TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment

Join the new edition of the Theories of Architecture Fellowship Program (ToAFP) at the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture in the Netherlands as a visiting research fellow and help us critically shape the future landscape of architectural theory!

The Setup

TU Delft’s ToAFP is a research initiative that departs from the premise that, as a discipline, architecture has the innate ability to theorize itself; to establish grounds and produce concepts and problematic fields that are relevant for its practice. Simultaneously, architecture is invariably open to methodological approaches and thematic influences from other fields, practices, and disciplinary domains, often appropriating or adapting them. In this sense, the ToAFP regards theory as multiplicity – a complex variety of perspectives and ideas that ultimately transform architecture itself and beyond, from the arts to the sciences.

Established in 2019, the ToAFP has hosted a range of leading and critical voices contributing to architectural theory from around the world, including Nishat Awan, Naomi Stead, Gökhan Kodalak, Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen, Irénée Scalbert, David Leite, and Shanti Sumartojo, among others. In this tradition, the new edition of the ToAFP will continue creating opportunities for emerging voices in the theoretical domains by curating platforms that foster the encounter of individuals and groups, and promote the exchange of ideas, perspectives, and methodologies related to the present and future of architectural theory.

The Call

In coming years, the ToAFP will further cultivate philosophical, theoretical and methodological research on architecture, informed by both traditional approaches and speculative experiments. Our fellows will attend to the ethical, affective, and critical agentic powers of architectural research and practice in the face of urgent geopolitical, environmental, and social concerns.

In the Fall and Spring semesters respectively, we will welcome a theory fellow for a minimum two-week residency at our faculty, during which time they will carry out a series of academic tasks showcasing their research work. As part of our public program, they will:

-  offer a keynote lecture to our community;

- prepare and chair a PhD seminar session;

- engage our students in educational settings;

- and develop their own research in a short position paper for digital publication.

While these activities outline a fixed program structure, their thematic and scope is open to fellow curation. Furthermore, participants will be paired with an invited scholar with whom they share thematic or methodological affinities on questions that pertain to the theoretical domain of our discipline. In doing so, our objective is to create the optimal conditions for an academic exchange of knowledge among multiple parties (i.e., fellows, lecturers, researchers, practitioner-designers, and students).

The ToAFP offers fixed stipends up to € 4,000.00 per fellow, inclusive of travel and accommodation costs (up to € 2,000.00) in addition to a fellow honorarium based on 40 hours work on a hospitality agreement.

Eligibility

We invite motivated individuals and emergent thinkers currently working on research themes related to the theoretical domains of architectural theory and design, and other spatial and environmental disciplines to join us and share their vision of the future of architecture theory. Applicants may be independent (freelance) as well as early academics affiliated to universities and other organisations. Individuals from other domains, practices, and disciplines are also welcome.

Submission requirements

Interested individuals are asked to prepare the following:

1. Short research statement and motivation (max. 1,500 words) explaining their position on architecture theory and vision of how their research could contribute to the broadening of the theoretical horizons of architecture, design and other spatio-environmental disciplines and practices.

2. Please indicate if you require an EU travel visa and when you plan your visit (in semesters/ academic years), and ensure you have all necessary institutional permissions before applying.

3. Short CV

4. All documents submitted as PDF’s to: toa-fp [​at​] tudelft.nl

Deadline for applications: June 15, 2024 at 11:59 GMT +2

Inquiries may be addressed to Kim Grovu (toa-fp [​at​] tudelft.nl) and/or Heidi Sohn (h.sohn [​at​] tudelft.nl)