News

Like many, Professor Zef Hemel discovered the pleasure and usefulness of walking during the corona period. "By walking, you reconnect with your natural surroundings, it does something to your body and mind," he reports in the Leeuwarder Courant. In recent weeks, he has explored the countryside of Groningen while hiking.

Subsidence, salinisation, climate change, population growth, social dichotomies and dwindling resources. Nature systems and societies in urban deltas around the world are struggling. The Netherlands is no exception and, for this reason, professor of Delta Urbanism Chris Zevenbergen is making the case for greater imagination in science and public administration.

EdX course Global Housing Design has been selected as one of the finalist for the edX Prize for Exceptional Contributions in Online Teaching and Learning. The 10 finalists represent best-in-class online learning experiences that deliver learner-centric, impactful outcomes on the edX platform.

The International Design Seminar (INDESEM) has a long and fascinating history. Since the first edition in 1964, each INDESEM has brought students and professionals from all over the world together to explore one relevant architectural issue of their time.

The construction sector faces major challenges. By 2050, the built environment should not only be emission-free, but also circular. Within the NWA programme 'Transition to a circular and emission-free building industry’, the application of the multidisciplinary consortium CirCol has been granted.

Over the past few weeks, Building Technology students were at work in Delft's Buitenhof district. Their assignment was to talk to local experts within the neighbourhood and then come up with an innovative project that would also serve a social function.

During the Education Day on 10 November, Christien Janssen, lecturer Building Physics (AE&T) at the faculty Architecture and the Built Environment, was awarded as Best Lecturer of TU Delft 2022. Christien was chosen from eight Faculty Lecturers of the Year 2022 educators, who were elected by students for their educational endeavours.

Energy uncertainty has increased the interest in energy renovations, notes Professor Henk Visscher. Now we need large-scale implementation. But how is that to be accomplished?

As a result of skyrocketing inflation, the European Central Bank (ECB) has raised refinancing rates several times, which has also caused mortgage rates in the Netherlands to triple in the past three quarters. These sharply rising mortgage rates directly affect households' borrowing capacity. In addition, it puts indirectly pressure on consumer confidence in the general economy and in the owner-occupied housing market. A drop in the purchase price like in the third quarter of 2022 is logical in such a situation, even if the number of homes sold still remains fairly constant.

The corona pandemic, summer heat, high gas prices... the indoor climate has been getting a lot of attention in recent years. Atze Boerstra, Professor of Building Services Innovation at TU Delft, specialises in technologies that control the indoor climate. On 11 November, he will deliver his inaugural speech on the topic: Indoor Climate Systems Design in Times of Uncertainty.