It is hard to imagine a world without bridges. Bridges lie at the heart of our civilization bringing growth and prosperity to our society. It is by virtue of bridges that communities are able to physically connect to new people and to new places that were previously disconnected. However, bridges are more than mere functional assets. A well designed bridge reflects mankind’s creativity and ingenuity. One could even state that the way bridges are designed tells us something about our identity.

The way that our bridges are commissioned, designed and procured is rapidly changing. Ideally the design of a bridge is made through an integrated approach that addresses all relevant technological angles, practiced by all involved disciplines through all phases of the design. In reality, many different people from many different disciplines work on the design during different phases of the project. The segregation of knowledge into discipline-specific fields, and the fragmented approach to bridge procurement, have resulted in a general lack of cohesion in bridge design. Critical investigation into how to pursue good integrated design is absent. Therefor the objective of this research is to identify a design approach, through all scales of the design, that leads to bridges that are well-integrated, that are integrally-designed and that are valued by societ...

Over the last half century, the Global South has faced a strong rise in the rate of urbanisation. Although this process differs from region to region, rapid urbanisation has created many challenges for countries in the Global South. Brazil is no different. The largest country in South America has jumped from an urban population of 44.67% in 1960 to 84.36% in 2010, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, 2018). While urban growth is relatively stable in Brazil t...

Space is the empty part of the building, but its volume is important for the activities of occupants. Architects define the general spatial structures of buildings mainly in the early design stages, and the spatial properties, the connection of the spaces and the boundary conditions of them are significant for the building function and performance. This research first clarified the relationship between spatial configuration of buildings, thermal environment and thermal comfort of occupants in...

It is well-known that the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) at schools affects the health, comfort and performance of school children. Considering the need for a more effective way to improve both the IEQ in primary school classrooms and children’s satisfaction, along with the positive potential of individual control, this thesis aimed to propose a new way - individual control - to improve the IEQ in classrooms of primary schools and to increase children’s satisfaction in the Netherlands.

First the main IEQ problem in classrooms as well as IEQ perceptions and preferences of the school children were identified through literature and field studies. The outcome showed that noise was the main IEQ problem in classrooms of Dutch primary schools, children could be clustered in according to their IEQ perceptions and preferences, and the reported IEQ-improving actions of the teachers could not effectively improve the IEQ for each chil...

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...

In this booklet, the architectural theorist and Professor at York University Abidin Kusno discusses two lectures given by two influential professors in the former Dutch colony of Indonesia. The first one, ‘The aesthetics of architecture and the art of the moderns’, was given by C. Wolff Schoemaker in 1930. The second, entitled ‘Towards an Indonesian Architecture’, was delivered by Vincent Van Romondt in 1954. Schoemaker and Van Romondt held different views on the challenges of archite...

The research aims to provide an understanding of an urbanizing delta in which different scales, times, and domains are related to each other; and to examine how this understanding can be used in a planning and design process in a rapidly urbanizing delta. A mapping method is developed according to the key notions in the understanding of urban deltas, namely its systems, scales, and temporality. The systematic mapping approach was used to organize and analyze both short-term and long-term...

Residential buildings account for a significant amount of the national energy consumption of all OECD countries and consequently the EU and the Netherlands. Therefore, the national targets for CO2 reduction should include provisions for a more

energy efficient building stock for all EU member states.

National and European level policies the past decades have improved the quality of the building stock by setting stricter standards on the external envelope of newly made buildings, the efficienc...

This thesis explores the ways in which landscape is relevant as a concept for designing architecture. Buildings that have been designed like landscapes have become a topic in contemporary architecture. The apparent distinction between architecture and landscape is questioned in exemplary theories and new designs.

The core of this thesis is three case studies of architectural designs that use landscape strategies. The analytical model for landscape architectural composition that Steenbergen an...