BK BOOKS

The Ecological Turn

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

How does the ecological thinking affect architects, designers and the design culture itself? The Anthropocene is a geological event, but also a political one that lies in overcoming the idea of crisis. Acknowledging this change means rethinking the very ecology of the project in environmental and atmospheric terms. The changes we face don’t depend on missing balances, but on compromises reached between conservation and exploitation. The Anthropocene is in our suggested reading the time of the end of our representations and the time of the beginning of other narratives that belong to a non-linear dimension. Anthropocene is a category which has the merit of challenging our conventions in an oblique manner by reconnecting the history of mankind with the history of the Earth. In this respect, design visions can be the tool for activating new relations. Within this process of change, how do the figures of architects and designers rethink their role, their knowledge, experimenting with new design approaches? The conference wants to explore these issues from different points of view, in particular the “socio-bio-geosphere in its uncertain becoming by making the disciplines of the project communicate and by varying the scale of analysis, from the molecular scale of the environmental effects on our heritage, to that of the world’s flow of goods and capital.

LA.X

Tue, 03 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This book is about the first ten years of the master track in Landscape Architecture at the Department of Urbanism in the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at TU Delft. It delves into the personal, educational, didactical, organizational and, above all, substantive dimensions of the teaching of this appealing and highly relevant discipline at the academic level.

The book has three parts. The first part — PROFILE — discusses the context and events that led up to the development of the master track and influenced its further development — from the very first landscape architecture related appointments and initiatives in the 1940s to the first day in September 2010 when the programme began with seven participants, and on to the celebration of its tenth anniversary in 2021. Infographics show the numbers and profiles of the student population and illustrate the structure of the master curriculum.

The second section — WORK — contains snapshots of drawings, photos, collages and other graphic material produced by our students. The images are loosely grouped according to the five stages in the design process: exploring, understanding, conceptualizing, modifying and engineering the landscape. Interspersed with this kaleidoscopic variety of images you will find a series of short essays on key topics in landscape architecture education written by the present staff of the Landscape Architecture section.

Finally, at the end of the book you will find a few lists — PEOPLE — of all those involved: students, staff and guest lecturers. They are the ones who made and still make the master track such a wonderful community to belong to.

Over the past ten years the master track has remained relatively small, with an average of 25 to 30 new students each year. It is this limited number that has enabled staff and students to get to know each other so well. Our staff still keep in touch with many alumni from all over the world who now work in private practice or the public sector, are studying for their PhD or have taken up a teaching position. Staff and alumni met again during an online gathering last summer as part of our tenth anniversary celebration. It was great to listen to their stories and hear them talking about the projects they are working on.

Landscape architecture is a crucial profession with much to offer for meeting the current challenges in the spatial domain in the Netherlands and abroad. The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment has therefore whole-heartedly supported the establishment of the master track and will continue to do so in the efforts of the section and the department to further develop, both in terms of capacity and content. Ten years on, we see evidence that those trained in Delft have a lot to offer and can help to make our planet healthier and our everyday landscape more beautiful. We are proud of what the section has achieved so far.

This is also the place to extend my fullest appreciation to the members of the Landscape Architecture section who have devoted their time and energy to building up a solid curriculum and worldwide network. In particular, I thank Inge Bobbink, who has been responsible for coordinating the track during all those years. She has generously borne a substantial share of the formal and informal responsibilities for organizing the track and developing the content of higher education in landscape architecture at Delft.

Compiling a book such as this, which depends on pulling together contributions from a wide variety of sources, has not been an easy task, especially during the Covid pandemic. Inge Bobbink and Bieke Cattoor, thank you for your commitment in the process of coordination. Thank you very much, staff and student assistants for your contributions, thank you Hans Gremmen for your dedicated design work and Derek Middleton for carefully translating. You have all done a great job!

And all of us hope that you, reader, will enjoy it!

aE Journal 2022/2023

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In the Architectural Engineering graduation studio we are looking for innovative solutions in engineered architectural design, while encouraging students to explore their role as architects in facing today’s challenges. Understanding existing potentials, knowing the possibilities of renewal and discovering how to design, innovate and initiate change are central themes in the aE/Intecture graduation studio. Under the guidance of a team of enthusiastic (guest) lecturers and tutors, students search for innovative technical solutions for diverse problems in various contexts. The three main research by design domains promoted in the aE / Intecture studio are ‘Make’ , ‘Flow’ and ‘Stock’, as described below on this page. Each domain requires a different approach and offers unique design solutions, while creating multiple value for the built environment together.

Building with Nature perspectives

Janneke van Bergen, Steffen Nijhuis, Nikki Brand, Marcel Hertogh (Volume editor) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This publication offers an overview of the latest cross-disciplinary developments in the field of Building with Nature (BwN) for the protection of coastal regions. The key philosophy of BwN is the employment of natural processes to serve societal goals, such as flood safety. The starting point is a systems-based approach, making interventions that employ the shaping forces of the natural system to perform measures by self-regulation. Initial pilots of this innovative approach originate from coastal engineering, with the Sand Motor along the coast of South Holland as one of the prime examples. From here, the BwN approach has evolved into a new generation of nature-based hydraulic solutions, such as mangrove forests, coastal reefs, and green dikes.

Dealing with Heritage

Barbara Lubelli, Uta Pottgiesser, Wido Quist, Susanne Rexroth (Author) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

It is an honor to introduce this book, which brings together a number of very important aspects of the restoration architect's profession, with this short statement.

Dealing with heritage requires that the restoration architect makes well-considered and definable choices. It should not only be about conservation, but attention must and may also be paid to making heritage future-proof. When it comes to making heritage future-proof, we still stand at the start of a major (sustainability) transition, in which making interventions will be indispensable. Such interventions are made possible by recognizing and utilizing the opportunities that heritage offers, but they should always be made from a view that places the preservation of the core values of the heritage centrally.

The core values of heritage take many forms and can range from physical architectural manifestations to social, cultural and historical significance. In all cases, they involve dealing with the materials that the heritage is composed of. Having knowledge of these materials plays a crucial role in the choices to be made, both in the area of conservation to preserve what already exists, as well as in choices for restoration, improvement or renewal. That this knowledge goes beyond the physical outward appearance, as perceived by the admirers of heritage, is also emphasized by the examples in this book. Knowledge of the substance, forms of decay, methods of conservation and application of new techniques requires research, and without this research we as restoration architects would never be able to make well-considered choices.

Research into especially the 'invisible' damage phenomena in materials, as described in this book, still requires more attention. As certified restoration architects it is our task to recognize this, to call in specialists at an early stage of a project, and to consider options with as broad a team as possible. The methods with which to determine the degree of damage and decay as objectively as possible, as are being developed continuously by among others 'Heritage & Architecture' at Delft University of Technology, offer good tools.

I am a restoration advisor and currently chairman of the ‘Vereniging van Architecten Werkzaam in de Restauratie’ (Association of Architects Working in Restoration, VAWR), an association whose members are specialists who have all chosen to be tested and recognized in the field of dealing with monuments. On behalf of our members I would like to draw attention to the specific mastery of our profession based on Knowledge, Ethics, Vision and Management. Much attention is drawn to precisely these four pillars in this book as well. I hope that the readers of this book, regardless of their background, will gain a great deal of knowledge and appreciation for the need for research, but above all that they will also become more interested in our beautiful and multifaceted profession.

INCLUSIVE STATIONS

Manuela Triggianese, Yagiz Sãylev (Volume editor) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

In the Dutch National Environmental Vision 2021, new living and working locations are mapped on existing urbanized sites - mainly at catchment areas of public transportation (PT) nodes or stations [1]. This is the case in the metropolitan area of Rotterdam, where new developments projects are taking place at several station locations. In the Rotterdam Mobility Plan [2] “inclusiveness in mobility” is emphasized by setting several objectives for a PT node. These objectives address the mixití© of facilities and attractiveness at station locations with public spaces, accessibility with more bikes (and sustainable modes of transport) and fewer cars in the city centre [3]. How could the station as a node respond to future challenges of seamless travel, inclusivity and the changing intensity of cars and pedestrian flows both in the centre and the periphery of the city of Rotterdam? The following pages intend to answer this question through the narrative of six research-by-design projects, conducted by the students of Complex Projects group and enrolled in “City of Innovations Project” elective, “Inclusive Stations’’.

Working in close collaboration with the City of Rotterdam, teachers and design professionals, the students were asked to reflect on the importance of transport networks within and extending from the city. Through considering the way these networks have shaped the city by weaving the urbanites of the city center(s) and suburban areas, this elective has been focused on three station locations which act as gateways to the city center of Rotterdam: Meijersplein Airport station, Rotterdam Alexander rail-metro station and Slinge metro station. The ‘6 Visions X 3 Locations’ chapter is a systematization of the work of 27 masters students with input from designers of the City of Rotterdam, Delta Metropool Association and De Zwarte Hond. The research-through-design process consists of documenting and analysing the present urban conditions of selected station locations and proposing design solutions and visualisations of the development of these locations. It shows the methodology of the process that sees the interaction between students-teachers-professionals on a weekly basis through thematic workshops, lectures and site visits in Rotterdam.

The elective “City of Innovations Project - Inclusive Stations’’ is connected to current research and design studios of Complex Projects group at the Department of Architecture dealing with the role of infrastructure as a catalyst of urban developments. This output is a follow up of recent publications by Complex Projects, such as: “Living Stations” (2020), “Amsterdam 2050” (2019) and “Stations as Nodes” (2018) published by TU Delft open.

[1] More info: https://www.novistukken.nl/english/default.aspx

[2] More info: http://tda-mobility.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Rotterdam_Urban-Traffic_Plan.pdf

[3] Triggianese, M. (2021). Stations as a lever for inclusive growth. In M. Triggianese, O. Caso, & Y. Sãylev (Eds.), Living Stations: The Design of Metro Stations in the (east flank) metropolitan areas of Rotterdam (pp.8-13). TU Delft Open.

Karakteristiek Duurzaam Erfgoed in Gelderland

Hielkje Zijlstra, Steffen Nijhuis, Wido Quist (Volume editor) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Deze publicatie is een weerslag van de uitkomsten van het KaDEr-project (Karakteristiek Duurzaam Erfgoed) dat de TU Delft in opdracht van en in samenwerking met de Provincie Gelderland heeft uitgevoerd. De lezer wordt meegenomen in de zoektocht om invulling te geven aan de relatie tussen wetenschap, praktijk en beleid rondom duurzaam erfgoed op verschillende schaalniveaus. Aan de hand van acht bijdragen wordt gereflecteerd op het proces en de uitkomsten. We noemen dit ‘KaDEr-stellingen’. Er was een kader, we stelden kaders bij en we namen positie in, stelligheden werden ter discussie gesteld en aan het eind worden conclusies verwoord in stellingnames. Hierbij kan kritisch gereflecteerd worden op proces en uitkomsten. De auteurs doen dit aan de hand van een thema dat gedurende de afgelopen vier jaar aan de orde is geweest binnen hun domein. Zij nemen dus stelling in met betrekking tot het debat dat naar aanleiding van dit thema gevoerd is en in veel gevallen nog verder gevoerd gaat worden. Daarnaast hebben we een aantal meer zijdelings betrokkenen gevraagd om stelling te nemen met een uitspraak naar aanleiding van hun ervaringen tijdens het project.

Het KaDEr-project omvatte na een intensieve voorbereiding vier kalenderjaren. We denken dat op het onderdelen nog een vervolg behoeft. KaDEr staat dus voor Karakteristiek Duurzaam Erfgoed en in het project is gewerkt aan energetische duurzaamheid, financieel gezond perspectief, functioneel gebruik en het borgen kennis op lange termijn. Het project zelf werd opgebouwd rond vier Living Labs om theorie en praktijk aan elkaar te koppelen:

— Living Lab XL-Stad: Zutphen, Winterswijk en Elburg. Daarbij droegen we vanuit KaDEr bij aan een onderzoek naar Kerkenvisies en de Energietransitie voor diverse gemeenten;

— Living Lab L-Gebied: Landgoederen, waar het Baaksebeekgebied en Gelders Arcadií« centraal stonden en het onderzoek resulteerde in de betreffende Ontwerpatlas;

— Living Lab M-Typologie: Kerken. Nationaal en regionaal een opgave die veel aandacht kreeg de afgelopen vier jaar. Specifiek keken wij vanuit KaDEr naar het functioneren van Energiescans en de Financií«le Duurzaamheid aan de hand van de Eusebiuskerk in Arnhem en de Stevenskerk in Nijmegen;

— Living Lab S-Gebouw: Reuversweerd. Een (bouw)locatie die we vier jaar lang intensief hebben gevolgd en waar alle partijen veel van hebben geleerd. We hebben daarnaast onderzoek gedaan naar afwegingsmodellen voor het verduurzamen van monumenten en de gevolgen van het na-isoleren van monumenten met binnenisolatie.

Er werden binnen de Living Labs en deelonderzoeken dus diverse overkoepelende thema’s aan de orde gesteld en beproefd en daar is lering uitgetrokken. Dit heeft zich ook vertaald in het gaandeweg aanpassen van de aanpak en in de voorbereiding van nieuw beleid. Het geeft ook aanleiding om op lange termijn zaken anders te gaan doen. Wat er is geleerd en waar bijgestuurd kan worden is in acht hoofdstukken samengevat. We reflecteren op het proces van het KaDErproject. We geven adviezen voor het bijsturen van beleid. Een visie op de toekomst, vanuit de provincie zelf, komt vervolgens aan de orde. Tijdens de vier jaren van uitvoering van het project is er op diverse schaalgebieden geacteerd.

Op het grote schaalgebied is met het Living Lab L-Gebied (Landgoederen), een koppeling met het Europese Innocastle project gemaakt. Daar hebben ook ontwerpprojecten met studenten plaatsgevonden en er is een Ontwerpatlas samengesteld.

Het leren van elkaar stond van het begin af aan bij het KaDErproject centraal. Samen met het Gelders Restauratie Centrum en de Monumentenwacht Gelderland zijn er onderwerpen via kennisoverdracht en workshops uitgewerkt. Via de koppeling van onderwijs aan bijvoorbeeld de stad werd in het Living Lab XL-Stad tussen studenten, gemeenteambtenaren en gebouweigenaren samengewerkt om van elkaar te leren.

Bijzonder is het kerkelijk erfgoed en de wijze waarop de Kerkenvisie als instrument een rol zal spelen bij de herontwikkeling van kerken. Dit is in de praktijk samen met drie gemeenten uit de Oost-Achterhoek uitgewerkt. In het KaDEr project komen zo theorie en praktijk mooi samen. Concreet kunnen en zullen beslissingen op het schaalgebied van gebouw en materiaalgebruik belangrijke gevolgen hebben voor opdrachtverlening, uitvoering, instandhouding en subsidieverstrekking aan erfgoed.

Door alle schalen heen richtten we steeds de blik op de toekomst. Daarbij kunnen we aan de energietransitie, die steeds urgenter wordt, niet voorbijgaan. Daar ligt zeker voor historische binnensteden een uitdaging. In twee gemeenten is hiervoor een inspirerende driedaagse ‘roadshow’ gehouden en is een energietransitie roadmap uitgewerkt.

Het KaDEr-project heeft geleid tot een veelheid aan leerzame ervaringen die nu in de nabije de toekomst kunnen inspireren en hun weerslag krijgen in provinciaal beleid dat een duurzame instandhouding van monumentaal erfgoed binnen de provincie Gelderland een stap verder brengt. Duurzame instandhouding biedt een visie op de lange termijn en is de basis voor een maatschappelijk verantwoorde werkwijze.

Het KaDEr-project kon alleen tot stand komen door een goede samenwerking tussen en vele krachtsinspanningen van vele partijen en personen. Namens de TU Delft bedankt de redactie van de publicatie KaDEr-stellingen alle betrokken personen bij de provincie Gelderland, de gemeenteambtenaren in Zutphen, Elburg, Winterswijk, Aalten en Oost Gelre, de partners van de Gelderse Erfgoed Alliantie, de monumenteneigenaren en hun architecten, adviseurs en projectleiders op locatie en met name die op Reuversweerd. Daarnaast was het succes van KaDEr niet mogelijk geweest zonder de inzet van docenten, onderzoekers vanuit drie afdelingen van de faculteit Bouwkunde van de TU Delft en de vele studenten die vier jaar lang aan het project hebben gewerkt en het tot een inspirerend en leerzaam geheel hebben gemaakt. Zie Bijlage 3: Overzicht direct betrokkenen bij het KaDEr-project vanuit de Provincie Gelderland en de TU Delft.

HYDROGEN ROCKS!

Peter Luscuere, Ad van Wijk (Volume editor) — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Bij de presentatie van de Europese Waterstofstrategie in juli 2020, vroeg een journalist of deze technologie niet ‘besmet’ was, wijzend op wat er gebeurde toen de mens de vorige keer probeerde dit gas te benutten. Het is duidelijk dat de technologie ver is gekomen sinds de ramp met de Hindenburg. Waterstof heeft nu een groeiende schare aan fans — en terecht.

Een groot deel van de energietransitie is gericht op directe elektrificatie. Maar voor sommige sectoren, zoals staal, cement, zwaar transport of scheepvaart, is elektrificatie geen oplossing. Hernieuwbare waterstof als brandstof en grondstof kan helpen deze puzzel op te lossen. Bovendien kan waterstof als energieopslag het potentieel van wind- en zonne-energie maximaliseren door een back-up te bieden voor seizoensgebonden schommelingen in duurzame energieproductie en door productielocaties met verder gelegen vraagcentra te verbinden.

Waterstof is dus hard op weg de rockster van de energiewereld te worden. De nieuw ontdekte kansen van waterstof en de cruciale rol ervan in ons toekomstige energiesysteem hebben waterstof een steeds aantrekkelijker investering gemaakt. Bijna dagelijks worden nieuwe waterstofprojecten aangekondigd.

Schaalvergroting van zowel het gebruik als de productie van hernieuwbare waterstof is essentieel om onze economieí«n verder koolstofvrij te maken. De technologieí«n om schone waterstof te produceren bestaan al. De komende jaren moeten onze inspanningen er dus op gericht zijn de markt te vergroten en waterstof de kans geven commercieel concurrerend te worden.

Schone waterstof is de sleutel voor een sterke, concurrerende en koolstofvrije Europese economie. Onze Waterstofstrategie heeft ambitieuze doelen gesteld en via de European Clean Hydrogen Alliance werken we samen met de industrie en andere belanghebbenden om de meest veelbelovende projecten snel van de grond te krijgen, zodat we tegen 2030 de geplande capaciteit van 40 GW aan hernieuwbare waterstof elektrolysers kunnen realiseren.

Europa loopt momenteel voorop, en met de huidige stand van technologie, de economische basis en de beleidsinstrumenten, kunnen we voorop blijven lopen. Waterstof zal nieuwe groene banen opleveren en zo de Europese industrie de 21ste eeuw in stuwen. De beste manier om dit alles samen te vatten?

Hydrogen rocks!

Mapping Wuhan

Henco Bekkering, Jiaxiu CAI, Joran Kuijper, Ke ZHANG, Wei CHEN (Author) — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Chinese cities have been expanding since the early 1980s under trends of rapid modernization, urbanization and globalization. Since then they have changed dramatically, and have in the process lost many of their traditional environments and spatial characteristics.

Urban planners and designers have been and are facing unprecedented challenges in China. They not only have to learn to understand the constantly emerging new urban mechanisms, and seek balance among stakeholders, but they also need to cope with the political pressures and the changing context under often extreme time pressure. In such circumstances, future- and design-oriented analysis based on a designerly way of thinking is useful–if not indispensable–for understanding the existing city and deciding on its transformations in a responsible and accountable way that is communicable among designers and with the public. This is especially so, in light of the growing awareness–also in China–of the value and importance of local urban identity, that is always–at least partially–based on history. In this atlas the Delft method of historical morphological analysis is applied to the city of Wuhan, valuing the importance of and finding meaning in the local urban identity of a city with a population over 11 million with a floating population of 14 million. The series of maps show the urban development, covering a century and a half.

Technology and Society in Equilibrium

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This sector portrait of the design engineering sciences describes the common denominator of the various design disciplines in the Netherlands. In a future sector plan, the above investment areas will be further explored and purposefully developed.

The implementation of technological innovations aligned to societal issues encompasses a design challenge. This increasingly demands science-based design methodologies. The broad Dutch design landscape can fulfil the role of connector well in this regard. In order to optimally strengthen this bridging function, three areas for further investment have been identified:

Research

More research and research funding are needed to meet the design challenges posed by Dutch societal missions, as well as for the further development of Key Enabling Methodologies (KEMs) as the basis for effective design.

Educational Capacity

Expanded teaching capacity and further development of design-driven didactics are needed to meet the growing demand for designers, This demand stems from the emerging need for design approaches in new research programmes within Horizon Europe and the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

Access to Technology

Continuous access to the rapidly evolving technological disciplines must be guaranteed for professionals who can both understand the technology and meet the investigative design challenge.