Design for Systemic Change

This interdisciplinary design studio explores the future of the TATA Steel plant and the North Sea Canal area, addressing the challenges of industrial legacy, environmental toxicity, and the transition toward a circular economy. Students from architecture, urbanism, landscape, industrial ecology, civil engineering, and sustainability fields will collaborate on long-term spatial strategies that balance environmental, economic, and cultural concerns.

Working closely with partners — the North Sea Canal Area (NOVEX), College van Rijksadviseurs, and Havenbedrijf Amsterdam — students apply systemic design methods such as backcasting and tipping point analysis to envision resilient transformations. Site visits, expert lectures, and workshops on systemic design, heritage, and industrial transition will support students' research and design processes.

The studio emphasizes innovative media use (3D modeling, animations, point cloud scans) to communicate complex systems and future scenarios, culminating in a public exhibition and online campaign. Final projects bridge design, policy, and public engagement, addressing urgent real-world challenges at the intersection of infrastructure, climate, and societal change.

Students will get formative feedback and tentative grading during midterm.

• Report, mapping and analysis ( (LO1,2,4) - Individual - 45%) Summary and reflection of selected reading, fieldwork, data, mapping, and analysis of the NZKG. The assessment will emphasize the students capacity to integrate information from various sources, draw logical conclusions, generate relevant insights, and articulate recommendation for further research. (GFAL1,2,4,6)(SFAL2,4,5,6,7)

• Design Strategies Poster & Animation (LO3,4,5 – Individual/group 45%) Capacity to create deliberate, innovative, and comprehensive design strategies that acknowledge the complexities of the site and deal seemingly incommensurable contradictions in a logical and self-conscious way. The consistency between research and design is an important assessment criterion. Visual effectiveness of presentation material will be an important criterion. (GFAL3,5,6)(SFAL1,3,6,7)

• Group participation & Reflection (LO4,5) - individual - 10%) Active engagement in discussions, workshops, and fieldwork activities. Showing aptitude in contributing intellectually to group work through understanding of content, comprehensive and effective speaking, writing, and presenting, but also the capacity to enable others to participate and contribute. (GFAL1,5)(SFAL4,5,6,7)

A rubric will be used for grading. The rubric will be available in the quarter guide or on the course specific Bright Space page.

Repair

Students pass the course with a 6.0 or higher. With a lower grade, the course can be repaired to change the grade into a pass. The repair is unsupervised and needs to be completed within 2 weeks after the end of the course. When the repair is unsuccessful, the student needs to follow the entire course again, or possibly another Q5 elective in the third education period.