The Narrow House: What Does a Missing Piece of Floor Give Back?
A small house presents an apparently straightforward problem: how much living can fit inside a limited footprint? Yet filling every…
Author: ArchUp Research Lab
ArchUp’s research team prepares and publishes studies connecting architecture with science, human behaviour, materials and construction.
Interiors for Teenagers: What Does a Room Offer Beyond Four Walls?
How research on school views and nature can inform teenage interiors, with clear limits on claims about mood, stress and climate anxiety.
Hematite Concrete: Can Replacing Sand Make a Thinner Radiation Shield?
What research says about hematite replacing sand in radiation-shielding concrete, and why density, mix design and photon energy matter.
The Water Has Dried. Why Does a Ring Remain on the Stone?
Droplet physics separates the shape of a stain from its cause. A research-led proposal for testing stone sills through wetting, drying and maintenance.
The Office Is Open. Why Did Conversation Move to Email?
Two workplace field studies challenge the equation of openness with collaboration. What should architects specify—and verify—before removing office boundaries?
The Finish Looks Smooth. What Does the Hand Detect?
Nanoscale surface-discrimination research challenges visual-only finish approval, while keeping tactile similarity separate from comfort and grip safety.
Before Adding Another Component: What Design Reviews Overlook
Experiments on subtraction neglect suggest a testable way to broaden design-review options, without treating fewer building components as automatically better.
City Promotion Through Social Media: Building an Image, Measuring Its Impact
What tourism research reveals about social media, influencers and city promotion, and how to connect digital attention with the experience delivered on arrival.
Keeping the Façade Is Not Enough: Measuring the Environmental Value of Building Reuse
Six publications examine building reuse through retained materials, programme fit and life-cycle evidence, beyond the appearance of a preserved façade.
The Sidewalk Is on the Map. Can You Actually Get Through?
Six studies reveal how sidewalk obstructions, clear width and outdated imagery can turn a mapped pedestrian route into an inaccessible journey.
Why Cooking Odour Follows Clothes: From Textile Sorption to Kitchen Planning
A textile study traces hot-pot compounds released by cotton, wool and polyester, then asks what kitchen capture, doors and wardrobe placement may change.
The Bathroom Light Turns Off While You Are Still There: What Sensor Position Misses
Research on PIR positioning shows why a seated user can disappear from an occupancy system, and how bathroom lighting can be tested before handover.
The Last Metre of Hot-Water Pipe: How Branch Length Turns Waiting into Waste
Research on hot-water delivery shows how branch length, internal diameter and cooling turn a hidden pipe volume into repeated waiting, water waste and commissioning risk.
The Door Is Quiet. Can the Room Still Breathe?
A measured study of door-bottom gaps shows why sound isolation and return-air flow must be commissioned as one room system, not two separate details.
The Drain Ends Above the Pavement. Why Is the Walkway Always Wet?
A study of wet-floor friction shows why an air-conditioner condensate outlet must be coordinated with the pavement, pedestrian route and commissioning process.
Forbidden Spaces: When a Use Is Not Allowed Here
A comparative study across six countries examines how activity bans, zoning, exceptions and exclusion shape the spaces architects can design.
The Swazi Homestead: When a House Boundary Cannot Explain Dwelling
An architectural reading of the Swazi homestead through Kuper and Russell, exploring spatial organisation, kinship, shared space and assumptions in housing briefs.
The Extinguisher Matches the Interior. Can People Find It in an Emergency?
A research-based reading of extinguisher colour, low-light visibility, safety requirements and the interior designer’s responsibility for recognition and access.
The Charger Fits. Can the Driver Use the Bay?
A charging cable can fail to reach even when the equipment is present. Research on real charging sessions reframes the parking bay as a coordinated space for vehicles, bodies and cables.
The Room Looks Clean. Where Does Contamination Collect?
A research-led classification of microbial contamination across interior uses, connecting contact surfaces, maintenance access and design details.
The Filter Collects Dust. Does It Clean the Room?
What portable air cleaners can remove, why visible lint remains, and how room-level performance differs from a product claim.
