Testing the Unbuilt: Design Studios as Research for Wicked Opportunities

This research examines the design studio as a form of architectural design research. Architectural and Urban Design studios have been operating as epistemic laboratories in which the processes of evaluating wicked problems, proposing design interventions, and iteratively testing the fit between the brief and design intersect to generate new knowledge. It is often impractical to evaluate the long-term implications of built works on complex, interrelated societal issues, as such assessments are time-consuming, costly, and rarely yield transferable insights. Hence, many architects and urban designers investigate design opportunities in design studios, allowing them to test, reframe and expand their understanding of a wicked problem in a less constrained yet more feasible way. Anchored in Schön’s theory of Reflective Practice, this Architectural and Urban Design research on postgraduate design studios analyses how designing act as wicked problem reframers, and reveal how the designing reorganises understandings of complex architectural questions.

keywords: architectural design research; urban design research; design studios; wicked opportunities

• with: Justyna Karakiewicz
• year: November 2025 — ongoing