The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is seeking a doctoral candidate for a project titled “Climate-resilient buildings inspired by nature.” The BIO-SKIN initiative is creating a bio-based, waste-derived, and circular façade that promotes plant growth. This innovative design not only provides insulation but also cools the building and its surroundings through shade and water evaporation, while improving biodiversity and addressing urban challenges. The façade is iteratively refined in the BIO-SKIN Living Lab across ten existing buildings.

The Role

As a PhD candidate, you will integrate ecology, material selection, circularity, user acceptance, aesthetics, and Living Lab implementation. Your task will be to convert ecological, material, circularity, maintenance, aesthetic, and stakeholder needs into practical design principles, façade interventions, and a reusable design framework.

You will explore several research questions:

• Q1: How can ecological, material, circularity, maintenance, and stakeholder requirements be transformed into actionable design principles for bio-inclusive façade interventions?
• Q2: How can façade interventions support plant growth, biodiversity, cooling, and water retention while remaining acceptable, meaningful, maintainable, and aligned with primary façade functions?
• Q3: How can insights from BIO-SKIN be developed 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 that integrate vegetation, water retention, circular materials, and 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 culminate in validated design interventions and guidelines for biophilic façade panels that enhance energy efficiency, biodiversity, circularity, and climate-resilient urban design. You will be based at TU Delft, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, under the supervision of Prof. dr. ir. Elvin Karana and Dr. ir. Sepideh Ghodrat. Collaboration with various BIO-SKIN partners, including TU Delft ChemE, WUR, AERES Hogeschool, Alliander, AMS Institute, NPSP, Springtij, and Unitura, is expected. One day a week will be spent at AMS Institute in Amsterdam with other PhD researchers involved in the BIO-SKIN project.

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, façade design, circular design, bio-based materials, or sustainability assessment is highly valued.
• Interest in interdisciplinary research and comfort in collaborating with designers, engineers, ecologists, material scientists, municipalities, industry partners, and Living Lab stakeholders.
• Experience or interest in environmental sensing technologies and ecological sensing integration into design processes is a plus.
• Proficiency in English (written and spoken) is essential.

What We Offer

Working at TU Delft means contributing to impactful solutions. With over 180 years of experience, we train engineers who address global challenges in energy, climate, digitalization, AI, and smart mobility. Our staff fosters a high-quality education and conducts pioneering research that extends beyond the campus, allowing you to take initiative and grow professionally within an international community.

Application Procedure

Applicants should submit their CV, a cover letter detailing their motivations and qualifications, and a writing sample. The application deadline is 3 August 2026. For further information about the application process, please contact Dr. Sepideh Ghodrat (s.ghodrat@tudelft.nl). Note that applications sent via email or post will not be processed. Please refer to our website for more details on the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements and knowledge security assessment.