The Department of Architecture presents postgraduate research programmes in architecture, interior architecture, and landscape architecture in a number of inter-related fields of inquiry. Postgraduate students are expected to contribute to at least one of the following Research Programmes:

Designed Ecologies

Fostering the human-nature relationship through social and ecological pathways

This field is about how we design ecological and cultural landscapes, which include multifunctional green infrastructure to help combat challenges of biodiversity loss, climate adaptation and food security. Several research projects exist in the field, using quantitative and qualitative approaches within inter- and transdisciplinary teams. This includes design experiments that test novel planting schemes, design prototypes and technologies to enhance urban biodiversity and livelihoods; the refugia abilities of planting palettes; biocultural diversity and relationships with nature; place perception and place identity; environmental justice perspectives; climate change adaptation; and the food security potential of indigenous species in vertical planting systems.

Smart Cities and Neighbourhoods

Stitching the city together through data explorations

The 21st century is defined by the way we use digital technologies to collect, interpret and exploit data. There is a growing understanding that planning, designing and initiating successful developmental projects need to be grounded within the local context and its socio-spatial dynamics, which requires a much more fine-grained form of data collection and analysis than is currently found in statistical datasets. The objective of this research programme is firstly to develop a methodological framework and digital platform for the collection and sharing of meaningful and useful visual, place-based and human-based spatial, (quantitative and qualitative) data at a street- and precinct level, such as routinely collected by students in the spatial design disciplines; and secondly, to integrate and interpret such data within neighbourhood scale proxy models (e.g. digital twins) to assist stakeholders in a) identifying areas of development potential or problem hotspots where interventions would be most useful and sustainable, and b) providing time-line data for trend and network analysis. The flagship project in this field is the development of a digital twin for the Hatfield Development District

Memory, Legacy and Identity

The recording and analysis of, and prospects for, architecture

This research field positions architectural design in an historical continuum of international (and local) theory, practice and traditions. Researchers in this field are interested in the relationship between people, landscape and artefacts of cultural significance and heritage value. Researchers collect, record and analyse information about cultural artefacts and create prospects for architecture, informed by current best practice, as well as legal and heritage frameworks. Current research activities build on over 75 years of Departmental heritage and cultural research and publication. The Department's thriving Architectural Archive, which has generated several research outputs, presents prospective researchers with a wealth of unexploited artefacts and data on South African architectural heritage.

Inhabitation of Place

Identity and meaning-making through space

Human identity, place and context are integral to cultural production and meaning-making. This research area considers the role of spatial design in identity formation processes, in fostering belonging and in encouraging well-being. Cultural, economic, psychological, and social systems are triggers for research and design in the spatial domain. The interface/s between humans, objects and space enables multi-scalar interrogations into the nature of inhabitation. Processes of inhabitation include behaviour, identity expression, rituals, and taste-making as informants to design and research.

Architectural Education

Challenging established and conventional praxis in architectural education

Architecture, as a spatial and design discipline, in turn engages with those aspects of education, practice and research. This research focus area is situated in the context of Africa and the Global South and pertains to the scholarly enquiry about spatial design education using a wide lens that includes the explorations of the interrelationships between, and within, education, practice and research and how these relate to, draw on and critically respond to a multitude of informants, including multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary influences across a broad spectrum of interests, in the midst of a rapidly expanding production of knowledge in the 21st century. Researchers in this field should ideally – but not exclusively – consider, reflect on, and challenge established and conventional praxis and outcomes in spatial design pedagogy with its densely layered processes and diversity of outcomes.