Thomas Misset
Architectural Engineering
Turning heat into warmth: Re-inserting warmth in the social and sustainable infrastructures of post-war neighbourhoods
A regional heat distribution pipeline is constructed through the post-war neighbourhood of Moerwijk, The Hague. This proposal aims to design a local heat network considering urban, technological and community needs to establish value for the neighbourhood and its residents. By constructing the pipeline above ground, construction and maintenance become more efficient, trees are spared and spatial and social interventions along the pipeline become possible. Through empathy in design and community immersion as a research tool, needs, challenges and points of interest are identified and enhanced with spatial additions. These points of interest lie at the ends of the pipelines, where existing programmes are made visible and opened up to the diverse users of the neighbourhood. The result is a strategy to embed sustainable infrastructure in the post-war neighbourhood, creating functional, urban and community value by turning industrial heat into social warmth.