EAR is a non-profit, peer-reviewed, academic journal, published annually by the research students of the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, at The University of Edinburgh since 1978. For over thirty years it has been an expressive vehicle of the diverse interests and contributions towards research in this Department. EAR began as an in-house collection of working papers and developed over the years into a strong peer-reviewed architectural publication of wide recognition within the international academic community. It is currently listed in the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals and Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory. The journal is undergoing a complete re-brand from print to online, form closed to open issues, from only publishing traditionally formatted papers to incorporating more discursive modes of enquiry and presentation.

Edinburgh Architecture Research (Online) ISSN 2752-3845

CALL FOR PAPERS

Moving onward: methodological explorations

The future is met with apprehension, the more so in the present period of pandemic and uncertainty. At the moment there is a real need to face the future, but how do we proceed and move onward? Sociologist John Law suggests in After Method: Mess in Social Science Research (2004) that methods do not only describe realities but create them. If so, what kind of methods, procedures and tools are we using now to move onward? What kind of realities are we creating? What challenges have we encountered?  

We are interested in papers that investigate the engagement of studies of the built environment with creative methodological explorations. Due to the overlap of the built environment with numerous fields of arts, humanities and social sciences, the methodologies adopted by architectural scholars have often been varied and interdisciplinary. With the increased availability of digital tools, further possibilities have emerged for architectural scholars to adopt and experiment with new tools and practices. On the other hand, those who engaged with ethnographic work or archival research have been facing challenges due to the recent pandemic, forcing new ways of undertaking studies ‘in the field’. In this issue, we are seeking papers which explore how methodological explorations, both as a result of limitations and potentials, might open up new roads of engagement, inquiry and research and the implications that emerge. Following up from the previous issue where we have explored ‘format’, as a fundamental tool of communication for architecture which transcends many fields of study and which navigates many interested parties, we are diving into ‘method’ in this issue to create a platform for a discussion across research and practices. 

This issue accepts contributions of up to 5000 words, in formats including articles, short essays, field reports (WIP) or book reviews. We are also hoping to make use of the online format and will be accepting abstracts in alternative forms– film, audio, photo essays, etc. on the following themes:

• Projects that use recent digital tools (e.g. 3D digital printing, Lidar, data science, GIS) 
• Methodological shifts and experiments due to the recent pandemic 
• Unexpected discoveries which have led to new lines of inquiry 
• Ethical explorations on particular inter/cross/transdisciplinary methods adopted by the author’s architectural work 
• Combining Methods 
• How have the notions of ‘archive’ and ‘field work’ been challenged, and what innovative methodological approaches have resulted? 
• Are we still moving onward to the same goal or have new ideas changed both our methods and our destination? 

To be considered for this issue, please submit an abstract of 300 words along with author name(s), institutional affiliations, and contact details by 30th of September 2021.

Provisional timeline:

[Note that the dates are subject to change]

FORMAT OF PAPERS

All papers should be 4000-5000 words in length. All papers should be referenced using the Chicago Manual of Style (footnote version). We encourage the use of images. Please note that authors are responsible for obtaining copyright for the use of images. Authors will also be required, upon acceptance, to sign a copyright agreement acknowledging the statement above, whilst retaining all copyright to the article itself. Please note, that the articles submitted for EAR should be original contributions and not be partially or fully published elsewhere, accepted to be published, or waiting for approval.

Submission instructions:

Please send papers and abstracts with the subject “Your Name EAR Call37” to EAR.journal@ed.ac.uk

Editorial Team: 

Rory Lamb (PhD Architectural History, University of Edinburgh) 

Hafsa Olcay (PhD Architecture, University of Edinburgh) 

Estefania Pineiros (PhD Cultural Studies, University of Edinburgh) 

Katherine Vyhmeister (PhD Architectural History, University of Edinburgh) 

For general enquiries about the call please contact EAR.journal@ed.ac.uk

Visit the previous issues here: https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/ear-journal/previous-issues/ 

This call for papers was published on 1 August 2021

Download the Call as a PDF