KU Leuven has a full-time vacancy for independent academic staff (ZAP) in the field of “Designing with Light: Visual Comfort and Light in Architecture”. We are looking for internationally oriented candidates with an excellent interdisciplinary research record, competence in academic management and education, and familiar with the professional field.
The structure of KU Leuven combines faculties and research departments in a multi-campus model.
The candidate will contribute to the research of the Department of Architecture within the research unit Design and Engineering of Construction and Architecture (DECA) on the Sint-Lucas Brussels and Ghent Campus. This unit includes researchers from both the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty of Engineering Science. The Department offers an international research environment of excellence. www.architectuur.kuleuven.be
The vacancy is developed in the context of a collaboration with the Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT) at the Ghent Campus and more specifically with the research unit Waves: Core Research and Engineering (WaveCore). This unit includes researchers from both the Faculty of Engineering Science and the Faculty of Engineering Technology. www.esat.kuleuven.be/wavecore
The candidate will contribute to the education of the Faculty of Architecture. The Faculty of Architecture consists of the academic architecture programmes (interior architecture, architecture, urban design and spatial planning and the educational master) on the Sint-Lucas Brussels and Ghent campus. The faculty is driven by a consciously assembled diversity of practices and is renowned for its future-oriented education that cultivates a freedom of exploration. www.arch.kuleuven.be.
Website unit
Duties
Research
Architectural design involves perception under natural and/or artificial light. Lighting of architectural spaces, ranging from domestic to urban contexts, is highly dynamic through the natural changes of daylight and/or controlled regulation of artificial lighting. It allows for various creations of light scenes, atmospheres, and promenades, both indoors and outdoors. Lighting design not only involves meeting functional criteria but also plays an important role in how architectural space is experienced. As such, it is part of the interior architecture and architecture design process itself.
You develop a research programme at an international level in Architectural Lighting Design. The main goal is to merge the ephemeral experiences and intuitive approaches typical for the interior architectural and architectural stance with the technological approach of lighting engineering. Informed by concerns regarding the influence of lighting raised by research in Environmental Psychology, various challenges can be identified in this domain such as: importance of lighting quality/perception in the experience of architectural space; the effects of light intensity and spectra on health and well-being; new design methods such as virtual and augmented reality; design of lightscapes and scenography. Research findings should lead to the development of tools, strategies and best practices which are applicable in architectural and lighting design practice, industry and education.
- You perform high-level research and lead doctoral students in the field of lighting design and visual comfort/atmosphere. In particular, you bring the human element of the subjective experience of light/colour (comfort) “into dialogue” with objective assessment (of engineering sciences) in relation to interior architectural and architectural design.
- You strengthen existing research lines in relation to (day)light in buildings by taking a holistic approach to designing comfortable, inclusive, and regenerative spaces.
- You carry out research on creating/designing spatial experiences and lightscapes. Your research findings should lead to the development of design methodologies, tools, strategies, and best practices that apply to architectural and lighting design practice and education.
- You have demonstrated skills and expertise in the design of visual comfort, perception of light by humans, and the capability to integrate them with related building physics fields, thus achieving adequate implementation in architectural solutions.
- You show interest in interacting with the different stakeholders involved in lighting design.
- Your research aligns with the Department of Architecture's current research vision. It is interdisciplinary, as the department strives for intensive collaborations across disciplines and between theory and design.
- You set up collaborations within and outside the Department of Architecture and the Department of Electrical Engineering. Collaborations with the Faculty of Engineering Technology, Environmental Psychology, the research unit Building Physics and Sustainable Design, and the medical sector are welcome. These collaborations should accelerate the development of a research line in light perception (the experience of architectural spaces), where the effects of lighting on health and affect are investigated.
- You establish international collaborations around your research programmes and further develop them. You also actively assist in developing the group’s future research projects.
- You are capable of acquiring competitive funding (EU, national, regional).
- Your research strengthens the bachelor’s and master’s programmes in architecture and interior architecture at the Faculty of Architecture.
- You publish at the highest scientific level, acquire resources for fundamental and applied research, develop international collaborations and supervise PhDs at an international level.
- You give the necessary attention to the valorisation on behalf of government and business in applied research.
Teaching
You ensure high-quality education within the fields that deal with indoor comfort (light, sound, air quality, thermal) at the Faculty of Architecture. You will further develop the current educational concepts with a clear commitment to the programme’s quality (bachelor and master) as a whole. You will also supervise master theses students and will act as a supervisor of PhD students.
You develop your teaching at bachelor and master levels in accordance with KU Leuven’s vision of activating and researched-based education and make use of the possibilities for the educationalist professionalisation offered by the faculty and the university.
You teach several theoretical courses focusing on their application in the design studios and their contribution to a coherent pedagogical curriculum.
Service
You commit to taking the lead in academic management, will participate in the further development of the educational programmes, and are willing to take a role in scientific and societal engagement. Scientific, social, and internal services are part of your appointment, e.g., maintaining close contacts with the professional field of engineers and architects with an exemplary design practice.
You will actively contribute to the visibility and image of the department and faculty among new students and the broader professional field. This can be achieved through participation in public performances, open days, introduction sessions, and other events.
Profile
- You have a Master of Interior Architecture, Architecture and/or Engineering and a similarly related PhD degree, in which the subject of your doctorate’s thesis is related to the focus of this vacancy.
- Design experience as an interior architect, architect and/or engineer is welcome. Experience in interior architectural / architectural design practice or a portfolio showing collaboration on specific building projects is appreciated. You have a strong interest and expertise in the mutual interplay between architectural design and lighting design.
- You have a strong research profile. A background linked to practice-driven projects is an asset. The quality of your research is proven by publications in international journals, books, and ADROs (Artistic and Design-related Research Output), as well as through international research experience, such as invited lectures. International research experience is an important asset.
- You are expected to formulate a research plan with initiatives and research threads for the first 5-year period. You are familiar with architectural designing and contemporary tendencies in architecture.
- You are familiar with Artificial Intelligence and its position in architectural (and lighting) design.
- You have demonstrable qualities related to academic education. Teaching experience is recommended and is assessed by a list of courses taught, an educational plan for future courses at the faculty (pedagogical concept, teaching material, table of contents of the courses), … You have a study curriculum in architecture or architectural engineering with the goal to teach courses related to comfort and building techniques in bachelor’s and master’s programmes.
- You possess organisational skills and have a cooperative attitude. You also possess leadership capacities within a university context.
- A good command of English is required. KU Leuven provides courses in academic English.
- The official administrative language used at KU Leuven is Dutch. If you do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of employment, KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take part in meetings.
- Before teaching courses in Dutch, you will be given the opportunity to learn Dutch to the required level.
Offer
We offer full-time employment (100%) in a vibrant and intellectually stimulating design environment. KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that carries out both fundamental and applied scientific research. Our university is highly focused on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research and strives for international excellence. In this regard, the university actively works together with research partners in Belgium and abroad and provides its students with an academic education that is based on high-quality practice and scientific research.
The Faculty of Architecture is committed to practice-oriented academic teaching in a university setting. Its artistic inspiration leads to critical, innovative, and path-breaking thinking. There is room for dialogue and debate, and the international dimension is ever-present.
As member of the Faculty of Architecture, you will work on the Sint-Lucas Campus both in Brussels and in Ghent. Your main workplace is Ghent because of the proximity of the research unit Waves: Core Research and Engineering (WaveCore) and its researchers. The Department of
Architecture is active at locations in Brussels, Ghent and Leuven.
We prefer to look for a junior profile. Depending on your record and qualifications, you will be appointed to or tenured in one of the grades of the senior academic staff: assistant professor, associate professor, professor or full professor. In principle, junior researchers are appointed as assistant professor on the tenure track for a period of 5 years; after this period and a positive evaluation, they are permanently appointed (or tenured) as an associate professor.
KU Leuven is well set to welcome foreign professors and their families and provides practical support about immigration & administration, housing, childcare, learning Dutch, partner career coaching, … To facilitate scientific integration and research in the first phase, start-up funding of 110 000 euros is offered to new professors, who do not have substantial other funding and who are appointed at least 50%.
Interested?
For more information on the contents of the job, please contact:
- Prof. dr. Rajesh Heynickx, chair of the Department of Architecture (
[email protected])
- Prof. dr. Monika Rychtarikova, contact person for the research unit DECA (
[email protected])
You can apply, exclusively via our online application tool. If you encounter any problems while applying online, please contact
[email protected].
Add to your application the following documents (more information is available on the KU Leuven job site):
- your biosketch in which you indicate your added value as an academic for research, education and service to society of your past career and of your future activities (maximum 2 pages); it should include the following elements: 1) the crucial elements and their importance/impact from your past career; 2) the main lines of your future vision and the future activities you plan (with an emphasis on the first 5 years); 3) the added value of your activities for KU Leuven and the collaboration within faculty/department/campus;
- a file on your five most important publications or realisations;
- an extensive CV including a complete publication list and, if applicable, a portfolio of your design projects;
- your research plan with a focus on the development of your research line and research team in relation to the colleague-researchers of the entity of employment (maximum 5 pages);
- your vision on academic education and its organisation (maximum 2 pages);
- your contribution to service activities (internal representation through membership in councils and governing bodies, contributions to society from teaching and research, outreach and science communication) (maximum 1 page);
- your vision on leadership (maximum 1 page).
We ask that all documents be drawn up in English.
KU Leuven attaches great importance to scientific integrity, acting ethically and with integrity and will ask you to sign an integrity statement upon appointment.
KU Leuven is committed to creating a diverse environment and is therefore an equal opportunity employer. It explicitly encourages candidates from groups that are currently underrepresented at the university to submit their applications.
KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.
