Martin de Beun

Background

About Martin de Beun

I am an MSc architecture graduate with an interest in both theory and practice, especially in the subject of circular re-use, social sustainability and new forms of living. I enjoy discourse around how the architect can influence the built environment to create a better and more spatially just society. I completed my BSc in three years, in which I not only gained a wide range of skills and knowledge but also developed a disciplined and thorough manner of working. During my two years as an MSc student, I further deepened my knowledge on architecture. I wrote a thesis which intersected architecture, politics and temporality, through which I gained a fascination for studying the theory behind architecture, and the position of the architect. I spent a semester as a co-teacher for first year bachelor students, during which I discovered a passion for, and gained experience as, being a teacher and learned to how to unravel and make explicit the complexities of the design process. Finally, I spent a half year as a trainee which gave me valuable experience in a wide array of aspects relating to the process of working in the field of architecture. Recently, I finished my final graduation project in the Architectural Engineering studio. My project revolved around the circular transformation of a typical post-65 housing block using the principles of cooperative ownership. It demonstrated how a large stock of underappreciated housing in the Netherlands can be the catalyst for making typical postwar neighborhoods ready for a circular economy by 2050. As such, my final project embodied the position that I have developed: that we should see our built heritage as an opportunity to strengthen the existing. In the future, I aim to work towards bringing the value of circular re-use, especially in combination with new living concepts like cooperative housing, into mainstreams practice.