Research

The School of Architecture is a professional school, and this shapes our view of research in the discipline in all its dimensions. As design and critical reflection on the built environment, the study and practice of architecture involves research, reflection, proposition, creativity, testing, and evaluation. This means it uses a wide range of research paradigms from other disciplines.

Leading architectural practice and design-research involve the creation of new knowledge in the form of design methods, products, and original works of architecture. Scholarly research in the humanities and social science aspects of architecture investigates its history and theory, and its cultural, social, political, or economic aspects.  Research in architectural technology investigates building systems, construction science, quantitative measurements of building performance with respect to design objectives, and the development of computational tools for design purposes. Ultimately, much architectural research crosses these boundaries, seeking to question, through design, the limits of architecture and explore its continually evolving relevance to contemporary societal challenges. 

Research and practice subjects for School of Architecture faculty