Research programme Architecture

Vision

This research programme focuses explicitly on architecture as métier, or ‘craft’ in the broadest sense of the word; a field in which making and thinking are inextricably linked. The programme regards the ‘architectural project’ as the cornerstone of architectural practice and reflection. It holds that the architectural project forms the junction where a complex combination of cultural, social, functional, economical and ecological factors is articulated as a concrete spatial proposal. This articulation requires a specific expertise that characterises the discipline of architecture.

Mission

The aim of the research programme is to reposition architecture firmly as a field of expertise with its own specific logic, rationale and instruments. While in recent years, research in -architecture has often implied a quest for -intangible forces, the focus on architecture as ‘craft’ and ‘project’ entails a return to the -history, tools and paradigms of the discipline. This encompasses an in-depth investigation of how architectural projects can perform at the scale of the building, the city and the territory as well as a study of existing approaches and perspectives, instruments and disciplinary boundaries.

Objectives

This research programme articulates a sustainable frame for future research in which pressing societal questions can co-exist in a coherent manner with timeless and fundamental questions pertaining to the discipline of architecture. It explores the status of architecture as a discipline that combines practical issues of design and the intellectual questions that underlie them. This status is also reflected in the department’s educational programme. In addition, the programme aims to ensure a better and more systematic -dissemination of the research results within the larger international scientific community.

The projects and research programs aim at knowledge accumulation on specific issues, such as urban complexity (Urban Question), the sustainable city (The Why Factory), public spaces (Public Spaces, Public Realm, Public Interior). As a whole, this cluster is aimed at generating an overarching understanding of architecture and its knowledge (in theory and in practice).