Architectural design research through reflection: a sub-approach under “research by design”
ISSN: 0168-2601
Article publication date: 19 July 2022
Issue publication date: 27 September 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This study is based on a research approach proposal aiming to reveal tacit knowledge that shapes architectural design processes through subjective accumulations and tools. With the premise that design embodies tacit and personal knowledge, it proposes an alternative way to decipher this subjective medium.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed research approach, “(architectural) design research through reflection”, basically belongs to “research by design” method and narrowed in the focus of reflection. It enables to study how tacit knowledge functions within processes of architectural design without being its very subject. The proposal and the product of the approach, revealing diagram, are developed through the “architect's” tools and the involvement of the “researchers” in the process. It is also supported by a conceptual basis created from literature on reflection.
Findings
By means of the proposal, the reflective accumulation of the subjects, that is, the tacit knowledge, is investigated in relation to practice. The revealing diagram is presented as a tool through which relations can be interpreted within the framework of subjects. It is a tool by which the subjects, tools and processes of the architectural design product can be analysed.
Originality/value
The study contributes to architectural research by shifting the perspective on reflective knowledge that shapes design processes.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank to the participant architects of the broader study of which this article is based on, Cem İlhan, Özgür Bingöl, Deniz Dokgöz and Boğaçhan Dündaralp, for their contribution by sharing their journals.
Citation
Uzunkaya, A. and Paker Kahvecioğlu, N. (2022), "Architectural design research through reflection: a sub-approach under “research by design”", Open House International, Vol. 47 No. 4, pp. 688-709. https://doi.org/10.1108/OHI-07-2021-0155
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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