> THESIS TOPIC MARKET < 07.12.2011
01
MASTER of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS FALL SEMESTER
INTRODUCTORY
CORE COURSES
SPRING SEMESTER
> RELEVANT PRACTICE & RESEARCH METHODS
> RELEVANT PRACTICE & STUDY TRIP
> HUMAN SETTLEMENTS IN DEVELOPMENT
> CRITICAL REVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICIES & PLANNING
> MODERNITY & THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CITY
> STRATEGIC SPATIAL PLANNING
> THEORY & PRACTICE OF URBANISM SINCE 1945 > URBAN STUDIES I > ECONOMIC & SUSTAINABILITY ASPECTS OF ARCHITECTURAL & URBAN DESIGN
OPTIONAL COURSES
>…
DESIGN STUDIO
> CONCEPTS & ANALYSIS > URBANISM > STRATEGIC SPATIAL PLANNING
MASTER THESIS
>… > URBAN DESIGN & PLANNING : LANDSCAPE/ INFRASTRUCTURE URBANISM [12] > DESIGN THESIS + PAPER [15] > RESEARCH THESIS [18]
02
MASTER of URBANISM & STRATEGIC PLANNING FALL SEMESTER
CORE COURSES
SPRING SEMESTER
> RELEVANT PRACTICE & RESEARCH METHODS > THEORY & PRACTICE OF URBANISM SINCE 1945
> STRATEGIC SPATIAL PLANNING
> PROJECT DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT
> CRITICAL REVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICIES & PLANNING
> LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
> RELEVANT PRACTICE & STUDY TRIP
> URBAN DESIGN STRATEGIES
DESIGN STUDIO
OPTIONAL COURSES MASTER THESIS
> URBANISM > STRATEGIC SPATIAL PLANNING
>… >…
> URBAN DESIGN & PLANNING: LANDSCAPE/ INFRASTRUCTURE URBANISM
>… >… > RESEARCH PAPER [24] > FINAL PROJECT [24]
> THESIS TOPIC MARKET < > Planning + Development
Urbanism + Architecture <
> Frank Moulaert > Jan Schreurs > Loris Servillo > Pieter van den Broeck
Hilde Heynen < AndrĂŠ Loeckx < Bruno De Meulder < Kelly Shannon < Lieven De Cauter < Marcel Smets <
> Design & Construction < Frank De Troyer Karen Allacker
> THESIS TOPIC MARKET < > Planning + Development > Frank Moulaert > Jan Schreurs > Loris Servillo > Pieter van den Broeck > Annette Kuhk > Ruth Segers
> Planning + Development Fields of research: Research group P&D can offer thesis topics and supervision in following fields of research: - Territorial development and social innovation - Spatial planning and institutional change. - Urban and regional development, policy and planning - Analysis, production and social construction of space and spatial quality - Spatial planning and sustainable development - socio-ecological systems
> Planning + Development
Multi-level governance in public action Frank Moulaert
Nature-culture nexus in sustainable development Frank Moulaert
Criticising relational geography from a scalar point of view Frank Moulaert
Operationalising integrated sustainable development in SSP Frank Moulaert
Strategic projects in Strategic Spatial Planning: how to bridge spatial planning and place design Frank Moulaert
> Planning + Development
The power of quality – The quality of power Jan Schreurs
Spatial quality is of central concern for planning and design disciplines. Quality is a very powerful ‘tool’ in strategic development projects. Defining, producing and managing spatial quality is however beyond planner’s and designer’s control. Powerful interest groups are at the heart of these matters. A primary research question therefore is: which actors define spatial quality? how (in which terms, within which processes)? and why so (with which aims or groups in mind)? A second research question is: how then can these terms be shared to such an extent that a common understanding is created? Research will be done by exploring several case-studies into: relevant actors, the ‘language’ they use, the discourses created within the process of argumentation, the resulting project definition.
> Planning + Development
Networks and nodes for resilience Jan Schreurs
Resilient cities is â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for the time being â&#x20AC;&#x201C; more buz than business. As a remedy against uncertainty and risk, it is a strong concept, but an underdeveloped tool. In times of unseen social and economic transformations and of threatening climate change, resilience should be explored in its operational dimensions. From literature on complex systems, there is evidence that networks and nodes play a crucial role. A major research question is: which roles do (multiple) networks and (diversified) nodes play in making a region/city/city quarter/neighbourhood resilient? Research will be done in a comparative historical study of two cases: one which proved to be resilient to, and one that did not withstand some dramatic social, economic and/or environmental transformations.
> Planning + Development
When scenario meets design Jan Schreurs
Here are good to believe that scenarios and research by design are members of a same family. The thesis identifies and explores several attempts to combine both, analyzes and problematizes their mutual interaction and evaluates the results (both in term of process and of â&#x20AC;&#x201C; morphological and social â&#x20AC;&#x201C; products).
> Planning + Development
Attractiveness of place and mobilization of assests: reconfiguration strategies for territories investing in quality and cohesion Loris Servillo
The thesis focuses on the capacity of some regions to mobilize their own resources to enhance their quality and their attractiveness, which is a concept that refers to the capacity to attract new residents (or migrants), visitors, footloose entrepreneurial activity and investment and to retain (and potentially develop) these mobile communities and assets. The attractiveness of places (measured as flows and net changes in population) is related to an aggregate concept of ‘territorial capital’. Different theories of attraction and mobility suggest that the mobile populations (visitors and migrants as a simplest distinction) do not constitute a single constituency and thus trade off and prioritise differently the various factors (social factors, accessibility to services, natural resources, etc). Although it is possible to identify stocks of territorial capital there is no necessary relationship between the presence of territorial capital and positive outcomes. This requires ‘mobilisation strategies’ based on multilevel planning governance processes to realise the potential of existing assets. Several research questions can be addressed: what are the key territorial endowments that are associated with attracting different mobility audiences? What are the key policy instruments that impact on regional attractiveness? What is the role of sectors and trends and the role of mobilisation strategies and specific policies in these outcomes? Are such outcomes ‘sustainable’? The topic is part of an ongoing European project and the choice of part of these specific questions could contribute to both enrich the theoretical debate as well as deep investigate the topic through a case study.
> Planning + Development
Modernization in spatial planning systems: institutional changes, path dependencies and driving forces Loris Servillo
Every spatial planning system is characterized by a set of rules, explicit and implicit aims, formal and informal procedures, with different degrees of competences along the administrative levels, the sum of which defines the institutional framework in which specific multilevel governance processes take place. These configurations are partially fixed, with long-tradition characteristics and path dependencies inscribed in national/regional contexts, and partially flexible, subjected to process of modernisation along the time. The changes in planning systems are driven by a wide combination of factors, actorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; role, and different internal and external driving forces: new political configurations, territorial challenges, international discourses, new reform of the state, etc. The candidate is expected to choose a specific planning system and to analyses specific forms of change and evolutions, framing them in a wider institutional perspective. A combination of a theoretical framework and deep investigation of governance processes and institutional aspects will lead the student to a rounded analysis of changes in a specific planning system. A case study can be used as a way to implement a detailed assessment of the changes and their factors. For European students, this topic could be focused, among other opportunities, on the specific role of the European Union in leading the processes of changes and the effects on national/regional institutional aspects and related multilevel governance processes. At the same time, non-EU students could focus, among other aspects, on the role of international agencies (UN-Habitat, IMF, etc.) in influencing national and regional settings.
> Planning + Development
Urban/ Regional strategies: framing large-scale interventions from a spatial planning perspective Loris Servillo
Large-scale interventions and development strategies can be intended either as large urban projects or as a combination of different projects coordinated by a specific long-term and largescale territorial strategy. The candidate is aspected to develop an in-deep analysis of the intervention(s), focusing on the interrelations between territorial strategies and institutional aspect of the spatial aspects: on the one hand, the territorial strategies, the aims and the way of implementing them; on the other hand, the planning instruments, the role of public and private actors, the financial aspects. The research will explore thus the multi-level dimension of the decisional processes, highlighting the different actors involved, their competences, and how they have pursued their own agenda. Moreover, the research will adopt a specific investigative framework according to the specific theoretical interests of the candidate, which will lead to a wide analysis of the case study. Among the various aspects, special attentions could be paid to the evaluation of the limits and the added values of the processes, the learning capacity in terms of multilevel governance, the pathdependencies and the innovations in planning techniques, and/or the attention to local needs and social-innovation strategies.
> Planning + Development
Forms and practices of community-based land ownership Pieter Van den Broeck
Land ownership in and around cities is both a means to repress or exclude people as well that it may become a tool to foster empowerment of previously excluded actors in property market-led urban development. Community-based land ownership and management, such as community land trusts, have, therefore, garnered attention in both activist and academic milieux as way to generate accessible jobs, affordable forms of housing, public green space, etc. Such forms of nonprivate land ownership shape contexts through which residents, community organisations, and public actors may develop collective forms of planning and design practices. These practices generate interesting questions and dilemmas on possible study topics such as: - The study of interactions between citizens, community organisations, public and private agents in city building; - Social innovation and community empowerment in and through spatial planning and development; - Alternative ways in addressing social needs (e.g. community land trusts and affordable housing); Protection of urban land from speculation and gentrification; -â&#x20AC;Ś
> Planning + Development
Alternative urbanisms: Every day urbanism, Do-it-yourself urbanism, Making the city... Pieter Van den Broeck
Whether strategically planned or master planned, De Certeau (1988) argued that cities are continuously reinvented and shaped by everyday practices and that each individual or group of people are designers of the city. Building on insights of the importance of â&#x20AC;&#x153;the practice of everyday lifeâ&#x20AC;? in the city, many believe that the input of city dwellers is crucial for urbanists, architect or planners. Yet in practice, it seems hard to embrace the complexity of the present and multilayered city. The student may be interested in case study work or critical literature reviews that focus on questions such as : - design that serves as advocate for the disadvantaged and which involve negotiation between the various social, economic, and political forces of the city - engagement with simultaneity, overlay of plural histories, and multiplicity in the spatial planning and urban design literature; - how to incorporate the city of daily life (and the multiple voices it comprises) into the built environment? - how to overcome the gap between planning and design goals and the reality of social, economic and political constraints - how to foster planning and design approaches that foster the constitution of spaces of empowerment - case studies of do-it-yourself urbanists and focus on how individual and collective actions reorganizes the city; - â&#x20AC;Ś
> Planning + Development
Institutionalist analysis of planning instruments Pieter Van den Broeck
This thesis explores in a case-study how specific planning instruments e.g. land use plans, structure plans, urban designs, etc. etc. are embedded in institutional dynamics or in other words socially constructed. Actors produce instruments. Socio-institutional factors (bio-physical, cognitive, sociopolitical, socio-economic, discursive) structure the practices and strategies of actors. As a result power relations and structures are embedded in planning instruments and planning systems. The latter thus favour and/or restrict specific actors and their strategies. Institutionalist analysis enables a dynamic and socio-political evaluation of planning instruments and systems, which is a step towards recommendations on changing planning instruments and systems.
> Planning + Development
The production of socio-ecological systems Pieter Van den Broeck
Analysis in a case-study of how the socio-ecological system has evolved and was socio-ecologically constructed. An example is Swyngedouw’s analysis of the water system in Spain and how this is socio-politically, discursively etc. embedded. Mind that also cities can be seen as dynamic socioecological systems. In this way policies of regions/cities/… to enhance their resilience, sustainable development or climate change adaptation can be analysed and evaluated and designed.
Land use plans, property market, (the concept of) property right and commons Pieter Van den Broeck
Analysis in a case-study of the way land use plans mobilise the land and real estate market and the concept of property in the region/country. Critical analysis of who benefits from this. Explore richer concepts of property rights. Connect to the concept of ‘the commons’.
> Planning + Development
Planning and social innovation in urban neighbourhoods â&#x20AC;&#x201C; methods of social innovation Pieter Van den Broeck
Socio-institutionalist analysis in a case-study of the process of urban or rural transformation and of the various methods different actors mobilise to combine spatial planning and social innovation. Focus on the spatial dimension, i.e. of the spatialities and temporalities of the actors and the institutions involved.
Multi-scaled planning Pieter Van den Broeck
Analysis in a case-study of the role of, interactions between and struggle over different spatial, governmental, etc. scales. Evaluation of who is empowered by the outcome of this struggle. Suggestions on how to deal with subsidiarity and the organisation of spatial planning over different scales.
> Planning + Development
Added value of scenario analysis for spatial policies Annette Kuhk
> Added value of scenario analysis for spatial policies > Reflection about qualitative and quantitative approaches in future research > From analytical tool to policy instruments: discussing added value of different approaches for spatial policies (e.g. comparing different policy-oriented research projects)
> Planning + Development
Collective art in public space Ruth Segers
- Looking at distinct practices in public space where an artist or organization works together with users of that space to create an artifact in or for that public space. - Discussing different types and social outcomes of those practices.
> THESIS TOPIC MARKET < > Planning + Development
Urbanism + Architecture <
> Frank Moulaert > Jan Schreurs > Jef van den Broeck > Joris Scheers > Loris Servillo
Hilde Heynen < AndrĂŠ Loeckx < Bruno De Meulder < Kelly Shannon < Lieven De Cauter < Marcel Smets <
> Design & Construction < Frank De Troyer Karen Allacker
> THESIS TOPIC MARKET <
> Design & Construction < Frank De Troyer Karen Allacker
> Design & Construction <
Design & Construction Frank De Troyer
Two topics are possible: > Cost modelling (building scale and scale of urban project) > Climate conscious design
> THESIS TOPIC MARKET < > Planning + Development
Urbanism + Architecture <
> Frank Moulaert > Jan Schreurs > Jef van den Broeck > Joris Scheers > Loris Servillo
Hilde Heynen < AndrĂŠ Loeckx < Bruno De Meulder < Kelly Shannon < Lieven De Cauter < Marcel Smets <
> Design & Construction < Frank De Troyer Karen Van Allacker
> THESIS TOPIC MARKET < Urbanism + Architecture < Hilde Heynen < AndrĂŠ Loeckx < Bruno De Meulder < Kelly Shannon < Lieven De Cauter < Marcel Smets <
Urbanism + Architecture < Modernity and the Architecture of the City < Urban Activism and Urban (Political Theory) < Descriptive Urbanisms: Analysis of issues, patterns < (Post) colonial Urbanisms <
> Design & Construction <
Urbanism + Architecture <
Modernity and the Architecture of the City <
Urban Activism and Urban (Political Theory) < Descriptive Urbanisms: Analysis of issues, patterns < (Post) colonial Urbanisms <
Urbanism + Architecture <
Modernity and Architecture of the City Hilde Heynen
Theses could investigate the impact on architecture and urbanism of the following topics: > Migration and displacement > Postcolonial theory > Gender studies > Comparisons between metropolitan and local discourses These topics are open for students who took the course on Modernity and Architecture of the City.
Urbanism + Architecture <
A sustainable future for ageing surburban areas? Hilde Heynen, Wouter Bervoets + Marijn ven de Weijer Theses could involve; > Analysing the flexibility of suburban residential zones in dealing with demographic changes. > Mapping current spatial developments in detached residential areas. > Exploring the relationship between the inhabitant, the house and its surroundings. > Developing design strategies for densification, collectiveness and extended lifespan for the built environment. These topics could be linked to suburban conditions in the students home environment (open for all) or in Flanders (knowledge of Dutch preferred). The thesis could be linked to the ongoing research project â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Large, Underused Dwellings in Flandersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.
Urbanism + Architecture <
Modernity and the Architecture of the City <
Urban Activism and Urban (Political Theory) < Descriptive Urbanisms: Analysis of issues, patterns < (Post) colonial Urbanisms <
Urbanism & Architecture >
Ground Zero from 2001 to 2011 Lieven De Cauter
Ground Zero is loaded with significance, the site of a truly world historical, tragic event. The idea would be to investigate and document what happened since 9/11, documenting and analysing the process of cleaning up the site, the architectural contest, the slow implementation, etcâ&#x20AC;Ś all what led to what Ground Zero is now; assessing the process and the results from both an architectural and urban design viewpoint. How is this traumatic event and its memory translated in space and how does the site function for the neighbourhood and the city. A second part could be on memory and memorial sites and their ideological weight, and how it affects the architecture and lay out of sites - maybe by comparing Ground Zero to other historical cases. A third part could be a sort of design: designing things that the site lacks. Like a monument for the Afghani and Iraqi dead; to implement by 2021. Maybe other things lack too. But the first part would largely suffice in itself.
Urbanism & Architecture >
Tahrir Square(s) everywhere: the instant city of the multitude
Lieven De Cauter
Tahrir Square, Cairo was during 18 days an instant city of at times more than a million people (witnesses speak of three million at its peaks). Tahrir Square changed everyday. How did it function? How was the choreography of the multitude in uprising inscribed in space? How did it invest space and how it changed over time? To document this world historical event from an architectural and urbanist viewpoint is an urgent and most relevant, if difficult task. Combining Arhigram’s idea of the Instant City with Negri & Hardt’s idea of the multitude, could result in… a whole new discipline in urbanism. An interesting side question is (could be a second part): how come that sites of revolution and uprising seem never to be become monuments? A third part could and should be: documenting how Tahrir Square ‘s Instant urbanism became a model for the Athenians in Sigma Square, for the Indignados of Puerta del Sol, Madrid, for the protests in Tel Aviv even, and off course for Occupy Wall street. And what is different, specific to each of them. Interesting. But not easy.
Urbanism & Architecture >
From Ground Zero to Tahrir Square, NY. Lieven De Cauter
The third proposal is the most… adventurous,… not sure if it could work Liberty Plaza, where OccupyWallStreet is located, is just a block away from Ground Zero - two world historical sites, one opening an era and a second closing it (let’s hope!) next to each other. It is as if you can walk from 2001 to 2011, from 9/11 to the Arab Awakening, that inspired the indignado and occupy movement(s). The question would be: how do these two world historical sites interface? How do the locals, the tourists, the visitors to Ground Zero, etc. react to this uncanny, at least ‘strong’ space/time collision? Do they notice?... It is might be not by incident that this architectural syncopation of history is happening: both events are forms one regressive and destructive, the other progressive, non violent and hopeful - of resistance against Empire. Therefore they almost coincide in space. Of course, this could be an experimental collaboration, an added chapter say, a post script written together by the students doing thesis proposal one and two. (Or then maybe I just wanted to share this spacetime compression with you.)
Urbanism + Architecture <
Modernity and the Architecture of the City < Urban Activism and Urban (Political Theory) <
Descriptive Urbanisms: Analysis of issues, patterns < (Post) colonial Urbanisms <
Urbanism + Architecture <
Cartographies of Hydrology Kelly Shannon
Urbanism + Architecture <
Cartographies of Hydrology Kelly Shannon
Cartographies of Hydrology begins from the premise that mapping is a 'tactical enterprise' and builds upon James Corner's notion of the 'agency of mapping' (Corner 1999) in the creation of new cartographic tools. Mapping is always subjective-never neutral-and both what is drawn and the manner in which qualitative, quantitative and geographical information and documentation is framed, scaled, gathered, reworked and assembled is a highly creative act. Far beyond mere description acting as a mirror to reality, interpretative mapping-often comprising of dense collages with diagrams, maps, photographs, quantitative data, etc. reduces to an essence, reveals hidden potentials, discloses conditions for the emergence of new realities. Cartographies of Hydrology will explore the means of representing cross-scalar systems and logics-from large-scale regions and territories (watersheds) to the natural and man-made systems of waterways, dikes, sluices, pump stations, embankments, etc. Ultimately, the aim of such mappings and cartographies is to distil intrinsic logics and latent potentials and create new synergies between interdependent systems that (re)balance ecology, economy and sociocultural values. Thesis students can choose any hydrologic area in the world to produce a series of interpretative cartographies of that trace the layered narratives of the landscape, its contested territories, mapped realities and eventually what if scenarios that offer resilience in the face of contemporary challenges.
Modernity and the Architecture of the City < Urban Activism and Urban (Political Theory) < Descriptive Urbanisms: Analysis of issues, patterns <
(Post) colonial Urbanisms <
Urbanism + Architecture <
Colonial and postcolonial urbanisms Bruno De Meulder + Viviana d’Auria
Modern living in contested territories The proposal is open to students wishing to investigate the dynamic interplay between urban models and local specificities in the non-Western context, particularly through the examination of large-scale residential complexes. The research is assumed to shed light on crucial paradigmatic shifts in city-making approaches characterizing territories before and after their independence, as well as gaining insight from a contemporary re-visit of relevant projects as they stand today. The particular conditions offered by post-colonial and post-independence environments has led not only to the experimentation with of a large variety of modern housing typologies, but also to a revision of the models diffused in many different regions of the world seen the local specificities encountered. Investigations should therefore consider interventions highlighting the shifting geographies and [dis]location of contexts within imperial, national, Third World and global frameworks. v
The topics recognize and aim to explore the dialectical dimension of modern dwelling environments and acknowledge their importance for re-defining urbanism as a discipline. In both cases, the proposal assumes the objective of the thesis to be the documentation and postrealization critique of case studies emphasizing modes of diffusion and implementation of urban models and projects. Three main layers of research support such investigation: ‘blueprints’ (a meticulous re-construction of the design “event”), ‘fingerprints’ (a study of the biographical/ professional trajectories of professionals involved) and ‘imprints’ (an analysis of how designed spaces have been constructed, appropriated and eventually transformed). This mixed approach aims to unfold both the negotiation embedded in the design process itself, and the agency of residents continuously engaged in the re-signification of dwelling environments. Development of design tactics can complement the analysis.
Urbanism + Architecture <
Colonial and postcolonial urbanisms Bruno De Meulder + Viviana dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Auria
Modern living in contested territories Theses could involve: Critical review of modernist housing projects
GHANA, Tema
SEGICO Flats, Community 4, Tema
CONGO, Kinshasa
Office des CitĂŠs Africaines (OCA) in Kinshasa
Urbanism + Architecture <
Colonial and postcolonial urbanisms Bruno De Meulder + Viviana dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Auria
Modern living in contested territories
ZANZIBAR
Michenzani Flats, Ngâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ambo
Urbanism + Architecture <
Colonial and postcolonial urbanisms Bruno De Meulder + Viviana dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Auria
Modern living in contested territories
VENEZUELA, Caracas
TABO social housing: from low-rise to superbloque
> THESIS TOPIC MARKET < > Design Studios (big) > Leuven-Brussels, Belgium > Qinghe River, Beijing
Design Studios (small) <
Inclusive Urbanisms (Molenbeek/ Baltimore) < Camp Urbanisms (Husn) < Studio Urban Nature (Kolinsund) < Urban Design, Eco-engineering and Climate Change (Cochabamba) <
> THESIS TOPIC MARKET < > Design Studios (big) > Leuven-Brussels, Belgium > Qinghe River, Beijing
Spring 2012 – Brussels – Leuven, Belgium [Infrastructure Studio] Marcel Smets, Matthias Blondia, Erik De Deyn
-- re-structuring the fabric by means of public transport – understanding the dynamics between metropolis and regional city – redefining the role of infrastructure in a corridor --
Spring 2012 – Leuven-Brussels [Infrastructure Studio] Marcel Smets, Matthias Blondia, Erik De Deyn
ORDERin’F Research Project
Spring 2012 – Beijing, China [Landscape Studio] Kelly Shannon, Viviana d’Auria
Spring 2012 – Beijing, China [Landscape Studio] Kelly Shannon, Viviana d’Auria
Qinghe River
Qinghe Canal
Qinghe Waste Water Treatment Plant
Spring 2012 – Beijing, China [Landscape Studio] Kelly Shannon, Viviana d’Auria
Olympic Park
Qinghe River Walkway
Qinghe Bridge
> THESIS TOPIC MARKET < Design Studios (small) < Inclusive Urbanisms (Molenbeek/ Baltimore) < Camp Urbanisms (Husn) < Studio Urban Nature (Kolinsund) < Urban Design, Eco-engineering and Climate Change (Cochabamba) <
Urbanism + Architecture <
Inclusive Urbanisms (Molenbeek/ Baltimore) Bruno De Meulder + Els Vervloesem
* In co-operation with Atlantis exchange programme, Brussels-Molenbeek/ Baltimore, USA
Urbanism + Architecture <
Inclusive Urbanisms (Molenbeek/ Baltimore) Bruno De Meulder + Els Vervloesem
MOLENBEEK, BRUSSELS
Urbanism + Architecture <
Inclusive Urbanisms (Molenbeek/ Baltimore) Bruno De Meulder + Els Vervloesem
BALTIMORE, U.S.A.
Urbanism + Architecture <
Camp Urbanisms (Husn)
Bruno De Meulder + Ismaeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Sheick Hassan
Urbanism + Architecture <
Camp Urbanisms (Husn)
Bruno De Meulder + Ismaeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Sheick Hassan Exploring Urban Visions for Extraterritorial Places Husn is one of 55 Palestinian refugee camps scattered across the Middle East. It was created with the second displacement of Palestinian refugees from the West Bank in 1967 War, after they were firstly displaced in 1948 with the creation of the state of Israel. In contrast to organically formed camps in 1948, the 1967 camps were predominantly pre-planned and organised urban environments. The strictly planned grid of Husn camp intended to facilitate UNRWAs ability to manage and provide relief to the refugees while enhancing the state control of the campâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s space and its population. Today, Husn camp has grown into a town-size of 30,000 refugees and is one of the poorest and most isolated camps in Jordan. It is an extraterritorial object with a deterritorialised refugee population. Despite being situated in the middle of an agricultural region in Jordan, the campâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resources are limited to the controlled space of the camp and the capacities of its marginalised refugees. Its limitations are particularly highlighted when contrasted with the neighbouring Jordanian village of Husn whose population (10,000) is enriched by their lands productive agriculture and monetary real estate value. As no possibilities of economic development exist in Husn camp, the majority of its refugees are forced to commute to work as labourers in factories mostly located around the city of Irbid.
Urbanism + Architecture <
Camp Urbanisms (Husn)
Bruno De Meulder + Ismaeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Sheick Hassan The project: In 2009 UNRWA initiated a participatory Camp Improvement project in Husn camp that has produced a comprehensive assessment of the refugeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs and priorities in addition to a documentation and analysis of the camps urban, social and economic conditions. This thesis topic is part of an agreement between UNRWA and the Department of Urbanism at KUL, on producing a comprehensive and integrated vision for the improvement and development of Husn Camp. Thesis topics will thus be focused on primarily producing such a vision in collaboration and cooperation with the UNRWA Camp Improvement Team. Given the conditions of Husn camp this exercise will also explore: (i)
strategies of transgressing the camps economic and social isolation within its larger context;
(i)
spatial strategies that focus on enhancing production and economic development within the limited area of the camp space, grid structure and homogenous urban blocks;
(i)
meanings and strategies of participation in the absence of citizenships and democracy.
Urbanism + Architecture <
Camp Urbanisms (Husn)
Bruno De Meulder + Ismaeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Sheick Hassan
Husn Village
Husn Camp
Urbanism + Architecture <
Urban Design, Eco-engineering and Climate Change (Cochabamba) Kelly Shannon
Urban Design, Eco-engineering & Climate Change are not words that were once so easily stung together. However, times are changing and there are clearly opportunities across the globe where the predicted consequences of climate change are affording new prospects for the professions of the built environment to re-imagine the crossing of disciplines (landscape urbanism, for example) and the marriage of seemingly opposite terms (economy and ecology, for example). Students can choose a site in their home context and develop a thesis that ties together the concepts of urban design, eco-engineering and climate change. The most likely sites for investigation are coastal estuaries, rivers or canals. Notions of resilience and even disaster recovery planning can be addressed within this topic. The element tying all the disparate sites together would be that of challenging hard engineering and business-as-usual and design infrastructures and cities to work WITH the forces of nature.
Urban Design, Eco-engineering and Climate Change (Cochabamba) Kelly Shannon
Urban Design, Eco-engineering and Climate Change (Cochabamba) Kelly Shannon
Urbanism + Architecture <
Studio Urban Nature (Kolindsund)
Kelly Shannon – Stefan Darlan Boris – Thomas Juel Clemmensen SUN is a design research project led by Kelly Shannon, Stefan Darlan Boris and Thomas Juel Clemmensen (with 10-15 students from the Aarhus School of Architecture).The project will focuses on the regeneration of a drained lake called Kolindsund and its connected waterways in relation to the East Jutland City Region (30km east of Aarhus along Jutland’s east coast). The research will investigate ‘new natures’ and infrastructure for the territory (the drained lake covers an area 18 km in the e-w direction and between 3-300km in the n-s direction). The long sides of the former lake are distinctly different in character: the northern side with rolling hills and forested while the southern side is flat farmland. There are a handful of smaller settlements (between 100 - 2.000 inhabitants) as well as the larger city of Grenå (15.000 inhabitants) on the easternmost point of the lake at the coast. A group of students from MaHS/MaUSP could take this on as a design thesis and collaborate with the students in Aarhus. This would include a mapping/ fieldwork exercise as well as potential other trips to overlap with reviews/ workshops at the Aarhus School of Architecture.
* In co-operation with Aarhus School of Architecture, Denmark
Studio Urban Nature (Kolindsund)
Kelly Shannon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Stefan Darlan Boris â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Thomas Juel Clemmensen
Studio Urban Nature (Kolindsund)
Kelly Shannon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Stefan Darlan Boris â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Thomas Juel Clemmensen
> THESIS TOPIC MARKET < > MaHS
MaUSP/ EMU <
> Research thesis => + Urban Studies 2 > Design thesis => Design Studio + Research Paper
> â&#x20AC;?smallâ&#x20AC;? Design Studios strongly recommended for MaUSP 2 2 > EMU theses are composed of strong design component (no exceptions) > MAUSP/EMU theses submission imperatively 15.06.2012 and presentation 28/29.06.2012 > Research thesis => + Urban Studies 2
> ISP adjustments allowed early February2012 < > Studio Choices needed by 18.12.2011 <