Team

dr. Frank Suurenbroek
Professor of Spatial Urban Transformation

dr. Gideon Spanjar
Project leader - Senior researcher
Gideon Spanjar, PhD, is the project leader and senior researcher of Building for Well-being and of the European Union-funded Cool Towns project and Nature Inclusive Area Development at the Centre of Expertise Urban Technology at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS). He is a member of the chair Spatial Transformation and the chair Climate Proof City at AUAS. Gideon was the project leader and senior researcher of Sensing Streetscapes where it all began with research on how we can build for wellbeing promotion. Gideon is also professor of Innovation & Urban Green Spaces at Aeres University of Applied Sciences where he conducts research in climate change adaptation, rewilding cities, and biobased economy. His research focuses on the redesign of the built environment using neuro-architecture principles, ecosystemic thinking, and biometric technology to get a better understanding of how we can improve human health and well-being in a changing climate.

dr. Nanda Piersma
Professor Urban Analytics

Lyske Gais de Bildt, MDes
Researcher & spatial graphic designer

ir. Hugo Beschoor Plug, MSc
Researcher
Hugo Beschoor Plug was trained as an architect at the Technical University Delft and in the office of Ben van Berkel. He has been teaching architecture and urbanism at the Technical University Berlin and the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee. He worked for the Rijksgebouwendienst in Den Haag and Hootsmans architectuurbureau in Amsterdam while teaching at several institutions in the Netherlands. Hugo currently teaches at the University of Siegen and conducts research for the Amsterdam University of Applies Sciences on the new urban wave of hybrid building blocks with micro-apartments: Living the Micro-life. He works and lives in Frankfurt.

ir. Federica Cefis Colombo, MArch, MSc, MA
Researcher
Federica is an architect, urban planner, and artist who researches urban innovations from a socio-technical perspective. Exploring the values of the relationship between human and technology. With a background in architecture (La Sapienza University of Rome) and contemporary art (Leiden University), she joined the MSc MADE master program (joint degree WUR, TUD) at AMS Institute to explore the values of the relationship between human and technology in the city. Focusing on urban mobility, she analyses technological artefacts such as autonomous vehicles from an actor-network perspective. Mapping the human and nonhuman actors, she reveals opportunities to address ethical issues related to the development of CAVs in the urban context.

ir. Sába Schramkó, MSc
Junior Researcher
Sába graduated cum laude from TU Delft as an architect and urban planner and gained experience working in Paris and Rotterdam on heritage transformation, cultural development, and spatial development frameworks for mobility hubs, residential areas, university and business campuses. She is enthusiastic about bridging research and practice and finding synergies between the social, spatial and climatic challenges cities are facing.

Maarten Groen, MSc
senior researcher Data Analytics
Maarten Groen works as a teacher and senior researcher at the Amsterdam University of Applied Science. His research focuses on the collection and analysis of data from urban environments from various perspectives. Maarten is working on data analysis projects in which large amounts of data collected in cities is analyzed using machine learning. He also has experience in the development of citizen empowerment tools and methods which are used to collect and analyze data together with citizens.
Chair of Spatial Urban Transformation
The Chair of Spatial Urban Transformation conducts applied-research on the spatial transformation of the city – and the application, exploration and implementation of (technical) innovations. Our action research is always embedded in practice. For example, we work with: The Municipality of Amsterdam, Housing Corporations, Chief Technology Officer, Smart City Amsterdam, Director of Housing Amsterdam, many spatial design firms, multiple interaction design firms and Area Developers. And with 7 European Partners in European projects etc. The Chair is embedded in two research programs: Urban Technology (engineering, data analytics, logistics, circular economy, climate proof city, energy & clean mobility) and Urban Governance & Social Innovation (Engineering, Economics and Social Sciences).
Other projects of the Chair of Spatial Urban Transformation

Responsive Urban Spaces

Media Architecture Biennale 2020
Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Contact us
Amsterdam University of Applied Science
Faculty of Technology
Research programme Urban Technology
dr. Frank Suurenbroek, Professor of Spatial Urban Transformation
Address
Visiting address:
Weesperzijde 190, Amsterdam
Please send your mail to:
PO Box 1209, 1000 BE Amsterdam
The Netherlands