TU Delft
Architecture culture and knowledge are produced in many interconnected places. One of the most interesting sites today is the one of the archive under the impact of new digital technologies. Once a dark place where forgotten drawing rolls collected dust, the digital turn has brought a new excitement as well challenge to the architectural archive for research, education and design knowledge. Archives are potentially more public than ever, more and better connected, linked with other archives and other institutions, communicating with other disciplines and other media platforms. While residing in depots and repositories, archives have also become nomadic and multimedia, on phones, tablets and other communication devices. Architectural archives must be reconceived as generative memory spaces, as data producers themselves, and an interface between publics and professionals.
Under the leadership of Dr. Dirk van den Heuvel a new group has been launched at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment: Architecture Archives of the Future, which is situated at the intersections of advanced architectural design and research, history and theory, archival studies and museology. The group aims to develop innovative methods of architectural knowledge production based on the new opportunities presented by digital media and technologies while building on the Delft traditions of plan analysis and precedent research. Questions behind the research and education of the group are design-driven with the aim to contribute to the urgent societal questions of today, including the ones of climate change impact on the human habitat that is the built environment, and the socio-political ideas around democracy and diversity in open societies.
As a new Assistant Professor you will contribute to the development of the new group, which currently holds 6 members. You are expected to actively engage in valorisation projects and the application of funds. You will help co-develop the group’s courses and the wider curriculum of the Faculty, both graduate and undergraduate levels. The new courses of the group aim to combine archival research, design analysis and architectural design with new digital technologies (VR and XR), including a new MSc 2 studio devoted to the topic of Prototypes for a Virtual Architecture Museum.
You will engage in the research activities of the group, among others PhD-supervision, while building your own track-record and academic profile. Research affinities align with the current research programme of Architecture, Culture and Modernity, and the activities of the Jaap Bakema Study Centre, the research collaboration with the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, both led by Dirk van den Heuvel. Within the Architecture Department, the Architecture Archives of the Future group closely collaborates with the groups of Complex Projects of Prof. Kees Kaan, and Data, Design & Society led by Prof. Georg Vrachliotis, all in order to deliver the most advanced contributions to architectural design in our contemporary data-driven society.
Requirements
You should possess:
- PhD closely related to fundamental archival research with special qualities in history and theory of architecture, and architectural design practice.
- Substantial working experience with architectural archives.
- A keen interest in new digital technologies and their possibilities, and how they might work together with the classic information carriers of paper, models and other architectural media.
- International profile with visible academic and professional experience as well as commensurate collaborative network.
- Promising up-to-date research track record demonstrated by notable articles, papers, book chapters, and possibly books.
- First experience in the field of curatorial and editorial practice.
- First experience in developing and teaching bachelor and/or master-level academic courses, incl. research focused courses.
- First experience in writing grant applications, organising conferences, seminars and/or public events.
- High fluency in spoken and written English as well as willingness to learn Dutch (if from abroad).
- Happy to work in teams in the spirit of academic collegiality.
More information can be found in the full job description here.