PhD in Envisioning housing consumption corridors through participatory design fictions

Introduction

Are you passionate about societal challenges regarding inclusivity and sustainability and the role design can play in them The research cluster Designing with Intelligence at the Industrial Design Department of Eindhoven University of Technology invites applications for a 4-year PhD project on this topic.

Job Description

The aim of this creative critical and multidisciplinary PhD project is to collaboratively envision alternative ways of living within consumption corridors. Consumption corridors mark spaces of consumption that enable a good life for all i.e. the diverse space between decent living standards that meet basic needs and upper limits that guard a fair distribution of means. The project focuses on corridors for housing in Eindhoven and partner city Geneva and the participatory development of Design Fictions to envision and deliberate what life within sustainable housing corridors might be like.

Background

Housing is central to human existence it satisfies essential human needs while posing environmental and social challenges. Housing provides shelter safety privacy and personal space while structuring access to a variety of services (OECD 2020). Like many other European cities Eindhoven is facing a per capita increase in housing size an ageing building stock affordable housing shortages and gentrification all of which exacerbate 2022 the building sector was responsible for a third of total carbon emissions (IEA IRENA 2023) and residential buildings account for 21% of final energy demand (UNEP 2022). Proposals for more sustainable housing include promoting renewable energy production or building structural efficiency. Yet multiple experts and authorities also call for sufficiency measures that achieve absolute reductions not only in energy and water usage but also floor space per capita.

A promising concept to achieve this potential in an equitable manner is consumption corridors (CC) (Fuchs et al. 2021; Sahakian et al. 2021): CCs envision environmentally and socially sustainable ways of living. With respect to housing they imply upper and lower limits to the consumption of space and services (i.e. energy water) whereby human needs can be met for all while reducing negative environmental impacts and social inequalities. To achieve such a normative aim social justice is a key consideration in understanding who stands to gain or lose from any change in housing and how needs can be satisfied for all this light housing must also be understood as home beyond a techno-material reading. The social space of home allows for the satisfaction of human needs but requires moving beyond the physical boundaries of such a space to consider the services that are available in any given setting such as food provisioning or mobility options. It also requires considering the different social practices involved with living and working in homes including material arrangements shared meanings normative expectations competencies and know-how (De Koning et al. 2024).

The main aim of this project is to understand how and in what way environmentally and socially sustainable living in consumption corridors can be imagined designed and planned for in two European cities Eindhoven and Geneva. We move from gaining situated knowledge on corridor potentials for housing to experiential forms of learning based on embodied experiments with alternative social practices. The conceptual and methodological approach is to combine social practice theories in designing for social change with the use of design fiction methods for imagining alternative living possibilities. This requires a methodology based on an iterative process of 1) imagining consumption corridors for housing and identifying promising trends 2) experimenting with consumption corridors using design speculations on alternative ways of living and 3) planning for consumption corridors all with the engagement of diverse groups of people from dwellers to architects and urban planners.

The PhD candidate in the project will be situated in Eindhoven and focus on the participatory development of Design Fictions that engage with the jointly defined upper and lower limits of the housing corridors in Geneva and Eindhoven.

Approach

• You will begin with a (literature) exploration of sustainable consumption consumption corridors design fictions participatory and speculative design in particular related to living space energy and water services.
• Bearing in mind existing and locally specific housing corridors iteratively developed by a quantitative modelling expert in the project your step one of the research process involves the exploration of opportunities and barriers for housing sufficiency. This step involves literature study a survey and interviews with a diverse sample of approximately 8-10 local households. This data will be supplemented with interviews and a focus group with housing and urban planning experts conducted by other members of the team and similar data from Geneva.
• The identification of opportunities and barriers in relation to the emerging corridor proposals form the basis for the formulation of a brief to depict a context for the participatory development of Design Fictions. You will be involved in organising and running two imagining workshops using creative methods such as role play informed by the current situation and emerging housing corridor.
• The outcomes of these workshops will form your input for the development of a set of 3-5 Design Fictions for both Eindhoven and Geneva that make in-corridor living experiential and debatable for a wide audience. You will develop these Design Fictions in collaboration with a design partner.
• The Design Fictions form the main input for a deliberation workshop (and potentially other outreach activities) in which living in consumption corridors in the local context is discussed with various stakeholders through the Design Fictions that you organize together with the Postdoc.
• The outcomes of these deliberations form input for your final generative element of the project in which recommendations for local interventions to realise desirable fair forms of in-corridor living.
• Your final step in the project involves co-organising a backcasting workshop with local stakeholders focused on developing interventions that address opportunities and barriers for in-corridor housing transitions.

In the first year you will refine the research plan. You are expected to publish in relevant scientific conferences and journals within the field of human-computer interaction such as the CHI and DIS conferences Ubicomp and the ToCHI journal. At the end of the 4-year project you are expected to defend your PhD Thesis.

Prospective starting date is May 2026.

The team

This PhD position is part of the 4-year Living in Consumption Corridors project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The project is co-led by Dr. Marlyne Sahakian Sociologist at the University of Geneva and Dr. Lenneke Kuijer Design Researcher at the TU Eindhoven. The two researchers leading this proposal have common expertise in social practice theories consumption studies and participatory methods with Kuijer bringing critical design (research) methods and Sahakian experience with needs-based approaches to wellbeing; both have strong ties to various institutional partners in these cities which have also been selected to address upper limits to housing corridors in contexts of addition to Dr. Sahakian and Dr. Kuijer the team includes a senior researcher and consumption corridor expert in Switzerland and a part-time Postdoc position in the Netherlands.

Job Requirements

• A Masters degree in Interaction Design or closely related discipline
• Experience with qualitative research methods and participatory design/co-design
• Affinity with design fictions/speculative design
• Familiarity with the concept of sustainable design and/or rebound effects
• Experience with (interactive) prototyping
• Proven skills in and experience with academic paper writing
• Good collaboration and communication skills both with other disciplines and with local stakeholders and diverse households
• Fluency in spoken and written English language
• Preferably fluency in Dutch language for household and stakeholder engagement

Conditions of Employment

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful green campus within walking distance of the central train addition we offer you:

• Full-time employment for four years with an intermediate assessment after nine months. You will spend a minimum of 10% of your four-year employment on teaching tasks with a maximum of 15% per year of your employment.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme paid pregnancy and maternity leave partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities scale P (min. 3059 - max. 3881).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
• An excellent technical infrastructure on-campus childrens day care and sports facilities.
• An allowance for commuting working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates.

About us

Eindhoven University of Technology is a leading international university within the Brainport region where scientific curiosity meets a hands-on mindset. We work in an open and collaborative way with high-tech industries to tackle complex societal challenges. Our responsible and respectful approach ensures impact today and in the future. TU/e is home to over 13000 students and more than 7000 staff forming a diverse and vibrant academic community.

The Department of Industrial Design conducts research on and education in the design of systems with emerging technologies in a social context. We excel at integrating various academic disciplines including engineering design business and social sciences.

Information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more Please contact the hiring manager Lenneke Kuijer Assistant Professor .

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact HR services .

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Application

We invite you to submit a complete application by using the apply button. The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references. Kindly note that we may reach out to references at any stage of the recruitment process. We recommend notifying your references upon submitting your application.

Ensure that you submit all the requested application documents. We give priority to complete applications.

We look forward to receiving your application and will screen it as soon as possible. The vacancy will remain open until the position is filled.

Please note

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• A pre-employment screening (e.g. knowledge security check) can be part of the selection procedure. For more information on the knowledge security check please consult the National Knowledge Security Guidelines.
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