The Materials in Transition (MATR) Lab at the School of ENAC, EPFL, is looking for a self-driven and inquisitive PhD candidate to start between July and September 2026, or upon agreement, in the field of sustainable construction.
The PhD research will focus on the development of design approaches for building elements that can meet functional performance criteria across multiple lifecycles enabling reuse; adaptability; and reduced environmental impact. This will involve the development of novel assessment methods for reuse under changing socio-economic conditions with a particular emphasis on reversible construction and practical methods for separation, reuse, and reconfiguration. Through this work, you will help redefine how building elements are designed, assembled and reused through the development and validation of practical and scalable approaches to multi-lifecycle design. Possible research directions include:
- Design for disassembly and reversible connection types
- Sustainable material technologies for construction
- Digital and/or parametric design methods for lifecycle-oriented design
- Strategies for building element service life extension
- Experimental validation through prototypes and demonstrator builds
The exact focus will be adapted to the candidate’s background and interests.
MATR Lab
The incoming PhD candidate will be part of a growing and dynamic research team at the MATR lab, led by Prof. Rebecca Hartwell, where we seek to:
- Integrate resilience into the design and application of construction materials in response to evolving socio-economic challenges, such as climate change, social equity, occupant health, and strategic independence in material supply-chains.
- Develop comprehensive digital assessment methods to evaluate whole-life material flows and their associated impact across sectors to inform policy and practice.
- Engineer whole-life adaptability at the product-scale through material science and design.
