Master 2 research internship Traditional housing, inspiration for sustainable development

Discipline : architecture, material science, bio-and geo based material, traditional habitat

Line Manager : Patrick PIZETTE

Workplace :  Douai , France

Type of contract and duration : internship (master 2 , 6 months)

CONTEXT :

Public establishment belonging to IMT (Institut Mines-Télécom), placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, IMT Nord Europe has three main objectives: providing our students with ethically responsible engineering practice enabling them to solve 21st century issues, carrying out our R&D activities leading to outstanding innovations and supporting territorial development through innovation and entrepreneurship. Ideally positioned at the heart of Europe, 1 hour away from Paris, 30 min from Brussels and 1h30 from London, IMT Nord Europe has strong ambitions to become a main actor of the current industrial transitions, digital and environmental, by combining education and research on engineering and digital technologies.

Located on two main campuses dedicated to research and education in Douai and Lille, IMT Nord Europe offers research facilities of almost 20,000m² in the following areas:

•             Digital science,

•             Energy and Environment,

•             Materials and Processes.

For more details, visit the School’s website : www.imt-nord-europe.fr

The position is vacant within the 01/03/2025

BRIEF:

Description of the internship context

Increases in global average and fluctuating temperatures compared with the pre-industrial period are key indicators of the impact of climate change in the modern industrial era [1]. In the housing sector, this impact is increasingly illustrated by a desire to combine lessons from the past of traditional houses with modern technologies [1, 2]. For example, research projects for sustainable construction are increasingly turning to natural materials such as bio-sourced or geo-sourced materials to reduce energy consumption and carbon production [2, 3]. Studies show that the development of biosourced or geosourced insulating materials can improve hygro-thermal transfers in a more sustainable way, particularly in view of the improved regulation of thermal exchanges around the home following temperature changes. However, studies often focus on only one aspect of construction (either architecture or materials, etc.).

Objective of this internship:

The aim of this course, using the example of applications of ancient earthen constructions, is to develop a methodology based on a traditionally inspired approach to housing. To achieve this, the method will be based on the general approach to architectural work to safeguard earthen heritage presented by J. L Michon (1987) [4]. The approach adopted in this internship will include all aspects of a construction project (process, architecture, materials, maintenance). Initially, a review of traditional approaches to architecture and building materials will be carried out. This will be followed by initial modeling and characterization work based on an existing earth-based project, which may be carried out during the course of the internship, depending on the progress made on the state of the art.

Reference

[1] L’architecture traditionnelle, source d’inspiration pour l’habitat de demain – UNESCO 2027 - https://www.unesco.org/fr/articles/larchitecture-traditionnelle-source-dinspiration-pour-lhabitat-de-demain

[2] Yadav M. et Agarwal, M., Biobased building materials for sustainable future: An overview, materials today proceedings, vol. 43, 2021

[3] Dujardin et al., From biobased & geosourced materials to building hygrothermal transfers: A review of modeling, simulation and experiment, Journal of Building Engineering, vol. 98, 2024.

[4]Michon, Jean-Louis (1987) Earth Architecture of South Morocco: Problems of Conservation, 8th ICOMOS Symposium, 1987

Internship activities:

1- State of the art on traditional approaches in architecture

2- State of the art on earthwork techniques

3- State of the art on bio-sourced and geo-sourced building materials

4- State of the art on additive manufacturing processes and their potential for traditional habitat

5- Modeling of a habitat project (Autocad software plus materials studies)

REQUIRED PROFILE :

 Skills

• This internship is primarily aimed at a Master 2 or architecture school student with in-depth academic training in architectural history, or a civil engineering student with a strong interest in old and traditional building structures.

• The profile requires a motivated individual with a sound knowledge of architecture or earth-based construction and materials. Experience and knowledge of building design and traditional building materials would be highly appreciated (but not compulsory).

Knowledge

• Great passion for approaches that integrate state-of-the-art, architectural drawing, experimental and modeling work.

• Mastery of the structuring of scientific work, demonstrating a methodical and organized approach.

• Outstanding ability to analyze and synthesize results.

• High-quality writing skills, actively contributing to the valorization of results.

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to share information clearly and accurately.

CONDITIONS :

The job is to be filled as to 01/03/2025  for a period of 6 months (internship convention, research master 2).                                                                                                                                                 

INFORMATION AND APPLICATION METHODS :

For any information on the missions, please contact  Pizette Patrick , Patrick.pizette@imt-nord-europe.fr  Tél. +3327712303

For any administrative information, please contact the Human Resources Department: jobs@imt-nord-europe.fr

This job is offered to civil servants on a mobility basis, or on a contractual basis under public law.

In addition, the position can be adapted for a disabled person.

DEADLINE DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS : 30/01/2025