The Design Practices Research Group is one of five new research groups established by the School of Architecture and Cities in 2021. It brings together design practitioners who teach and research through practice with academics who explore and use creative practices in their research, covering the full range of Christopher Frayling’s Research For, Research Into and Research Through design, with all their permutations.
The group brings together leading and award-winning design practitioners who demonstrably innovate in their field, with leading academics and teachers who study and use design methods and processes within their research, including the school’s exceptional expertise in representation, fabrication, live projects, experimental projects and environmental design. It incorporates those who focus on testing and evaluating design performance for human and non-human comfort and their impact on the built and natural environment. Reflection on this collective practice is intended to inform the future intellectual and practice agenda of the Design Practices Research Group.