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Gaining more insight into the intertwined history of the water-energy-food-nexsus (WEF) in the former mining landscape in South Africa is necessary to stimulate future sustainable spatial developments. The NWO grant for a new project is intended to establish a learning environment which theory and methods are developed in order to analyse and understand spatial dynamics and long-term interactions between water, energy and food. The expected results will contribute to a sustainable vision on the redevelopment of extraction landscapes after mining in general and in South Africa more specific.

Quantitative data on collaborative housing are currently scattered or even only available upon request, and lack standard definitions. This prevents a comparative understanding of the challenges and opportunities that these housing forms offer. Furthermore, comparative data are needed to facilitate mutual learning and communication amongst users across countries and regions.

Obtaining 3D models of buildings is crucial to many urban applications (such as urban planning, solar potential analysis, urban flow simulation), which is still an open problem in remote sensing and the related fields. Existing techniques require high-quality laser scans as input, which imposes challenges to data acquisition. Besides, the building models in the existing platforms (such as Google Earth) are represented by millions of triangles. Such a representation is not friendly for the subsequent processing and application.

With his submission ‘Reconfiguring Addis Ababa’s Narratives – Storytelling for Architecture’ Antonio Paoletti, - master student of, and now alumnus- of the Global Housing graduation studio ‘Addis Ababa Living Lab’ (2019-2020) was announced the winner of the hand-drawn category of the international Architecture Drawing Prize.

The EquiCity project deploys serious gaming to combine various inputs in urban planning projects. Last week, the development team performed its first public test.

Water-rich cities, such as port cities, often have a rich history. They also have a dynamic future ahead of them, because they are faced with climate change, migration, urbanisation and a whole host of other significant developments. Generally speaking, port cities have a long tradition of adapting to new circumstances, which is often reflected in their heritage. How can we learn from their past to solve problems in the future?

Climate change and material scarcity, combined with housing shortages acutely calls for alternative materials that curb the environmental damage of the construction industry. Bio-based materials, and in particular the latest generation of mass timber products can play an essential role and contribute to making the construction industry climate-neutral and circular.

The underground is given more space in the design of the built environment. The Flemish-Dutch design study Stad × Ruimte collaborated with the interdisciplinary master design studio Architecture & Urban Design by having students emphasize the cross-section during the design process. The student work, that explores the opportunities of building and living underground in Amsterdam and beyond, can be seen in an exhibition together with the work of the professional design teams.

In summer 2020, part of a quay wall in Amsterdam collapsed, and in 2010, construction for a parking lot in Amsterdam was hindered by old sewage lines. New sustainable electric systems are being built in places where industry thrived in the 19th century. Carola Hein received a Kiem Grant to map invisible historical underground structures in a densely built-up historical city. “We argue that truly circular building practices in old cities require smart interfaces that allow the circular use of data from the past when planning the future.” says Carola Hein.

The book Reglazing Modernism, written by Uta Pottgiesser, provides 20 in-depth case studies of Modern architectural icons in both Europe and the Americas. Focusing on interventions to steel-framed glazing assemblies, the book offers a critical assessment of historic building envelopes, their values, damages and potentials, while also exploring emerging technologies that may offer higher performance of the building envelope and the building in the future. Using a selection of 20 iconic buildings in Europe and the USA, the book documents the current technological status of the three most common strategies used today: restoration, rehabilitation, and replacement.