Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment

Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment

Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment

Delta policies: assess spatial quality first, then find the best solution

Spatial quality is still too often neglected in interventions to keep the water out. That is unnecessary, concludes PhD candidate Anne Loes Nillesen. First list the technical possibilities, then develop an integrated solution in consultation with all relevant parties.

Enabling web access to geodata calls for compromises

Geodata open up opportunities for countless new applications, but the true potential remains untapped. Open datasets from the geo-world are not sufficiently compatible with standard search engines or access to them is restricted. According to PhD candidate Linda van den Brink, there are both technological and social obstacles that need to be overcome.

Every climate requires its own solar cooling

The cooling of buildings slurps energy and is primarily aimed at combating the effects of the sun. Can solar energy and heat not be used for cooling? PhD candidate Alejandro Prieto Hoces discovered that solar cooling offers opportunities, but it rarely is a final solution. Just start with good sunscreens.

Democratic design wanted for post-colonial Malaysia

Malaysia has not been a colony since 1957, but this is not reflected in public space. Just like the British time, urban planning is all about controlling the masses, says PhD candidate Nurul Azlan. It’s time for urban designers to become independent, too.

Argentine delta could learn from Dutch polder model

In the Rio Paraná Delta the natural, industrial, and urban dynamics collide head-on. Lack of participation in planning is at the root of the problem, concludes Verónica Zagare in her PhD thesis. An Argentine version of the Dutch polder model could offer a way out.

Architecture is not what architectural historians write about it

The history of modern architecture is more than a list of exceptional buildings. We need to look at how buildings function, says PhD candidate Jorge Mejia Hernandez. If we concentrate on their theoretical significance, the history of architecture becomes a caricature.

Owner associations in Latin America deserve a better legal base

The property law in Ecuador and Colombia is a source of constant frustration for the functioning of owner associations, and therefor also for the maintenance of dwellings. The guidelines supporting self-government and prescribing the need for professional guidance fall short, concludes Rosa Donoso Gomez in her PhD thesis.

Research stories