As a PhD Student, you will take scientific responsibility for developing and completing your doctoral dissertation, formulate original research questions, and establish a rigorous methodology. You will conduct computational, experimental and field-based research in collaboration with academic, technical, institutional, software-development and industry partners. Your responsibilities will include collecting, managing, analysing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data, preparing articles for peer-reviewed journals, presenting findings at conferences, workshops and project meetings, contributing to REGEN4BE deliverables, demonstrations and dissemination activities, and participating in teaching and, where appropriate, the supervision of student projects.
Within REGEN4BE, you will contribute to the development and scientific validation of the Regenerative Design Intelligence Platform (REDIP) and its building-data and performance-assessment workflows. You will develop and test interoperable methods linking BIM, openBIM and IFC with building-energy models, Life-Cycle Assessment, whole-life-carbon calculations, circularity indicators, monitoring data, occupant feedback and Post-Occupancy Evaluation. You will investigate data continuity, traceability, uncertainty and interoperability across the design, construction and operational phases of buildings, and define information requirements and data structures for exchanging geometry, materials, environmental indicators, measured performance and occupant feedback across digital environments.
You will establish protocols for assessing the reliability, accuracy, completeness, reproducibility and usability of the proposed workflows. Using Smart Living Lab datasets and infrastructure, you will undertake full-scale testing, data collection, model calibration and scientific validation in Fribourg. You will compare predicted and simulated performance with measured environmental conditions and occupant experience, and collaborate with Building2050, relevant EPFL laboratories and ENAC research platforms, including PL-MTI where applicable. You will also support the scientific specification, testing and validation of APIs, connectors, data pipelines and interfaces in coordination with the project’s software-development partners, and assess the transferability of the methods across REGEN4BE demonstration sites and different building, climatic and institutional contexts.
As part of the doctoral thesis, you will apply and adapt the REGEN4BE framework to selected SONO housing projects and partnerships in Africa. You will develop BIM information structures for earth blocks, compressed and stabilised-earth systems, LC3-based blocks, mortars, concrete components and related assemblies, incorporating locally specific material and construction data. You will investigate BIM-to-BEM workflows for passive environmental performance, including thermal mass, solar protection, natural ventilation, indoor air movement, temperature, humidity and occupant-controlled openings. You will also develop BIM-linked LCA, whole-life-carbon and circularity methods for locally produced, low-carbon and repairable construction, determine which methods are transferable and which require adaptation to local climatic, material, economic, technical and social conditions, and translate the findings into design recommendations and decision-support methods for climate-responsive and regenerative housing.
