Tracing Hidden Trajectories Reflections on Researching Under the Radar Renovation Practices

Bio

Ilke Kerkhofs

In 2021, Ilke Kerkhofs participated in an Erasmus exchange at ENSA Paris-Belleville, joining the studio Architecture of Resilience to research housing precarity and homelessness. She graduated with a Master in Architecture from the University of Antwerp in 2022, with the thesis Affordable Housing: An Exploration in Antwerp, which was awarded a graduation prize. Her professional experience includes traineeships at LIST architecture office in Paris and Collectif Gru in Nantes. From 2023–2025, she was assistant in the architecture program at the UA, contributing to teaching and organizing several events. Currently, she is a PhD-student (2025–2029) researching self-organized renovation practices among distressed homeowners in Flanders, with some exploratory publications in Rooilijn platform and Agora magazine.