ARC 327R / 386M.27
Fri 9:00am – 12:00pm, SUT 3.112
Open to all ARC students
Aleksandra Jaeschke: jaeschke@austin.utexas.edu
This seminar prepares students to define, structure, and communicate an independent research project. It introduces a range of approaches and methods relevant to architectural inquiry—from quantitative analysis and case-study research to interpretive, narrative, and design-based investigation. While research is often viewed as analytical and design as prescriptive, the course challenges this divide. It recognizes design as a form of knowledge production—capable of framing questions, testing hypotheses, and generating insight—and research as a means of informing and transforming design practice. Students examine how evidence, argument, and imagination interact across different epistemological traditions and methodological frameworks.
Through lectures, readings, discussions, and workshops, the seminar builds both conceptual and practical literacy in the research process: formulating a focused question, reviewing literature, identifying variables and contexts, selecting appropriate methods, collecting and interpreting data, and constructing an argument. Attention is given to research ethics, environmental and cultural implications, and to methods drawn from the natural and social sciences, the humanities, and the design disciplines. Students present their evolving projects throughout the semester. The final outcome is a refined and well-structured proposal for a thesis, dissertation, or independent research project that integrates theory, method, and purpose toward advancing architectural knowledge and practice.
