+49 234 32 10172
britta.koehler@pknrw.de
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Department of Construction and Culture
The Department of Construction and Culture serves as a networking platform for research-oriented professors and doctoral candidates from universities of applied sciences and universities. Through a combined application of methods from the natural sciences and humanities, engineering and materials sciences, as well as design and the arts, the department addresses and explores key questions related to construction and urban planning — including historical and cultural aspects — from a variety of perspectives.
Research
The Department of Construction and Culture deals with the diverse aspects of design and planning, the construction and operation, as well as the preservation of buildings, infrastructures, and spaces. It also examines the conditions under which works of art and cultural heritage are created and preserved. The department focuses particularly on the challenges arising from changing living conditions and dynamic processes of societal development, such as globalization and climate change. In addition to generating new scientific knowledge, its aim is to develop innovative solutions for society and to identify and explore significant political fields of action.
The department is rooted in a broad range of disciplines: civil engineering (structural engineering, timber engineering, building physics, technical building services, construction economics, water management and hydraulic engineering, geodesy, urban planning), architecture (landscape architecture, design, architectural and design theory), archaeology, monument preservation, conservation and materials science, cultural studies, as well as art and image studies. It sees itself as an interdisciplinary research network that promotes collaboration among its members across institutionally established disciplinary boundaries.
As the newest department of the Doctoral School NRW, the Department of Construction and Culture was established on October 26, 2020, by resolution of the board, and held its (virtual) inaugural meeting on November 30, 2020.
Getting a Doctorate with the Department
The Department of Construction and Culture supports research-oriented graduates on their path to a doctoral degree. It offers a structured doctoral program and promotes cooperative doctoral projects.
