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Programme

The Building Technology track focuses on research, technological design and innovation, dealing with the newest technology and interacting with the current market. This programme offers a balance between applied research and design of buildings and building elements. Academic year 2024 - 2025 First semester (MSc1) In MSc1 you deep your academic skills and technical knowledge through core building technology courses and the Bucky Lab design studio. This gives you the opportunity to construct your own project in a 1:1 scale. Video Impression of Bucky Lab Design Studio. Second semester (MSc2) In MSc2 you can choose from electives (3 x 5 EC) offered by the Building Technology track in order to deepen you technical knowledge and skills. You also follow one of the 4 offered design courses: The courses ‘EXTREME technology’, ‘MEGA’ and ‘Heritage and Architecture Design Studio’ are projects for integrated design. The design project ‘EXTREME technology’ deals with building in an extreme situation in respect to climate, location and function. The design project ‘MEGA’ is about large buildings with engineering challenges. Essence of both courses is the interaction between the extreme circumstances and/or large sizes, the technical solutions, and the architecture. The ‘Heritage and Architecture Design Studio’ deals with the same engineering challenges with a focus on existing buildings. ‘Entrepreneurship in the Built Environment’ is meant for students who want to understand how organisations in the built environment operate, how they change in time, and in what ways they can contribute to innovation. See below for topics covered in previous academic years: EXTREME technology (pdf) MEGA (pdf) Heritage and Architecture Design Studio: Research and Architectural Design (pdf) Entrepreneurship in the Built Environment (pdf) In the fourth quarter you join one of the (intra)disciplinary courses in which you are challenged to work together with students from other tracks within the Master Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences on overarching themes. Check the Study Guide for a full overview of the intradisciplinary electives available to Building Technology track students. Academic year 2025-2026* From September 2025 the fifth quarter (Q5) allows you to choose electives offered by or in collaboration with other TU Delft faculties, or with public or private partners. This new Q5 offers students the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience from collaborating in projects with other disciplines or challenges found outside the walls of our own faculty. More information on the electives offered in Q5 is available as from April 2025. Graduation In the final three quarters students develop a graduation project. The Building Technology track offers one graduation studio. The studio covers the following themes: Structural Design, Climate Design, Façade & Product Design and Design Informatics. Students graduate on a combination of (at least) two themes, in research and design. Detailed information on the graduation studio and themes * Are you currently studying in your second year of this Master track? Please visit the BK Student Portal for your programme. Additional information For detailed information on all courses, please visit the study guide .

Form Studies

Form Studies focuses on the aspects of aesthetics, perception and materialisation of architectural compositions. You will acquire insight in the creative process and how this can help you to come to innovative design solutions. This allows you to gain knowledge and understanding of the various aesthetical outcomes. In the studios you are taught an integrated design approach in order to come to optimised spatial and structural solutions. By using the physical model as a main research tool, students develop design related research skills. Focus and approach The MSc1 and MSc2 studios make intensive use of physical models and hand drawings to develop and test design concepts. The design method is intuitive, experimental, reflective and efficient. By using the various scales simultaneously during the design process, you learn to unravel complex spatial and structural problems. The physical model, in combination with the drawing, offers the possibility to get a good understanding of the coherence between spatial solutions. The desired expression is legible in the proportions and materialisation of the models. Documenting the results and reflecting on the process and its outcome, is seen as an essential part of the studios. Programme MSc1 studio The MSc1 studio Form, Structure & Aesthetics researches how aesthetical values can be achieved as a result of the integrated design process. Developing form, structure, aesthetics, and sustainability at the same time help to understand the current role of the architect. The main topics of the studio: The expression of structure and detail in architecture The aesthetical consequences of sustainable solutions in architecture. Programme MSc 1 fall semester 2024 (pdf) MSc 2 studio The MSc 2 studio The Delta Shelter focuses on the design of a small project in a Delta environment; a dynamic and natural surrounding on the border of water and land. The role, impact and contribution of architecture and its typology and manifestation are part of the research in this assignment. Programme MSc 2 studio Delta Shelter spring semester 2025 (pdf) Programme MSc 2 studio Van Gezel tot Meester spring semester 2025 (pdf) MSc 3 studio Programme MSc 3 fall semester 2024 (pdf) Staff Peter Koorstra, Geert Coumans, Mieke Vink, Wing Yung, Lianne Klitsie, Kristian Kaltenbach, Hans van der Pas, Georg Bohle, Elise van Dooren. Additional information For detailed course descriptions, please visit the study guide: MSc 1 (only in fall semester) MSc 2 * (only in spring semester) MSc 3 * The MSc2 semester of the Architecture track consists of a 5 EC compulsory course and 10 EC of track-specific Architecture electives in the third quarter, followed by a 15 EC (intra)disciplinary elective in the fourth quarter, which can be an intensive architectural research and design project or an intradisciplinary elective in which you are challenged to work together with students from other tracks on overarching themes. Contact Elise van Dooren E.J.G.C.vanDooren@tudelft.nl

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How storm surge barriers can keep the Netherlands safe and liveable

A safe and liveable delta, who doesn't go for that? Storm surge barriers play a crucial role in this. Yet there are many choices to be made in the short term to keep the storm surge barriers in a good condition, to eventually cope with rising sea levels in the longer term. A new project receives funding from NWO for five years to explore the best routes to a liveable delta. Storm surge barriers, like the Maeslantkering and the Oosterscheldekering are essential for protecting the Netherlands from high water coming in from the sea. How long will these imposing structures remain effective bearing in mind sea level rise, decay of the structures and an altering surrounding area. In the short term, decisions will have to be taken on maintenance, while in the longer term, adaptation or replacement should be considered. Linking storm surge barriers with the delta Within the SSB-Δ (storm surge barrier delta) project, a diverse consortium will investigate under what circumstances storm surge barriers can keep the Netherlands safe and liveable. The consortium consists of the universities of Delft, Utrecht, and Rotterdam; the universities of applied sciences of Rotterdam and Zeeland; knowledge institutes Deltares and TNO, as well as Rijkswaterstaat, water boards and companies. Bram van Prooijen, associate professor at TU Delft, will lead the research: “Decisions on flood defences are important for the entire delta. The link between the hinterland and the flood defences needs to be made properly. During this project, we will have the opportunity to bring different areas of expertise together and strengthen each other.” Long term perspective Therefore, the research is not only about the technical lifespan of the barriers. It will also clarify how the delta is going to change and how society thinks about it, resulting in a guideline to on how and when decisions need to be taken in the short term, with a long term perspective. Van Prooijen cites an example of car maintenance: “Think of replacing the engine block. This is very expensive maintenance, but sometimes necessary to keep the car running safely. But is it worth the investment if you plan to buy a new car next year? Or if you prefer to travel by train? Important choices will have to be made for storm surge barriers. We want to provide a strong basis for that.” Informed decisions The project will reveal the possible pathways to a liveable delta, and how storm surge barriers fit into that. Van Prooijen: “That offers clarity, to make quick and better-informed decisions. Many trials run for a long time, with the outcome of this research we can decide which trials specifically are the best option to proceed with.” Future experts One of the storm surge barriers involved in the research is the Maeslantkering. This barrier is expected to last another fifty years or so. That may seem far away, Van Prooijen reasons, “but we need to train the experts who will decide on this now. Those are probably the PhD students on this project.”

Researchers hand over Position Paper to Tweede Kamer

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.