"As a result of 20th-century car-centric planning, many urban districts had emerged designed to serve only one function. Different residential suburbs and trade areas were dispersed scattered within and outside the cities. This has led to more dependence on private cars to meet people’s daily needs.

Urban Ergonomics will discuss one type of these areas, the external shopping centers, or the big-box retail areas. External shopping centers are commercial areas that are located on the backside of cities and easy to access by car. The external shopping centers are characterized by being wide, and poorly designed with architectural typologies of huge retail boxes with enormous areas of free parking lots. External shopping centers play a direct role in increasing car traffic and often are built on important agricultural lands. Even though Trafikverket (Swedish transport administration) recommended stopping such development to achieve the climate goals, these areas are still emerging nonstop in all parts of Sweden.

 The problems that such areas create are beyond physical ones. Many retailers tend to close their in-city shops to move to these territories (due to the cheap land prices) so they can offer cheaper prices for consumers as well. In Sweden, stores that are larger than 400 sqm were not present before 1950. In 2017 it had more than 2100.

Urban Ergonomics is a project that aims to address the problems related to these areas, discussing the potential they have to be production-consumption areas instead of being only-consumption. This will be achieved by applying the circular economy principles to the urban and architectural levels.

While circular economy is usually discussed from the business and economy point of view. The project seeks to integrate this concept with site residents". 

Bällsta harbor

Bällsta harbor area is a part of Ulvsunda industrial area, located on the east side of Bromma airport in Stockholm. It has been an industrial area for nearly 80 years, with a lot of factories, automobile workshops, materials stores, and supermarkets. It is now surrounded by residential areas, Bromma airport, and Bällsta bay, forming a special landscape that looks like a missing puzzle piece from a satellite map. Today, the housing shortage in Stockholm and the debate over the closure of Bromma Airport present Bällsta harbor with new opportunities for redevelopment.

I have chosen to work on Bällsta harbor due to the access to public transport, the presence of the historical legacy, the proposed schools, the surrounding green conditions, and the proximity to the waterfront. On the other hand, there are several problems to be solved: Unsafe roads, lack of meeting place and greenery, unattractive waterfront, flooding risk, noise, etc.

Therefore, this proposal aims to bring a diverse mix of uses, pedestrian-oriented and children-friendly public spaces, greater coherence and connectivity to the nature and the waterfront, and a resilient environment against flooding. The plan will promote a rich public life and a happy childhood while establishing strong connections between local and regional destinations, as well as creating a close relationship with the nature and water.

In order to reach this vision, I propose 4 strategies: MOVE, STAY, RELAX, and PLAY. By knitting it all together, the plan shows how to bring nature to the city, provide transportation choices, create places to linger and gather, and establish nice environment for children to grow up.

Many cities around the world are undergoing urbanisation, developing undeveloped land or redeveloping underused areas due to changing times. Such developments often focus on attracting new residents and building new communities, and their economic benefits, so those areas are actively developed by developers and municipalities. Also, the concept of compact cities is encouraged in such areas in terms of sustainability. On the other hand, some old residential areas have attracted more people than the city’s capacity, it is difficult to redevelop overcrowded areas in order to overcome their problems and improve the quality of life for their residents.

This project will focus primarily on designing for improved quality of life in overcrowded areas. In particular,it aims to change streets and public places from car-oriented planning to human-oriented design. The project also proposes strategy and design taking into account sustainability in terms of culture and environment.

The project site is an old residential area in the city of Macao, China. The main challenges are the lack of public spaces with car-oriented planning and the extreme density. Considering its characteristic culture, history, and environmental challenges, this project proposes liveable spaces for local people

Wetter, Hotter Weather: Adaptation to climate challenges in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Climate change is happening, right now. Its effects will become more pervasive in our daily lives, and it is part of our task as urban designers to explore how to adapt our cities and communities.

One of the places which has been at the forefront of climate resilience from centuries until nowadays is the Netherlands, especially regarding water management, sea level rise and flooding. In fact, Amsterdam, has built a Climate Adaptation Strategy, which pinpoints 4 key scenarios to address in the coming years: heat, drought, flooding and increased rainfall.

Buiksloterham is a post-industrial area under redevelopment in Amsterdam Noord, located by the waterfront of the river IJ. This site presents multiple opportunities to apply climate adaptation in urban design, while addressing some of the issues Amsterdam has in an urban scale such as housing shortage, and the lack of public space and green infrastructure in Noord. The site is characterized by a mix of contemporary buildings, industrial remainings, unused brownfields, and waterfront spaces.

The project BLUiksloterham formulates a site-specific design toolbox of architectural typologies, public space and landscape design elements to climate-adapt the site into an area ready for the future challenges.

A mix of green corridors, permeable surfaces and floodable spaces address heat, while a system of ponds, canals and dykes create wetlands to address drought and slow down the run-off of increased rainfall.

A new soft mobility axis crosses the site, and the typologies aim to provide optimal sun hours, deflect wind and address flooding in the perspective of either being water-hermetic, being able to float when needed, or directly sitting on top of the water.

BLUiksloterham aims to create spaces fostering a livable, resilient and climate-smart urban environment, an improved connection with water and more possibilities to bring biodiversity into the urban realm.

The Thesis project is taking place at Kivik Art Centre, Sweden and it explores the concept of planetary urbanisation. The concept of Planetary Urbanisation has become vividly discussed and it is a topic that expands globally, therefore Kivik Art Centre is the key place that offers global connection since it has developed a vibrant identity of art, with artists around the world exhibit their work there. Over my thesis I discuss the concept of planetary urbanisation and what it is, how it embraces setting bigger than megacities but setting over agriculture areas, wild landscapes and locality. Since planetary urbanisation it is a broad topic I break it down and I follow the path in global connectivity of regions. During my thesis project there is a back-and-forth method in order to delve into planetary urbanisation on global scale, regional scale and local scale in order to investigate what Kivik Art Center offers on the site and the surroundings. In order to do so, I apply theories that will help me to define the usage of programs and amenities nearby the site and how those programs are connected to global scale and how we can emerge them in a local scale. This theory it is called Rational Thought model based on Burns and Kahn, and it defines three categories: an area of control which is KAC, the area of influence which are the amenities and programs nearby KAC, and lastly the area of effect which is the outcome. Finally, study and explore theories and methods so I create a concept that establish global connectivity of knowledge. A prototype of technological connections that will inform users visiting KAC on the amenities located nearby, and how those programs have connections globally. The purpose of my thesis is to create shared knowledge, to understand that footprints of the city are all over places, from big cities, to technology, and the urbanisation of lifestyles.

The Rural Awakening

At a time when urbanization continues to increase, it is important not to ignore the rural. This work shows a concrete example of how to bring a structurally weak village back to life. Join the presentation and experience a sustainable living and working in the countryside!

With the Internet connection completed this year, it has become possible to keep one's job in the city and still live close to nature. In a common CO-working space or other social spaces, the new residents can exchange ideas and come up with new innovations or just enjoy a good community.

Furthermore, not only the interior of the village is changed, but also the fields around. Conventional agriculture is transformed into circular agriculture to operate more independently, with a lower risk and create new jobs. The old farm buildings will be converted to new uses such as a retirement home a shared workshop, car sharing and many more.

Come and see how the valley in Oberaschbach is being transformed into a vibrant, innovative, and resilient village.

Developing Living Environments that promote Rural-Urban Immigrants Integration: Urban Transformation in Songjiang

The floating population, also known as rural-urban immigrants, is a typical type of domestic migration appearing in the process of urbanization in contemporary China. Due to the policy restrictions, the floating population is in a disadvantageous position and lacks social security. Though the ultimate goal for many domestic immigrants is to transform into urban residents, the biggest challenge they are facing is the housing problem. This thesis aims at providing feasible solutions regarding this phenomenon from an urban and housing design perspective. The preliminary study gives a general introduction to the background of the floating population and explains the research framework. Following a literature review of the academic approaches so far and trying to give a deep understanding of the floating population. After that, a case study on the public housing system in Singapore was introduced and show how could their achievements could be applied to the Chinese context. The design proposal starts with a site study in Shanghai, China. By applying the urban grid system and the social cohesion theory, aiming to develop the qualities that can be used to meet current challenges. Shanghai is the city that holds the biggest portion of the domestic immigrants among many Chinese cities, it is therefore chosen as the target city to develop the proposal. The Design area is approximately 160 hectares in total, and is expected to provide housing and infrastructures to a minimum of 70,000 new residents. From an urban scale, the neighborhood is applied to a polycentric structure and is connected with the central town with the railway systems. The neighborhood scale explored the relationship between the proposed neighborhood and the existing communities to examine the potential qualities of social sustainability. The block scale presents the different qualities and benefits of different amenities and facilities