The Wardrobe No One Measured
Open a wardrobe you have kept shut for weeks, and before you see anything, a cold, heavy smell greets you,…
Research
Architectural Research
Research and critical inquiry into how buildings and cities are conceived, used and transformed. Articles examine spatial behaviour, design methods, technology and environmental performance, connecting architectural questions with evidence and their implications for practice.
Read related project studies, explore urban planning and material research, or consult our editorial guidelines for the publication’s approach to sources and analysis.
The Effect of the Water-to-Cement Ratio on the Performance of Mortar Made from Construction and Demolition Waste
Every kitchen keeps a small rule that nobody writes down: two cups of water for every cup of rice. You…
Urban Planning and the Effect of Neighborhood Characteristics and Spatial Location on the Economic Performance of Commercial Spaces
On your daily route there is a small shop you pass without noticing, until one morning you find the door…
When the Building Knows You Are Here: Wi-Fi as an Architectural Sense
You sit at your desk, absorbed in your work, minute after minute, until the lights suddenly go out above your…
Artificial Intelligence and Drones in Monitoring and Maintaining Infrastructure and Urban Road Networks
You know the feeling well. You drive along calmly, the coffee cup settled in its holder, and then a wheel…
When the Wall Burns from Within
In the middle of summer, when you press your hand against a bedroom wall before sleep, you find it warm…
Site-State Memory: What Slime Mould Can Teach Construction Handover
A biological study inspires a testable proposal for location-linked inspection records, expiring work states and clearer construction handovers.
Growing Through Dissolution: What Building Materials Can Learn from Dolomite Crystals
Building material specifications usually begin with ingredients, mixing ratios and final properties. But what if the order of events during…
Corridor Memory: How Touch Could Help People Remember Their Way Through Buildings
Imagine a building where corridors and doors look almost identical. A visitor can read the room numbers, yet hesitates at…
When 2D CFD Lies: Why Cylindrical Towers Demand 3D Wind Simulation
A facade engineer stands before a 200-meter cylindrical tower. The 2D CFD results say: drag coefficient 1.2, Strouhal number 0.21,…
How Game-Engine Water Rendering Is Redefining Architectural Visualization
An architect stands before a screen showing a water feature — a plaza fountain, a reflecting pool beside a glass…
The Grammar of Architecture
The last time you walked into a restaurant you had never visited before, something strange happened. No one stopped you…
The Door Is the Smallest Urban Plan
A bus door configuration serves as a foundational element of urban design, significantly influencing transit efficiency and street space. Multi-door…
The City the Machine Made, and the City It Ate
In 1840, Chicago had 4,000 people. In 1890, over a million — the fastest urban growth in history. In 1950,…
The Furnace That Went Out: How Cold Sintering Makes Building Materials at Room Temperature
In a Penn State lab, a ceramic powder capsule presses under 350 MPa and heats to just 120°C — in…
The Economy That Throws Nothing Away: How Cities Are Reinventing Waste
At a demolition site in central Beijing, concrete doesn’t go to landfill. It’s crushed, screened, reborn as aggregate for a…
The Valuation We Don’t See Is Redrawing Our Cities
The Valuation We Don’t See Is Redrawing Our CitiesIn Ankara, an algorithm that knows neither neighborhood names nor the smell…
The Same Fire That Warms the House Can Burn It Down
I have known two versions of the same architect. The first could stand in a half finished room and feel,…
The Fifth Dimension in Architecture
You are walking down a street. You are not looking at anyone. You feel the place is “right” without knowing…
The Roof That Breathes: When a Building Relieves Winter’s Burden
Every winter, building roofs carry a silent burden that no one sees: accumulated snow. The concept of Roof Live Load…
Photogrammetric Accuracy: The Scale You Cannot See
At the core of every architectural decision lies a small question: how much do we trust the measurement? When we…
