Stijn Brancart is assistant professor of structural design. He obtained an MSc in Architectural Engineering in 2013 and a PhD in Engineering in 2018, both at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Brussels, Belgium. His research focuses on circular structural design and the design and analysis of adaptable and responsive systems. As part of the Department of Architectural Engineering & Technology, Stijn teaches different courses on structural design and analysis in the Technology track of the BSc in Architecture and the MSc Building Technology track.

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Trained as an architectural engineer, Stijn’s research and teaching activities are situated at the intersection of design and engineering. As a PhD researcher at VUB (2013-2018), he studied and developed rapidly and reversibly assembled bending-active structures, using the elastic bending capacity of materials like timber to generate complex geometries from initially linear and planar elements. This research led to the realisation of two full-scale demonstrators, the Undulatus and Reciplydome structures. As a postdoctoral researcher (2018-2021), Stijn continued his work on the manufacturing of bending-active systems and was involved in the European ‘Buildings as Materials Banks’ project (BAMB) and the Circular Retrofit Lab. This strengthened his expertise in circular design and construction, which he continued as a circular construction expert at VIBE, a small non-profit that supports and challenges building professionals in their transition towards a more sustainable construction practice.

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Stijn became assistant professor at TU Delft in 2021. There he continues his research on circular and adaptable structures, including design for disassembly, reconfigurable, responsive and self-forming structures. His work combines aspects of computational design, advanced manufacturing and structural mechanics, and has a strong link with topics like sustainable design, biomimetics and biobased materials.

TU Delft Research Profile

Selected Publications ​

• Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Using Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing in Circular Building Design: A Case Study for Wall Partitioning Systems in the Circular Retrofit Lab, Rajagopalan, N., Brancart, S., De Regel, S., Paduart, A., De Temmerman, N., & Debacker, W.(2021), Sustainability, 13(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095124. ​

• Bending-active kit-of-parts systems: Uniformity generating complexity, Brancart, S., Popovic Larsen, O., De Temmerman, N., & De Laet, L. (2019), In: P. Cruz (Ed.), Structures and architecture 2019 Taylor & Francis.

• Rapidly assembled reciprocal systems with bending-active components: the ReciPlyDome project, Brancart, S., Popovic Larsen, O., De Laet, L., & De Temmerman, N. (2019), Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, 60(1), 65-77. https://doi.org/10.20898/j.iass.2019.199.040. ​

• Rapidly assembled systems with flexible components: A dialogue between active-bending and transformability, Brancart, S. (2018), Crazy Copy Center Productions. ​

• Transformable structures: materialising design for change, Brancart, S., Paduart, A., Vergauwen, A., Vandervaeren, C., De Laet, L., & De Temmerman, N. (2017), International Journal of Ecodynamics, 12(3), 357-366. https://doi.org/10.2495/DNE-V12-N3-357-366. ​

• UNDULATUS: design and fabrication of a self-interlocking modular shell structure based on curved-line folding, Brancart, S., Vergauwen, A., Roovers, K., Van Den Bremt, D., De Laet, L., & De Temmerman, N. (2015), In: Proceedings of the IASS 2015 Symposium "Future Visions".​ ​

Selected Research Projects

 -Circular Structural Design project