This dissertation is an invitation to the reader to explore Güzel İzmir / Beautiful İzmir in Turkey. Through three different semi-fictional narratives, it aims to draw attention to specific and singular spaces as they were recorded and remembered through old postcards, black and white photographs, stories, and written travelogues in the past centuries and decades. Thus, it wants to discuss the specificity of an eastern Mediterranean port city by addressing it on eye-level through the exper...

Nationale opgaven zoals het woningbouwbeleid, de energietransitie en klimaatadaptatie zijn vraagstukken die door regionale instanties concreet moeten worden gemaakt in samenhang met de vraagstukken van de regio zelf. De regio, het niveau tussen de gemeenten en de provincie, heeft meestal geen duidelijke bestuurlijke grens en geen formele plaats in het Nederlandse bestuur.

In dit proefschrift is gezocht naar de betekenis van de provincie als regionale gebiedsautoriteit in een situatie waarin ...

The thesis explores energy retrofitting options for enhancing the energy efficiency of residential buildings in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It identifies and validates cost-effective energy retrofit schemes that have the potential for energy savings. The thesis also assesses the feasibility of energy retrofitting scenarios for building envelopes and their impact on reducing energy consumption, improving thermal comfort, and mitigating the environmental impact of buildings. The results of this resea...

This thesis starts with a worrisome observation tied to various phenomena across modern built environments: humans today are experiencing a weakened relatedness to and reduced intimacy with the world around them. In stark contrast to the general trend, however, most Chinese literati gardens maintain their traditional rich conditions, enabling their visitors to experience a unique, high-quality experience of relatedness to and intimacy with the world, which may serve as an antidote to the exis...