News
PhD Position ‘Re-building Brussels (1695-2025)’ – deadline 15 November 2024
The Faculty of Engineering, Department Architectural Engineering of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant to conduct interdisciplinary research on material flows and the role of the Brussels construction sector in the urban metabolism. The research focuses on the development of material flows from around 1800 to today. From an interdisciplinary perspective, the PhD will map the full life cycle of specific materials such as wood, brick, concrete, and natural stone – from raw material extraction and production to use and waste management and will analyse how these material flows have evolved, as well as their impact in material, ecological, financial, labor, and social terms, to provide a comprehensive picture of the construction sector as a defining actor in the urban environment. This includes local sources, such as the Sonian Forest, as well as the involvement of overseas investors.
The research is part of the interdisciplinary research project ‘Re-building Brussels (1695-2025): The construction sector as an engine for social inclusion and circularity,’ a collaboration between the research groups VUB Architectural Engineering, Social History of Capitalism, and Cosmopolis: Centre for Urban Research.
Applications should be submitted ultimately 15 November 2024.
