Experiments in research and practice: engaging design professionals with urban morphology

In 2012 ISUF established a Task Force to promote engagement between researchers in urban morphology and practitioners. In an interim report two key interconnected proposals were made: first to increase the influence of urban morphology ‘by better packaging and marketing’, and secondly to ‘raise the level of understanding and application of urban morphology in a range of relevant professions through the channel of education and professional organizations’ (Samuels, 2013). Several subsequent reflections on the lack of a consistent link between research and practice have appeared in this journal, not least drawing attention to the tension between prescriptive controls for design relative to a more open process of interpretation of research material in design practice (Sanders, 2013). Responding to this problem, two studies have been recently undertaken that have explored how morphological research can be a precursor to design. These ‘experiments’ shed light on how designers can engage with urban morphology, and the influence this can have on designs.