RIOT Lab EPFL Lausanne: Critically Fit Structures and Methodologies of Doctoral Research | Talk by Michaela Büsse

2023
Critically Fit
Structures and Methodologies of Doctoral Research

Doctoral Seminar 
9-10 November 2023
9:45 CET, SG Foyer EPFL Lausanne & Zoom
with Speakers Nishat Awan (UCL), Michaela Büsse (HU Berlin), Kim Förester (Manchester), Huda Tayob (Manchester)
Chaired by Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Summer Islam, & Nagy Makhlouf

Doctoral research can be considered a device to transform the industry and the discipline at large. The aim of this course is to prompt and discuss work how performative, critical, and contemporary research in architecture is articulated – its structure and methodology within dissertations. This two-day seminar will follow the broad themes of Justice, Extraction/Materials, Space Production, and Territory. Invited guests with research expertise in and around architecture research will present their work and then act as a respondent to the presentations of the doctoral students.

Invited guests with research expertise in and around architecture research will present their work and then act as a respondent to the presentations of the doctoral students. A performative dissertation is composed of a section that lays out the ground for the research question, a hypothesis on the focal point of the research, and finally, a strategic position on how the research can contribute to critically impact the discipline of architecture, the construction industry and related socio-spatial aspects. The seminar is interested in the ways that structuring research can specifically target specific goals. The course also intends to open a discussion on the performance of research and to tap into the existing knowledge within the school and foster dialogue within the community.