Singapore
AF Forum
Research in Practice, Re:Searches for New Knowledge in Design
Research ”Through”, ”For”, and ”About” Design
17 May 2024
2.15pm—2.30pm
Marina Bay Sands, Hall 1, Heliconia Ballroom
Ticketed admission
The definitions of research and design pose a complex juxtaposition. Research traditionally connotes a pursuit of measurable, scientific, and quantifiable outcomes through established academic methods, whereas design embodies experiential, qualitative, and imaginative elements produced through creative practice. Despite their apparent disparities, both disciplines are pivotal in shaping our world. This talk will elaborate on the methods of research through design, research for design, and research about design, aiming to equip architects and creative practitioners with a common framework to articulate and amplify their contributions to address complexities inherent in contemporary challenges.
Speakers
NUS
15 May 2024
NUS
NUS
Erik G. L’Heureux (PhD) FAIA, LEED AP BD+C is an award-winning American architect and academic
leader based in Singapore. Through his creative design practice, Erik specializes in designing for the
dense equatorial city, using simple monolithic forms and delicate veils to calibrate architecture to
the hot air of the urban equator in delightful and surprising ways. Erik has led the design of the
adaptive reuse of the Department of Architecture and the Yusof Ishah Student Commons at NUS,
transforming them into NetZero and super low-carbon buildings. In addition to his many design
awards, Erik received a Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction (2023) the Wheelwright Prize
from Harvard University (2015-2017) and was elevated to the College of Fellows of the American
Institute of Architects (2020).
L’Heureux has published Renovating Carbon (2023), Drawing Climate (2021), and the monograph
Deep Veils (2014) with notable publishers, including Birkhäuser and ORO Editions. L’Heureux is also
the oft-published author and co-author of numerous articles and papers, including “Climatic Design
and Its Others” (2020) in the peer-reviewed Journal of Architectural Education that received the Best
Article Award, Scholarship of Design in 2021.
Over the past decade, Erik has served the National University of Singapore as Vice Dean, Special
Projects (2018-2021), Master of Architecture Program Director (2020-2022), and the BA Architecture
program director (2015-2020). As a Dean’s Chair Associate Professor, he teaches the next generation
of architects to be committed to decarbonization and planet-positive design action to meet the
challenges of a warming world.