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This article sets out to show how principles and questions about method that underlie a way of interpreting the discipline of conservation and restoration can find results in research and studies, aiming at achieving even conscious reuse process. The occasion is the very recent research performed on the former Church of Saints Gerolamo and Francesco Saverio in Genoa, Italy, the Jesuit church annexed to the 17th-century College of the order. It is a small Baroque jewel in the heart of the ancient city, former University Library and actually abandoned, forgotten for years, inaccessible and awaiting a new use.

The two-year work carried out on the monumental building was conducted according to a study and research methodology developed and refined over the years within the activities of the School of Specialisation in Architectural Heritage and Landscape of the University of Genoa. It is a multidisciplinary and rigorous approach, which aims to train high-level professionals, up-to-date and aware of the multiple problems that interventions on existing buildings, especially of a monumental nature, involve.

The biennal study has been carried out within the activities of the Post-Graduate Programme in Architectural Heritage and Landscape of the University of Genoa. The work methodology faces the challenges of the contemporary complexity, raised by the progressive broadening of the concept of cultural “heritage” and by the problems of its conservation, its active safeguard and its reuse: safety in respect of seismic risk, fire and hydro geological instability, universal accessibility – cognitive, physical and alternative – resource efficiency, comfort and savings in energy consumption, sustainability, communication and involvement of local communities and stakeholders.

The goals of the work were the following: understanding of the architectural heritage, through the correlated study of its geometries, elements and construction materials, surfaces, structures, spaces and functions; understanding of the transformations that the building has undergone over time, relating the results of historical reconstructions from indirect sources and those of direct archaeological analysis; assessment of the state of conservation of the building recognising phenomena of deterioration, damage, faults and deficits that affect materials, construction elements, systems and structures; identification of the causes and extent of damage, faults and deficits, assessing the vulnerability and level of exposure of the asset to the aggression of environmental factors and related risks; evaluation of the compatibility between the characteristics of the available spaces, the primary needs of conservation, the instance of regeneration and possible new uses; the definition of criteria and guidelines for establishing the planning of conservation, restoration and redevelopment interventions.

The purpose of this article is the discussion of a service-learning experience in architecture pedagogy, based on two core courses at a private university in Mexico. The aim is to identify learning opportunities, challenges and implications arising from engaging with inhabitants of an informal urban settlement with limited digital resources in La Campana-Altamira in Monterrey, Mexico.

The methodology selected is a case study approach, chosen for its effectiveness in architectural pedagogy to create knowledge through exposure to a particular phenomenon, as well as highlight positive teaching practices to facilitate replicability. Case-study methodology was also beneficial in this case because its openness and flexibility allowed for research of a variety of phenomena simultaneously, in this case, both the effects in the informal settlement community and in the academic one.

Findings revealed that opportunities outweigh challenges, and meaningful service and learning are possible in an online context, even when the service aspects take longer than the course length if there are long-term relationships between communities and institutions.

The value of the article lies in the need for flexible and sensitive approaches that put communities in the center, a critical path to identifying and understanding their needs and improving their contexts. This holds especially true given the rapid pace of worldwide urbanization and the ubiquity of informal urban settlements. Implementing service-learning approaches in informal settings using online tools, while sanitary restrictions are in place shows that meaningful experiences can be achieved, even when courses are short and resources are limited.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute an inclusive insight into methodological research in architecture and allied disciplines and unravel aspects that include philosophical positions, frames of reference and spheres of inquiry.

Following ontological and epistemological interpretations, the adopted methodology involves conceptual and critical analysis which is based on reviewing and categorising classical literature and more than hundred contributions in architectural and design research developed over the past five decades which were classified under the perspectives of inquiry and frames of reference.

Postulated through three philosophical positions – positivism, anti-positivism and emancipationist – six frames of reference were identified: systematic, computational, managerial, psychological, person–environment type-A and person–environment type-B. Technically oriented research and conceptually driven research were categorised as the perspectives of inquiry and were scrutinised together with their developmental aspects. By mapping the philosophical positions to the frames of reference, various characteristics and spheres of inquiry within each frame of reference were revealed.

Further detailed examples can be developed to offer discerning elucidations relevant to each frame of reference.

The study is viewed as an enabling mechanism for researchers to identify the unique particularities of their research and the way in which it is pursued.

The study is a response to a glaring dearth of cognisance and a reaction to a growing but confusing body of knowledge that does not offer a clear picture of what research in architecture is. By identifying key characteristics, philosophical positions and frames of reference that pertain to the research in architecture and associated disciplines, the findings represent a scholastic endeavour in its field.

Research reveals that the built environment graduates are not matching the needs of the 21st century construction industry. Evidence shows that the built environment academics (BEA) struggle to reskill and upskill to meet the industry's demand. Studies about Nigeria's BEA's perceived barriers in meeting the 21st-century industry demands are scarce. Thus, the paper investigated the perceived barriers and measures to improve BEA in Nigeria's 21st-century world of teaching. The outcome intends to enhance teaching practices and increase employability in the built environment disciplines.

Data were sourced from elite virtual interviews across Nigeria. The participants were well informed about Nigeria's built environment education and the possible barriers hindering 21st-century teaching from improving employable graduates in the built environment professionals (BEP). The researchers adopted a thematic analysis for the collected data and supplemented the data with secondary sources.

The study shows that BEA needs to improve BEA's teaching mechanism. Improving BEA will enable the built environment graduates to meet the minimum standards expected by the 21st-century industry. Findings categorised the perceived 22 barriers facing BEA into internal stakeholders-related barriers, external stakeholders-related barriers, and common barriers. Also, findings proffered practicable measures to improve BEA in the workplace via improved industry collaboration and technological advancement.

The research is restricted to the perceived barriers and measures to improve BEA in 21st-century teaching in Nigeria via a qualitative research design. Future research should validate the results and test the paper's proposed framework.

The paper confirms that the BEA requires stakeholder collaboration and technological advancement measures to improve teaching in the 21st century, leading to enhanced employability graduates. The paper would stir major stakeholders, especially BEA, and advance the quality of employable graduates in the Nigerian built environment professions.

The thematic network and proposed framework could be employed to stimulate Nigeria's BEA for better service delivery. This intends to create an enabling environment that will enhance stakeholders' collaboration and technological advancement for the BEA to produce better employable graduates in the 21st century.

This study aims to present a twofold machine learning (ML) model, namely, EDU-AI, and its implementation in educational buildings. The specific focus is on classroom layout design, which is investigated regarding implementation of ML in the early phases of design.

This study introduces the framework of the EDU-AI, which adopts generative adversarial networks (GAN) architecture and Pix2Pix method. The processes of data collection, data set preparation, training, validation and evaluation for the proposed model are presented. The ML model is trained over two coupled data sets of classroom layouts extracted from a typical school project database of the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Turkey and validated with foreign classroom boundaries. The generated classroom layouts are objectively evaluated through the structural similarity method (SSIM).

The implementation of EDU-AI generates classroom layouts despite the use of a small data set. Objective evaluations show that EDU-AI can provide satisfactory outputs for given classroom boundaries regardless of shape complexity (reserved for validation and newly synthesized).

EDU-AI specifically contributes to the automation of classroom layout generation using ML-based algorithms. EDU-AI’s two-step framework enables the generation of zoning for any given classroom boundary and furnishing for the previously generated zone. EDU-AI can also be used in the early design phase of school projects in other countries. It can be adapted to the architectural typologies involving footprint, zoning and furnishing relations.

This study aims to present a novel Genetic Algorithm-Based Design Model (GABDM) to provide reduced-risk areas, namely, a “safe footprint,” in interior spaces during earthquakes. This study focuses on housing interiors as the space where inhabitants spend most of their daily lives.

The GABDM uses the genetic algorithm as a method, the Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II algorithm, and the Wallacei X evolutionary optimization engine. The model setup, including inputs, constraints, operations and fitness functions, is presented, as is the algorithmic model’s running procedure. Following the development phase, GABDM is tested with a sample housing interior designed by the authors based on the literature related to earthquake risk in interiors. The implementation section is organized to include two case studies.

The implementation of GABDM resulted in optimal “safe footprint” solutions for both case studies. However, the results show that the fitness functions achieved in Case Study 1 differed from those achieved in Case Study 2. Furthermore, Case Study 2 has generated more successful (higher ranking) “safe footprint” alternatives with its proposed furniture system.

This study presents an original approach to dealing with earthquake risks in the context of interior design, as well as the development of a design model (GABDM) that uses a generative design method to reduce earthquake risks in interior spaces. By introducing the concept of a “safe footprint,” GABDM contributes explicitly to the prevention of earthquake risk. GABDM is adaptable to other architectural typologies that involve footprint and furniture relationships.