- Public PhD defence of Moslem MOKDAD on "Public Procurement of Construction Projects: An in-depth study and comparison of the international practice in Europe, Belgium and Lebanon"May 28, 2025When analyzing the public procurement procedures, the manuscript clearly shows that there is an urgent need for a paradigm shift moving away from contracts awarded by the “lowest price” only, where much evidence has been gathered about its inefficiency. Furthermore, the latest European directives administrating public procurement recommend awarding the contracts to the “Most Economically Advantageous Tender” MEAT instead of the lowest price.
- Public PhD defence of Nikhil DAVE on "Multiscale modelling of dimensional stability and through-thickness liquid transport in paper sheets"May 22, 2025Paper, a porous-fibrous network, is made up of micro-scale hydrophilic fibres, which are notably susceptible to deformations due to variations in moisture content. On interaction with water, the dimensional change of a single nfibre is transmitted to the fibre network via the inter-fibre bonds.
- M@trimonia : Les bâtisseuses du SolboschMarch 4, 2025Architects, professors, activists, visual artists, students... How can we highlight the work of these women who have played such an important part in the history of the Solbosch campus?
- Invitation to the opening of the exhibition Chair Perspective - 'La nature en ville | Le Stade Marien'March 12, 2025The BATir department invites you to discover the 2025 edition of the Chair Perspective exhibition - 'La nature en ville'. This exhibition showcases innovative projects created by students of the 'Master en spécialisation en urbanisme et aménagement du territoire de la Faculté d’Architecture', the 'Ecole Polytechnique de Bruxelles', and the 'BA3 Ingénieur Civil Architecte'.
- De la Game Day au Game LabMarch 17, 2025A l’initiative de Samia Ben Rajeb (AIA - EBP), Fanny Sbaraglia (Phisoc) et Karel Vanhaesebrouck (LTC), s’est tenue, le 13 mars 2025, la « Game Day », une journée tout entière consacrée à des échanges autour du jeu comme objet de recherche, de collecte de données, d’enseignement et de transmission des savoirs.
- Fog collection in the arid urban region of Alto Hospicio, ChileFebruary 21, 2025Nathalie Verbrugghe shares her fascinating research about fog harvesting as an alternative / sustainable resource for water with BBC 5 Radio.
- Elise Lefevre received the Frank Goes Prize in the Civil Engineering category from the Fédération des Entrepreneurs Généraux de la ConstructionJanuary 15, 2025This Prize is awarded for her Master Thesis work entitled "Earth stabilization via carbonate precipitation by plant-derived urease for building applications", under the supervision of Prof. Alessia Cuccurullo.
- Sustainable construction: materials and innovationsDecember 20, 2024Which sustainable solutions can transform the way we build and to be more respectful of the environment?
- Pierre-Marie Bernard Guillemot received the Frank Goes Prize in the Architectural Engineering category from the Fédération des Entrepreneurs Généraux de la ConstructionDecember 4, 2024This Prize is awarded for his Master Thesis work entitled "Computational Study of the Feasibility of Baubotanical Structures", under the supervision of Prof. Péter Z. Berke.
- PhD researcher Ciska Gielis receives Best Presentation Award at the 11th International Symposium on Fiber Reinforced Concrete (BEFIB 2024)October 9, 2024At the 11th International Symposium on Fiber Reinforced Concrete (BEFIB 2024) organized in Dresden (Germany) last September, PhD researcher Ciska Gielis was awarded the Best Presentation Award for her outstanding presentation on the integration of polypropylene (PP) microfibers in 3D Textile Reinforced Cements (3D TRCs).
- ScienceUS - European projectJune 17, 2024ScienceUs is a three year European project funded by the European Commision under the call HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-08. The call has specific directions, scopes and objectives. ULB, through the BATir department and Professor Samia BEN RAJEB, is one of the project's partners.
- Public PhD defence of Khaoula Stiti on "Heritage at the Nexus of Participation and Digital Platforms"June 17, 2024Heritage at the Nexus of Participation and Digital Platforms: Contextual Specificities in Tunisand Theoretical and Experimental
- How to design a watchtower for two lifeguards in tensegrity?April 17, 2024In the framework of the transdisciplinary project TRAN-H-201, the BATir department has welcomed 3 groups of students during the 2023-2024 academic year: in total, 14 boys and 5 girls studying in the 2nd year of their Bachelor in Engineering Sciences at EPB.
- Our Bruface Civil Engineering students visited the deep geothermal Balmatt project (VITO) and the Hades underground research laboratory (Euridice) in MolApril 4, 2024In the frame of their elective course of « Energy geomechanics », some of our students of Bruface Master 2 in Civil Engineering had the opportunity to visit the installations of the deep geothermal Balmatt project in Mol. VITO has built there a geothermal energy plant, with 3 wells (3.5 kilometers deep).
- Exhibition ON STUDYING (in) WEST BXLApril 4, 2024The BATir department is pleased to invite you to the exhibition of the work of the ‘Atelier d'Architecture’ - ULB BA3 Civil Engineering Architects students which runs from 28/03 (opening) to 24/05/2024 at perspective.brussels.
- New joint R&D project for AIA labMarch 12, 2024The AIA research team (under the supervision of Pr. S. Ben Rajeb) has obtained an Innoviris funding for a Research and Development project named HARPO. The objective of HARPO (Human-centered Application for the Resource and Productivity Optimization of buildings) is to develop an innovative software solution based on BIM models to improve the construction site productivity. This would enable the various site players to integrate site execution data directly into the virtual model of the building, in order to better manage the work of teams and optimize execution processes on site. The project is a collaboration between the construction company CIT Blaton, the start-up Kabandy developing BIM technologies, and the two research teams Buildwise and ULB BATir.
- Project Pont SpaghettiMarch 1, 2024This year the 3Ba ULB construction engineering students designed a spaghetti bridge as part of the course ‘Analyse des Structures’. The goal was to create a statically undetermined structure that was loaded symmetrically in the middle of both spans. All the students did a good job, and this year 20 kg of load could be placed on a 232 g bridge structure. Below you can find some atmospheric images and a video.
- Publication of the book "L’Université libre de Bruxelles au Solbosch"February 16, 2024Bernard Espion and Michel Provost have contributed to the preparation and the writing of the book “L’Université libre de Bruxelles au Solbosch”
- Public PhD defence of Joan Botey on "Exploring the potential of satellite InSAR in geological engineering: new opportunities in land monitoring and hydrogeological characterisation"January 17, 2024Joan BOTEY i BASSOLS’s public defence will explore novel contributions of InSAR in Geological Engineering, more specifically, in land monitoring and the hydrogeological characterisation of the ground, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches at both regional and local scales.
- Public PhD defence of Ali Naqi on "Early Age Characterization of Viscoelastic Properties of Alkali-Activated Binders"December 15, 2023The environmental concern of high CO2 emissions in cement production emphasizes the need for less carbon-intensive concrete materials. Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) offer a promising alternative to Portland cement (PC), but assuming similar mechanical behavior requires a detailed investigation due to distinct microstructure differences. Ali NAQI's public defense will focus on exploring the properties of novel AAMs, including workability, failure characteristics, and elastic/viscoelastic behavior.
- GeoMechanics Laboratory equipped with fiber optics the multi-borehole heat exchangers field at USquareJanuary 1, 2024GeoMechanics Laboratory, in collaboration with G-Time department, both at ULB, were involved in the installation of temperature and strain fiber-optics along a series of borehole heat exchangers drilled at USquare.
- Our Bruface Civil and Architectural engineering students visited the Constitution-M3 construction site in BrusselsDecember 20, 2023Site visits are an important part of students’ learning process allowing the students to develop a greater understanding of how civil engineering theory is put into practice. In the frame of their course of « Geotechnical Engineering », our students of Bruface Master 1 in Civil and Architectural Engineering had the opportunity to visit the construction site of “Constitution station” managed by STIB-MIVB in Brussels.
- Yahroun Hermans (ULB-BATir-SMC) was awarded the Frank Goes Award for Outstanding Master Thesis in Civil Engineering from the Fédération des Entrepreneurs Généraux de la ConstructionDecember 13, 2023Yahroun Hermans received the Frank Goes Prize from the Fédération des Entrepreneurs Généraux de la Construction. This Prize is awarded the prize for his Master Thesis work entitled "Limit Analysis for Non-Periodic Historic Masonry Panels: An Engineering Homogenisation Approach”, under the supervision of Prof. Thierry J. Massart, Prof. Gabriele Milani (Politecnico di Milano) and Dr. Nicola Grillanda (Politecnico di Milano).
- Public PhD defence of Mina Khodadad on "Green Infrastructure for Water Security-Based Urban Planning: A Comparative Analysis of Systemic Urban Plans and Spatial Flood-based GI Priority Layouts in Monterrey and Brussels"December 14, 2023Mina Khodadad successfully defended her PhD titled "Green Infrastructure for Water Security-Based Urban Planning: A Comparative Analysis of Systemic Urban Plans and Spatial Flood-based GI Priority Layouts in Monterrey and Brussels". This was a joint PhD research between EPB / BATir and ITESM (Mexico) supervised by prof. Ahmed Z. KHAN (SUFI, BATir) and prof. Ismael AGUILAR-BARAJAS (ITESM, Mexico).
- Public PhD defence of Marco Sirotti on "The Drying Shrinkage and Deformation Mechanisms in NaOH-Activated Slag"November 8, 2023Alkali-activated materials are a more sustainable alternative to Portland cement in the construction industry, but one of the factors still hindering a widespread adoption is the uncertainties about their volume stability. The public defence of Marco Sirotti will focus on the drying shrinkage of alkali-activated slag, its causes, the factors affecting it, and the consequences it has on durability.
- Concrete Day - MACBEN - BENOR Contest 2023November 13, 2023The ULB-EPB-BATir student team won third prize and €1000 in the Concrete Day Student competition.
- Active Participation of AIA in the Inaugural Doctoral Seminar of EDT 62November 15, 2023Exchange on Research in Architecture and Urbanism.
- Professor Ahmed Z. Khan has been appointed as Editorial Board member of the Journal of Planning HistoryNovember 8, 2023Which is the result of a nomination process undertaken in the Spring of 2023. The Journal is affiliated with the Society for American City and Regional Planning History and is considered a journal of record in the area of planning history.
- Survey: Collaborative practices in the Belgian construction sectorNovember 10, 2023The AIA team is launching a survey to assess the current state of collaboration while identifying the success factors and obstacles encountered by professionals.
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- How to design a climbing tree in tensegrity?October 2, 2023As part of the transdisciplinary project TRAN-H-201 organized during the 2022-2023 academic year by the construction section, the BATir department welcomed 3 groups of students.
- International colloquium : Building for the Nation AbroadJuly 14, 2023International conference Building for the Nation Abroad in Rome, 21-22 September 2023
- BATir student Eleonora Rubinacci has received second place in the architectural design contest Switch2Save 2023 for her design Ghameleome.October 2, 2023BATir student Eleonora Rubinacci (MFE on Biomimetic Design supervised by prof. Ahmed Z. Khan, 2021-22) has received second place in the architectural design contest Switch2Save 2023 for her design Ghameleome.
- Public PhD defence of Jingbin Yang on "Effects of Superabsorbent Polymers on the Shrinkage, Cracking, and Self-Healing Properties of Alkali-Activated Slag Systems"June 19, 2023Jingbin Yang successfully defended his PhD entitled “Effects of Superabsorbent Polymers on the Shrinkage, Cracking, and Self-Healing Properties of Alkali-Activated Slag Systems”. He was being supervised by Zhenping Sun from Tongji University, Nele De Belie from Ghent University and Didier Snoeck from Université libre de Bruxelles.
- Public PhD defence of Amy Phillips on "Toward Citizen-Centered Urban Green: Advancing understandings of supply and demand interactions and inequalities"June 7, 2023Ms Amy PHILLIPS will present and defend in public an original thesis.
- Rika Devos joined the editorial board of Bulletin KNOBJuly 13, 2023Rika Devos has recently joined the editorial board of Bulletin KNOB, the peer reviewed journal of the oldest association of heritage in The Netherlands.
- Role models in researchMay 30, 2023CALIPER is a Project that supports 9 Research Organisations across Europe to develop Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) and engage the local Innovation Hubs to transfer the gained knowledge beyond academia.
- RILEM Spring Convention & 4th International Congress on Materials & Structural StabilityApril 21, 2023At the RILEM Spring Convention & 4th International Congress on Materials & Structural Stability, held in Rabat, Didier Snoeck received one of four Communication Awards. One of the other prizes was awarded to a publication on the theme of his former PhD student José Roberto Tenório Filho.
- Université Libre de Bruxelles, Finalist of the Engaged University of the Year AwardApril 7, 2023With "Engineering a Sustainable Future: Sensitize, Transform, Act Together", ULB is one of the five finalists of the Triple E award: Engaged University of the Year Award.
- Table ronde : Enjeux de la transition dans le secteur de la constructionMarch 16, 2023On Thursday 16th of March, a roundtable discussion: Transition Issues in the Construction Sector, took place with Samia Ben Rajeb, Giulia Caterina Verga and Didier Snoeck, on sustainability related to urban planning, sustainable structural design and building materials. The event was widely attended by students from all years from our programs in Architecture Engineering and Civil Engineering. It was an engaging discussion.
- Construction History, Above and Beyond. What History Can Do for Construction HistoryMay 30, 2022Rika Devos of BATir-AIA is coordinator of the EOS (2022) research project “Construction History, Above and Beyond. What History Can Do for Construction History.”
- 18 months of monitoring of concrete repairs in the Rogier tunnelMarch 3, 2021Five pairs of embedded piezoelectric transducers have been installed in the ceiling of the Rogier tunnel in Brussels in June 2019 in order to follow the state of health of concrete repairs.
Updated on June 1, 2023