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Tess Broekmans, co-owner of Urhahn urban design and strategy, delivered her inaugural address as professor of Urban Design on Friday 6 September. In it, she addressed ‘the complexity of the everyday’. After all, how can designers' visions connect better with people's everyday lives? In doing so, she also sees a new role for area developers.

An extraordinary project is underway in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province, on the island of Borneo. The hills, which were mostly covered by eucalyptus plantations just last year, are currently a tangle of roads, construction sites, pipelines, power cables... This area, comparable in size to the province of South Holland, will become Indonesia's new capital: Nusantara. Professor Steffen Nijhuis (Urbanism) visited the area as part of a delegation of the Universities Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE). He considered how LDE, and specifically Bouwkunde, can contribute to this project.

In the second quarter of 2024, the median purchase price increased by a staggering 7.2%. This makes purchase prices 13.6% higher than in the second quarter of 2023. This sharp increase is partly to compensate for the very modest price increase in the first quarter of 2024. It is also due to the scarcity in the housing market, both of existing and new-build homes, scarcity in the labour market and the large number of vacancies in the construction industry. Besides the lack of sufficient supply of homes for sale, slightly lower mortgage interest rates and strong demand for housing have been driving the current increase in purchase prices.

When you discover unexpected results during your research, you often can’t do anything with it. Because the research plan and budget didn’t allow for it. To explore these kinds of results either way, seven projects receive a small top-up grant thanks to the Impact Explorer call. This top-up will also be useful for Dr. Amy Thomas and her research about the role of gender in design of buildings and interiors.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded thirteen young TU Delft researchers from the Science (ENW) and Applied and Engineering Sciences (TTW) domains, a Veni grant of up to 320,000 euro.

The urban environment is constantly changing. In the city, the major transitions we are struggling with as a country and planet, such as climate, mobility, energy and housing, come together. At the same time, the city is a place where we live together and where we search with each other for practical solutions to those complex and large-scale problems. Tess Broekmans will deliver her inaugural address 'The complexity of the everyday' (De complexiteit van het alledaagse) on Friday 6 September.

Heat stress and air pollution ravages cities more and more. In a new Horizon Europe project, researchers will develop a digital twin that supports decision makers to design resilient urban areas that can cope with the changing climate. Researchers from TU Delft and 18 other partners receive the Horizon Europe grant for their project called UrbanAIR.

Housing is back on the political agenda in many European countries. Many urgent housing problems need to be solved today. The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment is hosting and organising the ENHR congress in Delft on 26-30 August 2024. This congress focuses mainly on how these problems can be solved. The overall theme of this year's congress is therefore 'Making Housing Systems work: Evidence and Solutions.'

Dream Team ‘Space Oasis Delft’ has designed a lunar village for 150+ residents. The dwellings have elements of biomimicry, contain a self-sustaining biosphere and simulate a day-night cycle as well as seasons. Smart design choices safeguard not only the occupants' safety but also their mental well-being.