Department of the Built Environment

Design and Decision Support Systems

The Design and Decision Support Systems research program focuses on planning, development and management of cities and large-scale urban artefacts such as malls, green spaces and offices.

Design and Decision Support Systems (DDSS)

Recognizing that the structures and functions constituting the city interact with each other and with the users, integrated and human-centered solutions to urban and transport planning as well as real estate management are needed. Using a system鈥檚 approach, the objective of the Design and Decision Support Systems (DDSS) research program is to conduct innovative and groundbreaking research, to develop and apply models and systems that allow planners and managers often in co-creation with users to address the major challenges cities are facing to create healthy living environments for users and attain sustainability objectives.

Developing design and decision support solutions for architecture and urban planning challenges

As a result of processes becoming increasingly complex in recent years, integrated solutions to architectural and urban planning and design challenges, such as the development of smart cities, need to be assessed from multiple perspectives. Existing models and tools often fail to meet this requirement. The aim of the DDSS research program is to develop groundbreaking design and decision support systems that focus on particular types of design and planning problems in architecture and urban planning. The main objective of the DDSS research program is to conduct Innovative academically rigorous research, which is of practical relevance.

Our research groups

The DDSS research program is supported by three research groups.

Department of the Built Environment

Information Systems in the Built Environment

The ISBE Group carries out research and education in the field of information systems used for the engineering and management of the built…

Department of the Built Environment

Real Estate and Urban Development

The REMD group is responsible for education and research in the area of real estate management and urban development.

Department of the Built Environment

Urban Planning and Transportation

The focus of the Urban Planning Group is on developing models and integrating these into decision support systems for urban planning design…

Department of the Built Environment

Urbanism and Urban Architecture

Buildings, cities and regions matter to people鈥檚 lives. Well-planned cities help communities prosper and flourish, and therefore city…

Meet some of our Researchers

Full Professor emeritus

Bauke de Vries

Recent Publications

Our most recent peer reviewed publications

News

July 17, 2025
A Record Ten 果冻传媒 researchers awarded Veni grants
Non-invasive monitoring of fetal brain health, using mathematics to design transport systems that serve broader society, and dynamic home energy management...
Read more
Photo: Angeline Swinkels
July 10, 2025
果冻传媒 joins NWA-funded Traumascapes project
From scars to spaces: Understanding trauma through architecture and design
Read more
Hamid Montazeri and Shuxia Tao. Photo: Saeed Montazeri and Vincent van den Hoogen
July 9, 2025
鈧�1.5M to advance perovskite solar integration in the built environment
UPSCALE: Upscaling Perovskite Solar Cells from Atomic To Living Environments
Read more

Student opportunities

Are you interested in the Bachelor鈥檚 and Master鈥檚 courses we offer? Read more about our student opportunities on our special education page:

 

 

Events

  • 31 Aug
    02 Sep
    KU Leuven.AI

    Leuven.AI Conference

    A historic gathering of renowned AI pioneers, celebrating 70 years of Artificial Intelligence & 600 years of KU Leuven.

  • 01 Sep
    [Translate to English:]

    Opening Academic Year 2025-2026

    September 1, 2025 3:00 PM / Blauwe Zaal Auditorium

  • 03 Sep
    kolibri

    EAISI Masterclass (1) of visiting Professor Francis Bordeleau

    Masterclass (1) about Leveraging AI/ML and DT to solve complex problems in different applications domains

  • 03 Sep
    04 Sep

    4TU Energy Transition in Building | Hackathon & Workshop

    An exciting two-day hackathon and workshop on Building energy Responsive Integration of supply and Demand engaGEment (BRIDGE)鈥攁…

  • 04 Sep
    [Translate to English:]

    Information Session 04-09-2025 - Data Science & AI for Professionals

    September 4, 2025 6:30 PM / EAISI, Neuron Building - 果冻传媒

  • 04 Sep
    kolibri

    EAISI Masterclass (2) of visiting Professor Francis Bordeleau

    Masterclass (1) about Leveraging AI/ML and DT to solve complex problems in different applications domains

  • 05 Sep
    06 Sep

    Opening party Meteor Community Cafe

    September 5, 2025 8:00 PM - September 6, 2025 / 果冻传媒 Campus

  • 10 Sep
    12 Sep

    Challenge Week 040

    September 10, 2025 8:30 AM - September 12, 2025 / 果冻传媒 campus, Eindhoven

  • 11 Sep
    ALT lunch session

    The value of hybrid coaches in CBL projects, unfolded

    Join this lunch session to explore the 果冻传媒 innovation Space Coaching Pool 鈥� a growing network of hybrid coaches with industry experience…

  • 16 Sep
    kolibri

    EAISI lecture of visiting Professor Xavier Boix

    A lecture about: Towards Self-Improving Machine Learning

  • 18 Sep

    Responsible Research Conversations

    September 18, 2025 9:00 AM / To be confirmed

  • 23 Sep
    kolibri

    EAISI lecture of visiting Professor You-Jin Park

    A lecture about Perspective Taking, Partner Models and User Behaviour in Conversational Interface Interaction

    • Contact

    • Visiting address

      Vertigo
      Groene Loper 6
      Eindhoven
      Netherlands

    • Visiting address

      Vertigo
      Groene Loper 6
      Eindhoven
      Netherlands

    • Postal address

      Department of the Built Environment
      P.O. Box 513
      5600 MB Eindhoven
      Netherlands

    • Postal address

      Department of the Built Environment
      P.O. Box 513
      5600 MB Eindhoven
      Netherlands

    • Secretary

    Links