Landscape compositions and systems
The Section Landscape Architecture focusses on knowledge acquisition, strategy development and design exploration of landscape compositions and systems in the built environment. The research responds to the needs of society by mobilizing its landscape architecture knowledge, skills and reputation towards the design and planning of sustainable living landscapes.

Through fundamental research and practical applications scholars in landscape architecture explore the potential of spatial, temporal and material dimensions of landscape – including ecological, social and technical aspects – advancing future-oriented action and thinking on the development of urban landscapes at multiple scale levels.

The research elaborates on landscape design foundations, landscape architecture compositions and urban landscapes. Projects focus on: green-blue landscape infrastructures, metropolitan parks and gardens, polder landscapes, urban landscape characterization, architecture and landscape, landscape-based urban development, estate landscapes.

Research projects:

ShoreScape field experiment

In april 2019 the team of ShoreScape (University of Delft & Twente) has placed a sand-catching installation on the beach of the Sand Motor, below The Hague. The installation investigates the effects of beach buildings on sediment transport. Recreational beach development increases along the coast, and causes obstruction for dune formation. The natural growth of…

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Adaptive Urban Transformation (AUT)

Territorial governance, spatial strategy and urban landscape dynamics in the Pearl River Delta This joint research project concerns planning and management for more resilient urban deltas, and in particular, adaptation of the dynamics of urban deltas to address increasing flood risk. The project evaluates innovative territorial governance as an approach to create spatial strategies that…

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ShoreScape

Sustainable co-evolution of the natural and built environment along sandy shores This project aims to develop knowledge, tools and design principles for dynamic occupation of the land-sea interface, to enhance BwN-processes and exploit its potential for the spatial development of multi-functional coastal environments – shorescapes. The sandy, dune-aligned west coast of the Netherlands is employed…

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Hidden Landscapes

This book aims at the landscape architecture of the contemporary enclosed garden as an expression of the genius loci, addressing the question of how the genius loci can be made accessible in the metropolitan landscape. If a garden – the classical means of expressing the landscape – is capable of expressing metropolitan conditions, then we…

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Liveable Low-Carbon Cities

Synergetic Urban Landscape Planning in Rotterdam Cities and metropolitan regions are responsible for approximately 75% of the CO2 emissions. They play a big role in the global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time cities are vulnerable to effects of climate change such as flooding. The objective of this PhD research is to develop a…

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Polder landscapes of the world

Polders can be found in coastal and alluvial lowlands all over the world. In these reclaimed areas water levels are artificially controlled so people can live and work there. This often centuries-old interaction between man and water has produced a rich variety of polder landscapes with their own cultural identity and spatial, functional, and ecological…

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Mapping Landscape Spaces

Interpretation, Measurement, and Evaluation of Spatio-visual Characteristics in Landscape Design Mapping spatio-visual characteristics is important for understanding landscape spaces and crucial for landscape design. Therefore, developing design vocabulary and mapping methods, exploiting the capabilities of modern technology, to describe and interpret spatial and visual properties help spatial designers to achieve a better understanding of landscape…

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Disclosing Interstices

Exploration and interpretation of urban leftover spaces from the perspective of landscape architecture Leftover spaces are un-defined components of the city complementing to the ordered and functional urban spaces. This particularity makes them a relevant design subject. However, the design of leftover spaces poses a paradox between the frame of design and the spaces’ indeterminacy.…

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Adaptive African New Towns

An Alternative Approach for Urban Development in Low-Resource Settings New Towns in development across the African continent since 1990 are overwhelmingly designed and built according to urban planning models from the twentieth century. Although these typologies range from functionalist Chinese grids to American gated communities, the results are—with notable exceptions—New Towns with rigid physical infrastructure…

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