The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has appointed engineer Paul Diederen as Professor of Transformational Design. He will take up his post at the Unit Architectural Urban Design & Engineering of the Department of Built Environment as of the 1st of June 2016. Paul Diederen specialises in the transformation of existing property. The appointment as professor is for two days a week. He will also continue working as a partner in diederendirrix architecture and urban design in Eindhoven and Rotterdam.

Prof. E.S.M. (Elphi) Nelissen (Dean of the Department of Built Environment): “Because of his years of experience as an architect, Paul Diederen is right at the heart of real-life practice. As a Professor of Transformational Design, he will be dealing with the relationship between current design practice and education. More specifically, he will focus on
re-evaluation of buildings’ usability in cities after World War II.”

Sustainable improvement of the city
Postwar cities do not always have an obvious historical value, like buildings from earlier dates do. As 69% of the buildings in the cities was erected after 1944 – the peak between 1971 and 2000 – it is urgently needed to focus on exactly these relatively young buildings.

Economic and social changes leave many buildings empty or call for a different purpose for buildings. With programmed adjustments, architectural improvements and good urban development foundations, the city can be carefully and sustainably improved. Collaboration with the market and the public sector is vital. This calls for a different way of teaching and doing research.

Paul Diederen: ”When transforming the existing city, feasibility – and not manipulability – is essential and with that, knowledge of the context, the program, the process and the revenue models of the client and user. I look forward to handing on this knowledge and expertise to a new generation of architects.”

Read the press release: Paul Diederen appointed professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology