The third semester of our TU282 Master of Architecture programme is given to the development of elements of design work from a previous studio into full architectural research projects. The work of our most recent graduates is below. 

Architectural Design Research Projects, January 2023

Architectural Design Research Projects, January 2022


The work of the graduates from 2021 is below, categorised by thematic unit:

Architecture and Democracy (Brian Ward and Deirdre McMenamin)

This group worked on reimagining existing Plattenbau buildings from the 1960s in Berlin, before expanding individual research projects as follows:

• Peter Staunton: Agency within Delineation A design research and drawing project focusing on the subjects of democratic discussion and decision-making in the creation of specification and design drawing. 
• Katie Barry: Tensile Thinking An investigation through writing and drawings into how literary devices can be used to challenge the perspective of the architect practitioner.
• Rachel Jones: An Architecture of Care Housing as a framework to overtly express care, creating and maintaining social connections by extending living accommodation.
• Andrew Byrne: Urban Resilience and Blue Space The Berolina housing co-operative reimagined as a water-based landscape.
• Brian Gargan: The Interior Stroll Research into the social opportunities afforded by an alternative approach to circulation space in urban housing blocks, develop through the tool of film and modelmaking 
• Jake Malone: The Rudimentary Wall Research through design on the role of walls at different scales in the articulation of built environments, though a study of housing on a former East Berlin site. 

 Architecture and Landscape (Steve Larkin and Helena Fitzgerald)

This group worked on the ancient landscape of Rathcroghan, Co Roscommon, and on the architectural challenges brought about by its rich, combined history of farming and archaeological remains.

• Ciara Phelan: Symbolic Rathcroghan A collective farm building that offers a re-reading of landscape to expand the role of the architect in the Irish rural setting.
• Roisin Bean: Rathcroghan Agricultural Co-operative An application of prospect-and-refuge theory to building design in the agricultural landscape:
• Sebastian Kavanagh: Temporality in the Landscape The project aims to balance the visitor experience of Rathcroghan with the excavation and curation of the archaeological landscape.
• Georgia Ryan: Farming Rathcroghan: Biodiversity in Architecture An investigation of potential relationships between architecture and nature through the design of a local seed and planting advisory centre.

 Architecture and Technology (Marcin Wojcik and Manuel Kretzer)

This group looked at the architectural challenges arising from a study of the temporary housing for refugees at the site of the former Tempelhof Airport, through the lens of construction and other technologies.

• Ronan Collins: Participatory Structuralism in the Modern Era An exploration of rule-based housing design in the modern era, and a translation of the principles of Structuralism for contemporary issues in construction and its technologies.

The M Arch Advanced Entry Programme allows graduates of recognised B Arch programmes (or equivalent) to return to a research environment part-time over two semesters to pursue a supervised research project in architecture.

The following is a selection of M Arch advanced entry research projects from recent years. 

Dissertations may be consulted through the TU Dublin library.

• Cillian McGrath 2020: Viral Architecture - Examines the relationship between architectural practice and visual culture through Instagram. The project was conducted and published on Viral Architecture Instagram @viral_architecture and the Viral Architecture website 
• Munia Almaquadma 2019: Tension between ease of movement and vitality: South William Street, Dublin - A research project on the two main features of pedestrians’ experience of the street: ease of movement and vitality, identifying a positive friction between these in a single case study.
• Colin MacSuibhne 2019: Geometric Sensibilities in the Creation and Experience of Space - A case-study investigation (Siza and Borromini) of how geometry is used in the design process to create and manipulate space, and how geometry affects the experience of spaces.
• Mai Al-Taieb 2019: Post War Reconstruction in Authentic Living Cities: Beirut and Aleppo - A consideration of the post-conflict fate of the urban fabric of Aleppo and its human occupation, by comparison with other reconstructions such as that of Beirut.
• Helena Fitzgerald 2018: - Caring for place: Constructing common worlds - An exploration of the non-correspondence between the regulatory frameworks associated with landscape management and the particular qualities of place. (Shortlisted for RIAI Research award, 2018)
• Francis Duffy 2017: Against the Grain: Why is timber underutilised in the Irish construction industry? - A study of the underuse of timber in construction in Ireland.
• Mike O’ Dell 2017: Through a Looking Glass, Darkly: the reflective tools of the architect through a virtual lens. - This work explores the role of immersive virtual reality as a reflective design tool used in the architectural design process.
• Laura O’Driscoll 2017: Tighín - the Tiny House in Ireland: an innovative solution? - The research examines the potential role of the Tiny House Movement in the Irish context particularly in terms of its wider implications for land use, construction costs, changing demographics and alterations to the family unit size.
• Olivia Rusk 2017: Diving in: An immersive exploration of the river Liffey - Through the exploration of the River Liffey by acts of direct engagement, this research explores the acquisition and communication of site knowledge.