RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Practice‐Based Research Now: Purpose, Approach, and a Proposition
JF Landscape Journal
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 87
OP 114
DO 10.3368/lj.43.2.87
VO 43
IS 2
A1 Barnes, Megan
A1 Domlesky, Anya
A1 Harvey, Allison
A1 Hwang, Lisa
A1 Kramer, Eric
A1 Mendenhall, Allyson
A1 Plumb, Margaret
A1 Popowsky, Rebecca
YR 2024
UL http://lj.uwpress.org/content/43/2/87.abstract
AB A small but growing number of design firms are pursuing research activities that extend beyond project‐based work, and even large and established firms are seeking new ways to integrate research more formally, and more meaningfully, into their practice. Now experiencing a moment of particular momentum, the complex relationship between research and professional practice in landscape architecture, and the role of research in professional design offices, has increasingly figured in discussions in academic literature and popular forums. This article contributes to this dialogue and body of knowledge by several means: first, through impassioned, personal statements from the authors about the purpose and importance of research in practice; second, through interviews and surveys with 21 design firms about their approaches, accompanied by practical advice for firms seeking to enhance their research efforts; and finally, through a proposition and call to action from the authors addressed to the discipline of landscape architecture. Collectively, these contributions confirm and shed further light on how professional landscape architecture firms are utilizing creative and diverse models for research, from significant resource commitments and dedicated staff to decentralized models and one‐off, opportunistic efforts. Two new primary motivations and two new models for research in practice are described, along with new drivers, mechanisms, approaches, and outcomes. The article concludes with the authors’ proposition for what is needed to expand research in practice and strengthen its connections to academia, extending an invitation for further dialogue and community‐building around practice‐based research.