Architectural design research: Drivers of practice

Architectural design research in small practices

“…Usually undertaken in collaboration with industry partners, output-driven architectural design research produces tangible and singular outcomes through a process of design innovation. In large practices, this generally relates to the immediate design of building elements and material components (Aydemir and Jacoby, 2022). Likewise, output-driven research in design-led small offices is also predominantly project-specific and motivated by direct implementation, and a common approach when developing non-standardised design solutions.…”

“…Design research has become relatively common in large architectural firms since the 2000s and led to the rise of dedicated research departments or groups that typically engage with conventional, process-driven research (Aydemir and Jacoby, 2022). In comparison, as small practices lack the financial and human resources, they tend to work in less conventional office settings, undertake more collaborative research and depend on external funding and support or conduct self-initiated research in their own time.…”

“…A previous study defined architectural design research as consisting of "cyclical and iterative processes of research in which the means of architectural practice, often in collaboration between practitioners and stakeholders, produce design innovation and thinking with tangible impact and commercial, cultural, or social values" (Aydemir and Jacoby, 2022). While design research in larger architectural practices is more established and tends to be more visible, design innovation and research equally occurs in smaller practices.…”

“…Whereas previous studies discussed research in large architectural offices (Aydemir and Jacoby, 2022), this paper's focus are the new forms of practice emerging in small offices that prioritise exploration and experimentation. This study is specifically interested in how practice-led research in academia and industry might become less distinguishable when an architect is both a research practitioner and practising researcher, as well as how the positioning of some small architectural offices relates to the experience of a taught academic research programme or how academic research programmes might be informed by innovative practice.…”

“…. Process-driven research in small practices Process-driven research in architectural practice has a planned and cyclical research design and process, and can be characterised as being well-documented, fully integrated with practice activities and usually part of collaboration with industry and academia(Aydemir and Jacoby, 2022). Process-driven research activities in practice are closer to those in conventional research and therefore more easily recognised as research, with their outcomes producing transferable knowledge and insights.…”