Architectural Inquiry: Research Methods for Undergraduate Architecture Students

A Workshop Proposal to the Society of Building Science Educators

Leonard Bachman

University of Houston

122 College of Architecture

Houston, Texas 77204-4000

713.743.2372

LBachman@UH.edu

Overview: The theme is Methods and Models. This 90 minute session will outline a conceptual framework and rationale for teaching research methods to undergraduates. The intent is to promote discussion and interchange among the participants rather than presentation of a model course.

Topics of Discussion

1.

A good question is always more important than the most brilliant answer… and the right thing badly done is always greater than the wrong thing done well… When one knows what to do, there is only little time one needs for doing it. It is only when one does not know what to do that it takes so much time. And to know what to do is the secret of it all. Louis Kahn

Rationale developed toward proposal of a new course topic in the curriculum

a. Tools: library, internet, distinguishing scholarly vs. popular material

b. How to dig efficiently and how to mine the data you find

c. Metacognative skills and strategic thinking

d. Practice and theory based investigations

2. Rationale as presented to students

a. Autonomous definition of the problem to be addressed

b. Embracing the complexity of architectural wisdom

c. Ability to pose and refine a critical question (keynote issue)

d. Ability to develop a strategy for resolution

e. Ability to advance your thinking through the insights of others

f. Professional responsibility to the nurturing of architectural knowledge

g. The Four Realms: profession, occupation, education, and discipline

3. Framework of the course

a. “Personal curiosity, impersonal organization, transpersonal method”

(Zeisel, Inquiry By Design, 1981)

b. Concept mapping as a surrogate medium to intensive writing

c. From Curiosity to Topic: what is so important about it?

d. From Topic to Idea: what would make a doable project?

e. From Idea to Question: what is current thinking and what needs to be advanced?

f. Literature Review as the agenda for investigation: conflicts, gaps, transferred application…

g. Methods: what facts would support the hypothesis and how to collect that data: epistemology, strategy, and tactics?

4. Infrastructure of the course

a. Lecture and exam(s)

b. Friday peer scored critiques (organized in teams by initial topic interest)

c. WebCT courseware and digital documents

d. Proposals and Posters

5. Reflections

a. The undergraduate perspective of architectural research

b. Philosophical overtones of process and product in a design school

6. Presentation of the workshop

a. Images of course work and activity (video projector for PC laptop needed)

b. Handouts of course material (provided by me)