Theory by design

As a result of the Bologna Process, the need to connect higher education with research has become an important issue. For a discipline such as architecture, this seems to put the traditional and well-established equilibrium between theory and praxis under pressure, or even under threat.

Research is undertaken in order to construct knowledge through the acquisition of insight and understanding, with the aim of sharing the results. In architecture schools, design lies at the heart of the educational programme, with the design studio being the central locus. Since design and research are inextricably linked, the relationship between knowledge production and the design process has become a subject of investigation.

The interweaving of research and design-based architectural education also affects the relationship between teaching and design. This book focuses explicitly on connections: the connections between the construction of knowledge and theory, teaching and learning, design and research. In doing so, it broadens the research spectrum and others new approaches to research and teaching.

This inspiring essay volume demonstrates the predilection for experiment within the design studio, the ceaseless impulse for change, the reorientation of studio assignments, and the power inherent in the enquiring minds of the hugely dedicated studio teachers.