Architecture Research Methods ARCH 5365

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Architecture Research MethodsARCH 5365

• Gary W. Smith, 2006

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BCW Chapter 3

• To focus your topic add words or phrases of
  conflict, description, contribution, and
  development.
• Ask yourself if your topic is of interest to
  others.
• Dont just answer a question, but suggest and
  solve a problem that needs solving (that others
  will understand the importance of)
• Do not make it too broad or difficult that you
  cannot solve the problem

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• Ask yourself questions as noted in the book
• Why is the topic worth discussing or solving?
• Why would people care?
• Does it have a broad range of applicability?

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• Finally, develop a larger, more significant, but
  specific topic with a claim and the solution you
  are looking for.

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• The aim of the topic is to explain
• what you are writing about (your claim)
• what you dont know about it (what the existing
  data does not show)
• why you want your readers to know about it (its
  importance)

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• Make a sentence that has the following format
• I am studying ______________ (the topic) because
  I want to find out what/why/how
  _______________________(the question) in order to
  help my reader understand ____________________(the
  significance).

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BCW Chapter 4
Do not simply provide information (something you
think is interesting). YOU MUST SOLVE A PROBLEM
THAT OTHERS NEED SOLVED.
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• Practical problems versus research problems
• Practical Problems cause us time, money, respect,
  security, and pain. To solve them you must do
  something that eliminated the causes.
• Research Problems are caused by incomplete
  knowledge or flawed understanding. You solve
  them by understanding the problem better.

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• Both have a situation or condition and what it
  causes (the undesirable consequences that you
  dont like)
• The difference is in the nature of the conditions
  and costs

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• Practical Problem
• Research Question
• Research Problem
• Research Answer
• Application

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• Pure Research
• When the research problem has no application to a
  practical problem, but is only of interest to
  researchers
• Applied Research
• When the research problem is applicable to
  real-world circumstances

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Thesis Statement Examples

• By using critical design methodologies derived
  from historic precedence and modern technologies,
  the design of a multi-use gateway in an existing
  arts district can accommodate the existing
  culture, while renewing the districts commitment
  to the pedestrian scale.

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• A phenomenological approach to the design of a
  multi-use artist community can create an
  inclusive, accessible home for the development of
  the arts by engaging critical regionalism and
  tectonic expression.

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• To achieve an eternal architecture, designers
  must invert the traditional methods of
  architectural design and explore the negative.

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• Through the exploration of personal space and
  territoriality, a healthy living environment for
  the elderly population can permit them to lead
  their lives with a sense of independence while
  maintaining their health and security.

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• By incorporating feminist principles into
  architectural form, traditional ideas of
  domesticity can be redefined. Through this
  redefinition, the lines between public and
  private space begin to blur, creating an
  inter-dependent community of mothers and a secure
  environment for women and children.

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To focus your topic add words or phrases of
conflict, description, contribution, and
development. Dont just answer a question, but
suggest and solve a problem that needs solving
(that others will understand the importance
of). Do not make it too broad or difficult that
you cannot solve the problem. 1. I am studying
______________ (the topic) because I want to find
out what/why/how _______________________(the
question) in order to help my reader understand
____________________(the significance).