PhD position in Design Integration of Bio-Inclusive Façade Interventions

What if building facades could do more than protect us from the hot weather? What if they could cool cities, support plant growth, enhance biodiversity and contribute to circular construction?

The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is hiring a doctoral candidate on the topic of Climate-resilient buildings inspired by nature.

BIO-SKIN is developing a bio-based, waste-derived and circular façade with plant growth. The plants act as an extra layer of insulation and cool the building and its surroundings through shade and water evaporation. In addition, plants improve biodiversity and mitigate other urban challenges. Because the façade is made from bio-based, waste-derived and circular materials, it has a low carbon footprint.

In BIO-SKIN, ecologists, materials scientists, industrial designers and lawyers are joining forces. The façade is being iteratively improved via the BIO-SKIN Living Lab on ten existing buildings.

As a PhD candidate you will connect ecology, material choices, circularity, user/stakeholder acceptance, aesthetics, and Living Lab implementation. You will translate ecological, material, circularity, maintenance, aesthetic, and stakeholder requirements into actionable design principles, façade interventions, and a reusable design framework or canvas/toolkit.

The main focus is how ecological, material, circular, maintenance, aesthetic, and stakeholder requirements can be translated into actionable façade design interventions and a reusable design framework.

You will address the following research questions:

• How can ecological, material, circularity, maintenance, and stakeholder requirements be translated into actionable design principles for bio-inclusive façade interventions?
• How can façade interventions support plant growth, biodiversity, cooling, and water retention while remaining acceptable, meaningful, maintainable, and compatible with primary façade functions?
• How can insights from BIO-SKIN be translated into a design canvas/toolkit for future nature-inclusive, biobased, and circular building components?

During your PhD, you will:

• Review design strategies for energy-efficient and biodiversity-enhancing façade panels.
• Translate ecological, material, technical and stakeholder requirements into façade design interventions.
• Design, prototype and evaluate biophilic façade concepts integrating vegetation, water retention, circular materials and/or habitat-supporting features.
• Collaborate with consortium and Living Lab partners to test and refine selected interventions in real-world settings.
• Assess the environmental, aesthetic and social performance of the designs, including cooling, insulation, durability, maintenance, user perception and life cycle impact.
• Develop design guidelines for circular, bio-based and biodiversity-supporting façade solutions.

The PhD will result in validated design interventions and guidelines for biophilic façade panels that support energy efficiency, biodiversity, circularity and climate-resilient urban design.

You will be based at TU Delft, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Section Design for Sustainability, and supervised by Prof. dr. ir. Elvin Karana as promotor and Dr. ir. Sepideh Ghodrat as daily supervisor. You will collaborate with several BIO-SKIN partners, including TU Delft ChemE, WUR, AERES Hogeschool, Alliander, AMS Institute, NPSP, Springtij, Unitura, Van Ginkel and others.

You are expected to work one day per week at AMS Institute in Amsterdam, together with other PhD researchers involved in the BIO-SKIN project.

Job requirements

• Driven, enthusiastic and independent thinker.
• Master’s degree (MSc) in industrial design engineering, material design, environmental design, or a related field.
• Experience with prototyping, material testing and experimentation, façade design, circular design, bio-based materials, or sustainability assessment is highly appreciated.
• Interest in interdisciplinary research and comfort working with designers, engineers, ecologists, material scientists, municipalities, industry partners, and Living Lab stakeholders.
• Experience with, or interest in, environmental sensing technologies, ecological sensing, and their integration into design processes is considered a plus.
• Proficiency in English (written and spoken) is essential.

TU Delft as an employer

Working at TU Delft means contributing to solutions that really make a difference.

At TU Delft, our people make the difference. With their knowledge and curiosity, our staff provide 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 joining an international community of professionals and students.

Faculty Industrial Design Engineering

The Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering focuses on bridging advances in technology and the needs of people, organisations and society to create products, services and systems with purpose.

IDE is a leader in design research across the application areas of mobility, sustainability and health, as well as in the development of design tools and methods.

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 will be followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years, assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

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.

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

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis.