Department of the Built Environment

Rational Architecture

Rational Architecture is geared to the typological and morphological analysis and critique of the existing city on the scale of the city as well as on the scale of the building. The assumption is that responsible architectural and urban interventions should be made on the basis of a thorough understanding of how the city came about and a carefully reasoned approach to context and detail. The chair of Transformational Design complements this approach by exploring the adaptation of the existing building stock to new programs.

The study of the morphology of the city and its most important building types is central to all studies.

Equal importance is given to the study of architectural language in order to connect an object with its past and with this, with all architectures. We see this approach to architecture as essential in nowadays planning and building practice, in order to give a building relevance in the long run. RA focuses on a cultural tradition of architecture that builds on the idea of ‘type’ as the constant carrier of architectural design. Variations of this constant, in order to respond to contemporary building questions and conditions, define the working field of the chair. The formal basis of architecture, frequently within the spatial context of existing urban constellations, is central to this.

By creatively questioning the formal fundament of architecture, RA aims to stimulate architectural research by design. Research has been integrated into Rational Architecture through the establishment of the design-based research group Bauhütte.

Meet some of our Researchers

University Lecturer

Wouter Hilhorst

University Lecturer

Deniz Tuzcuoglu

Recent Publications

Our most recent peer reviewed publications

Education

Bachelor Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences

Master Architecture, Building and Planning

Master Construction Management and Engineering

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