Events
Future events
Presentation at the 5ht International Conference on Competitions
Conditions for Architect-Client Interactions, 13-15 February 2014, Delft
The 2008 idea competition 'Building for Bouwkunde' intended entrants to design a new building for the Faculty of Architecture based on the reflection on two themes: 'new concepts for architecture education & research' and 'dynamics of city and campus'. The latter theme focused on the relation between the faculty's future accommodation and the surrounding cityscape. The presentation at the conference reconstructs the conflict between the pragmatic and utopian discourses during the preparation and editing of the brief. An analysis is be presented of the parameters that have been used in the different discourses to operationalise on the relation between the university and its social and physical environment. More about this conference.
Current events
Presentation at the 5ht International Conference on Competitions
Conditions for Architect-Client Interactions, 13-15 February 2014, Delft
The 2008 idea competition 'Building for Bouwkunde' intended entrants to design a new building for the Faculty of Architecture based on the reflection on two themes: 'new concepts for architecture education & research' and 'dynamics of city and campus'. The latter theme focused on the relation between the faculty's future accommodation and the surrounding cityscape. The presentation at the conference reconstructs the conflict between the pragmatic and utopian discourses during the preparation and editing of the brief. An analysis is be presented of the parameters that have been used in the different discourses to operationalise on the relation between the university and its social and physical environment. More about this conference.
Advisory committee participation for a new headquarter building Brussels
BNP Paribas Fortis is confronted with a strategic decision on the refurbishement or replacement of its headquarter building Warandebergstraat/Rue Montagne du Parc in the centre of Brussels. An architecture competition was launched summer 2013 with seven offices to design a new building for this location. Corporations and Cities analysed the expactations and requirements of the directors of the bank regarding the future headquarter building, contributed to the organisation and the brief of the competition, participated in the advisory committee end September 2013 and was allowed to analyse the discourse of the committee on the bank's and the city's expectations for the new building.
Intentions and shapes
Corporations as well as cities intend particular performances from the corporate accommodation they organise. Part of these intentions are related to the relation between the new premises and their environment. Urban planners and urban designers on one side, and corporate real estate managers and architects on the other, respond to these intentions with urban and architectural shapes. This research - ongoing since autumn 2013 - investigates these intentions and shapes, and searches for their correlation. Patterns may be present in this behavior.
Portfolio analysis of ASLK bank Brussels
The ASLK/CGER settled in the Brussels city centre in 1865, when the bank was founded, and remained at the location of the Wolvengracht/Rue Fossé aux Loups till now [2013]. Through an historical reconstruction of the genesis of these headquarters from a morphological point of view, hinge intentions are reported that determined the shape and the performance of this inner-city accommodation.
Portfolio analysis of TU Delft
This is an historical reconstruction of the genesis of the accommodation of the university, that grew from a single buidling at the Oude Delft 95 in 1842 to a more than 600,000m² large portfolio on the campus south of the city of Delft in 2013. The university gradually turned away from the city centre and from urbanity general for a maximisation of flexibility. After the war, the applied urban planning and architecture supported the increasing introvertion with the use of a modernist language of disentaglement.
Portfolio analysis of Shell headquarters The Hague
The in-depth analysis of the emergence of a corporations accommodation is a favourite research tool of Corporations and Cities. In this case the portfolio of Shell in The Hague is reconstructed, from the company's creation end 19th century till today. After an expansion to a campus-like setting, and the construction of some iconic buildings llike the J.J.P Oud headquarters on the Wassenaarseweg, the agglomeration forces within the company led to a gradual concentration on a single densified spot in the city.
Master thesis
During the second year of their MSc students can opt for a Master thesis subject related to the Corporatons and Cities research themes. These master thesis are carried out in collaboration with urban authorities and private companies, and allow for intense contact and insight on the operations and drivers of both actors. parties. Examples of finalised theses can be found on the literature pages of this website. For more information, contact h.j.m.vandeputte@tudelft.nl.
PhD thesis
This PhD study explores the ambitions of companies and cities on the interaction of corporate accommodation at inner-city locations with urban life, and how those ambitions are given physical form. The study uses two research methods. First, there is the historical reconstruction of the genesis of the inner-city accomodation of two major companies from the mid- 19th century to the present. In addition, there is a qualitative analysis of the discourse of two recent design contests for new urban business premises. Together, these deliver a range of intentions and shapes for different scales. In the last part of the thesis the accumulated knowledge is used to evaluate the implementability of new corporate accommodation strategies in urban locations.
Past events
Opportunities and constraints of urban morphology for economic activity
The accommodation of large-scale economic activity at inner-city locations is no longer obvious. Large buildings, especially when grouped, would weigh too much on the quality of life in the city. This lecture describes the development of a building block in Brussels that was gradually transformed into the headquarters of the ASLK/CGER bank since 1865. In the second part, the lecture searches for patterns of large-scale business premises in city centers; the last part of the lecture formulates some considerations for the future of business premises in inner cities. Presentation (in Dutch, with many pictures).
Colloquium Corporations and Cities
Envisioning corporate real estate in the urban future, Brussels, 26-28 May 2008
The colloquium in Brussels was a major event for the Corporations and Cities research project. Read more about the major theme, the papers and the presentations of the colloquium on the next webpages.