Postdoctoral opportunity: Adaptive reuse of buildings, University of Bologna, Italy

Regional Studies Association; Bologna; In loco; EUR 30.000 - 36.000; Tempo pieno

Descrizione del lavoro

A research organization is offering a two-year postdoctoral fellowship based at the University of Bologna focused on the adaptive reuse of buildings. The role involves contributing to a multidisciplinary project examining the cultural and ethical foundations of sustainability and urban transformation. Ideal candidates will have a PhD in a relevant field and experience in archival research and oral histories, with an emphasis on the evolving ideas of repair and reuse in urban redevelopment in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.

Competenze

• PhD in a relevant field such as architecture, urban studies, or cultural history.
• Experience with archival research and oral histories.
• Knowledge of adaptive reuse practices and urban transformation.

Mansioni

• Contribute to the history of throwaway culture research.
• Engage in multidisciplinary project activities.
• Conduct interviews with architects, planners, and residents.

Descrizione del lavoro

The call for applicants for a two year postdoctoral fellowship on adaptive reuse of buildings, based at the University of Bologna, is open from now until the 12th December. Please share widely!

The researcher will contribute to the work package on the history of throwaway culture, within a multidisciplinary project on the cultural and ethical foundations of sustainability in the built environment. The project situates current practices of adaptive reuse within longer histories of urban transformation and the shifting values attached to preservation and care. Bridging historical and ethnographic approaches, the research will trace the emergence and persistence of demolition and replacement as cultural practices, exploring their ethical, material, and institutional dimensions. Combining archival research with oral histories and interviews, particularly with architects, planners, and residents, the researcher will examine how ideas of repair, reuse, and obsolescence have evolved, and how past notions of progress, modernity, and waste continue to shape contemporary urban redevelopment in Italy, Germany, and/or Switzerland.