In this issue of A+BE (written in Dutch), the transformation of the form of nine cities in the Randstad between 1250 and 1940 in relation to changes in infrastructure is central, namely Utrecht, Dordrecht, Leiden, Haarlem, Delft, Gouda, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Within this time span, three periods of great spatial dynamics are identified, namely the period 1240-1450, 1580-1680 and 1870-1940.

Comparing the city maps with each other, they made a development from uniformity to diversi...

This book is about work floor experiences of professionals at work floors of housing organizations in The Netherlands in their attempts to apply supply chain partnering. I did not only choose this topic because of its academic and practical relevance. The choices I made, and the personal motivation behind those choices say a lot about what has driven me to do this research. Therefore, this prologue focusses on the experiences

that have led me to conducting this PhD-research. In answering this...

This issue of the Journal of Façade Design and Engineering is a result of the second façade conference, PowerSkin, held on January 17th 2019, in the context of the building trade fair ‘BAU’ in Munich. The conference was organized collaboratively by TU Munich, TU Darmstadt, and TU Delft. All three universities conduct high-impact research and education in the field of building envelopes. The conference featured a mix of practice and education experiences, as well as scientific contributi...

Cities never function in isolation but as nodes in overarching systems characterised by flows of goods, people, and information. To fully understand the evolution of cities, a relational approach is needed, which investigates cities in relation to other cities and urban regions. While a significant part of urban system research has focused on aspects such as the concentration of populations and economic activities, the understanding of the actual networks connecting cities and their impact is...

With increasing advancements in information and manufacturing technologies, there is an ever‑growing need for innovative integration and application of computational design and robotic fabrication in architecture. Hybrid Intelligence in Architectural Robotic Materialization (HI-ARM) provides methods and frameworks that target this need. HI-ARM introduces methodologies and technologies that incorporate computational, fabrication and material intelligence in integrated design-to-robotic-produ...

Humans perform many activities indoors and they show a growing need for indoor navigation, especially in unfamiliar buildings such as airports, museums and hospitals. Complexity of such buildings poses many challenges for building managers and visitors. Indoor navigation services play an important role in supporting these indoor activities. Indoor navigation covers extensive topics such as: 1) indoor positioning and localization; 2) indoor space representation for navigation model generation;...

While agglomerations along the Rhine are confronted with the uncertainties of an increasing flood risk due to climate change, different programs are claiming urban river front sites. Simultaneously, urban development, flood management, as well as navigation and environmental protection are negotiating the border between the river and the urban realm. This produces complex spatial constellations between the river system and the urban realm with a diverse set of interdependencies, where program...

Faced with the highly overlapping factors of the external disturbances -- natural disasters caused by extreme climate change, and internal interactions -- the contradiction between natural conditions and rapid urbanization, traditional spatial planning and design used to pursue economic development could not be flexible enough to respond to the dynamic and uncertain future of the Pearl River Delta (PRD).

Therefore, spatial planning and design should pay great attention to the fragile natural ...

Public bodies acting in the construction industry have to deal with major transitional issues, such as globalization and urbanization, population ageing, climate change and digitalization. Moreover, the public domain, private parties and society are becoming increasingly interdependent. As a result, safeguarding public values in the built environment has become ever more complex.

Public bodies face the challenge to adhere to collective public values while confronted with private and societal...