Architects don’t build buildings, they design them. They do so through the creative exploration of possibilities and then by making solid design decisions backed up by evidence. That evidence is of two sorts, it is rational evidence and empirical evidence, and these always work together. The empirical basis of an architectural design decision rests on the architect’s experience and causal knowledge of lived space: how good is she at understanding spaces, materials, structures, organisations of elements and spaces, their various uses? To acquire that causal knowledge, we analyse existing buildings both as historical precedents and as living labs. And we explore possibilities, using models.
Supervisors: Jacob Voorthuis, Jan Schevers