2 PhD Positions Reconceptualizing Individual and Collective Housing Preferences

Join an International, Interdisciplinary Research Team at TU Delft

Are you passionate about housing, sustainability, and social change? Join an international, interdisciplinary research team at TU Delft and explore how shared and collaborative living could redefine the future of housing. Through a groundbreaking mix of quantitative, qualitative, and design-led methods, your research will contribute to shaping housing models that respond to the social and environmental challenges of the 21st century.

Project Overview
The two PhD positions are part of the research project InCommon – Reconceptualizing Individual and Collective Housing Preferences. This project investigates the potential for housing models based on sharing and collectivity—such as cooperatives, cohousing, and ecovillages—to gain broader appeal and adoption across society. These collaborative housing models aim to decommodify housing, reduce environmental footprints, and strengthen social cohesion by encouraging shared living arrangements and communal practices.

The key questions guiding this project are:

• Is collaborative housing the preference of a niche group, or could it appeal to a wider public?
• What motivates people from different backgrounds to live collaboratively, and under what conditions?

By combining innovative mixed methods—including surveys, interviews, mapping, co-design workshops and the production of a documentary—InCommon will develop new ways to define and measure housing preferences, ultimately contributing to a deeper understanding of how housing systems can better reflect evolving societal values.

You will be supervised by Dr. Darinka Czischke (principal investigator), Dr. Joris Hoekstra, and Dr. Harry Boumeester, and work closely with each other in a collaborative team environment. You will also be affiliated with the Co-Lab Research group and the Comparative Housing Research Expertise Centre at TU Delft. Together with the team, you will organize two key project activities:

• The Theory Building Lab: A forum for engaging with leading housing researchers across Europe in the discussion of InCommon’s findings.
• The User Engagement Lab: A platform for collaboration with stakeholders from the Dutch housing sector.

Position 1: PhD Researcher – “Understanding collaborative living: values, motivations and demographic factors”

Key Responsibilities

• Investigate the effective demand for collaborative housing (i.e., among people already living in such forms or currently seeking them).
• Characterize existing collaborative housing supply using data from the Co-Lab Mapping database.
• Identify and analyse demand and preferences through resident interviews and surveys to develop ‘inhabitant profiles’.
• Apply the Means-End-Chain methodology to uncover fundamental motivations behind housing choices and preferences.
• Contribute to the production of a documentary showcasing the project’s process and findings.

Requirements

• Background in social sciences, geography, economics, or urban planning, with affinity for housing studies.
• Strong methodological skills (quantitative and qualitative):
• • Data collection and organization
  • Survey design, deployment, and analysis
  • Interview design and qualitative analysis
• Proficiency in Excel, SPSS, and other statistical tools
• Full fluency in English; Dutch proficiency highly desirable
• Ability to communicate complex findings to diverse audiences
• Excellent organizational and collaborative skills

Position 2: PhD Researcher – “Identifying the potential demand for collaborative living: changing housing preferences and architectural typologies”

Key Responsibilities

• Investigate the latent demand for collaborative housing (i.e., among those not currently living in such forms).
• Develop and use a novel, mixed methodology combining the Means-End-Chain method with design-led action research.
• Conduct interviews, surveys, site visits, and co-design workshops with a sample of households.
• Collaborate with TU Delft Architecture students to create conceptual plans and models for new collaborative housing typologies.
• Develop theoretical interpretations of findings and contribute to the formulation of future housing models.
• Contribute to the production of a documentary showcasing the project’s process and findings.

Requirements

• Background in Architecture (design skills essential) with interest in housing research.
• Strong methodological skills (quantitative and qualitative):
• • Survey and interview methods.
  • Focus groups and workshop facilitation.
  • Experience with qualitative analysis software (e.g., Atlas.ti, NVivo).
• Full fluency in English; Dutch proficiency highly desirable.
• Ability to communicate findings to academic and non-academic audiences.
• Strong organizational and teamwork skills.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)
Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Architecture & the Built Environment
The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment has a leading role in education and research worldwide. The driving force behind the faculty’s success is its robust research profile combined with the energy and creativity of its student body and academic community. It is buzzing with energy from early in the morning until late at night, with four thousand people studying, working, designing, conducting research and acquiring and disseminating knowledge. Our faculty has a strong focus on 'design-oriented research’, which has given it a top position in world rankings.

Staff and students are working to improve the built environment with the help of a broad set of disciplines, including architectural design, urban planning, building technology, social sciences, process management, and geo-information science. The faculty works closely with other faculties, universities, private parties, and the public sector, and has an extensive network in the Netherlands as well as internationally.

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 €2872 per month in the first year to €3670 in the fourth year. 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.

Additional information
For additional information about the position, please contact Dr. Darinka Czischke via e-mail: d.k.czischke@tudelft.nl.For more information about the selection procedure, please contact Julia Kreuwel. HR advisor via e-mail: recruitment-BK@tudelft.nl.