Built Environment

Welcome to the Department of the Built Environment

We are driven by our ambitions to make a difference. Sustainability, in its broadest definition, is the cornerstone of our research and education.
We take the lead in (re)shaping the built environment and making it futureproof, safe, healthy, inclusive and with respect for planetary boundaries.
We are in an outstanding position to do so because we house the entire spectrum of technology, engineering, design and human behavior disciplines in the built environment, with world class experimental facilities, on all scale levels. This allows us to address societal challenges from a unique integral perspective.

Play video

Education

We educate a new generation of students able to solve today鈥檚 and tomorrow鈥檚 complex challenges of society. We consider in-depth disciplinary knowledge as key for professional leadership and true autonomy in future professions. Our education is small scale. Students are offered a maximum degree of freedom to select education in the sub-discipline of their preference. Collaborative skills are trained in joint challenge-based projects that address societal challenges. We educate life-long learners, students with the abilities and attitude to maintain an open mind.

Play video

Our research

Our research community covers the entire range of disciplines related to the built environment. By bringing multiple perspectives to the table and meaningly connecting these, we are able to contribute to innovative solutions for complex societal issues. By playing an active role in our academic network and by committing to Open Science principles, we contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge. We have world class experimental facilities, such as a fully equipped building physics, materials and structures laboratories, a largescale 3D Concrete Printer and Atmospheric Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel, as well as digital twinning and virtual reality facilities. This allows us to do laboratory experimental research from microscopic level to full-scale, from controlled laboratory conditions to field studies involving users, and everything in between. In collaboration with the 黑料福利网 institutes EAISI and EIRES we develop Key Enabling Technologies in the field of artificial intelligence and the energy transition.

Play video

Impact

We believe that as an academic institute, we have a responsibility towards society. We do fundamental research with the ambition to not only advance the body of scientific knowledge, but also to drive technological innovation in society. By involving citizens and by collaborating with industrial, societal and public partners we bring knowledge from fundamental research directly to society. As such, we enable the building industry to mature and to innovate and we enable advanced informed solutions and future-proof decision making by municipalities and government. Co-creation with a human-centred approach (by involving citizens) is of crucial importance for success.

Events

  • 09 Jun
    hummingbird
    Multiscale Neuromorphic Control 鈥� Methods and Practice

    EAISI lecture by visiting Professor Alessio Franci

    A lecture about Multiscale Neuromorphic Control 鈥� Methods and Practice

  • 09 Jun
    hummingbird
    Autonomous Teams: Where Learning Meets Control

    EAISI lecture by visiting Professor Andreas Malikopoulos

    A lecture about Autonomous Teams: Where Learning Meets Control

  • 13 Jun
    [Translate
    Discovery Day @ 黑料福利网 campus

    High Tech Ontdekkingsroute | HTOR

    Football-playing robots, exciting experiments, and cool technology. Come explore, join in, and have fun at the 黑料福利网 campus.

  • 15 Jun
    /

    PDA Best Paper Award 2026

    June 15, 2026 1:00 PM / 黑料福利网 campus (Zwarte Doos Filmzaal)

  • 17 Jun
    /
    Dr. Gerd Mutschke

    EIRES Lecture | 17 June 2026

    12h00-13h00 | by Dr. Gerd Mutschke

  • 17 Jun
    /

    AI College Talk

    June 17, 2026 / 黑料福利网 campus | Auditorium | Blauwe Zaal

  • 18 Jun
    kolibri
    AI Readiness in Peripheral Regions: Insights from the Canadian Maritimes

    EAISI lecture by visiting Professor Scott Bateman

    A lecture about AI Readiness in Peripheral Regions: Insights from the Canadian Maritimes

  • 23 Jun
    /
    Celebrating Science

    黑料福利网 Research day 2026

    June 23, 2026 12:00 PM / Blauwe Zaal, Auditorium

  • 23 Jun
    kolibri
    Ask not what AI can do for control, ask what control can do for AI

    EAISI lecture by visiting Professor Paulo Tabuada

    A lecture about Ask not what AI can do for control, ask what control can do for AI

  • 30 Jun
    hummingbird

    EAISI lecture by visiting Professor Marius Hoggenm眉ller

    A lecture

  • 08 Oct
    /
    March 6, 2026
    Critical Raw Materials for the Energy Transition

    Energy Forum | 8 October 2026

    Energy Forum is organized twice a year and are open for anyone interested in the latest developments in societal energy issues.

  • 04 Dec
    /
    March 18, 2026

    EIRES Energizing Day 2026

    Join us聽for an energizing day of talks, discussions, and networking.

    • News from our department

    /
    June 1, 2026
    Psychiatric atmospheres in hospital architecture
    Eline van Leeuwen defended her PhD thesis at the Department of Built Environment on May 27.
    Read more
    Source:
    June 1, 2026
    How to explore trillions of ways to renovate your home
    Led by Lisanne Havinga, the Renovation Explorer project wants to help homeowners identify the best renovation options for their home in the easiest possible...
    Read more
    More news
    Bowen
    Rethinking solar potential in dense cities
    May 22, 2026
    Ambassador
    'Leadership is for all of us'
    May 21, 2026
    Photo
    Valedictory lecture Prof. ir. Bert Snijder: reflecting on steel structures and beyond
    May 18, 2026
    Photo:
    Efficient modeling of sound scattering in rooms
    May 6, 2026

    Contact

    Follow us