Research Methods for the Architectural Profession

Research Methods for the Architectural Profession introduces research as a systematic process, describes how to formulate research questions, provides an in-depth explanation of different research methods (qualitative, quantitative, and experimental), and explains how to select appropriate research methods and execute research studies. It describes the process of documentation, knowledge dissemination, and application of research results in architectural design and practice. Most importantly, it provides guidelines for integrating research into profession and uses extensive case-studies and practice-relevant examples to illustrate main concepts, procedures, and applications.

Integrating research into practice is essential for developing new knowledge, solving design and technical problems, overcoming different types of challenges present in the contemporary profession, and improving the design outcomes. Innovation requires a much stronger correlation between research and design, and it is pertinent for the future of architectural practice that research becomes an integral part of architectural profession. This book provides a roadmap for successfully integrating research into architectural design and for establishing innovative practices, regardless of a firm’s size.

Written by an architecture professor with an extensive research and professional background―specifically focusing on integrating research into practice―and richly illustrated with over 150 color images, this reference will be useful for both students and practitioners.

Ajla Akšamija, PhD, LEED AP BD+C, CDT is a faculty member in the Department of Architecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her interdisciplinary research expertise includes performance-based design, building science, building enclosures, emerging building technologies, digital design, and innovations in architecture. Akšamija has authored two previously published books, Integrating Innovation in Architecture: Design, Methods and Technology for Progressive Practice and Research (2016) and Sustainable Facades: Design Methods for High-Performance Building Envelopes (2013). She has contributed to many other books and numerous research publications. As one of the pioneers of practice-based architectural research, she established the Perkins and Will Building Technology Laboratory ("Tech Lab") in 2008, one of the first practice-driven research laboratories in the architectural profession.