Research, knowledge and collaboration Dilemmas of the PFI

Recent correspondence inarqraises important questions about the relationship between the wide range of research being undertaken in the schools, and architectural practice. John Worthington (arq7/3+4, pp197–199) makes a particularly important point when he says that architectural schools and the profession ‘cannot afford to stand aloof from the other (construction related) disciplines’. In many Universities (my own included), the discipline of architecture lies within a larger ‘School of the Built Environment’. I see this as entirely positive. The schools must reflect, and respond to, the contemporary realities of practice, if their relevance is to be maintained. As with practice, both teaching and research is increasingly based on interdisciplinary collaboration. While taking placewithininstitutions, such collaborationbetweeninstitutions and the wider construction industry (manufacturers, contractors and so on) is now often regarded as a prerequisite for successful research bids to both UK and European research funding agencies. Our school has found that many businesses within the construction industry (large and small) now recognize the value of research to the development of their products or processes. Professional practices are also benefiting in a similar way, in recognizing the expertise (and facilities) that reside within the Universities.