The aim of this study is to explore the subtle yet ever present relationship between Dwelling and Dweller, so as to magnify this condition and procure a more acute sense of how are physical surroundings impact our individual identity and vice versa. The work will utilize myself as both the investigator and the investigated, with my current residence (59 Englewood Ave.) acting as the site and instigator of the research. Broader subjects expected to be confronted through this experiment will be topics such as Rituals/Habits, Familiarity/Nostalgia/Memory, Self-Reflection, Comfortability, and Utility/Functionality.

Investigations into the Dweller Dwelling relationship will be conducted via extensive reading, writing, documentation, and many forms of making. The work produced and discussed will help to clarify this relationship and to flush out the broader topics listed above. As of now the proposed product of the research is a series of imagined installations or interventions upon the home itself that will engage both Dwelling and Dweller in curious and pattern altering ways. It should be made clear that the proposals are not intended to enhance the quality of life for the resident or improve the buildings performance in any particular way. The purpose of the interventions are to manipulate habits, instill curiosity, generate self-awareness, and foster a more robust bond between Dwelling and Dweller.
The larger concern fueling the research is a general dissatisfaction with the residential relationship. More and more commonly it seems  dwellers take less pride in, know less about, and interact less meaningfully with their homes. This is not only troubling when considering the field of architecture but also in regards to personal identity.

“A Way with Words” by Jane Rendell

1. The comment that design research puts “work first, and then later considers the larger field”; to me is only partially true. Do designers not have an overarching problem that drives the research, are they simply making in a vacuum?
2. I find Diller’s “Choreographed Shirt Folding Project” very fascinating, primarily through the lens of locationally informed skill sets or habits. Does the viewing of the product made through this manipulated skill, generate a new viewing of the space in which it was presumably performed?
3. “Black Tent consisted of a flexible structure, a number of steel framed panels with black fabric screens stretched……..” Even though Rendell argues for a more creative and thoughtful use of writing within Architecture she still describes her first work that would fa along these lines in a very typical way. Must all Architectural writing at some point be so purely spacial?

“A Two-Fold Movement” by Murray Fraser

1. The practicality and social benefit associated with critical practice makes it a very honorable and appealing way to conduct one’s practice. Would  contributing solely to these critical issues however alter the nature and skillsets of the Architectural Designer?
2. Lebbeus Woods writes, “To the knowing , this is supposed to be read as ‘irony’ or ‘critique’. To the regular people it is just business as usual in an authoritarian state.” I often find that Design carries with it an attitude of superiority, that in many ways causes an inappropriate value system. How can this be combatted in such a visually motivated field?
3. Is the shortcoming of Architectural Theory, in regards to its relevance and success over time not a result of misinformed design decisions but more so a factor of Architectures physical and permanent nature? Society and technology are changing at very rapid rates, whereas a built work is a permanent fixture that despite intense research for the time is undoubtedly going to become obsolete.

Chair – Dennis Maher

Committee – Beth Tauke

The aim of this study is to explore the subtle yet ever present relationship between Dwelling and Dweller; so as to magnify this condition and procure a more genuine knowledge and appreciation of the two. The work will utilize myself as the Dweller and my current residence as the site of the investigation. Broader subjects that will be touched upon are topics such as Familiarity, Utility, Comfort, Tactility, and Self-Reflection.
Investigations into the subject matter will be conducted via extensive reading, writing, photography, and many forms of making. All of which will have immediate relevance to the Dweller/Dwelling. The larger concern fueling the research is a general dissatisfaction with the current residential relationship. More and more commonly it seems dwellers take less pride in, know less about, and interact less meaningfully with their homes. 

DESIGNERLY WAYS OF KNOWING

1. Does design education’s inability to clearly articulate its process and concerns have adverse affects on student retention. Are we losing too many good students to other fields?
2. Pye states that, “in general invention comes before theory. The world of doing and making is usually ahead of the world of understanding – technology leads to science, not vice versa as is often believed.” As technology and society continue to progress do we see this system of creation followed by understanding, being at all altered?
3. Design is a skill that requires one to both “Know How and Know That”, is one more essential to design than the other or would a hierarchal view of this only weaken the field?

THIS IS RESEARCH BY DESIGN

1. Verbeke states, “Research outputs should also follow the media which are most appropriate to the field: maps, drawing, sketches, model, and so on.”; however in these early stages of research I have found myself and many others relying heavily on reading or writing. I attribute this to our current level of uncertainty, however over the past several years we have all been trained to think through the act of making. Is focusing so heavily on literature a mistake in a design thesis, if not for the work but for the designer themselves?
2. Much design research seems to be focused heavily on looking into curiosities and developing progressive knowledge for both self and profession. A large portion of this research however may not have a direct monetary value. What problems does this cause for the field within our capitalist society?
3. “Formulating a question implies delimiting space in which a possible answer may be found. Yet research often resembles an uncertain quest in which the questions or topics only materialize during the journey, and often may change as well.” This analysis of design research suggests that the work with proper interest and rigor could continue/evolve endlessly, and since making is an inherent part of design research production of tangible things is occurring all throughout. So how does one know when to stop and is it a decision made by author, peers, or the abstract deadline?

Experimental Cultures: On the “End” of the Design Thesis and Rise of the Research Studio

1.  “Most work done in preparation for thesis and the thesis itself rarely, if ever, qualifies as good research.” I believe this statement is untrue and at the least unfair, design research is research that often times focuses on the discovery of a problem or question as opposed to an answer.
2.  At what point exactly was it felt as though the work of Rural Studio became research proper. Salomon references their multiple built works together as a view into a localized socio-economic and material curiosity; however the first built work by the studio could not be seen as such. What does this mean for our independent inquiries?
3.  UCLA in my opinion does not belong in this article. They lack the hyper-sensitivity and acute research that Koolhaas provides, or the distinct methodology of Rural Studio. What UCLA is doing seems to be a typical studio that uses L.A. as its site, am I mistaken?

Royal College of Arts: Research in Art and Design

1. “Once we got used to the idea that we don’t need to be scared of “research” – or in some strange way protected from it, the debate can really begin.” I agree with this statement but perhaps the role of research in art/design based scholastic’s is in pursuit of the question not the answer. The purpose of our research should be to generate a well articulated, relevant, and pressing question from which we propose “a solution” not “the solution”.
2. Picasso did not believe sin the act of painting as research “to search means nothing in painting. To find is the thing.” However he did use other’s works as a reference materials or inspiration. Why is he so hesitant to call this research?
3.  Frayling finds the separation of Art/Design from other practices “conceptually strange”, but is it? Although writing, science, design, and art are all practices they yield very different results and implement very different methodology. What is to gain by pretending we are all one?