Abstract
Architecture extends far beyond the design of buildings and cities, engaging with environmental, technological, and societal challenges. As practice evolves, so must the research that supports it. This theme track examines architecture’s expanding role in collaboration, communication, and service, positioning it as a research-driven discipline and a tool for inquiry, innovation, and responsiveness to communities and stakeholders. Operating across systems, social processes, and technological infrastructures, architecture is increasingly understood as an interdisciplinary practice. The track strengthens Architectural Design Research by addressing its evolving methodologies and its role in knowledge production. Contributions explore co-creation, artificial intelligence, data as design material, and practice-based approaches, alongside theoretical reflections on design processes. Together, the papers frame architecture as an open, relational, and collective mode of inquiry, in which architects act not as sole authors but as participants in dynamic networks of actors, tools, and knowledge.
Keywords
Architectural Practice, Research by Design, Design Tools and Methods, Integrated Knowledge
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.212
Citation
Triggianese, M., Sádaba, J., Moreau, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Kaan, K., Vrachliotis, G., and Risueño, M. (2026) Reframing Practice: Architectural Design Research and the Expanding Role of the Architect, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.212
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Reframing Practice: Architectural Design Research and the Expanding Role of the Architect
Architecture extends far beyond the design of buildings and cities, engaging with environmental, technological, and societal challenges. As practice evolves, so must the research that supports it. This theme track examines architecture’s expanding role in collaboration, communication, and service, positioning it as a research-driven discipline and a tool for inquiry, innovation, and responsiveness to communities and stakeholders. Operating across systems, social processes, and technological infrastructures, architecture is increasingly understood as an interdisciplinary practice. The track strengthens Architectural Design Research by addressing its evolving methodologies and its role in knowledge production. Contributions explore co-creation, artificial intelligence, data as design material, and practice-based approaches, alongside theoretical reflections on design processes. Together, the papers frame architecture as an open, relational, and collective mode of inquiry, in which architects act not as sole authors but as participants in dynamic networks of actors, tools, and knowledge.