Supporting Partner
The Architectural Urban Interior Design – AUID – Ph.D. Program promotes studies on architecture mostly on these aspects: design, theory, history, technology. The methodological frame is the design-driven research. We consider design the cultural environment where to produce theoretical and technical knowledge.
The Architectural Urban Interior Design (AUID) Ph.D. Program promotes research on architectural design, with studies and projects aiming at different scales, contexts, and finalities. Research activities are based on the critical analysis and development of design processes and techniques in dynamic relationships with the urgent questions related to the urban and rural environment, and the green, blue, and grey infrastructure. Research is supported by acquiring and elaborating insights and skills linked to contemporary architecture’s theoretical and critical horizon.
The Program foresees a constant elaboration and discussion of theoretical and operational tools. This dialectic process fosters the development of a critical and creative reflection on architectural design, encourages exploring and testing experimental approaches and the delivery of autonomous and innovative scientific products, to be disseminated through seminars, publications, and conferences. A relevant point at the center of the Program is the relationship with the design activity. In particular, the Program aims to investigate the potentiality of research by design and/or design-driven research (DDR). Research by design is a broader concept that includes “practice-based research” and “practice-led research,” meaning that we focus on two kinds of research methodologies: research through practice and the other involves research about practice. Design-driven Research is an approach, deeply investigated in the Ca2re Community for Artistic and Architectural Research (ca2re.eu), which considers design the primary and leading environment for the doctoral research in architecture.
The Program takes as an essential reference the declaration reported in the EAAE Research Charter (2012): “Architectural research is an original investigation undertaken to generate knowledge, insights, and understanding based on competencies, methods, and tools proper to the discipline of architecture. It has its own knowledge base, mode, scope, tactics, and strategies.” research by design is defined as “any kind of inquiry in which (…) the architectural design process forms the pathway through which new insights, knowledge, practices, or products come into being. It generates critical inquiry through design work.” The Program offers an intense sharing of knowledge, information, and practices. AUID is a creative, open, multicultural environment where the researchers frequently exchange with the board of professors, other research centers, and doctoral institutions; the Program supports international exchanges, conferences, exhibitions, and research networks.
The Program provides opportunities for teaching and tutoring activities, considered an essential research complement, thanks to the close connection with the Polimi School of Architecture, Urban Design, and Building Construction. The Program is part of the Polimi Ph.D. School, which provides the candidates with many interdisciplinary courses, keeping them in contact with the larger Polimi doctoral community. The Program aims to train and prepare highly qualified researchers and professionals in academic institutions, research centers, public administrations, and the private sector in architectural, urban, and interior design. Eligible students hold a master’s degree in architecture or close disciplines and can read, write, and speak English fluently. A background in architecture is most appreciated, but a curriculum based in Design, Media, History, and other programs related to Art and Humanities is accepted.