Research and development in building envelope design have promoted the convergence of two system types, Thermo-Active Building Systems and Adaptive Building Envelopes, that re-conceptualize the envelope as a distributed energy transfer function that captures, transforms, stores, and even re-distributes energy resources.

The widespread deployment of Thermo-Active Building Systems as a building envelope will depend on several factors. These factors include the value of the design attributes tha...

This dissertation focuses on Industrial Heritage Reuse practice in Europe, with special emphasis on the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain and Greece. This vastly complex yet fascinating topic has not been studied holistically under the circumstances of the contemporary era. In the 21st century, Industrial Heritage Reuse is required to be more responsive, more sustainable, more inclusive and more value-driven than before. An enhanced approach for the transformation of industrial relics is...

Heritage—natural and cultural, material and immaterial—plays a key role in the development of sustainable cities and communities. Goal 11, target 4, of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasizes the relation between heritage and sustainability. The International LDE Heritage conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development Goals, which took place from 26 to 28 November 2019 at TU Delft in the Netherlands, examined the theories, methodologies, and practices of heritage and SDGs....

The research was inspired by the increasing impact of extreme weather events and changing climate patterns on flood-prone regions and cities, and the consequent human and economic costs. Despite global efforts for flood resilience and climate adaptation involving climate analysts, economists, social scientists, politicians, hydrological engineers, spatial planners, and policymakers, it is only partially clear how best to construct resilience measures and implement concrete initiatives. The co...

Expanding cities across the world rely increasingly on the global food network, but should they? Population growth, urbanisation and climate change place pressure on this network, bringing its resilience into question. For decades urban agriculture has been discussed in popular media and academia as a potential solution to improve food security, quality and sustainability. The new idol in this discussion is the plant factory: A fully closed system for crop production. Arrays of LEDs provide l...

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).

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The aim of this PhD project was to explore the multi-level interplay between the inter-organizational structures and interpersonal relations in building project organizations. In the first two studies, quantitative approaches were used to validate assumptions about how inter-organizational structures are shaped by actors and how interpersonal relationships affect the effectiveness of project teams in the construction industry. These two studies were integrated in a third qualitative case stud...

This study is based on the fact that all people have a basic need for protection from other people (and animals) as well as from the elements (the exterior climate). People need a space in which they can withdraw from the rest of the world. The two states, inside and outside, public and private, contact with, or isolation from, the outside world, are relevant in fulfilling this basic need. People also want their home to have a certain appearance or status which they can identify with and whic...