Dr Willem de Bruijn

Senior Lecturer – BA (Hons) Architecture and Postgraduate Course Tutor – MRes ArtsPhD, M.Sc., FHEA

Overview

Dr. Willem de Bruijn studied architecture at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and KTH Stockholm. He completed a PhD in History and Theory of Architecture (2010) at The Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL). He has been a guest lecturer and visiting lecturer at Chelsea College of Art and Design, Westminster University (School of Architecture) and University of East London (School of Architecture), where he taught a variety of subjects, including history and theory of architecture, critical theory and philosophy of art.

Willem has also worked as an associate researcher at the Arcadian Library in London and as a freelance designer and editor for publications such as Sigmund Freud’s Desk: An Anecdoted Guide by Ro Spankie (Freud Museum London, 2015) and Magic in Art (TheGallery, AUB, 2017).

Willem joined Arts University Bournemouth in 2015 to teach Contextual Studies on the BA (Hons) Architecture and MArch courses. Since 2020, Willem has taken up the additional role of Postgraduate Award Leader for the MRes Arts (Master of Research), which offers students in the arts an opportunity to acquire skills in research in preparation of doctoral study. Alongside his academic work, Willem is active as an artist and has participated in various group shows in the UK and abroad, most recently at Loudest Whispers 2023 in London.

Qualifications

PhD History and Theory of Architecture (University of London)
M.Sc. Architecture (TU Delft)

Teaching Qualification

PGCAP, Supervising Research Degrees (SEDA)

Teaching

Dr. Willem de Bruijn currently teaches on the BA (Hons) Architecture, M.Arch., and MRes Arts courses at AUB. He also supervises research degrees in the areas of architecture, urban studies, fine art (drawing) and design.

Courses

Research

Research Interests and Projects

Willem's research is underpinned by a broad interest in architecture, art and design. Central to his work is a concern with the image understood as a form of cultural currency, where visualisation is understood to be different from representation. He's particularly interested in creative and critical uses of the image that challenge the predominantly verbal narratives and arguments that history and theory (in architecture, art and design) produce.

Taking inspiration from the work of art historian Aby Warburg (1866-1929) and his now-famous Mnemosyne Atlas (1927-29), Willem has been promoting and developing alternative modes and methods of theorising architectural history through collage, investigating the visual and pictorial as a key aspect of critical thought. His most recent outputs have been oriented towards pedagogical applications of Warburg’s iconographic method of pictorial juxtaposition, or Bildargumentation, in the teaching of critical thinking skills, theory and academic writing. In so doing, Willem seeks to expand notions of ‘visual literacy’ and ‘visual learning’ to encompass a critical deployment of the image across the curriculum, from undergraduate to doctoral level.

Research Supervision

Dr. Willem de Bruijn supervises four doctoral students (one as DoS) in the areas of architecture, urban studies, fine art and design. He's interested in receiving PhD applications in the areas of architecture, architectural history and theory, philosophy and fine art. Please refer to the Research page on the AUB website for further details.

Completions

Lund, D. (2021). Ingenious adaptations: The development of the professionally-made architectural model in Britain, 1883-2020. PhD thesis, Arts University Bournemouth/UAL.
Losq, J. (2023). Layered visions through the Teleorama: Constructing Sites of Ruination through Contemporary Drawing Practice. PhD Thesis, Arts University Bournemouth/UAL.