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 c...

Architectural design greatly influences building energy performance (BEP), and energy-efficient design is therefore often studied. Architectural space layout also can affect BEP. However, only a few of the numerous studies on energy-efficient design considered the effect of space layout. Within these studies, the isolated effect of space layout on the BEP has hardly have been analysed systematically.

The framework of Performative Computational Architecture (PCA) had been proven to be effectiv...

The 1977 book A Pattern Language was a landmark in the design world, introducing a methodology that has become influential across many fields. Among them are software and “design patterns,” and important spinoff technologies like wiki (the basis of Wikipedia) and Agile Methodology. Yet curiously, the field where pattern methodology began – the built environment – has lagged conspicuously. As one remedy, a number of long-time collaborators with the original book’s lead author have f...

Door de wereldwijde klimaatverandering zal Nederland vaker te kampen hebben met hevigere en frequentere regenval die wateroverlast kan veroorzaken. Ondanks dat Nederlanders wereldberoemd zijn vanwege hun eeuwenlange ervaring met het hydrologisch systeem, zijn de bestaande stedelijke watersystemen sinds de Industriële Revolutie langzamerhand inflexibel geworden. De technische inrichting van het watersysteem, en dan met name in relatie tot het bouwrijp maken van de natte en slappe gronden, kan...

De Deltawerken in de Nederlands-Vlaamse Delta van Rijn, Maas en Schelde behoren tot de iconische monumenten van ons land, mede door de beeldbepalende kracht van de dammen en dijken. Met name door de Oosterscheldekering, een wereldwonder, voortgekomen uit de wens om de Delta voorgoed veilig te maken na de watersnoodramp van 1953. Na de realisatie van de Deltawerken is een grote reeks nieuwe projecten voor waterveiligheid gerealiseerd, waarover niet veel bekend is. Bij de meeste van deze nieuwe...