Leadership in Architectural Research: Between Academia and the Profession

Recent decades have witnessed a notable expansion of architectural research activities, with respect to both subject and methodology. This expansion can be mostly credited to an increase in government and private funding of primarily academic research initiatives. More recently, however, a noticeable increase in research activities within the architectural profession makes it possible to argue that it is the profession itself that is now taking leadership in the development of contemporary research agendas. This growing significance of architectural research, in both academia and the profession,is ultimately a response to the diverse challenges facing the profession; most notably, the issue of environmental sustainability, but also including the rapid pace of technological change, the increase ddiversity of users, and the growing complexity of architectural projects. Engaging research is an essential factor in facing these challenges as well as taking full advantage of the opportunities they offer. For this research to be most effective, however, a greater perspective and a clearer definition of its role and the goals it can aspire to, in both academia and the profession, are needed; and most importantly, the question becomes, how do we foster a more integrated research culture between academia and the profession