service is a topic that extends far beyond technological readiness and architectural engineering. It is rather a thesis about how we make façade construction and retrofitting decisions, the systemic parameters that determine and constraint these decisions, and whether – in the search for a more sustainable built environment – we should question the fundamental concepts behind these decisions. The results show that gradual and strategic development with a multi-disciplinary perspective can enable and facilitate the implementation of more efficient and sustainable building practices.
Local Activism in Urban Neighborhood Governance
Authors: Elwageeh Aya
Published: November 2023

This study investigates local activism in politically challenging contexts, focusing on Cairo. In such contexts, active resident groups strive for urban improvement, while governance arrangements often disregard citizen involvement in urban and public affairs. Cairo presents an exemplary case of local activism in a politically challenging and under-researched context. The study explores the characteristics, roles, and interrelations of active resident groups with local governance arrangements and their deviations from existing literature. It employs a qualitative methodology with observations and semi-structured interviews with local officials and active residents from nine different districts. The study uses Facebook to select, observe, and analyze the activities of multiple active resident groups and contributes to theoretical frameworks for analyzing local activism in complex contexts. It reveals the dominant and absent roles and the governance dimensions (un)attainable by active residents. It also traces the sources of limited local activism in the existing governance arrangements in Cairo, highlighting the importance and difficulty of changing governance arrangements in Egypt. The study broadens our understanding of local activism in the Global South beyond dominant forms of activism.
Entrepreneurial citizenship in urban regeneration
Authors: Al Sader Nuha
Published: November 2023

More and more citizens are entering the public domain and taking over tasks that traditionally belong to the government. For example, citizens increasingly run a community centre themselves, maintain the greenery in their neighbourhood and manage the local playground. To some extent, governments also encourage this behaviour and are disposing of social real estate. Against this background, this study examines the rise of citizens' initiatives in the Netherlands and how this takes shape in the context of urban regeneration. The study pays attention to a specific type of citizens’ initiative, namely community enterprises. It applies qualitative research methods, such as semi-structured interviews with representatives of community enterprises and discourse analysis of policy documents. It examines the expectations governments have of active citizens and how this relates to the motivations and capacities of active citizens themselves. The study broadens our understanding of active citizens who utilizes their entrepreneurial skills and mindset to drive positive change, contribute to the well-being of their community, and address pressing societal challenges.