Rika DEVOS
Professor
Phone: +32 2 650 65 53
Email: rika.devos@ulb.be
BATir Department, CP 194/2
Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 50 - B-1050 Brussels
Publications: see DI-FUSION
URL: batir.polytech.ulb.be
Rika Devos graduated as engineer architect (2000, Ghent University) and holds a PhD in engineering sciences: architecture from Ghent University (2008). Her doctoral dissertation focused on the representation of post-war modern architecture at the 1958 Brussels world's fair, dealing with notions of dissemination of modern ideals in architecture culture, but also among those in power and the public at large. She was involved with several exhibitions on Expo 58 and co-curated the exhibition Modern Architecture at Expo 58 in Mechlin (2008, Lamot). When a postdoc assistant at the department of Architecture & Urban Planning of Ghent University she was also lecturer on modern history of architecture and architecture theory at the University College of St. Lucas (Ghent and Brussels). Engaged full time at ULB in 2012, Rika Devos is associate professor at the BATir Department of the Ecole polytechnique de Bruxelles, where she is an active member of the research unit AIA (Architecture and Ingénierie Architecturale). She teaches history of construction and architecture (BA and MA), theory of architecture (BA) and design studio (BA), supervises MA theses and is involved in the academic coordination of the training in architectural engineering. Rika Devos’ research on exhibition architecture continues to develop through collaborations with colleagues from Belgium and abroad, involving diverse publications and public lectures. Her publications on the topic tackle themes as diverse as communication in exhibition architecture, popular culture, regionalist influences and engineering prowess. At BATir-AIA, prof. Devos further builds on her expertise in the history of modern architecture and construction, focussing on shifting modes of collaboration (mainly, but not solely, between engineers, architects and building contractors), design tools (and their paperwork), notions of (international) knowledge exchange and archival challenges. She supervises several Ph.D. students on related topics. Rika Devos publishes widely on her explorations on the boundaries and overlaps of the related disciplines of architecture and construction history, which take shape through diverse collaborations with team members and interuniversity projects. She is also founding member and co-president of the joint ULB-VUB research group Construction Histories Brussels and co-organiser of various symposia.