Filter results

48076 results

Alamar's Material Warehouse

ALAMAR’S MATERIAL WAREHOUSE Student: Wesley Verhoeven Title: Alamar’s Material Warehouse Studio: MSc3/4 Havana Studio Semester: Fall 2016 Abstract Parallel to the Cuban Revolution a reuse and repair mentality emerged among Cubans. In the early days of the revolution American technicians left the island and so did their technical knowledge. Therefore Fidel Castro had to invest in the knowledge of technical education. ‘Worker build your own machinery’ and ‘To beat imperialism in the battle of replacement parts’ were slogans which triggered a makers movement. The inventiveness of Cubans became more explicit during the Special Period, a time of harsh conditions remarked by the lack of products. In order to survive this period the government published ‘El Libro de la Familia’, a handbook to repair, re-use and retrofit stuff around the house. All across the island homes turned into laboratories of DIY innovations. This Cuban ingenuity is known as technological disobedience. A Cubain perceives object completely different compared to our Western perception. Every object is a collection of smaller pieces and every piece can be reused or re-purposed in different ways. Unconsciously Cubans created a sustainable reuse society in opposite to our Western throw-away society, which is defined by planned obsolence. As Cuba is on the brink of opening up to the world it will also open up to new material and capital flows, which at the same time will increase the waste production on the island. Therefore Cuba should respond to the changing conditions. Instead of making the same mistakes our Western throw-away society made, Cubans should embrace their reuse mentality and be a sustainable example to the world. Instead of land-filling, every object can be reused, repaired re-purposed or recycled. Alamar’s Material Warehouse incorporated the flows of disgregated materials. It functions as a machine which collects disregarded materials and turns it into new valuable resources through disassembling, recycling and up-cycling. Especially an outskirts of Havana, Alamar, which doesn’t profit from tourism or foreign investment could benefit of a circular economy. Repository Material Warehouse Alamar | TU Delft Repositories

Makerlab

The MAKERLAB project lays under the umbrella research The Next Public Library , and responds to the ambitions and goals of the research line Architecture and the City . The MAKERLAB research project follows-up the KIEM NWO funded project: Performative Spaces in Dutch Public Libraries. Stepping Stones of Inclusive Innovation’ (2017-2018). This KIEM project mapped the spatial features connected to the diffusion of makerspaces in Dutch public libraries, and resulted in the ATLAS publication. The MAKERLAB project moves further, to creating makerspaces in specific, well-defined socio-spatial conditions. For this, the MAKERLAB research consortium have designed, built, tested and assessed integral makerspace solutions in real Dutch public libraries. The multidisciplinary project is conducted in a setting of co-creation, geared on a research-through-design approach, and involving sibling research institutes and stakeholders to collaborate as in a ‘living-lab’ environment. During the 24 months of the project (1-1-2021 to 31-12-2022) a team of researchers of the consortium worked in close collaboration with 8 public libraries in the Netherland, in 2 yearly iterations (4 libraries per year). This work resulted in an integral design methodology for makerspaces in the context of the Dutch public library and in the realization, inauguration and evaluation of a number of makerspaces located in the collaborating libraries. Knowledge areas of spatial design, program design and impact management have been leading the research and implementation. Publications documenting the research and the outputs are currently in due course of preparation, forthcoming 2023. The MAKERLAB project is funded by the PICA Foundation . G rant 480.290 € (for TU Delft: 120.380 €) TU Delft Researchers dr. Olindo Caso (Architecture, chair Complex Projects) ir. Mar Munoz Aparici (Architecture, PhD candidate) Project Partners National Library of the Netherlands (KB); TU Delft; Hogeschool Rotterdam; FERS Fryslân; Bibliotheek Gorredijk; Bibliotheek Hoeksche Waard; Bibliotheek Oldenzaal; Bibliotheek Tiel; Bibliotheek Hilversum; Bibliotheek Rijn en Venen; Bibliotheek ZINiN Nijverdal; Bibliotheek Westland. Project leader Dr. Olindo Caso O.Caso@tudelft.nl Researcher Ir. Mar Munoz Aparici M.MunozAparici@tudelft.nl

ATLAS

ATLAS. Makerspaces in public libraries in The Netherlands. dr. Olindo Caso & ir. Joran Kuijper The first ten years of this century Dutch public libraries moved their focus from collections to connections. Currently, libraries are stepping towards invention : by integrating traditional knowledge-consumption and opportunities for knowledge-production they potentially become inclusive laboratories of innovation and agencies for a participated knowledge society . Libraries offer workspaces, tools and tutoring enabling their users to make, discover, co-create, collaborate and share. These so-called Performative Spaces facilitate and support both innovation (technology oriented) and creation (arts and crafts oriented) bringing FabLabs, makerspaces and other opportunities at the reach of all citizens; and allowing libraries to keep pace with societal developments. Yet, little knowledge is available on the implications of this performative turn in Dutch libraries. How many performative spaces exist in Dutch libraries, and what do they offer? Which tools, staff and expertise are present? What relationships exist between the library’s performative initiative and the context of reference? In particular, the spatial conditions related to the integration of makerspaces in the context of the Dutch public library are a neglect. What size, form and articulation do they have? Are the makerspaces designed or empirically constructed? Do they hold any relationship with the city? Are them a well-integrated service in library? And what about aspects like noise, dust, privacy? This publication maps the spatial characters of the introduction of the performative space n Dutch public libraries, enlightening the actual state-of-the-art. The publication is part of the research project ‘ Performative Spaces in Dutch Public Libraries. Stepping stones of inclusive innovation ’ that received a grant from the national NWO KIEM program and that enjoys the collaboration of the Dutch National Library (KB). This project is part of the research program ‘Architecture and the City’ and matches the priority interest of KB towards a socially embedded, innovative library system in the Netherlands. Project Leader Dr. Olindo Caso O.Caso@tudelft.nl

Gabriele Piazzo

Open and Closed Student: Gabriele Piazzo Title: Open and Closed: A public space in Rotterdam at the border condition Studio: MSc3/4 Hotel New York (HNY) Semester: Spring 2019 Abstract In the coming 20 years, the city centre of Rotterdam will face a new wave of constructions, with the goal of densify the area with new 50.000 dwellings before the 2040, converting the city centre towards a more residential and international character. This up-coming densification of Rotterdam, led by the high-rise strategy developed by the Municipality, it is going define a border condition between the new high-rise developments and the historical neighbourhoods, such as the case of Cool Zuid and Baankwartier, causing a disrupted relationship between the built environment, the public space, and the human scale, creating tension and dichotomy. Within this scenario, what could it be a different catalyst event, different from the high-rise strategy, that will lead the future of this neighbourhood, preserving its human scale while accommodating the future of the city? And so, “How is public space going to be reconsidered within the international character and the high-rise strategy of Rotterdam?”. Therefore, if the Municipality of Rotterdam will be more focused on the skyline of the city, the goal of the Open & Closed is to explore the so-called “groundline” of Rotterdam.Thus, the Open public space that today is only perceived as playground, a fixed mono-functional use, in the coming years it will be re-thought and designed as a more informal public space, where different users will start to interact and co-exist. Meanwhile, the Closed public space will be a new Performing arts centre, where the already present activities such as dance, music and theatre studios in the area will be reallocated in one public building. However, it will be important to make a strong synergy between the Open & Closed public space, made of visual and physical relationships that architecture can create, together with a public program to engage a broader audience, in response to the future growth and needs of Rotterdam. Repository Open and Closed | TU Delft Repositories

Half Height Horizontal

A key solution to grid congestion

On behalf of the TU Delft PowerWeb Institute, researchers Kenneth Brunninx and Simon Tindemans are handing over a Position Paper to the Dutch Parliament on 14 November 2024, with a possible solution to the major grid capacity problems that are increasingly cropping up in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is unlikely to meet the 2030 climate targets, and one of the reasons for this is that large industry cannot switch to electricity fast enough, partly because of increasingly frequent problems around grid capacity and grid congestion. In all likelihood, those problems will actually increase this decade before they can decrease, the researchers argue. The solution offered by the TU Delft PowerWeb Institute researchers is the ‘flexible backstop’. With a flexible backstop, the current capacity of the power grid can be used more efficiently without sacrificing safety or reliability. A flexible backstop is a safety mechanism that automatically and quickly reduces the amount of electricity that an electric unit can draw from the grid (an electric charging station or a heat pump) or deliver (a PV installation). It is a small device connected or built into an electrical unit, such as a charging station or heat pump, that ‘communicates’ with the distribution network operator. In case of extreme stress on the network, the network operator sends a signal to the device to limit the amount of power. Germany recently introduced a similar system with electric charging stations. The backstop would be activated only in periods of acute congestion problems and could help prevent the last resort measure, which is cutting off electricity to users. ‘Upgrading the electricity network remains essential, but in practice it will take years. So there is a need for short-term solutions that can be integrated into long-term planning. We, the members of the TU Delft PowerWeb Institute, call on the government, network operators and regulator to explore the flexible backstop as an additional grid security measure,’ they said. The entire Paper can be read here . Kenneth Brunninx Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Governance and Management, where he uses quantitative models to evaluate energy policy and market design with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions. Simon Tindemans is Associate Professor in the Intelligent Electrical Power Grids group at Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science. His research interests include uncertainty and risk management for power grids. TU Delft PowerWeb Institute is a community of researchers who are investigating how to make renewable energy systems reliable, future proof and accessible to everyone.

25 year celebration of formal collaboration between Delft University of Technology and the University of Campinas

On 25 October 2024 we celebrated 25 years of formal collaboration between Delft University of Technology and the University of Campinas. What began as a project to exchange some students in chemical engineering has now grown to a multifaceted and broad academic collaboration which accumulated into 24 joint research projects (>20 M Euro); 16 advanced courses and 15 Doctors with a Dual Degree PhD. Patricia Osseweijer, TU Delft Ambassador Brazil explained, “We are proud to show and reflect on this special day the added value we created resulting from our joint activities. The lessons we learned demonstrate that especially continuity of funds and availability for exchanges has contributed to joint motivation and building trust which created strong relations. This is the foundation for academic creativity and high-level achievements.” The program presented showcases of Dual Degree projects; research activities and education. It discussed the future objectives and new fields of attention and agree on the next steps to maintain and strengthen the foundation of strong relations. Telma Franco, Professor UNICAMP shared that “joint education and research has substantially benefitted the students, we see that back in the jobs they landed in,” while UNICAMP’s Professor Gustavo Paim Valenca confirmed that “we are keen to extend our collaboration to more engineering disciplines to contribute jointly to global challenges” Luuk van der Wielen highlighted that “UNICAMP and TU Delft provide valuable complementary expertise as well as infrastructures to accelerate research and innovation. Especially our joint efforts in public private partnerships brings great assets” To ensure our future activities both University Boards have launched a unique joint program for international academic leadership. This unique 7-month program will accommodate 12 young professors, 6 from each university. The programme began on 4 November 2024 in Delft, The Netherlands.

Christmas lunch

Take part in a festive lunch with MoTiv, TU Delft Studentenraad en TU Delft ESA This holiday season, MoTiv, TU Delft, and the local Delft churches are bringing together homes and students for a special, heartwarming experience, and we would love for you to be part of it! After three successful years, we’re excited to continue this festive tradition, bridging cultures and creating connections. Are you interested in joining a holiday lunch as a guest , along with other international students, in a welcoming Delft-area home? Or perhaps you’d like to open your home as a host , sharing a warm, cultural celebration with students from around the world? This special event will take place from December 23rd to December 31st, between 12:00 and 15:00 . For Guests : If you’d like to participate as a guest, we’ll match you with a local host eager to share their holiday traditions. You’ll enjoy delicious dishes, laughter, and meaningful conversations, creating memories that feel like home, even far from family. Once matched, we’ll connect you with your host so you can coordinate details and meal plans together. Sign up as a guest in this google forms.(https://forms.gle/yLAqE83DcqWGwcKB8) For Hosts : If you’re interested in hosting, this is a wonderful opportunity to welcome students into your home for a memorable meal. By sharing food, stories, and perhaps even a few games, you’ll help make the season brighter for students eager to experience Dutch hospitality and holiday traditions. Sign up as a host in this google forms.( https://forms.gle/bJB5svxJZ1iTSF1c6 ) For any questions, feel free to reach out to us at motiv.connects@gmail.com. For more information, please visit our website at www.motiv.tudelft.nl/christmas-lunch-delft/ . Thank you for making this holiday season unforgettable. We look forward to celebrating with you! Warm regards, MoTiv, TU Delft Student Council, TU Delft ESA - Student Community Team