News

11 April 2019

Rebuilding the future

Rebuilding the future

During the Green Tie Gala 2019, professor Andy van den Dobbelsteen was awarded a top 3 position in the ABN AMRO Sustainable 50. This list reflects what has happened and who contributed the most to a more sustainable built environment over the past year.

11 April 2019

The value of research by design

The value of research by design

As part of the upcoming book publication ‘The city of the future’, BK researchers Tom Daamen and Hedwig van der Linden reflected on the value of research by design for urban area development. This type of design thinking can create added value for clients on different levels of the design brief.

11 April 2019

Zero-energy hotel profits from earth, wind, and fire

Zero-energy hotel profits from earth, wind, and fire

The new Breeze Hotel will open in a few weeks in Amsterdam. The hotel is the first building to apply ‘Earth, wind, and fire natural air conditioning’, and uses natural processes to ventilate the near 200 rooms of the hotel. The concept was developed by Ben Bronsema, and presented within his PhD research in 2013. The performance of the concept will be monitored for a longer period to further enhance the system.

11 April 2019

Integrating online education with on-campus classrooms

Integrating online education with on-campus classrooms

A broad international debate is paramount for urban planning education. To this end, the Bridge DOCS research project aims to connect students from online courses with students in on-campus classrooms. Igor Tempels Moreno Pessoa and Roberto Rocco received a Comenius Teaching Fellowship grant of € 50.000,- to develop the necessary platform. They will start with connecting first year Urbanism students with students from the MOOC ‘Rethink the city’.

11 April 2019

Robocar and Urban Space Evolution

Robocar and Urban Space Evolution

Automated mobility is likely to happen and will significantly change cities. The symposium ‘Robocar and Urban Space Evolution’ looked at automated mobility in the context of sustainability, and the future of urban planning and design. A summary of the symposium and further reflections on the theme are now available through the open access publication of the same name on the BK Books platform.

11 April 2019

Dream catcher

Dream catcher

Students from BK Bouwkunde and the Czech Technical University collaborated on applying computational techniques to design and build an architectural object with a complex form. The resulting ‘Dream catcher’ is a robotically woven bio-composite structure.

28 March 2019

Assessing conservation materials and techniques

Assessing conservation materials and techniques

For a successful intervention on cultural heritage buildings, the effectiveness and compatibility of conservation materials and techniques should be assessed prior to application. The new Heritage & Technology Lab has been set up to develop and assess solutions for the conservation of historic buildings.

28 March 2019

Co Verdaas appointed dijkgraaf

As of 1 April 2019, Co Verdaas has been appointed as the new dijkgraaf of the Water Board Rivierenland. The position of dijkgraaf within a water board is the equivalent of the position of mayor within a municipality council.

28 March 2019

Money is not all that counts in sustainability

Dutch housing associations are very keen on sustainability, but when it comes down to it, costs are the decisive factor. This is the conclusion of Sandra Hoomans in her PhD research. “Strategic considerations on making housing stock more sustainable should also be based on ecological values.”

28 March 2019

Modern trombe wall saves loads of energy

Modern trombe wall saves loads of energy

A trombe wall with phase-changing materials can ensure a much lower energy consumption of buildings. That becomes evident in the DoubleFace 2.0 research project. State-of-the-art technologies breathe new life into this age-old heat control method.