PREPARED BY:

AR 531 DESIGN 9 ARCHT. MA. THERESA M. AUSTRIA

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN THESIS 2 UAP PRC 10440
MODULES 2 UPDATE: JULY 2025

ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH METHODS materials, evaluating the impact of lighting on

Architectural research often involves complex, multi- occupant comfort). This can involve lab-based
faceted problems that blend artistic, technical, social, experiments or field experiments in existing
and environmental considerations. As such, problem- buildings.
solving methodologies in architectural research draw Simulation and Modeling: Using computer
from a wide array of approaches. Here's an enumeration software to simulate building performance
of examples: (e.g., energy consumption, daylighting,
acoustics, crowd movement) or urban
I. General Research Methodologies (often adapted development scenarios to test design solutions
for architectural problems):
and predict outcomes.
1.1 Qualitative Research: Statistical Analysis: Applying statistical
Case Studies: In-depth investigation of methods to quantitative data to identify
existing buildings, urban areas, or design correlations, differences, or predictive
interventions to understand their context,
relationships between variables (e.g.,
performance, and user experience. This can analyzing the relationship between building
involve interviews, observations, document
orientation and energy use).
analysis, and physical measurements. Historical Research:
Ethnography: Studying human behavior and
Archival Research: Examining historical
culture within architectural settings to
documents, drawings, photographs, and
understand how people interact with and records to understand the evolution of
perceive spaces. architectural styles, building technologies,
Phenomenology: Exploring lived experiences
urban planning, or specific buildings and their
of people in relation to the built environment to contexts.
understand their subjective perceptions and Oral History: Collecting personal accounts
meanings.
and memories from individuals who lived in,
Grounded Theory: Developing new theories designed, or used historical buildings or
or models based on systematically collected environments.
and analyzed qualitative data from Typological Studies: Analyzing recurring
architectural contexts.
architectural forms, patterns, and their
Interviews and Focus Groups: Gathering in- evolution over time and across different
depth opinions, experiences, and perceptions cultures.
from users, stakeholders, or experts about
1.3 Mixed Methods Research:
architectural problems and proposed
Combining qualitative and quantitative
solutions. approaches to gain a more comprehensive
Content Analysis/Discourse Analysis: understanding of complex architectural
Analyzing architectural texts, drawings, problems. For example, using surveys to
policies, or media to understand underlying
identify general trends and then conducting
themes, biases, or societal values related to interviews to delve deeper into specific issues.
design.
II. Design-Oriented Problem Solving
1.2 Quantitative Research:
Methodologies (often integrated into research):
Surveys: Collecting numerical data from a
large sample of respondents to identify Design Thinking: A human-centered approach
patterns, preferences, or opinions related to
that emphasizes empathy, ideation, prototyping,
architectural spaces or problems (e.g., user and testing to solve complex problems. In
satisfaction surveys, building performance architecture, this involves understanding user
assessments). needs, brainstorming creative solutions, developing
Experiments: Testing hypotheses about
models or mock-ups, and iteratively refining
architectural elements or design interventions designs based on feedback.
under controlled conditions (e.g., comparing Creative Problem Solving (CPS): A structured
energy performance of different façade process for generating and evaluating ideas to find
1
PREPARED BY:
AR 531 DESIGN 9 ARCHT. MA. THERESA M. AUSTRIA
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN THESIS 2 UAP PRC 10440
MODULES 2 UPDATE: JULY 2025

innovative solutions. It often involves stages like the desired outcomes of the research. Often, a
problem identification, information gathering, idea combination of these methodologies is employed
generation (e.g., brainstorming), idea evaluation, for a holistic understanding.
and implementation.
Action Research: A cyclical process of planning,
acting, observing, and reflecting, often used when
References:
researchers are directly involved in implementing
and evaluating interventions in real-world I. General Research Methodologies:
architectural settings (e.g., designing and testing a
community-led housing project). Qualitative Research:
Practice-Based Research/Research by Design: Case Studies:
Where the act of designing itself is a core research Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications:
methodology, generating new knowledge through Design and Methods. SAGE Publications.\Creswell, J. W., &
the iterative process of design exploration and Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design:
Choosing Among Five Approaches. SAGE Publications. (Often
reflection. This often involves documenting the
discusses case studies as one of the approaches).
design process, justifying design decisions, and Ethnography:
analyzing the outcomes of the design. Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and
Performance-Based Design: An approach where Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. SAGE
design decisions are driven by quantifiable Publications.
Spradley, J. P. (1979). The Ethnographic Interview. Holt,
performance criteria (e.g., energy efficiency,
Rinehart and Winston.
structural integrity, user comfort). Research in this Phenomenology:
area involves setting performance targets, using Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and
analytical tools to predict performance, and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. SAGE
evaluating actual performance. Publications.
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological Research Methods.
Participatory Design: Involving users and
SAGE Publications.
stakeholders directly in the design process to Grounded Theory:
ensure that solutions are relevant, appropriate, and Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The Discovery of
meet their needs. This often involves workshops, Grounded Theory: Strategies for
co-design activities, and collaborative mapping. Qualitative Research.
Aldine. Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing Grounded Theory.
SAGE Publications.
III. Conceptual and Analytical Methodologies: Interviews and Focus Groups:
Kvale, S., & Brinkmann, S. (2009). InterViews: Learning the
Logical Argumentation: Developing a strong Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing. SAGE Publications.
argument or theory based on existing literature, Morgan, D. L. (1997). Focus Groups as Qualitative Research.
SAGE Publications.
critical analysis, and reasoned deductions. This is
Content Analysis/Discourse Analysis:
often seen in theoretical architectural research or Krippendorff, K. (2018). Content Analysis: An Introduction to
critiques of existing design paradigms. Its Methodology. SAGE Publications.
Critical Theory: Examining underlying power Fairclough, N. (2010). Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical
structures, social biases, and ideological influences Study of Language. Routledge.
embedded in architectural practices and the built
II. Quantitative Research:
environment. Surveys:Fink, A. (2017). How to Conduct Surveys: A Step-by-
Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE): Systematically Step Guide. SAGE Publications.
assessing the performance of a building or space Groves, R. M., et al. (2013). Survey Methodology. Wiley.
after it has been occupied, often involving surveys, Experiments:
Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and
interviews, and environmental measurements to
Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Rand McNally.
identify strengths and weaknesses and inform Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002).
future designs. Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for
Generalized Causal Inference. Houghton Mifflin.
The choice of methodology depends heavily on the Simulation and Modeling:
For general principles, look into texts on building performance
specific research question, the nature of the
simulation or computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in
architectural problem, the available resources, and architecture. Specific software manuals (e.g., EnergyPlus,
2
PREPARED BY:
AR 531 DESIGN 9 ARCHT. MA. THERESA M. AUSTRIA
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN THESIS 2 UAP PRC 10440
MODULES 2 UPDATE: JULY 2025

Radiance, AnyLogic) often serve as practical guides. Participatory Design:

Sanoff, H. (2000). Community Participation Methods in Design
Eastman, C., et al. (2011). BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building and Planning. Wiley.
Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Brandt, E., Binder, T., & Michelsen, K. (2013). Design Things.
Engineers and Contractors. Wiley. (While focused on BIM, it MIT Press. (Discusses co-design and participatory
discusses the underlying principles of data-driven modeling
approaches).
and simulation).
Statistical Analysis:
III. Conceptual and Analytical Methodologies:
Field, A. (2018). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS
Statistics. SAGE Publications. (Or other similar texts on Logical Argumentation:
statistical analysis for social sciences). General texts on logic and critical thinking.
Historical Research: Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2016). The
General historical methods texts, adapted for architectural Craft of Research. University of Chicago Press. (While not
history. specific to architecture, it provides an excellent guide to
Maude, S. (2011). Architectural History: A Very Short building arguments).
Introduction. Oxford University Press. Critical Theory:
Burke, P. (2009). What is Cultural History?. Polity Press. Habermas, J. (1987). The Theory of Communicative Action.
(Relevant for understanding the cultural context of Beacon Press. (Foundational for critical theory).
architectural history). For applications in architecture, see works by critical
Mixed Methods Research:
architectural theorists (e.g., Manfredo Tafuri, Anthony Vidler, or
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research Design:
more contemporary scholars analyzing the social and political
Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.
SAGE Publications. dimensions of architecture).
Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2010). Mixed Methods in Social Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE):
and Behavioral Research. SAGE Publications. Preiser, W. F. E., Rabinowitz, H. Z., & White, E. T. (1988). Post-
Occupancy Evaluation. Van Nostrand Reinhold. (Classic text).
II. Design-Oriented Problem Solving Methodologies: Zimring, C., & Rashid, M. (2019). Post-Occupancy Evaluation
Design Thinking: in Architecture: Theory,
Brown, T. (2009). Change by Design: How Design Thinking
Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation. Harper Methods, and Outcomes. Routledge. (More recent
Business. compilation).
Liedtka, J. (2018). Design Thinking for the Greater Good: This list provides a solid foundation for further exploration of
Innovation in Social Impact. Columbia University Press. these methodologies within the context of architectural
Creative Problem Solving (CPS): research.
Isaksen, S. G., Dorval, K. B., & Treffinger, D. J. (2011). Creative
Approaches to Problem Solving: A Framework for Innovation
and Change. SAGE Publications.
Action Research:
Reason, P., & Bradbury, H. (Eds.). (2008). The Handbook of
Action Research: Participative Inquiry and Practice. SAGE
Publications.
Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems.
Journal of Social Issues, 2(4), 34-46. (Seminal work).
Practice-Based Research/Research by Design:
Cross, N. (2006). Designerly Ways of Knowing. Birkhäuser.
Biggs, M., & Karlsson, H. (Eds.). (2011). The Routledge
Companion to Research in the Arts. Routledge. (Includes
discussions on practice-based research).
Schön, D. A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How
Professionals Think In Action. Basic Books. (Influential for
understanding reflective practice in design).
Performance-Based Design:
Charleson, A. (2005). Structure as Architecture: A Source
Book for Architects and Structural Engineers. Architectural
Press. (Discusses structural performance as a design driver).
Kwok, A., & Grondzik, W. (2011). The Green Studio Handbook:
Environmental Strategies for Architects. Architectural Press.
(Focuses on environmental performance).