Research, Another Way To Practice?
1pm Thursday 15 May, Japanese Room, 1st Floor, Architecture building
Mr Peter Williams
Williams Boag Architects
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Williams Boag Architects
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Chair: Professor Philip Goad
Research in architectural practice has traditionally remained an ad hoc activity which has had a project based focus. Outcomes are rarely formalised and meld into the pool of project experience which may or may not carry into future work. The architectural practice Williams Boag Architects recognised the need for research that supported design studio innovation and established WBa Research within its practice profile.
This presentation will provide an overview of some of the experiences and outcomes that have arisen from this alternate model, arguing that research offers another way to practice for the design profession.
The opportunities of practice based and applied research are explored through a series of case study examples profiling in-house research activity as well as external partnerships and linkages. This activity to date has focussed on barriers to sustainability and is developing a new understanding of the relationship between the financial, environmental and social aspects of the built environment.
Peter Williams is founding director of the firm Williams Boag architects and is a Life Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. His firm has been the recipient of numerous design awards from the RAIA, including the Victorian Architecture Medal, the Joseph Reed award for urban design and the national Walter Burley Griffen Award.