Funding
Funded
Place-Based Public Space Codesign for Climate Futures: Developing a toolkit by research-through-design in Belfast
School of Natural and Built Environment | PHD
Reference Number
SNBE-2025-NF1
Application Deadline
6 June 2025
Start Date
1 October 2025
Overview
Please note: International candidates should NOT apply for this PhD opportunity (only Home, GB and Republic of Ireland candidates are eligible). Urban waterfronts are at the forefront of global warming impacts, yet also hold potential as sites of transformative adaptation for climate resilience. In cities like Belfast, the codesign of strategic waterfront spatial interventions offers opportunities to foster place-based sustainability and resilience while enhancing public pedagogy related to climate adaptation. To advance, this potential, this PhD project aims to create a codesign methodology and toolkit that enables the collaborative production of public space interventions capable of addressing site specific climate uncertainties. The project will contribute practical tools and theoretical insights to the fields of participatory design, spatial practice and climate adaptation.
Summary
The research will focus on designing a place-specific public space intervention along Belfast’s waterfront that can act as a catalyst for broader systemic sustainability and resilience goals. Informed by most recent climate projections (UKCP 2018), the project will codesign a small-scale spatial and material intervention through collaborative workshops with local residents and stakeholders. Through a research-through-design methodology, place-based design interventions will be iteratively prototyped to incorporate spatial responses, grounded in three-dimensional, material and topographical site conditions, that reflect localised social values, and future climate scenarios. A rigorously tested and transferable toolkit for designing spatial interventions that embeds climate uncertainty into participatory urban design will be generated through his research-through-design practice.
Research Questions
1. How can spatial and tectonic codesign methods integrate climate uncertainty into small-scale public space interventions?
2. What participatory tools are most effective in enabling communities to co-create place-specific responses to climate scenarios?
3. How can a research-through-design methodology inform the creation of a codesign toolkit for place-based, spatial and climate responsive design interventions?
Objectives
• Identify a waterfront site based in Belfast informed by mapping, climate risk data and stakeholder input.
• Facilitate participatory mapping and future climate scenario workshops with local communities.
• Co-create, prototype, and refine a small-scale spatial intervention using generative design tools.
• Evaluate the intervention’s impact and replicability in terms of engagement, spatial performance, and resilience.
• Develop a scalable, design-led toolkit for participatory climate adaptation in public spaces.
Methodology
The project draws on a research-through-design framework, supported by participatory and futures methodologies:
• Climate Scenario Analysis: Use Met Office projections for 2050 and 2100 to inform risk-based site selection.
• Participatory Mapping and Futures Workshops: Engage community members in mapping and visioning exercises to identify risks, values, and opportunities.
• Design Prototyping: Iterative codesign of a physical public space design intervention using probes, toolkits, and material prototypes that integrate climate projections and future scenarios.
• Toolkit Development: Document and refine methods into a practical, transferable format for broader application.
Contribution to Knowledge
This project will advance interdisciplinary knowledge by integrating climate futures into site-specific, material design practice. While co-production has been widely advocated in climate adaptation and urban planning (Baibarac & Petrescu, 2019; Ebbesson et al., 2024), few toolkits exist that operationalise these ideas into place-specific, spatial and tectonic design processes. The resulting methodology will foreground spatial agency, material expression, and community insight to navigate climate uncertainty.
Expected Outcomes
• A replicable methodology and design toolkit for codesigning climate-responsive public spaces.
• A small-scale spatial intervention prototyped and co-evaluated with community partners.
• Practical and theoretical insights into the intersections between climate adaptation, participatory design, and spatial practice.
Impact
The project will support Belfast’s transition to a more climate-resilient future by contributing design capacity and community engagement to a key local and global urban challenge. It will offer actionable knowledge for use by design professionals, city agencies, and grassroots organisations seeking to foster sustainability in other vulnerable waterfront settings.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Belfast’s waterfront is increasingly exposed to climate risks such as sea-level rise, pluvial and fluvial flooding, cloudbursts and heat stress (Met Office, 2022; DfI, 2021). These risks are compounded by dense urbanisation, impermeable surfaces and lack of green spaces, which increase the vulnerability of public spaces and adjacent communities. While large-scale flood mitigation plans exist, there remains a critical need to complement infrastructural approaches with community-led spatial interventions that reflect local environmental conditions and social dynamics.
Research on public participation in climate adaptation highlights significant gaps in how local knowledge, place-based risk perception, and spatial awareness are incorporated into place-specific urban and public space design (Hügel & Davies, 2020). Though educational tools such as serious games and visualisation platforms help to communicate risk, they often fall short of empowering communities to co-produce spatial and tectonic climate adaptation responses grounded in the lived experience of place. Urban Living Labs and experimental place-making initiatives have shown that small, well-designed public space interventions can catalyse broader systemic sustainability through processes of neighbourhood commoning and collective imagination (Baibarac & Petrescu, 2019; Belfield & Petrescu, 2024; Ebbesson et al., 2024). This project responds to this evolving codesign and climate adaptation landscape by proposing the collaborative design of a small-scale but catalytic intervention in Belfast’s riverfront area. Through a research-through-design approach, the project will develop a replicable methodology and toolkit for the meaningful engagement of communities in designing climate-responsive public spaces. This work directly aligns with calls for adaptation strategies that are not only technically sound but socially legitimate, inclusive, and grounded in real-world contexts.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
• To apply, visit https://go.qub.ac.uk/pgapply (link to the QUB Direct Application Portal)
• Apply for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in ‘Architecture’ at Queen's University Belfast, School of Natural and Built Environment.
• State name of lead supervisor on application form ‘Dr Nuala Flood’.
• State the intended SOURCE OF FUNDING on your application as 'DfE’.
• Please upload a copy of your Research Proposal.
Funding Information
International candidates should NOT apply for this PhD opportunity (only Home, GB and Republic of Ireland candidates are eligible).
Please note that this project is in competition for funding with several other projects within the School of Natural and Built Environment.
The value of a DfE award includes the cost of approved fees as well as maintenance support (stipend). As a guide, the stipend rate for 2024/2025 is currently £19,237.
Project Summary
Supervisor
Dr Nuala Flood
Mode of Study
Full-time: 3 years
Funding Body
DfE
Architecture overview
Architecture at Queen’s addresses the issues of architecture and urbanism in an increasingly globalised world, where factors such as sustainability and climate change, identity and heritage, and notions of craft and form create a complex context that architecture has to mediate.
Architecture at Queen’s values both traditional academic and practice-based research. We have the expertise to support PhDs (full and part-time) involving deep investigations into cultural, historic and technological contexts both in Ireland and globally, and we offer a practice-based PhD (part-time) intended for those seeking to extend or redefine the boundaries and ambition of their current design practice. Our research-by-design activities surface new knowledge through not only the analysis of the existing, but also the documentation of new processes, behaviours and situations revealed through sophisticated design thinking. In both, architecture is seen both as a lens and as a measure of urban, suburban and rural landscapes.
Mode of study / duration
Registration is on a full-time or part-time basis, under the direction of a supervisory team appointed by the University. You will be expected to submit your PhD thesis at the end of three years of full-time or six years of part-time registration.
Architecture Highlights
Industry Links
- Architecture has collaborations with numerous universities and other organisations around the globe. These include: TU Delft; MIT; Tokyo Metropolitan Government; Green Building Council, Australia; Innovate UK; Northern Ireland Climate Change; Belfast City Council Sustainable Development Group; Todd Architects, Belfast; and Queen’s Film Theatre, Belfast.
https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/NBE/Research/
World Class Facilities
- Architecture at Queen's boasts modern, state of the art design studios and review/exhibition spaces. In our brand new workshop, students can test ideas through laser cutting, model making and 3D printing.
https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/NBE/Research/facilities-infrastructure/
Internationally Renowned Experts
- In the island of Ireland we are the leaders in Architectural research and indeed we have world-class expertise in Architectural Design, Sustainable Cities, Heritage, and Architectural Humanities.
https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/NBE/
Student Experience
- Working closely with their chosen supervisors, PhD students are also connected to the School of Natural and Built Environment’s research themes, benefitting from the cross-disciplinary context of research in the school.
https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/NBE/Study/PostgraduateResearch/
Key Facts
As a Russell Group university and ranked in the UK top 10 (Guardian League Tables 2025), Queen’s is one of the best places in the UK to study architecture.
- In terms of research quality, Queen’s is ranked 12th in the UK for Architecture, Built Environment and Planning (REF 2021/Times Higher Education).
Course content
Research Information
Associated Research
Architecture at Queen’s offers the opportunity to make an original contribution to the discipline of architecture through a PhD or MPhil within the department’s accomplished, academic environment. Each lecturer in architecture pursues a unique research interest so that as a whole, the school is a diverse and lively place to study.
Working closely with their chosen supervisors, PhD students are also connected to the School of Natural and Built Environment’s research clusters, benefitting from the cross-disciplinary context of research in the school. As part of the Russell Group, the university often hosts symposiums, seminars and conferences which connect researchers with renowned academics from across the globe.
Research Impact
Architecture has collaborations with numerous universities and other organisations around the globe. These include: TU Delft; MIT; Tokyo Metropolitan Government; Green Building Council, Australia; Innovate UK; Northern Ireland Climate Change; Belfast City Council Sustainable Development Group; Todd Architects, Belfast; and Queen’s Film Theatre, Belfast.
Career Prospects
Introduction
Many of our PhD graduates have moved into academic and research roles in Higher Education while others go on to play leading roles in educational practice, the public sector or within NGO’s. Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability.
For further information on career opportunities at PhD level please contact the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences Student Recruitment Team on askEPS@qub.ac.uk.
Our advisors - in consultation with the School - will be happy to provide further information on your research area, possible career prospects and your research application.
People teaching you
Dr Agustina Martire
Senior Lecturer
Natural and Built Environment
Dr Chantelle Niblock
Lecturer
Natural and Built Environment
Dr Gul Kacmaz Erk
Senior Lecturer
Natural and Built Environment
Dr Jasna Mariotti
Senior Lecturer
Natural and Built Environment
Dr Niek Turner
Lecturer
Natural and Built Environment
Dr Nuala Flood
Senior Lecturer
Natural and Built Environment
Dr Sarah Lappin
Senior Lecturer
Natural & Built Environment
Dr Sean Cullen
Lecturer
Natural and Built Environment
Mr Keith McAllister
Senior Lecturer
Natural and Built Environment
Professor Gary Boyd
Professor
Natural and Built Environment
Professor Tom Jefferies
Director of Research
Natural and Built Environment
Learning Outcomes
A research degree offers students an opportunity to foster their capacity for independent research and critical thought. It also allows students to explore an area of interest and so understand and solve theoretical and practical problems within the field.Undertaking a research degree also enhances a student’s written and oral communication skills, and a PhD is almost always a formal requirement for an academic post.
Course structure
You will carry out original research under the guidance of your supervisory team. There is no specific course content as such. This independent research is complemented by postgraduate skills training organised by Queen’s Graduate School, and other internal and external training courses organised through your supervisor.You will normally register, in the first instance, as an ‘undifferentiated PhD student’ which means that you have satisfied staff that you are capable of undertaking a research degree. The decision as to whether you should undertake an MPhil or a PhD is delayed until you have completed ‘differentiation’.
Differentiation takes place about 9-12 months after registration for full time students and about 18-30 months for part time students: You are normally asked to submit work to a panel of up two academics and this is followed up with a formal meeting with the ‘Differentiation Panel’. The Panel then make a judgement about your capacity to continue with your study. Sometimes students are advised to revise their research objectives or to consider submitting their work for an MPhil qualification rather than a doctoral qualification.
To complete with a doctoral qualification you will be required to submit a thesis of no more than 80,000 words and you will be required to attend a viva voce [oral examination] with an external and internal examiner to defend your thesis.
A PhD programme runs for 3-4 years full-time or 6-8 years part-time. Students can apply for a writing up year should it be required.
The PhD is open to both full and part time candidates and is often a useful preparation for a career within academia or consultancy.
Full time students are often attracted to research degree programmes because they offer an opportunity to pursue in some depth an area of academic interest.
The part time route is a suitable option for those unable to study for a PhD full time. This may be due to family commitments or those already in employment. On the former, studying part time for a PhD can be very accommodating in juggling different responsibilities. On the latter, part time candidates often choose to research an area that is related to their professional responsibilities.
If you meet the Entry Requirements, the next step is to check whether we can supervise research in your chosen area. We only take students to whom we can offer expert research supervision from one of our academic staff. Therefore, your research question needs to engage with the research interests of one of our staff.
Application Process
Please review the eligibility criteria on the webpages. If you believe that you meet these criteria then follow the steps below:
Select ONE potential supervisor from our list of Academic Staff (https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/NBE/OurPeople/AcademicandResearchStaff/) and send an email containing:
a brief CV (1-2 pages maximum)
a concise statement that you are interested in studying for a PhD, stating when you would start, and how you would plan to fund the research
a brief statement of the research question or interest, and how you think the question could be investigated
Our academic staff welcome approaches from prospective students; staff can liaise with applicants to develop a research proposal of mutual interest. The potential supervisor should get back to you within a couple of weeks. They may invite you to meet with them or they may invite you to apply formally.
If you have difficulty identifying or contacting an appropriate supervisor, please contact Catherine Boone (email: pgr.snbe@qub.ac.uk) who will be happy to help.
For part-time study – the closing date for this option is 31st August each year.
For full-time study (self-funding) – for those full time candidates who do not wish to compete for a studentship or who are not eligible to compete for a studentship the closing date is 31st August each year.
For full-time study and application for a studentship/award; please be aware that awards are only available to full time students. Candidates wishing to apply for studentships available within the School must apply for full-time study at the same time. Available studentships and closing dates are detailed on the School's studentships web page: https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/NBE/Study/PostgraduateResearch/ResearchStudentships/
Assessment
Assessment processes for the research degree differ from taught degrees. Students will be expected to present drafts of their work at regular intervals to their supervisor who will provide written and oral feedback; a formal assessment process takes place annually.
This Annual Progress Review requires students to present their work in writing and orally to a panel of academics from within the School. Successful completion of this process will allow students to register for the next academic year.
The final assessment of the doctoral degree is both oral and written. Students will submit their thesis to an internal and external examining team who will review the written thesis before inviting the student to orally defend their work at a Viva Voce.
Feedback
Supervisors will offer feedback on draft work at regular intervals throughout the period of registration on the degree.
Entrance requirements
Graduate
The minimum academic requirement for admission to a research degree programme is normally an Upper Second Class Honours degree from a UK or ROI HE provider, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University. Further information can be obtained by contacting the School.
International Students
For information on international qualification equivalents, please check the specific information for your country.
English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 in Speaking and Listening and a minimum of 5.5 in Reading and Writing, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University, is required. *Taken within the last 2 yrs.
International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.
For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: www.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs.
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.
Tuition Fees
| Northern Ireland (NI) 1 | £5,006 |
| Republic of Ireland (ROI) 2 | £5,006 |
| England, Scotland or Wales (GB) 1 | £5,006 |
| EU Other 3 | £25,600 |
| International | £25,600 |
1 EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled or pre-settled status, are expected to be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident, however this is provisional and subject to the publication of the Northern Ireland Assembly Student Fees Regulations. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB are expected to be charged the GB fee, however this is provisional and subject to the publication of the Northern Ireland Assembly student fees Regulations.
2 It is expected that EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI will be eligible for NI tuition fees. The tuition fee set out above is provisional and subject to the publication of the Northern Ireland Assembly student fees Regulations.
3 EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.
All tuition fees quoted are for the academic year 2021-22, and relate to a single year of study unless stated otherwise. Tuition fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
More information on postgraduate tuition fees.
Architecture costs
There are no specific additional course costs associated with this programme.
Additional course costs
All Students
Depending on the programme of study, there may also be other extra costs which are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies . Students can borrow books and access online learning resources from any Queen's library. If students wish to purchase recommended texts, rather than borrow them from the University Library, prices per text can range from £30 to £100. Students should also budget between £30 to £100 per year for photocopying, memory sticks and printing charges. Students may wish to consider purchasing an electronic device; costs will vary depending on the specification of the model chosen. There are also additional charges for graduation ceremonies, and library fines. In undertaking a research project students may incur costs associated with transport and/or materials, and there will also be additional costs for printing and binding the thesis. There may also be individually tailored research project expenses and students should consult directly with the School for further information.
Bench fees
Some research programmes incur an additional annual charge on top of the tuition fees, often referred to as a bench fee. Bench fees are charged when a programme (or a specific project) incurs extra costs such as those involved with specialist laboratory or field work. If you are required to pay bench fees they will be detailed on your offer letter. If you have any questions about Bench Fees these should be raised with your School at the application stage. Please note that, if you are being funded you will need to ensure your sponsor is aware of and has agreed to fund these additional costs before accepting your place.
How do I fund my study?
1.PhD OpportunitiesFind PhD opportunities and funded studentships by subject area.
2.Funded Doctoral Training ProgrammesWe offer numerous opportunities for funded doctoral study in a world-class research environment. Our centres and partnerships, aim to seek out and nurture outstanding postgraduate research students, and provide targeted training and skills development.
3.PhD loansThe Government offers doctoral loans of up to £26,445 for PhDs and equivalent postgraduate research programmes for English- or Welsh-resident UK and EU students.
4.International ScholarshipsInformation on Postgraduate Research scholarships for international students.
Funding and Scholarships
The Funding & Scholarship Finder helps prospective and current students find funding to help cover costs towards a whole range of study related expenses.
How to Apply
Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply.
Find a supervisor
If you're interested in a particular project, we suggest you contact the relevant academic before you apply, to introduce yourself and ask questions.
To find a potential supervisor aligned with your area of interest, or if you are unsure of who to contact, look through the staff profiles linked here.
You might be asked to provide a short outline of your proposal to help us identify potential supervisors.