PhD Position Natural Building Skins for Heat Resilience

Join us in developing the next generation of climate-resilient building envelopes. As a PhD candidate for the PhD Position Natural Building Skins for Heat Resilience, you will explore how nature-based building skins can transform existing homes into healthier, cooler and more sustainable living environments.

Working at the intersection of building physics, architecture, ecology and user-centered design, you will develop innovative façade solutions that combine vegetation, circular materials and smart ventilation strategies to improve indoor comfort without relying on energy-intensive cooling systems.

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to one of the most pressing challenges facing cities today: adapting existing housing to climate change while enhancing biodiversity and quality of life. Your work will move beyond theory. Through co-creation with residents and industry partners, full-scale prototyping and real-world testing, you will help bring innovative solutions from concept to demonstration.

While green façades and other nature-based solutions have demonstrated their potential to reduce surface temperatures and improve urban microclimates, limited knowledge exists on how integrated nature-based building skins can simultaneously deliver indoor heat resilience, ventilation performance, biodiversity enhancement, circularity and long-term user acceptance within affordable retrofit solutions for existing housing. As a PhD candidate at TU Delft, you will conduct research within the NWO-funded Nature 4 Homes project. Your research will focus on developing and demonstrating natural building skins for the heat-resilient retrofit of existing dwellings. The ambition is to create an affordable and easy-to-install building-envelope solution that integrates nature-based solutions and passive cooling strategies to mitigate overheating and regulate indoor conditions, while supporting biodiversity and circular renovation.

We are looking for a curious and motivated researcher who is excited to combine experimentation, design and stakeholder engagement. In return, you will join a collaborative and supportive research environment where independent thinking, creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration are encouraged.

At TU Delft, you will have access to world-class research facilities, international networks and the opportunity to work on solutions with direct relevance to society and the built environment sector.

Your research will combine co-creation, prototyping, experimental testing and modelling. Together with residents, manufacturers and other stakeholders, you will identify user-acceptance, maintenance and practical barriers affecting the design, installation and operation of natural building skins and translate these into design requirements. Successive prototypes will be developed and tested at MATELab, TU Delft’s outdoor full-scale façade testing facility, under real weather conditions to assess heat resilience, ventilation, heat and moisture transfer, and indoor environmental performance. The developed prototype systems will be evaluated through circular-design principles, considering material efficiency, adaptability, reuse potential and life-cycle environmental impacts. Experiments may also involve users to investigate comfort, interaction and acceptance, while numerical simulations will extend the experimental findings across different building and climate conditions.

You will join the Architectural Engineering + Technology (AE&T) Department at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment and the Department of Materials, Mechanics, Management and Design, at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, TU Delft. You will work under the supervision of Marc Ottelé, Alessandra Luna-Navarro, and Atze Boerstra. You will collaborate closely with a postdoctoral researcher and three other PhD candidates, as well as research, industry and public-sector partners. We foster an open and collaborative environment where independent thinking, knowledge sharing and interdisciplinary research are encouraged.

Job requirements

• You hold an MSc in architecture, architectural engineering, civil engineering or a related field.
• You have a strong interest in human perception, building physics, building design and climate change.
• You are motivated to conduct a combination of experimental research, prototyping and environmental assessments.
• You have an affinity with measuring and modelling and analysing indoor and outdoor environmental conditions.
• You are interested in developing new façade design methods following circular principles.
• You enjoy interdisciplinary research and collaborating with academic, industry and public-sector partners.
• You have excellent oral and written communication skills in English.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from €3204 - €4051 gross per month, from the first year to the fourth year based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.

• Salary range: €3204 - €4051
• Hours per week: 36-38
• Faculty/Department: Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.

The start date of this position is on March 1st 2027.

As part of knowledge security, TU Delft conducts a risk assessment during the recruitment of personnel. We do this, among other things, to prevent the unwanted transfer of sensitive knowledge and technology. The assessment is based on information provided by the candidates themselves, such as their motivation letter and CV, and takes place at the final stages of the selection process. When the outcome of the assessment is negative, the candidate will be informed.

At TU Delft, our people make the difference. With their knowledge and curiosity, our staff provide a high-quality education and conduct pioneering research that extends beyond the campus. You will have the opportunity to take the initiative, work with others, and grow as a professional.

Working at TU Delft means join an international community of professionals and students. Together, we create knowledge, innovations, and solutions that help move the world forward.