HASSELT UNIVERSITY – PhD student RE-WORLDING

ArcK is the research group of the Faculty of Architecture and Arts that focuses on research in architecture and interior architecture. We conduct fundamental and applied research on the built environment. In a multidisciplinary team we work on important societal challenges, such as a purposeful and adaptive reuse of our heritage, the inclusion of diverse groups in spatial transformation processes, critical reflection on and contribution to the environmental impact of our built environment, inclusive design, design for wellbeing and experience,… These challenges are covered in 5 research domains:  ‘spatial capacity building’, ‘designing for more’,  ‘sustainability’, ‘Trace: heritage & adaptive reuse’ and ‘FRAME’.

More information:

www.uhasselt.be/fac-architectuur-en-kunst

Job content

Two decades of crises – the climate crisis, immigration crisis, covid crisis – force us to change the way we care for each other and for the world. As architects and designers, we can no longer think and act sectoral and address each crisis independently, but we need to act systemic and develop environmental strategies which are also social, economic, cultural, etc. We refer to this shift in mind as ‘re-worlding’. It follows ideas of Bruno Latour and Maria Puig de la Bellacasa that we – humans and nonhumans – all interdepend and that only by acknowledging and caring for this interdependence can we start to address any crisis. The problem that we want to focus on in this PhD research is that not everyone has the energy or the power to take care of others. The question we therefore want to explore is how to involve those groups and individuals that are silent or silenced and this throughout the long time-horizon that spatial transition processes typically take.

The PhD student will  engage in action research in participatory urban design and planning. The student is part of a larger, ongoing research project taking place in three social housing estates in the Province of Limburg, Belgium. The aim is to ‘re-world’ the current social housing policy by co-creating and co-implementing future scenarios that rethink how we deal with energy, water, mobility, healthcare, affordable housing, etc. in a way that these not only involve the estates themselves, but also the larger sub-urban community. The particular contribution of this PhD is to develop design approaches that give a voice to all actors implicated by this re-worlding process, particularly those who choose to opt out or are left out.

Ref. Huybrechts, L., Devisch, O. and Tassinari, V. 2021. Beyond polarisation: reimagining communities through the imperfect act of ontologising. CoDesign – International Journal of CoCreation in Design and the Arts.

Profile

  • Master degree in (interior)architecture or design (or equivalent).
  • You have practical and/or research experience with participatory projects.
  • You are fluent in written and oral communication (English).
  • You are cooperative and can work well in teams. Your networking skills allow you to easily cooperate on a project with professionals as well as with individuals.
  • You are willing to take up teaching assignments to a limited extent.
  • You are able to work independently, you are result driven and can organize and plan extremely well.

Offer
You will be appointed and paid as PhD student.
Doctoral fellowship for 2 x 2 years with intermediate evaluation.

Selection procedure
You can only apply online up to and including 18 February 2022.
The selection procedure consists of a preselection based on application file and an interview.

Further information
Prof. dr. Liesbeth HUYBRECHTS, +32-11-292195, liesbeth.huybrechts@uhasselt.be
Prof. dr. ir. arch. Oswald DEVISCH, +32-11-292191, oswald.devisch@uhasselt.be
More about working at Hasselt University? Check www.uhasselt.be/vacancies for our staff benefits.

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